Dear Families, We are already halfway through the school year! Thank you for a wonderful first semester, and we are encouraged and excited for an even stronger second semester. This unit focuses on literature written by American authors between 1929 and 1960. Focusing on the period surrounding the Dust Bowl and the Great Depression, students will read a variety of relevant historical texts—including historical fiction (short stories), memoirs, poetry, satire, and informational texts—that reveal the impact of war on the literary imagination in the United States during this time period. During the second half of this unit, students will develop a deeper understanding of author’s craft as they write their own literary analysis essays over a significant theme in a student-selected novel. This task will support them in building their analytical writing skills while also developing a greater appreciation for the texts they read. Students will have two writing assessments that will be given before and after the writing unit. The first writing assessment will be administered at the beginning of the unit, and the second writing assessment will be administered at the end of the unit. The second assessment will be graded using a common standards-based rubric. The district common reading assessment will be during this six weeks as well. We encourage you to speak with your students about what they are reading, writing, and learning in class. Be sure to continually review their performance via Skyward Access. Respectfully, EMS-ISD 11th Grade ELA Teachers