American Literature (Course) Unit 3

AMERICAN LITERATURE UNIT

This page is part of the American Literature high school curriculum page. To see the entire curriculum, click here.

Unit 3: Dreams and Nightmares (1828-1865)

The Romantic Period through the Civil War

The Romantic Period in American literature begins in 1828 with the election of Andrew Jackson to the presidency, and ends in 1865 with the conclusion of the Civil War.

Standards and I Can Statements

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.11-12.2
Determine two or more themes or central ideas of a text and analyze their development over the course of the text, including how they interact and build on one another to produce a complex account; provide an objective summary of the text.

• I can define theme. (K)
• I can analyze plot to determine two or more themes. (R)
• I can determine how multiple themes in a text develop and interact to build on one another and produce a complex account. (R)
• I can define a summary. (K)
• I can compose an objective summary stating the key points of the text without adding my own opinions or feelings. (P)

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.11-12.9
Demonstrate knowledge of eighteenth-, nineteenth- and early-twentieth-century foundational works of American literature, including how two or more texts from the same period treat similar themes or topics.

• I can identify various foundational works of American literature from different time periods. (K)
• I can identify two or more texts from the same time period that contain similar themes or topics. (K)
• I can analyze how authors of two or more texts from the same time period treat similar themes or topics. (R)
• I can analyze how the point of view of an author impacts his or her approach to a theme or topic found in a particular time period. (R)

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.11-12.5
Analyze and evaluate the effectiveness of the structure an author uses in his or her exposition or argument, including whether the structure makes points clear, convincing, and engaging.

• I can determine how an author chose to structure his or her exposition or argument (R)
• I can analyze the structure of an author's exposition or argument and evaluate whether the structure is effective. (R)
• I can determine if an author's structure is effective in making his or her points clear, convincing, and engaging. (R)
• I can evaluate how an author's choice of structure impacts his or her audience. (R)

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.11-12.3
Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, well-chosen details, and well-structured event sequences.

• I can define narrative and describe the basic parts of plot. (K)
• I can engage the reader by introducing one or more point(s) of view, the narrator (first, second, or third person point of view), characters, setting, and a problem, situation, or observation and its significance.
• I can use narrative techniques to develop experiences, events, and/or characters. (S)
• I can use descriptive words and phrases that reveal details, appeal to the senses, and help convey a vivid picture of the experiences, events, setting, and/or characters. (S)
• I can sequence events and signal changes in time and place by using transition words, phrases, and clauses to show the relationship among experiences and events.
• I can create a coherent whole and build toward a particular tone and outcome using a variety of techniques. (P)
• I can write a logical conclusion that reflects on the experiences/events and provides a sense of closure. (P)

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.11-12.4
Present information, findings, and supporting evidence, conveying a clear and distinct perspective, such that listeners can follow the line of reasoning, alternative or opposing perspectives are addressed, and the organization, development, substance, and style are appropriate to purpose, audience, and a range of formal and informal tasks.

• I can present information, findings, and/or supporting evidence clearly, concisely, and logically to convey a clear and distinct perspective.
• I can present my information in a sequence that allows the listener to follow my line of reasoning. (S)
• I can address alternative or opposing perspectives in my presentation. (S)
• I can prepare a presentation with organization, development, substance, and style that are appropriate to the purpose, task, audience, and a range of formal and informal tasks. (P)

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.11-12.4
Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases based on grades 11–12 reading and content, choosing flexibly from a range of strategies.

• I can infer the meaning of unknown words using context clues. (R)
• I can recognize and define common affixes and roots. (K)
• I can break down unknown words into units of meaning to infer the definition of the unknown word. (S)
• I can use patterns of word changes to determine a word's meaning or part of speech. (S)
• I can verify my inferred meaning of an unknown word, its part of speech, its etymology, and/or its standard usage by consulting general and specialized reference materials. (K)

Literary Resources

Stanton, Elizabeth Cady (1815-1902)

• Selections from Declaration of Sentiments of the Seneca Falls Women's Rights Convention

Irving, Washington (1783-1859)
Novels

• A History of New York
• The Sketch Book (1819-20)
• Tales of a Traveller (1824)

Short Stories

• "The Devil and Tom Walker"

Bryant, William Cullen (1794-1878)

• "Thanatopsis"

Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth (1807-1882)

• Evangeline (1847)
• The Song of Hiawatha (1855)
• "The Tide Rises, The Tide Falls"
• "The Cross of Snow"

Emerson, Ralph Waldo (1803-1882)

• "Nature"
• "Self-Reliance"

Thoreau, Henry David (1817-1862)

• Walden (1854)
• "Resistance to Civil Government" (1849)

Hawthorne, Nathaniel (1804-1864)
Novels

• Selections from Twice-Told Tales (1837)
• The Scarlet Letter (1850)
• The House of the Seven Gables (1851)

Short Stories

• "Young Goodman Brown"
• "Dr. Heidegger's Experiment"
• "The Minister's Black Veil"

Poe, Edgar Allan (1809-1849)

• Tamerlane (1827)
• Al Aaraaf (1829)
• The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym
• "The Gold Bug"
• "The Purloined Letter"
• "The Murders in the Rue Morgue"
• "The Tell-Tale Heart"
• "The Cask of Amontillado"
• "The Pit and the Pendulum"
• "The Raven" (1845)

Academic Language

Tier 2

• abolition
• ambiguity
• atmosphere
• beliefs
• biases
• cohesion
• connotation
• counterclaim
• denotation
• dialect
• diction
• etymology
• foreshadow
• hyperbole
• Idealism
• Individualism
• irony
• oratory
• parable
• paradox
• purpose
• refrain
• satire
• symbol
• tone
• transitions

Tier 3

• cadence
• catalog
• coda
• elliptical construction
• exact rhyme
• free verse
• Gothic short story
• internal rhyme
• lyric poetry
• mood
• primary source
• Romanticism
• slant rhyme
• Transcendentalism