Fulfill your High School American Literature requirement at home with training from Penn Foster High School. We’ll guide you through the course with class notes, textbooks and unlimited instructor support. Each lesson has been specifically designed for independent study – you’ll learn American Literature in no time.
Course Description
This course introduces students to writers from the major periods of American literature. The course includes a study of literary terms and the structural elements of the genres of literature, along with analyses of selected works—to help students read more effectively for both knowledge and enjoyment.
The course comes with seven texts:
A study guide includes helpful introductions to the lessons, background information on the writers, reading assignments, self-checks, and seven exams.
Course Objectives
Upon completion of this course, students will be able to:
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Read a variety of literature more effectively, for both knowledge and enjoyment
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Use their increased vocabulary to discuss, write about, and understand literature
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Explain the characteristics of several genres—the short story, novel, poetry, drama,
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and nonfiction—and perhaps improve their writing in one or more of these categories
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Appreciate and explain the importance of the written word
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Describe what it means, and has meant, to be an American
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Discuss such famous authors as Washington Irving, Helen Keller, Eugene O’Neill,
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W. E. B. Dubois, Herman Melville, Edgar Allan Poe, and E. E. Cummings
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Compare the writing styles of these authors to those of contemporary writers
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Analyze poems, short stories, novels, articles, essays, and other types of writing
Course Outline
Lesson 1: Introduction to American Literature The Short Story, Part 1
Reading Levels: Literal, Inferential, and Critical; Reading Short Stories; Vocabulary; A Reading Procedure; Introduction to the Short Story; Plot and Conflict; Point of View; Background: Washington Irving; “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Rip Van Winkle”; Characterization; Symbolism; Background: Edgar Allan Poe; “The Tell-Tale Heart”; Analyses of These Stories
Lesson 2: The Short Story, Part 2
Theme; Background: Ambrose Bierce; “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge; Background: Herman Melville; “Bartleby”; Structure; Background: Mary Freeman; “A New England Nun”; Background: Charlotte Perkins Gilman; “The Yellow Wallpaper”; Analyses of These Stories
Lesson 3: The Novel
Introduction to the Novel; Plot; Character; Setting(s); Theme; Narrative Point of View; History of the Novel; Genres; Background: Willa Cather; O Pioneers!; Analysis of It
Lesson 4: Poetry, Part 1
Elements of Poetry; What Is Poetry?; Figurative Language; Types of Poetry; Meter; Verse Forms; “since feeling is first” (Cummings); “Ars Poetica” (MacLeish); “To the Right Honourable William, Earl of Dartmouth” (Wheatley); “Misgivings” (Melville); “I Sit and Look Out” and from “Song of Myself” (Whitman); “I, Too” (Hughes); “Bury Me in a Free Land” (Harper); “Chicago” (Sandburg); “Shine, Perishing Republic” (Jeffers); “The Negro Speaks of Rivers” (Hughes); Analyses of These Poems
Lesson 5: Poetry, Part 2
Review of Elements: Diction, Structure, Meter, Sound, Subject, Theme, Type, and Tone; “This Is Just to Say” (Williams); “In a Station of the Metro” (Pound); “Fire and Ice,” “Mending Wall,“ and “The Road Not Taken” (Frost); “Sympathy” (Dunbar); “Because I could not stop for Death” and “Success is counted sweetest” (Dickinson); “The Unknown Citizen” (Auden); Analyses of These Poems
Lesson 6: Nonfiction
Introduction to Nonfiction; Informational, Technical, and Personal Nonfiction; Background: W. E. B. Du Bois; The Souls of Black Folk; Analyses of His Essays; Background: Helen Keller; The Story of My Life; Analysis of It
Lesson 7: Drama
The Elements of Drama; History of Drama; Nature of Drama; How to Read a Play; Background: Eugene O’Neill; Beyond the Horizon; Analysis of It
How it Works
After registering for the American Literature course, all of your learning materials will be shipped directly to you. If you like, you can also go to our website and download some of your study materials to get a head start. Your learning materials will guide you through the course content, explaining concepts and operations through a series of lessons. After each lesson, you’ll take an exam which you can submit by phone or our website. As you pass each lesson, you’ll proceed to the next topic until you complete the course.
There are seven exams that need to be passed to complete your course in American Literature and you’ll have up to 15 weeks to complete the course.
Support
If you should ever need help with your studies, you can e-mail or call our instructors who will gladly help you with any questions that you might have.
Study Time
Since there is no set class schedule, you study when and where it’s convenient for you. You can complete your course as quickly as you’d like.
Completion
When you have successfully completed your course, you will receive a letter of completion along with an official transcript listing your completed course(s) and grades. You can apply your course towards our Diploma Program or a diploma from your local High School (be sure to check with your school authorities regarding mandatory attendance policies and whether they agree that the Penn Foster High School Program is acceptable toward the completion of your high school education).
Accreditation
Penn Foster High School is accredited by The Middle States Commission on Secondary Schools; has met the high standards of integrity and performance set by the Accrediting Commission of the Distance Education and Training Council (DETC), Washington D.C., and is licensed by the Pennsylvania State Board of Private Licensed Schools.
Whether you’re looking for accelerated studies or credit recovery, regionally and nationally accredited Penn Foster High School provides the courses you need to complete your High School Diploma.
