American Literature Curriculum - Thematic Pacing Guide - Lesson Bundle

Are you new to American Literature or tired of boring worksheets? Engage students with texts by American authors in lessons that use real-world learning connections, an appreciation for cultural diversity, and critical thinking skills. These activities for your American Literature Curriculum are organized thematically and include a variety of lessons that meet the expectations of all Common Core ELA Standards.

Classic American authors in the units include Walt Whitman, Langston Hughes, Maya Angelou, Emily Dickinson, Frederick Douglass, Henry David Thoreau, Mark Twain, Sandra Cisneros, Kate Chopin, Barbara Kingsolver, Sojourner Truth, Arthur Miller, and many more. New resources have been added for the 2023 - 2024 school year and more are coming soon!

The bundle includes the following:

Introduction to American Literature Unit

This three-week unit is an excellent introduction to American Literature and meets the needs of visual, auditory, and linguistic learners. Students are introduced to American voices and ideals through poetry, music, and art.

Poems in the unit follow:

• "Naming Myself" by Barbara Kingsolver
• "I Hear America Singing" by Walt Whitman
• "I, Too" by Langston Hughes

Paired Texts

In these lessons, students practice close reading and essay-writing as they compare paired texts that have similar themes. These detailed lesson plans will provide you with everything you need to help your students make connections between texts and construct comparison essays.

Text passages follow:

• “Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost and "Dream Deferred" by Langston Hughes
• “Ain’t I a Woman?” By Sojourner Truth and “Phenomenal Woman” by Maya Angelou
• “Naming Myself” by Barbara Kingsolver and “My Name” by Sandra Cisneros
• “We Wear the Mask” by Paul Laurence Dunbar and “I’m Nobody!” By Emily Dickinson
• “First Lesson” by Philip Booth and “Those Winter Sundays” by Robert Hayden
• “Speech to the Second Virginia Convention” by Patrick Henry and “The War Prayer” Mark Twain
• “The Most Dangerous Game” by Richard Connell and “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson
• “Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin and “A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner
• “The Names” by Billy Collins and “The Dead of September 11” by Toni Morrison
• “Civil Disobedience” by Henry David Thoreau and biographical film The Great Debaters
• “We Shall Overcome” by Lyndon B. Johnson and “Second Inaugural Address” by Abraham Lincoln
• Excerpt from Lorraine Hansberry's play A Raisin in the Sun and Langston Hughes's poem "Mother to Son."
• "Theme for English B" by Langston Hughes and "We Are Many" by Pablo Neruda
• Preamble to the Constitution, Bill of Rights, Speech by Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Nonfiction Connections

Help your students use close reading to make relevant connections to classic texts with these lessons that include multiple modes of writing (narrative, informative, explanatory, analytical) and choice boards.

• Walden Excerpt by Henry David Thoreau and Tiny House Movement Newspaper Article
• "Story of an Hour" by Kate Chopin and The Washington Post Article
• "Totally, Like Whatever" by Taylor Mali & Newspaper Article
• Native American Mythology and No Impact Man Excerpt
• “My Bondage and My Freedom” and Speech from Malala Yousafzai

Rhetorical Analysis

• The Declaration of Independence by Thomas Jefferson (New Addition)
• Rhetorical Analysis Graphic Organizer for "The Speech on the Voting Rights Act of 1965"
• John McCain "Farewell Letter" Rhetorical Analysis
• Ruth Bader Ginsburg "Remarks at the New York Historical Society"

Poetry Bell Ringers

Help students analyze poetry with these prompts that can be used for bell-ringers, cooperative learning, or learning stations. Each handout requires students to provide theme topics, theme statements, and text support for their responses.

Poems follow:

• “If We Must Die” By Claude McKay
• “The Author to Her Book” by Anne Bradstreet
• “Hope” by Emily Dickinson
• “Sympathy” by Paul Laurence Dunbar
• “A Noiseless Patient Spider” by Walt Whitman
• “The Tide Rises, the Tide Falls” by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
• “Theme for English B” by Langston Hughes
• “Richard Cory” by Edward Arlington Robinson
• “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” by Robert Frost
• “Annabel Lee” by Edgar Allan Poe

Other Lessons Featuring American Authors

Many of these lessons capitalize on the reading and writing connection, using mentor texts for inspiration. Furthermore, activities in these lessons require students to "think outside the box," and use inquiry and creative thinking to support learning.

