The English 11/U.S. History double period allows students to explore the connections across the two subject areas. By teaching these courses as a block, students work with historical documents as literary documents. They explore literature as a reflection of history, reading speeches by the founders, autobiographies of major American figures and literary commentaries such as The Crucible. Then, students use writing to explain, interpret and analyze events. Much of the learning is project based. For example, one project has students compare depression era media and satire with media and satire from the current recession. Students create presentations and write summaries to teach their peers about major events leading up to the Civil War. Another project allows the student to be reporters filing video and transcripts from the battles of WWII. Students end the year with a research paper about a major event or issue from modern American history. The course allows a more holistic approach to content and competencies.
