Course Syllabus

American Literature: Syllabus: 2026-2027

room 230 

blue block

Teacher:  Ms. Dubé and Dr. Chisum

Office Hours:  Mondays, 2:30 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. or by appointment

Welcome:

Dear Students, 

I write to you today with great excitement. I’m eager to get to know each of you, to hear about your summers, to learn about your plans for this year and your hopes and dreams for the future.

I'm also interested to know what you thought of our summer reading book, Into the Wild, by Jon Krakauer.  (If you haven't read it yet, don't despair.  See me, and I'll help you get a copy that you can read over the weekend.) 

Let’s make this a year in which we connect, sharing both our inspirations and our frustrations.  You can reach me at dubec@wellesleyps.org. 

I look forward to meeting you.

Best, 

Ms. Dubé

Carol M. Dubé

(she, her, hers)

English Teacher

Wellesley High School 

Wellesley, MA

Course description:  In American literature, we delve deeply into many of our nation’s most acclaimed texts and examine the relationship between American writing and American identity.  We’ll start by considering our summer reading.  As we discuss these texts and every text thereafter, we’ll consider whether the characters’ struggles are universal or whether there is something particular to the American experience in them.  We’ll then read Angie Thomas’s The Hate U Give and Matthew Quick's The Silver Linings Playbook, looking to hone our close reading skills.  Then, we’ll analyze some of our most famous American speeches letters to understand the components of an effective argument.  In the spring, we'll apply these skills to American classics such as J.D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye and F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby.  

Sample Texts:

• F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby
• The Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King Jr., “I Have a Dream”
• The Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King Jr., “Letter from a Birmingham Jail”
• President Abraham Lincoln, “The Gettysburg Address”
• President Abraham Lincoln, “The Second Inaugural Address”
• J.D. Salinger, The Catcher in the Rye
• Angie Thomas, The Hate U Give
• Matthew Quick, The Silver Linings Playbook.

 

Objectives:

• Students will be able to respond creatively to literature and write creatively about their own experiences. 
• Students will be able to read analytically and will be able to explain this analysis in writing. 
• Students will be able to recognize, define, and utilize the literary and rhetorical devices that authors use to create meaning in their texts.
• Students will be able to synthesize the ideas from multiple texts. 
• Students will be able to speak in front of the class in a thoughtful, appropriate, and sophisticated manner.  

Homework:

As we read a text, there will be nightly reading homework.  The nightly reading will be quizzed in the next class without exception.  Students may ask to postpone a quiz, but all quizzes for a text must be complete by the time that we start the final assessment for that text or by 2:30 p.m. on the last day of the quarter, whichever comes first. 

Presentations:

Presentations must be made when the student's turn comes up, or they will be deducted by ten points.  If the student has an unexcused absence on the day of the assignment, then the presentation will lose ten points. 

Writing: 

Writing will be taught, practiced, and assessed in class. 

Managing Assignments: 

Canvas

• All assignments will be posted in Canvas.  
• Papers, written homework, and quizzes will be completed in class, turned in, and graded in Canvas.  Grades for these assignments will be posted on PowerSchool weekly.
• Presentations will be graded in class with the grade and feedback posted in PowerSchool within two weeks of presenting.  
• Membean study will be graded on the Membean website and posted in PowerSchool weekly. 
• Membean tests will be graded on the Membean website and posted in PowerSchool within a week.  
• Participation will be graded in class daily per the participation rubric (See Announcements.) with the grade posted in PowerSchool at the end of the quarter. (Students who are unsure of how they are doing in participation may meet with the teacher for feedback during office hours.) 

 

Wellesley High School Gmail

• I will also use Wellesley High School Gmail to communicate with you by email.

Teacher Absences:

When I am absent, I will post the day's assignment on Canvas, and it must be completed by the due date. 

Grading:  

Q1, Q2, Q3, Q4: (Worth 22% of Y1 Grade):  

Major Grades:  60%

Homework and Classwork:  20%

Participation:  20%

E1 (Worth 12% of Y1 Grade) 

Final Experience: 100%

“District accommodations (DCAP)Links to an external site. are available to all students, and in the 26-27 school year, WHS is committed to moving this forward with fidelity.  

While some accommodations can be offered at the moment, others require advanced notice. 

For example: Extended time on an in-class assessment is a collaborative decision made by the teacher, student, and family to meet individual student needs.  The WHS guideline is up to 25% extra time.  This accommodation relies on proactive student communication prior to the date of the assessment.  The student and teacher must establish how the accommodation will be provided.”