The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

1. Read the novel - this is my favorite edition with helpful notes

2. Author - Read about F. Scott Fitzgerald or watch a documentary at one of the following links;
- Life, Works and Legacy of F. Scott Fitzgerald (excellent)
-  F. Scott Fitzgerald, the Great Gatsby (American Writers)
- The F. Scott Fitzgerald Society
- Biographies of Scott and Zelda
- F. Scott Fitzgerald Centenary

A good succint biography is F. Scott Fitzgerald: Voice of the Jazz Age

3.Literary/Historical context
- Modernism http://odur.let.rug.nl/~usa/LIT/fitz.htm and http://odur.let.rug.nl/~usa/LIT/ch6_p2.htm
- Cornell University - the Jazz Age and the Great Gatsby - http://reading.cornell.edu/reading_project_06/gatsby/jazz_age.htm
- Literary movements - http://staff.gps.edu/gaither/literary_movements.htm
- The American Novel http://www.pbs.org/wnet/americannovel/timeline/modernism.html
- The American dream - http://www.loc.gov/teachers/classroommaterials/lessons/american-dream/students/thedream.html

4. Watch one of the Great Gatsby Movies - you can watch the 1974 Robert Redford/Mia Farrow version for free here. There is a 2001 version with Mira Sorvino. (And the 2012 version with Leonardo di Caprio comes out in December this year)

5. Read Unit 8 in Excellence in Literature and follow any trails that interest you (Jazz music is a fun one)

6. Abigail - 3 writing assignments as detailed in Excellence in Literature; author profile, historical approach paper and 750 word essay to be completed by the end of February.

7. Extra/honors readings - Tender is the Night by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Poetry by Langson Hughes

8. Go through the list of discussion questions and prepare for the group meeting.

Moby Dick by Herman Melville

 1. Before you read the novel, it would be useful to read some of the very helpful overviews of the story, characters and themes:
-  http://www.enotes.com/american-history-literature-cc/moby-dick
- Invitation to the Classics by Cowan and Guiness has a commentary on Moby Dick.
- http://us.penguingroup.com/static/rguides/us/moby_dick.html
- How to Read Moby Dick

2. Read the novel. There is a free version on Kindle or you can listen to it for free on Librivox.

3. Watch the Gregory Peck movie. It is considered to be very faithful to the book.

4. Author Biography - research this using a variety of web resources. (You can also read Herman Melville: A Biography by Hershel Parker):
http://www.wwnorton.com/college/english/naal7/contents/B/authors/melville.asp
 http://www.let.rug.nl/usa/LIT/melville.htm
http://www.mobydick.org/
(Abby write an author profile as detailed in Excellence in American Literature)

5. Historical and Literary Context
- American Romanticism
http://www.english-e-corner.com/americanliterature/contents/Romanticism1/default.htm
-Whaling:
http://www.whalingmuseum.org/library/amwhale/am_mobydick.html
(Abby - write a Historical Approach Paper as detailed in Excellence in American Literature)

6. Read Unit 5 of Excellence in American Literature - and follow any trails you choose.

7. Abby - write a literary paper (750 words) on one of the topics in Excellence in American Literature.

8. Extra/honors reading - Billy Budd by Herman Melville. Selection of poetry by Walt Whitman and Emily Dickinson. (the Dover Thrift editions have a good selection of poems) Read biographies of both poets too - I like the Poetry for Young People series for a quick intro)

9. Go through the List of Discussion Questions and prepare for the group meeting.

The House of Seven Gables by Nathaniel Hawthorne

1. Read the novel. Free version here - or Kindle version here. You can also listen for free here

2. Watch the Vincent Price movie. You can watch it for free here

3. Author Biography - take a book out of the library (e.g. Nathaniel Hawthorne: A Life by Brenda Wineapple) or read about Hawthorne at one of the following sites;
http://www.americanwriters.org/writers/hawthorne.asp
http://www.eldritchpress.org/nh/hawthorne.html
http://odur.let.rug.nl/~usa/LIT/hawthorn.htm
http://public.wsu.edu/~campbelld/amlit/hawthor.htm
http://www.wwnorton.com/college/english/naal7/contents/B/authors/hawthorne.asp
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's Elegy -  http://www.ibiblio.org/eldritch/nh/nhlong.html

