CP English 11-- American Literature
Introduction
We will begin American Literature by asking the question What is American? Some have considered America a melting pot. If we follow this metaphor, then Americans wherever they’re from melt down into a stew of sorts with a uniform flavor. One thinker challenging the “melting pot” suggested America is more like a salad where each part retains a distinctive flavor and yet eaten in unison creates a unique flavor. With this metaphor we recognize that parts keep their identity while being a part of something larger than themselves. One approach to understanding this question What is American? is listening to American voices. This is the rationale for choosing the titles on this reading list—these titles reflect the diversity of Americans and complicate the notion of one singular American Culture. These titles are often grouped under the title “Multicultural Literature.”
ASSIGNMENT
Read one title from each reading list. For the first reading list, find two quotations for each question accompanied by your thoughtful analysis which should be roughly a paragraph equivalent to roughly six sentences. With one novel, five questions, and two responses for each, you should have ten responses per novel and and for the second novel from the teen book list you should complete the SSR one-pager. The questions following each category for quotes are designed to help you think about what to look for and what you may write about—you do not need to answer each question. One of your novels must be from the American Literature list and one from the teen book list. For the second novel you Non-fiction titles have an asterisk.
PART 1:
1-2 Setting: Where does the story take place? What is the relationship of the place to the characters? What kinds of language does the other use?
3-4 Character: How is the main character described physically? What is something they do that defines them? Something they say? What does someone say about them?
5-6 Conflict: What confronts the main character or characters? What must they overcome? How will they do this?
7-8 Culture/Belief: What sorts of practices do the main characters engage in? Do these define the character/s? Are they religious? What do they believe in? How do we know?
9-10 Resolution: How does the main character solve their problem? How do things work out for other characters? This is important why?
Summer Reading for 11th grade
AMERICAN LITERATURE LIST
AFRICAN-AMERICAN
The Color Purple by Alice Walker
*I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
*The Autobiography of Malcolm X by Alex Haley
Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison
Krik Krak by Edwidge Danticatt
LATIN AMERICAN
*Living up the Street Gary Soto
Always Running by Luis Rodriguez
The Death of Artemio Cruz by Carlos Fuente
In the Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez
NATIVE AMERICAN
The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven by Sherman Alexie
The Roundhouse by Lousie Erdrich
*The Way to Rainy Mountain by M. Scott Momaday
Ceremony Leslie Marmon Silko
ASIAN AMERICAN
The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan
*Woman Warrior: Memoir of a Girlhood Among Ghosts Maxine Hong Kingston
The Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri
*On Gold Mountain by Lisa See
PART 2:
Read any book on the teen book list and complete an SSR one pager. For the second book, pick a book that looks interesting to you. Ask a friend, a parent or a teacher if there is a book that you might like.
TEEN BOOK LIST
SSR one pager. Complete this handout as it relates to your second book.
SSR one pager-- web version
We will begin American Literature by asking the question What is American? Some have considered America a melting pot. If we follow this metaphor, then Americans wherever they’re from melt down into a stew of sorts with a uniform flavor. One thinker challenging the “melting pot” suggested America is more like a salad where each part retains a distinctive flavor and yet eaten in unison creates a unique flavor. With this metaphor we recognize that parts keep their identity while being a part of something larger than themselves. One approach to understanding this question What is American? is listening to American voices. This is the rationale for choosing the titles on this reading list—these titles reflect the diversity of Americans and complicate the notion of one singular American Culture. These titles are often grouped under the title “Multicultural Literature.”
ASSIGNMENT
Read one title from each reading list. For the first reading list, find two quotations for each question accompanied by your thoughtful analysis which should be roughly a paragraph equivalent to roughly six sentences. With one novel, five questions, and two responses for each, you should have ten responses per novel and and for the second novel from the teen book list you should complete the SSR one-pager. The questions following each category for quotes are designed to help you think about what to look for and what you may write about—you do not need to answer each question. One of your novels must be from the American Literature list and one from the teen book list. For the second novel you Non-fiction titles have an asterisk.
PART 1:
1-2 Setting: Where does the story take place? What is the relationship of the place to the characters? What kinds of language does the other use?
3-4 Character: How is the main character described physically? What is something they do that defines them? Something they say? What does someone say about them?
5-6 Conflict: What confronts the main character or characters? What must they overcome? How will they do this?
7-8 Culture/Belief: What sorts of practices do the main characters engage in? Do these define the character/s? Are they religious? What do they believe in? How do we know?
9-10 Resolution: How does the main character solve their problem? How do things work out for other characters? This is important why?
Summer Reading for 11th grade
AMERICAN LITERATURE LIST
AFRICAN-AMERICAN
The Color Purple by Alice Walker
*I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
*The Autobiography of Malcolm X by Alex Haley
Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison
Krik Krak by Edwidge Danticatt
LATIN AMERICAN
*Living up the Street Gary Soto
Always Running by Luis Rodriguez
The Death of Artemio Cruz by Carlos Fuente
In the Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez
NATIVE AMERICAN
The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven by Sherman Alexie
The Roundhouse by Lousie Erdrich
*The Way to Rainy Mountain by M. Scott Momaday
Ceremony Leslie Marmon Silko
ASIAN AMERICAN
The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan
*Woman Warrior: Memoir of a Girlhood Among Ghosts Maxine Hong Kingston
The Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri
*On Gold Mountain by Lisa See
PART 2:
Read any book on the teen book list and complete an SSR one pager. For the second book, pick a book that looks interesting to you. Ask a friend, a parent or a teacher if there is a book that you might like.
TEEN BOOK LIST
SSR one pager. Complete this handout as it relates to your second book.
SSR one pager-- web version