• Close Reading from The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien
• Close Reading with "On Women's Rights" by Elizabeth Cady Stanton
• Literary Analysis with “Ex-Basketball Player” by John Updike
• Aphorisms of Ben Franklin
• “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop” by Martin Luther King, Jr. – Speech Writing Lesson
• William Carlos Williams – Writing Imagist Poems
• Speech Writing and Memorial Design with “The Gettysburg Address” by Abraham Lincoln
• “The Devil and Tom Walker” by Washington Irving and Math Connections
• Test for Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison
• Test for Snow Falling on Cedars by David Guterson
• Test for The Awakening by Kate Chopin
• Rhetorical Appeals Trashketball (“Speech to the Second Virginia Convention,” “Aint I a Woman,” and excerpt from "My Bondage and My Freedom”)
• Theme Analysis with Haikus (Song of Solomon as mentor text)
• Text Evidence Activity The Hate U Give by Angela Thomas
• Text Evidence Activity for Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
• Text Evidence Activity for The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
• Text Evidence Activity for A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry
• Text Evidence Activity for To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

Trashketball Games

Review literary elements such as characterization, plot, setting, and theme with these PowerPoint Trashketball games. These fun, active games get students out of their seats and excited to learn!

• Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
• The Crucible by Arthur Miller
• The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton
• Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
• Verbals with The Great Gatsby, A Raisin in the Sun, To Kill a Mockingbird
• Black History Month Grammar Game
• To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
• The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
• A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry
• The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

More for The Crucible

• The Crucible - Text Evidence Anticipation Guide (New Addition)
• Close Reading from Act 1 of The Crucbile by Arthur Miller
• Close Reading from Act 2 of The Crucible by Arthur Miller
• Close Reading from Act 3 of The Crucible by Arthur Miller
• Close Reading from Act 4 of The Crucible by Arthur Miller

More for To Kill a Mockingbird

• To Kill a Mockingbird Task Cards

More for The Great Gatsby

• Close Reading with The Great Gatsby
• The Great Gatsby Essay and Party

Free Bonus Pacing Guide and Journal Prompts

Organized thematically, this pacing guide provides an overview, teacher notes, Common Core ELA Anchor Standards, extension activities, and teaching strategy suggestions. There are also links to blog posts and freebies that you can use to supplement the units. Themes covered include the following:

• American Ideals and Voices
• The Search for Equality and Justice
• The American Dream
• Facing Darkness (with Hope)
• The Trials of War
• The Pursuit of Happiness (Family, Friends & Love)
• The Quest for Identity and Individuality

The American Literature pacing guide in this resource also includes 28 free journal prompts that can be incorporated into the units! (New Addition)

This American Literature Curriculum Bundle will save you hours of work and is great for teachers who are going on maternity leave or who will have a long-term substitute. New resources and lesson updates will be added periodically at no additional cost to those who already have the bundle. By purchasing this bundle, you benefit from significant savings; however, if you would prefer, you may purchase any of the included resources individually in my store.

Furthermore, this bundle would make a useful addition to an English department's curriculum materials. (Please be sure to purchase the appropriate licenses if using the bundle with a group.)

In addition to the printable "Paired Texts," these resources may be used for online learning with EASEL by TpT, and several are available as Google Slides activities.

Total pages: 1213 (Please note that some pages are duplicates.)

Want a sneak peek at the Pacing Guide?

Here is a free version for your review:

American Literature Pacing Guide Freebie

Not sure you need the entire resource? You may be interested in these bundled lessons instead:

Paired Passages Mega Bundle

The Great Gatsby Activity Bundle

Nonfiction Reading and Writing Connections Bundle

Classic Literature Trashketball Bundle

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