4. Context resources for American Romanticism
American Romanticism
The House of Seven Gables
Hawthorne in Salem

5. Read Unit 4 of Excellence in American Literature and follow any links and trails that interest you.

6. Complete the written assignments on Pages 63-64 of Excellence in American Literature.

7. Honors/Extra reading this month - The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne and Walden by Henry David Thoreau

8. Go through the list of discussion questions and prepare for the group meeting.

Autobiography by Benjamin Franklin

1. Read the text.  I like the Dover Thrift edition - it is good for annotation. Free Kindle version here or pdf here

2.Author  - read about Benjamin Franklin in World Book Encyclopedia. The following sources have useful information too:
http://www.americanwriters.org/writers/franklin.asp ( watch the C-span video linked)
http://www.let.rug.nl/usa/lit/franklin.htm
http://www.wwnorton.com/college/english/naal7/contents/A/authors/franklin.asp
http://www.ushistory.org/franklin/index.htm

3. Historical background - colonial and revolutionary periods. (To tie in with your Grade 11 US History studies - read the first 4 chapters of your history spine - A Patriot's History of the United States) More information at http://www.pbs.org/wnet/historyofus/menu.html

4. Literary movement  - Revolutionary era. http://odur.let.rug.nl/~usa/LIT/ch2_p1.htm

5. Read through the Unit 1 of Excellence in Literature and follow any links that interest you.

6. Writing Assignments - complete the writing assignments  on pages 36-37 of Excellence in American Literature

7. Extra reading: The Autobiography of Thomas Jefferson in The Norton Anthology or here online. Also some excerpts from Williams Bradford's journal Of Plymouth Plantation in The Norton Anthology.

The Last of the Mohicans by James Fenimore Cooper

1. Read the novel. (free version for Kindle here and free pdf ebook here)

2. Author - read about James Fennimore Cooper using one of the resources below or library book or encyclopedia
http://www.americanwriters.org/writers/cooper.asp
http://odur.let.rug.nl/~usa/LIT/cooper.htm
http://www.wwnorton.com/college/english/naal7/contents/B/authors/cooper.asp


3. Historical background - Do some research on the French-Indian War - encyclopedia/book or following website The French and Indian War

4. Read all about the American Romanticism literary movement:
http://www.english-e-corner.com/americanliterature/contents/Romanticism1/default.htm

6. Go through the list of discussion questions and prepare answers for group meeting.

7. For Abby and those using Excellence in American Literature:
- do the weekly written assignments: author profile, historical approach paper, and 2 weeks for the formal essay .

8. Extra reading - The Pioneers by James Fenimore Cooper

9. Watch one of the movies - the Daniel Day Lewis 1992 version (check the USCCB review) which has a lot of violence (I have yet to preview it) or the BBC miniseries (I need to preview this too)

Recommended Resources

In order to study literature at a advanced level, I consider that the following are pre-requisites:.

1. Literary Analysis - I really recommend IEW's Teaching the Classics and Windows to The World. Also Janice Campbell's Introduction to Literature. Seton's English 9 is also excellent.

2. Strong Composition Skills -  I recommend  IEW writing and The Elegant Essay, Seton's Grade 9  Grammar and Composition/English 9. Jensen's Format Writing is also a solid program.

I like the following resources for high school writing"

1. Writer's Inc: A Student Handbook for Writing and Learning: Sebranek, Kemper and Meyer

2. Purdue OWL

3. A Guide for Writing Research Papers

4. Study Guides and Strategies

Format of American Literature Discussion Group

The students will have read the book before the discussion group. Each student will have considered the following:

1. Context and authorship – research and understand the historical period and the personal history of the author.

2. The Literary Structure – conflict, plot, setting, characters and theme

3. Literary Style – what is the author’s signature style, literary devices used

Socratic discussion within the group will focus on the following (from Adam Andrew’s list):

1. Where does this story happen?
2. When does this story happen?
3. Who is the story about?
4. What does the protagonist want?
5. Why can’t he have it?
6. What other problems are there in the story?
7. What happens in the story?
8. How is the main problem solved?
9. How does the story end?
10. What does the protagonist learn?
11. What do the other characters learn?
12. What is the main idea or theme of the story?
13. What literary devices does the author use to create interest and effect?
14. Who is the author, where did he live, when did he live and what were his beliefs?