1. Instructor: Tonya McQuade Tmcquade@lgsuhsd.org
American Literature
Instructor: Tonya McQuade

2. A Few Things about Me … This is my 20th year at LGHS.
I also taught English for two years in Osaka, Japan, and one year in Santa Barbara, CA.
I’m married and have two children.
My son is a junior at LGHS, and my daughter is an 8th grader at R. J. Fisher Middle School.

3. My Family

4. My Education
Bachelor of Arts, English and Communication Studies, U.C. Santa Barbara
Single Subject Teaching Credential - English, U.C. Santa Barbara
Master of Arts, Educational Leadership, San Jose State University

5. Goals for the Year:
Explore how American Literature reveals the ideas and voices of diverse Americans across literary periods, shapes our vision of the American Dream, and nurtures our development as individuals. 
Develop the skills to become more effective thinkers, articulate communicators, creative problem-solvers, and independent learners. 
Focus on vocabulary development, grammatical precision, PSAT/SAT preparation, research techniques, and essay writing skills.

6. What will we read? Text for Class:
The Language of Literature: American Literature
Core Novels & Plays:
Into the Wild, by Jon Krakauer
A Light in the Forest, by Conrad Richter
The Crucible, by Arthur Miller
Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, by Frederick Douglass
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain
The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Choose One:
The Joy Luck Club, by Amy Tan
The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini
The Help, by Kathryn Stockett

7. What movies will we watch?
The Last of the Mohicans (James Fenimore Cooper)
Roots, Parts 1 & 2 (Alex Haley)
The Scarlet Letter (Nathaniel Hawthorne)
Little Women (Louisa May Alcott)
A Farewell to Arms (Ernest Hemingway)
East of Eden (John Steinbeck)
A Streetcar Named Desire (Tennessee Williams)

8. What literary movements will we cover?
Primitivism/Native American Tales
Early American (Pilgrim Tales/Slave Narratives/Puritanism)
Age of Reason/Colonial & Revolutionary Writings
Romanticism/Transcendentalism/Gothicism
Naturalism/Realism/Regionalism
Harlem Renaissance
Modernism/Experimentation
Post-Modernism/Wartime Reflections
Contemporary Voices/“Confessional” Writing

9. Some of our Essential Questions ...
What does it mean to be an American? In what ways has American identity evolved?
What is the American dream? Is it attainable for all Americans?
What defines a literary movement? How does an understanding of the chronology, themes, and authors of important literary movements show how we as a people came to be who we are today?
How do literature, art, and music both reflect and contribute to the cultural and societal values of the time in which they are written/created?
How do writers use literary devices and rhetorical techniques to convey ideas and information?
What roles have individualism, self-reliance, civil disobedience, and the “pioneer spirit” played in the making of America?

10. How can you help?

11. Promote Vocabulary Development
Encourage your son or daughter to sign up for “Word of the Day” and “SAT Question of the Day” at
Try using some of the words in your daily conversations!

12. Give Writing Assistance
Suggest Topics
Help Brainstorm
Ask Clarifying Questions
Give Tips for Revision and Proofreading (but don’t take over)
Promote Academic Integrity!

13. Promote: Class Participation Tutorial Attendance Organization & Pacing
Planning & Prioritizing
Good Study Habits
Nutrition and Sleep

14. Keep an Eye On: Weekly Schedules (on school website) Semester in Brief
Outside Reading List
AERIES

15. Some Final Thoughts …

16. Front Lawn during Tutorial
LGHS Service Fair
September 29
Front Lawn during Tutorial
* If students complete 100 hours of service by their senior year, it will be noted on their transcripts

17. * If juniors do well, they can qualify to be National Merit Scholars
PSAT Test on Saturday,
October 15, at LGHS
* If juniors do well, they can qualify to be National Merit Scholars

18. Support the New Millennium Fund!
And thanks to NMF …
for our new English Computer Lab,
our LCD projectors,
and the many other things they have
gotten for our school!

19. Contact me if you have any concerns!
is best at