English III: American Literature

American Literature is a literature and composition course offering organized as a survey of American literature. It can stand alone as a complete year of general study in English without a specific prerequisite, but its modular design allows flexibility in how the program is used in the classroom; teachers may use a single unit, lesson, or activity to supplement regular class content. The course builds literary and communication skills, including reading, writing, language appreciation and aesthetics, listening and speaking, viewing and representing, and research.

Within these general topic areas, special emphasis is placed on writing expository, research, and creative compositions; honing critical and analytic skills through close readings of literary, historical, expository, and functional documents; using context strategies and an understanding of etymology to build vocabulary; and practicing communication skills.

Reading selections cover a variety of genres and voices in literature and expository prose. Students read a survey of American literature from colonial to contemporary eras. They learn and practice workplace communication skills in special activities. Finally, students practice gathering, evaluating, synthesizing, presenting, and documenting information in a unit dedicated to writing research reports.

Summaries and annotations support fluency and comprehension of all reading material. Robust scaffolding in the form of process guides and graphic organizers helps reluctant writers to internalize strategies and develop composition skills. Select activities target text-handling skills and promote improved performance on commonly assessed literary analysis and response standards. Study sheets support engagement with direct instruction and develop note-taking and study skills.

The content is based on the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) standards and is aligned to state standards.