welcome to english 11 honors

Welcome to English 11 HonorsMrs. Lynn Bonakdar

Room 203

Please write your child’s name, your name, and anything you think I should know about your son or

daughter. These are confidential and will not be shared with students.

Thank you!

Who Am I?

• Four years at Stony Brook (Miss Bennett)• Fifth year at Westford Academy

American LiteratureHow does the social, political, economic and cultural landscape of American society shape its literature?

How does literature, music, photography, painting, film and architecture from each major period reflect American

ideas and values of the time?

The American DreamHow does the American Dream reflect the values of our

culture? How has this Dream evolved throughout the course of our

nation’s history? How do authors use literature to comment on the values of

our society?

1st Quarter Curriculum• Intro to American Literary Periods

• Historical context and art American values particular to each period

• Literary Period Museum (Monday)

• Summer reading, Into the Wild and The Awakening• Focus on the search for identity, the impact of society on the

individual, and motifs• Transcendentalism—focus on Emerson and Thoreau• Analytical essay on The Awakening: Thinking beyond the 5-

paragraph essay!

• Their Eyes Were Watching God• Harlem Renaissance• Dialectic journals (interacting with text to make meaning)• Zora Neale Hurston’s use of folklore, dialect and figurative language• Literary criticism presentation and in-class essay test

2nd Quarter Curriculum• The Great Gatsby and Modernism• Modern thought as seen in historical

context, philosophy, architecture, film and art

• Trace modernist motifs in The Great Gatsby and then in Citizen Kane

• Article for Modernist Magazine tracing modernist elements in the novel and film

3rd Quarter Curriculum• The Scarlet Letter• Most challenging reading of the year• Puritanism and the origins of the American Dream• Early American reading selections through the Age

of Reason • Student student-led chapter analysis will be

presented in class and posted on class blog• Personal narrative and analytical essay

4rd Quarter Curriculum• Death of a Salesman• Photography project: personal interpretation of the

American Dream • Reader’s theater in class• Essay

• Poetry• Reading and writing• Formal explication

Sadlier-Oxford Vocabulary

• Quiz roughly every two weeks• Some form of practice is required• No cramming! SATs are coming

quickly!

Exams• Mid-year covers Q1 and Q2• Final covers Q3 and Q4• Both contain essay component,

vocabulary, and literature

Contact InformationMrs. Lynn Bonakdar

Lbonakdar@westfordk12.us978-692-5570 x331

http://mrsbonakdar.weebly.com/