English11IndependentReading
AmericanLiterature
20162017
Assignment
● Chooseandreadonebookeachquarterthatrelatestocentralideasandthemesinthis
year’sstudyofAmericanliterature.
● AnalyzehowthesebooksdevelopcentralideasandthemesofAmericanliterature.
● Presentyouranalysestotheclass.
AdditionalBookRequirements
● Minimum200pages,morewordsthanpictures.
● DoNOTchoosebooksthatweremadeintomovies.
● Youmaychoosemorethanonebookwrittenbyanauthor.
● Youmaychooseabookfromaseries,butnotmorethanonebookfromtheseries.
CentralIdeasandTopics
(Examplesofcentralideasandtopicsinthisyear’sstudyofAmericanliterature)
Unit1EarlyAmericathepowerofstorytelling,lifeinthe“newworld”,roadtoindependence
Unit2AmericanRomanticismtheindividualandnature,thedestructivenatureofromanticism
Unit3CivilWarEraslavery,resistance,revolution
Unit4RegionalismandRealismregional/localcharacter,naturalism
Unit5ModernAgesymbolistandimagistpoetry,modernAmericanshortstoryform,Harlem
Renaissance
Unit6GreatDepressiontoColdWarnewregionalism/city,worldrelations/connections
Unit7Intothe21stCenturypoliticalprotest,nature/technology,extending/remakingtraditions
Howtochoosebooks(tryoneormoreofthesetips)
● thebookinvolvesastorysetintheUnitedStates
● theconflictsinthestory/bookreflectcentralideasorthemesofAmericanliterature, 
history,culture,orsociety
● Americanauthor
Assessments
● Createaculminatingworkproducteachquarterthatshowsyourcomprehension,
analysis,andsynthesisofcentralideasandthemes(see1stquarterprojectbelow)
● Presentyourworktotheclass.
● Writebiweeklyjournalsthatsummarizeandshowyourthinkingaboutwhatyouread.
● AssignmentsaredueattheBEGINNINGoftheperiodontheduedate.
BiweeklyJournals
● Duedates9/23,10/7,10/21,11/4,11/18,12/2,12/16,1/6,1/20,2/3,2/17,3/3,3/17,
3/31,4/17,4/28,5/12,5/26.
● Lateassignments10%willbedeductedifworkisgiventoteacherby2:30thesame
day.Lateworkwillbeaccepteduntil2:30thenextschooldayforhalfcreditonly,after 
whichtimenopaperswillbeaccepted.
● Typedorwrittenlegiblyinblue/blackpen
● Minorassignmentgrade25pointsperjournal
● Recordwhichpagesyouread(sincethepreviousjournal)5points
● Summarizepagesreadinoneparagraph(5to7sentences)includekeydetailsonly!
(10points)
● Respondtothetextinoneparagraph(10points)choose1ormoreofthefollowing
prompts:
● Predict“BasedonwhatIread,Icannowpredict…”
● Connect“OneconnectionImadewas…”or“Thisremindsmeof…”
● Question“WhenIread________,Iwondered…”or“Usinghintsfromthetext,I
wondered…”
● Visualize“Inmymind,Icansee…”or“Thistextcreatedamentalimageof…”
● Infer“Basedontextclues,Ithink…”or“Thisprobablyhappenedbecause…”
● Evaluateimportance“Irealizedtheimportantideasare…”or“Thebestpartof
thestoryis…”
● Synthesize“Thisnewideaoccurredtomewhilereading…”
1stQuarterProjectDueOctober31(Monday)
Directions:Pick1optiontocomplete.Explorationanddevelopmentofcentral
ideas/themesofAmericanliteratureshouldbeevidentinyourwork.Itisexpectedthat
youcompletethisprojectandworkoutalloftheproblemsbeforeitisdue.(20point
majorassignmentgrade)
1.TEXTANALYSISESSAYIdentifyacentralideaofthebookandexplainhowtheauthor
usesliteraryelementstodevelopthatcentralidea.Theessayshouldincludeabriefintroduction
andconclusionand3bodyparagraphs.

2.ALPHABETBOOKCreateanalphabetbookbasedonyourstory.(Ex:Aisforthe
arroganceofOdysseus,BisfortheboatOdysseussailedon.)Choosewords/imagestoclearly
showyourcomprehensionandunderstandingofcentralideas/themesofAmericanliterature
inthisbook.Itmustbeillustratedandboundinsomemanner.Athreeringbinderor3x5index
cardswithholesonaringaregoodwaystokeepthistogether.Itmusthaveaminimumof26
lettersand26illustrations.
3.DIARYCreateadiaryfromthepointofviewofoneofthemaincharactersinyourbook.
Demonstratethethoughtsandfeelingsofthemaincharacterinwaysthatdevelopcentral
ideas/themesofAmericanliterature.Goodfeelingstowriteaboutarefrustration,sadness,
pain,joy,fear,andloneliness.Writeinfirstperson,andcompleteaminimumof5fulldiary
entriesofapproximately200wordseach.Doodlesandsketchestoaccompanytheworkare
appropriate.
4.ILLUSTRATIONDraworpaintapictureofascenefromyourbookthatdevelopscentral
ideas/themesofAmericanliterature.Onseparatepaper,write20factsaboutyourbookanda
descriptionofyourillustration.Thisisanoptionforthetrueartist.Stickfiguresandchildish
drawingsarenotacceptable.
5.ALTERNATEBOOKCOVERCreateanalternatebookcoverofyourbookthatdevelops
centralideas/themesofAmericanliterature.Thiscanbeaphysicalbookcoveroradigital
bookcoverusingcanva.com.Includeaoneparagraphdescriptionofthebook,ashort
biographyontheauthor,3reviewsofyourbook,andanexplanationofwhy/howyouchanged
thebookcover.Thepurposeofabookcoveristopersuadepeopletobuythisbookandreadit!
Lookatotherbooksforinspiration.
WorkProductRubric
1.Knowledgeandunderstandingofthebookdemonstratedclearly
2.Taskrequirements(statedabove)completedfully
3.Visualpresentationisneat,clear,andappealing
4.FHSwritingguidelines(spellingandotherwritingconvention)met(unlessotherwiserequired
bytask,asindicatedabove)
ClassPresentation
● Duringtheweekof10/31,nameswillbedrawnrandomlytostartpresentations.Students
mustpresentwhentheirnamesaredrawnorelseforfeitthepresentationgrade,unless
theyhaveanunexpectedandexcusedabsence.
● 12pointmajorassignmentgradeseerubricattached.
● Ifyouknowinadvanceyouwillbeabsent10/31,11/1,or11/2,speaktoMs.Wrightto 
arrangetopresentbeforeyourabsence,eitherexcusedorunexcused.
● Youshoulduseatleastonevisualaid(suchasthebookoraposter)duringthis1to2
minutepresentation.
● Practicespeakingaboutthebookseveraltimesbeforehand,suchaswithasmallgroup
offriends,infrontofamirror,etc.