Need a year-long American literature curriculum map? We’ve got you covered.
Developing a comprehensive and captivating American Literature curriculum can feel like a monumental task. If you’re a seasoned educator, you might need a fresh angle or want to help your students make deeper connections. If you are new to teaching American Lit, the sheer volume of influential texts and historical contexts can be overwhelming. Plus, there is always the question of whether to tackle the material in a chronological order or take a theme-based approach.
Let’s break it all down here. We will focus on an engaging approach that balances a theme-based and chronological approach. We will also consider a few fantastic essential questions you can use, several engaging anchor texts, and discuss the skills that should be considered when teaching American literature.
The Cornerstone: Essential Questions
The most effective literature courses are built upon the foundation of Essential Questions (EQs). These aren’t simple recall questions; they are open-ended, thought-provoking inquiries that demand critical analysis, foster deep understanding, and encourage students to make connections between literature, history, and their own lives.
Having a compelling year-long EQ can tie your entire course together and can help students see why the texts they are reading and the discussions they are having relate to the real world.
For your American Literature course, consider an overarching, year-long Essential Question like:
“What is the American dream, and to what extent should we pursue it?”
This central question provides a powerful lens through which students can explore centuries of American thought and experience. It compels students not only to think about the concept of the American Dream (which appears in many American texts), but also to consider the potential problems inherent in pursuing it.
Each unit then dives into more specific EQs, allowing for focused inquiry within different literary periods and movements.
Connecting EQs and Anchor Texts in American Literature
While EQs are essential for your students to deeply engage in this course, the anchor texts you choose are just as important. The magic happens when your essential questions meet your carefully-chosen anchor texts. We’ve listed several anchor texts here that are accessible to high school students and allow them an entry point to examining the essential question of the unit.
Quick note: It’s important to also bring in auxiliary texts to each unit for more layered discussions of the unit’s essential question. By allowing students to wrestle with the unit’s EQ in light of several texts, their understanding of that EQ will be more nuanced.
Choosing accessible and relevant anchor texts is paramount. The anchor texts should be accessible, but challenging and layered so that students are set up well for meaningful class discussions and writing.
Here are the first few units in our curriculum. You can go here do download the full PDF for the year.
American Literature: Units, Anchor Texts, and Guiding Essential Questions
Here’s how your chosen texts can form compelling units, each driven by specific essential questions:
Unit 1: Narrative Texts From Many Voices
- Anchor Text(s): An assortment of short, narrative pieces representing many voices.
- Why These Texts? These texts are concise and accessible — a great way to start the school year. Students get a chance to review the narrative form and each text relates well to the EQ, which gives them a chance to start defining and questioning the American dream.
- Essential Question(s): What is the American dream? Who does it include and exclude?
Unit 2: Early American Leaders
- Anchor Text(s): Excerpts from the writings of early American leaders (Benjamin Franklin, Abigail Adams, Frederick Douglass and more)
- Why These Texts? It’s essential to study the work of leaders who helped shape America in its early days, and each of these texts is concise, accessible, and well-suited to the EQ for this unit. The EQ of the unit is also very relatable and lends itself well to current-day podcasts and TED talks on the topic of leadership.
- Essential Question(s): How do our leaders shape us? What does a strong leader do?
Unit 3: Examining Fear, Hysteria, and Villains
- Anchor Text: The Crucible by Arthur Miller
- Why this text? Miller’s play works well to read as a Reader’s Theater experience. This text allows you to easily move from short pieces (narratives and excerpts) to a longer, more complex text without overwhelming students. The Crucible is one of the most important texts in American literature and students can make connections with themes of fear, hysteria, and social pressure throughout the entire year after reading this text.
- Essential Questions: Who are America’s enemies, and what does this show us about our society? (This is a complex EQ because you can really steer students towards the idea that we often think of the enemies “out there,” when fear, paranoia, and hysteria cause neighbors to turn on each other.)
Interested in seeing the rest? Get access to the full curriculum map here.
What Skills Matter in American Literature?
While these texts and questions provide the content, a strong American Literature curriculum also prioritizes skills development. Throughout each unit, students should be actively engaged in:
- Close Reading and Textual Analysis: Deciphering complex literary techniques, symbolism, and the author’s craft.
- Evidence-Based Argumentation: Supporting claims with strong, relevant textual evidence.
- Research and Synthesis: Exploring historical context and connecting texts to broader social issues.
- Discourse and Debate: Engaging in thoughtful, respectful discussions and constructing compelling arguments.
- Creative and Expository Writing: Expressing understanding through various forms, from analytical essays to creative responses.
Inside the English Teacher Vault we include a summative for each unit that focuses primarily on one of these skills. All of the formative assessments in the unit strategically guide students so that they are prepared for the summative and showing mastery of the specific skill.
Begin Your American Lit Journey
Use this curriculum map as a jumping off point for your American Lit. course this year! By anchoring your instruction with powerful essential questions and allowing these iconic texts to speak to those inquiries, you’ll create a dynamic learning experience for your students.
If you are interested in gaining access to our full American literature curriculum which includes all the units listed here, you can join the English Teacher Vault membership with our $1 Trial! Take a look around, download a few units, and start using them with your students today!
