This course surveys American Literature from the pre-colonial period to the present. Students will analyze the writers’ techniques found in the literary genres of the short story, non-fiction, poetry and the novel. Students will study each literary selection on three levels of comprehension: literal, interpretative and applied. Along with critical thinking and reading skills, the literature based program incorporates vocabulary, writing and grammar skill development. Students will be expected to produce informal and formal writing assignments as well as oral presentations. Time will be devoted to MCAS preparation.
This course is organized around units of study, essential questions/universal themes, and the 6-traits of writing. The students will be expected to synthesize the critical thinking competencies learned in English I in order to deeply and comprehensively interpret and analyze multiple genres with a given unit of study. These genres include short story, literary non-fiction, drama, novel, memoir, and epic and lyric poetry.