American Literature Beginnings to 1800 | Slave Narratives, Colonial Lit

Description

Your class’ introduction to American literature should be engaging and meaningful. With these EDITABLE activities, you’ll be able to personalize material for your learners while meeting important standards.

 

Start your American literature class with these activities that build in complexity. Included are literature activities, graphic organizers, discussion questions, and quizzes that cover American Literature roughly through the typical pre-colonist through the revolutionary time period.

 

A pacing guide for this material is included; these activities run about three weeks.

 

Specifically included in this American literature download:

 

→ Discussion questions from the introduction to An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States for Young People. Cover the change of language over time with these questions and connect the importance of American history to America’s current events.

 

→ Origin stories introduction and questions for “The Earth on Turtle’s Back.” (Onondaga tribe of the Iroquois nation.) Introductory video link and corresponding questions included as well as a graphic organizer for use with any origin story.

 

→ Early time periods: two quizzes based on the readings based on major events from the Colonial Period (Beginnings to 1750, Pilgrims, theocracy) and the Revolutionary Age (1750-1800), American Revolution, Age of Reason). Use these as a web search or as background information if you do not prefer quizzes.

 

→ Anne Bradstreet and Puritan Plain Style introduction and analysis of “To My Dear and Loving Husband.”

 

→ Activities for Slave Narratives: questions created for slave narratives with an emphasis on student empathy for reading this important part of the American canon. Add student choice!—these questions will work for any Slave Narrative.

 

→ Questions for Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl by Harriet Jacobs are included. This text is in the public domain. Included is material for the preface, introduction, and chapters 6-9.

 

→ Graphic organizers for studying faith and struggles by contrasting “The General History of Virginia” and “from Of Plymouth Plantation.” Answer keys included.

 

→ Phillis Wheatley analysis: questions for SIX poems of hers that require analysis and application of background information. Possible answers included.

 

→ The Declaration of Independence introductory activities and analytical questions.

 

→ Activities and questions for “Letter to her Daughter from the New White House” by Abigail Adams.

 

→ A brief assessment over American Literature Beginnings. Short answer and matching included (again, completely editable).

 

Goals of this American Literature Beginnings Unit:

√ To build connections. These activities require students to analyze and interpret the information from early time periods in American Literature and our understanding today.

 

√ To provide teachers with choice. Answer keys, links to additional ideas, and potential themes are included to aid with class discussions. Teaching ideas and writing prompts are included as well. You might not use all of this material, and you will have options.

 

√ To allow for flexibility. Since all of the material is editable, you should be able to use this early American literature material in a variety of ways.

 

√ Meet tough standards. The standards marked are quite specific, and these activities address those standards.

 

PLEASE NOTE: It is illegal for me to include excerpts, so I have included links for downloading the reading material. You should be able to access these excerpts, poems, and other materials, but please know, I have not included reading material in this download.