American Literature & History (11th grade level)

American Literature and History is an 11th grade, two-day-a week course that will provide your students with one year of  high school credit in both American Literature and American  History.  

Tuesdays we will focus on history. We will cover Columbus’  discovery of America all the way through the 21st century. We  will watch historical re-enactments, visit virtual museums, and  participate in many other hands-on, student led educational  activities, all designed to make history come alive. Homework  will consist of not only reading our textbook and studying for  weekly quizzes, but students will also analyze primary source  documents, such as inaugural addresses, speeches, and  more. Our goal will be not only to study our nation’s rich  history, but also grow in a deeper understanding of how our  past has shaped us and made us the Nation we are today.  

Thursdays we will focus on Literature. We will read 6 novels  that will coincide with the periods of history that we will be  studying. There will be corresponding essays focused on  preparing your student for college-level writing. We will also  incorporate short stories and poems to further enrich our  understanding of American Literature and Literary genres.  Class time will be focused on not only understanding the  novels that we are reading, but also writing workshops  designed to support and help your students grow as a reader,  thinker, and writer. 

Literature book List 

1. The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne 

2. Narrative of the Life of David Crockett, written by himself 

3. Uncle Tom’s Cabin, by Harriet Beecher Stowe 

4. To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee  

5. Farewell to Manzanar, by Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston &  James D.Houston  

6. Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury  

History Textbook  

Ray Notgrass Exploring America, Part 1 and Part 2 American Voices  

Cost of Class (per semester)  

$495 plus a $30 printing/materials fee  

Venmo: melpidal  

Contact info: [email protected] 

Melissa has a Bachelor of Social Sciences from the Master’s College. She is a former homeschool alumni, having been homeschooled herself all the way through high school. She and her husband were missionaries in Spain for 11 years and have 3 children. This class merge’s two of Melissa’s great loves: history and literature. Melissa is passionate about helping students see history come alive and fall in love with reading and all that literature has to offer.