High School American Literature

Conventional Track

$579.00 for LIVE

$249.00 for Self-Paced

This concise survey of American literature begins with folk-tales from the indigenous people of North America. We read poetry from the colonial period as well as some writings by the founding fathers. We’ll cover some of the earliest American writers -- Irving, Poe, and Hawthorne -- works by Dickinson, Whitman, Melville, and Twain, a sampling of 20th century writers like Fitzgerald, Faulkner, and Hemingway, ending with two works by black American authors and an early 21st century novel.

This class meets on Wednesdays at 2 pm, Eastern Standard Time.

Note: Space is limited. Be sure to enroll early to secure your spot.

  • STUDENT EXPECTATIONS

    • Attend a one-hour, weekly, live course session

    • Complete each week’s assigned reading

    • Take a short, online, comprehension quiz each week

    • Answer an online, discussion question each week

    • Submit two literary analysis papers and one creative project

  • • Students have access to recorded lectures on each reading assignment.

    • Students have access to weekly reading pacing guides and auto-graded quizzes.

    Although we recommend following the syllabus in order, students are free to choose what to read and when.

    • This class does not include live class sessions or teacher support. Learn more about self-paced classes here.

    • All recordings will be available from September 2 through the end of the following August.

  • There are many options for acquiring these books. You can purchase them from a local or online retailer. You can check them out of the library. For most, you can download electronic versions or access them online and read them on your computer screen.

    If a particular edition or translation is listed, it is important to acquire that version. If no specifics are included, any version will work.

    The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne

    Moby Dick, by Herman Melville

    The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain

    The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald

    Go Down, Moses, by William Faulkner

    The Old Man and the Sea, by Ernest Hemingway

    The Fire Next Time, by James Baldwin

    Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury

    Peace Like a River, by Leif Enger