Quarter I | Quarter II | Quarter III | Quarter IV

At the end of Mr. Mathews' English III class, student should be able to...

Quarter I

Literature

Unit I:  The Colonial Period

1. Identify the characteristics of the Native American oral tradition.
2. Read and interpret selections from the Colonial Period including personal narratives.
3. Compare and contrast life in Puritan New England and the Southern Colonies.
4. Identify the long lasting influences of Puritanism.
5. Recognize the difference between subjective and objective details.
6. Define the literary terms encountered in the works of the period.

      Unit II: The Revolutionary Period

1. Read and examine works of Paine, Jefferson, Adams, and Henry.
2. Explain the effect of the political atmosphere on the literature of the period.
3. Read excerpts from Franklin and de Crevecoeur and identify the beginnings of the American Dream.
4. Identify the rhetorical strategies employed in persuasive writing and visual text.
5. Define and apply the terms encountered in the works of the period.
6. Compose and deliver a persuasive speech.

Unit III: The Pre-Romantics and Romantics

1. Read and interpret works by Poe, Irving, Bryant, Emerson, and Thoreau.
2. Recognize when the literature becomes “American.”
3. Identify the economic, geographical and political changes that acted as catalysts for the age.
4. Explain the elements of romanticism, transcendentalism and anti-transcendentalism.
5. Recognize similarity of theme in the artwork of the period and identify the means used to communicate the theme.
6. Identify the Fireside Poets and the themes of their poetry.
7. Identify poetic elements and terms.
8. Explain the influence of Emerson and Thoreau on literature and philosophy.

Writing

1. Compose a speech/essay that employs rhetorical strategies.
2. Practice responding to a writing prompt by taking a position and defending it.

Quarter II

Literature

 Unit IV:  The Scarlet Letter

1. Examine essential elements of the novel.
2. Identify the elements of romanticism and anti-transcendentalism in the novel.
3. Explain the use of symbolism, imagery, and foreshadowing in the novel.
4. Evaluate the universality of the themes in the novel.
5. Determine Hawthorne’s tone.
6. Discuss Hester Prynne in light of Christian values.

 Unit V:  Whitman and Dickinson

1. Read and explicate selected poems of Whitman and Dickinson.
2. Identify the stylistic devices used by these poets.
3. Examine the purpose imagery in selected poems.
4. Explain how the spirit of nationalism is reflected in Whitman’s works.

Writing

1. Synthesize the elements of the analytical essay.
2. Compose a 3/5 essay on a topic from The Scarlet Letter.
3. Practice composing a persuasive/expository essay (SAT prep).

Quarter III

Literature

Unit VI:  Realism

1. List the events which influenced American literature from 1850-1914.
2. Explain how the literature reflects the events and attitudes of the times.
3. Read and identify works by authors such as Twain, Bierce, Crane, London, Chopin, Cather, and Harte.
4. Read and analyze the poetry of Dunbar, Robinson, and Masters.
5. Articulate the distinguishing characteristics of realism, naturalism, and regionalism.

Unit VII:  Modernism

1. Demonstrate the influence of World War I and II and the Great Depression on early 20th century literature.
2. Explain how the literature reflects the events and attitudes of the times.
3. Identify the characteristic of imagism in such poets as Eliot, Pound, Williams, Auden, and H.D.
4. Read and make inferences based on evidence from the text in the works of Steinbeck, Hemingway, Porter, Faulkner, Welty, Wharton, Thurber, Frost, and Sandburg.
5. Explain the development and influence of  Harlem Renaissance.
6. Identify the characteristics of modernism.

Writing

1. Practice composing a persuasive/expository essay (SAT prep).
2. Use the steps of the research process to develop a research paper.

Quarter IV

Literature

 Unit VIII: The Great Gatsby

1. Analyze The Great Gatsby as a product of the Jazz Age.
2. Evaluate the effectiveness of the form and style of the novel.
3. Explain Fitzgerald’s vision of the American Dream in the modern age.
4. Articulate the stages in Nick Carraway’s rite of passage.
5. Discuss the theme of the novel in light Christian values and those of modern society in general.

Unit IX:  Contemporary Literature

1. List the influences of the late 20th and early 21st century events on American literature.
2. Explain how the literature reflects the events and attitudes of the times.
3. Compare and contrast works by authors such as O’Connor, Malamud, Updike, Walker, Dove, Baldwin, Angelou, Quindlin, Goodman, and Dowd.
4. Identify current trends in literature and the tastes of the current audience.

Unit X:  The Crucible

1. Read, comprehend, interpret, and respond to a contemporary play.
2. Relate the events of the Salem Witchcraft Trials to McCarthyism of the 1950s.
3. Identify the motives of characters.
4. Discuss the themes of the play, their universality, and their relationship to Christian values.
5. Defend a position on the role of art in society.

Writing

1. Continue to compose analytical and persuasive/expository essays (SAT prep).
2. Begin drafting the college essay.

Page design and layout by Mr. Kurt H Mathews, Jr.. Page last updated 08/26/2009.