This unit is designed for an honors section of 11th grade American literature. I teach at the Sound School in New Haven Connecticut. The Sound School is a college preparatory school that offers a focus in aquaculture and agriculture. It is a magnet school. The student body comes from New Haven and twenty surrounding towns. Currently there are approximately three hundred students. Next year we will increase our size to three hundred and sixty. The individual class size is approximately 18 at this time. The campus is unique in that it consists of multiple buildings. Students travel from one building to the next when going to class. In addition to moving from class to class even in inclement weather, students are extremely active in their coursework. Students are frequently on the water. As a result we attract students that are used to an engaging curriculum. It can create a challenge to the core academic subjects that are taught in the classroom. In English I try to make the classroom as active and student-centered as possible. Unfortunately my classroom is small and somewhat cramped. Therefore it is difficult to maneuver some activities. Nevertheless it does not stop us. If need be we go outside.
I am designing this course for an 11th grade American Literature course. I will be teaching multiple sections, including honors. In addition to the honors section, there will be groups of students with a little less motivation.
We use a rotating block schedule at the Sound School. This means that the first two classes of the day are an hour and ten minutes, the third period is an hour and the final two class periods are fifty minutes. One class gets dropped each day.
