American Literature and 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. Together we will work

through Columbus’ discovery of America all the way to 9/11.

Class time will mainly consist of hands-on, student led

educational activities, such as debates and presentations, all

designed to make history come alive. Homework will consist

of analyzing 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

- Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain

- Narrative of the Life of David Crockett, written by himself

- Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, written by himself

- To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee

- Farewell to Manzanar, by Jeanne Wakatsuki

- Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury

History Textbook

Ray Notgrass: American Voices

Cost of Class (per semester)

$530 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.