Unit Handouts


Check out the course expectations sheet...
...And our initial class brainstorm, asking the question, "what does it mean to be American?"


"Chapter Attacks"--Link to textbook (illustrations are different)
UNITS
Unit 1: Pre-Civil War and Slavery
Our first unit explores how the issue of slavery (or as Mr. Jolicoeur calls the "black-eye on American History") drove our country towards conflict. We will read several chapters from Harriet Jacobs' Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, which chronicles one woman's incredible journey from slavery to  freedom.
Unit 2: The Civil War and Reconstruction
As we explore The Civil War and how the country was affected from this brutal conflict, we need to always keep in mind the relationship between government and its citizens, how actions of individuals and/or groups of individuals affected federal law, how social movements affected the events of the Civil War, and what life was like during this time period. While studying Reconstruction, we will also read several chapters of Mark Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.
Unit 3: Native American Identity
Our next unit explores the Native American Identity. Some questions to guide us through the unit: How can we define the Native American Identity? Who are they as people? How has their identity been formed? What was it in the past and what is it now? We will read some contemporary short fiction from Sherman Alexie, a humorous, poetic writer, and these stories from The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven all revolve around one reservation, and the way of life there. As for history, well, essentially our mistreatment and near eradication of Native Americans will be looked at, and how that has also formed the Native American Identity.
Unit 4: Immigration and Industrialization in the Progressive Era (The Gilded Age)
In this unit, we will explore the "Immigrant Experience." How has this experience helped form the American Identity? What hardships have immigrants experienced over the years? What role does social class play in their experience? The Industrial Revolution is inevitably tied to the immigrant experience, and we will be reading The Jungle by Upton Sinclair to get a more complete picture of this experience.
Unit 5: Imperialism and World War I
In this short unit, we will look at America as an emerging world power--how the world perceives us, and how we perceive ourselves. On the History end, we will look at the Spanish-American War and World War I, and as we start to dive into the conflicts of the 20th century moving forward, we must always ask ourselves: Why? What is the goal of entering a war? Is there a moral obligation for conflict? We will also look at a couple of Ernest Hemingway stories and poetry and explore the effects of war on soldiers and citizens.

Unit 6: The Jazz Age--1920s and The Great Gatsby
In addition to doing projects/presentations on the 1920s, we will be reading what is considered one of the greatest American novels ever written: The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

 Unit 7: The Great Depression--FDR, The New Deal, Dorothea Lange and excerpts from The Grapes of Wrath
While learning about the causes and solutions of the Great Depression of the 1930s, we will also spend some time analyzing photography, do a little creative writing in addition to reading parts of John Steinbeck's (remember Of Mice and Men?) masterpiece, The Grapes of Wrath.
  • Biography of Dorothea Lange
  • Analyzing photography-- Lange's "Migrant Mother"
  • Analyze a Lange photograph.  
  • John Steinbeck--It's pretty much impossible to talk about The Depression without mentioning John Steinbeck. The metaphor at work in "The Turtle" (which is an excerpt from The Grapes of  Wrath) is representative of the drive and determination of the American people of the time period.
  • Much of our literary focus in this unit is on tone and how Steinbeck achieves a tone through his word choice and descriptive writing. As we read "Breakfast" (another excerpt of The Grapes of Wrath), use this worksheet and answer the questions.
  • The assessment for the unit is to write a "vignette" in the style of Steinbeck--based on the photo you chose to analyze.
  • Cinderella Man is not only an inspirational story, it is also a great historical look into the Depression. Some guiding questions: How do these characters fit into our evolving definition of what it means to be an American? Why was James Braddock so inspirational to the American people? Here is our viewing guide for the film, and a complete synopsis here.

 Unit 8: World War II and Maus by Art Spiegelman
As we explore the many topics within World War II (the most significant conflict in the 20th century), in the literary world, we will look at form following function-that is to say how a certain medium can aid in an author's intent. To do this, we will look at Art Spiegelman's Maus, and how the comics form follows Spiegelman's purpose (function).
  • World War II topics and research
  • Art Spiegleman's graphic novel Maus
  • What is a graphic novel? We then look at the relationship between text and image with ourNoticing Comics Protocol
  • Maus questions: Chapters 1-2; chapters 3-4; chapters 5-6
  • We may also study Yoshiko Uchida's short story "The Bracelet," which gives us some insight into the Japanese Internment camps in the United States. Here are some questions to guide you--these questions also serve as a reminder to some literary elements we have studied earlier
  • It is possible we will do a film study on Steven Spielberg's Saving Private Ryan. How does Spielberg use the film form to convey the chaos and confusion of D-Day and World War II?
Unit 9: Post-War America: Death of a Salesman
If The Great Gatsby can be considered "The Great American Novel," it could be argued that Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman is "The Great American Play." There are numerous themes, concepts, and skills we will cover in this unit.
  • Here is a group brainstorm activity, and some historical context.
  • Here is some poetry that goes along thematically with the play.
  • Some important information on the origins of tragedy (Death of a Salesman is considered a "modern tragedy").
  • One of the key elements of Drama are stage directions. Here is the opening of the play with some questions analyzing the text.
  • Vocabulary!
  • There are  numerous symbols throughout the play. Here is a way to track them.
  • A majority of our reading of this text will be out loud, in front of the class, emoting and moving around (acting!)--but here are questions to guide us and to check your understanding of what is happening.
Unit 10: Civil Rights Movement
Possibly the most important movement of the 20th Century-we will look at policies, protests, and people. In particular, Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X.
Unit 11: Vietnam and The Things They Carried

Tim O'Brien's episodic novel, concerning soldiers (including himself) dealing with the Vietnam War, is a great insight into the lives of soldiers during that time, but is also an important work in fiction because of its method of storytelling. We will explore the art of storytelling in this unit, as well as some broader themes such as guilt, acceptance, courage, and brotherhood.

Some individual reading questions for some selected short stories:

Here are some great excerpts from Tim O'Brien's Keynote Address at Brown University, concerning role of truth and lies in fiction.

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