Honors English offers students a challenge with an accelerated learning experience of American Literature. The focus of the course involves closely reading and responding to a variety of texts, which include, but are not limited to The Way to Rainy Mountain; The Scarlet Letter; Of Mice and Men; Winesburg, Ohio; The Good Earth; A Raisin in the Sun; Slaughterhouse Five; The Bluest Eye; Their Eyes Were Watching God; The Crucible; One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest; Catcher in the Rye; Rocket Boys; Dream Catcher; The Joy Luck Club and a variety of others. The course will go in chronological order beginning with the Enlightenment and ending with the Contemporary period. The genres of literature include non-fiction, fiction, short stories, poetry and drama. Students can expect nightly reading assignments and daily discussions integrated with pre-reading vocabulary and during/post-reading writing assignments. Students will also take part in a variety of independent reading experiences that require them to engage in literature circles with their peers. Furthermore, students will be afforded the opportunity to study the film-literature aspect of American authors/playwrights in the Honors English class.