Moduel One Introduction Image.png

What do you appreciate most about modern America? Cable television? Super size grocery chains? Expansive shopping malls? In the 21st century, with bustling streets, fast food chains, glitzy shops, and 24 hour access to technology and information, it's hard to imagine when American was once a sparsely populated, naturally majestic landscape. It was that way just over 400 years ago when the first European settlers arrived in the hopes of finding a land to practice their religion freely. But long before they arrived, Native American tribes were already sowing the seeds of the American spirit. In this unit, you will discover the early Americans - from the Native American tribes to the European settlers - and learn about the literary contribution and influence they still have on our language today. The common theme that resonates is spiritual purpose and survival, and you will see this in the myths of the Native Americans, the journals of the first European explorers, and in the poetry of the devout Puritan settlers.

Image source: Jean Leon Gerome Ferris [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Do you enjoy travel and adventure? Does visiting places you have never visited before bring you a rush of excitement? What experiences have you had outside of your home town? The earliest Americans were certainly adventures, often leaving behind lives of comfort and stability and setting forth to a new, uncharted land to establish a new life. In this Module, you will learn about the early Americans throughout two lessons. Lesson 1 will examine Native American mythology. In lesson 2, you will see the journal of one of the most prominent writers of the 17th century.

Essential Question

As you discover this unit, reflect on this essential question: Why do people explore new worlds?

Common Core Standards covered in Module One

RL.11–12.4: Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in the text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone, including words with multiple meanings or language that is particularly fresh, engaging, or beautiful. (Include Shakespeare as well as other authors.)

RL.11–12.9: Demonstrate knowledge of eighteenth-, nineteenth-, and early-twentieth-century foundation works of American literature, including how two or more texts from the same period treat similar themes or topics.

RI.11–12.6: Determine an author’s point of view or purpose in a text in which the rhetoric is particularly effective, analyzing how style and content contribute to the power, persuasiveness, or beauty of the text.

W.11–12.2: Write informative/explanatory texts to examine and convey complex ideas, concepts, and information clearly and accurately through the effective selection, organization, and analysis of content.

SL.11–12.1: Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts, using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence.

L.11–12.3: Apply knowledge of language to understand how language functions in different contexts, to make effective choices for meaning or style, and to comprehend more fully when reading or listening.

Directions for completing this module

You will begin with a series of lesson notes. These are presented and designed to help you prepare to evaluate the texts you will engage with during the practice and mastery portions of the lesson. After you review the notes, you will then complete a brief formative assessment to review your understanding of the concepts.

Once you've taken the formative assessment, you will move on to lesson practice and apply your skills through grappling with text. Most practice lessons will guide you in understanding the broader concepts in the reading.

You will then utilize this practice to be creative and critically analyze at the mastery level. Every module, including this one, has two lessons to follow. At the end of the second lesson, you will complete a post-assessment that will show cumulative understanding of the concepts and skills from this module. If you do not master the concepts at mastery or post-assessment level, remediation may be offered. This will present the concepts to you in a different way.