Introduction
Completing Lessons
As you begin your study of this semester of American literature, it will help you to first understand how the course’s lessons are organized. You should also understand how to approach three basic lesson tasks: reading, thinking, and writing.
Lesson Objectives
Each lesson begins with a list of lesson objectives. These will help you focus on what’s most important in the lesson and tell you what you should be able to do after completing the lesson.
Study Sessions
For your convenience, each lesson is divided into study sessions. Each study session covers a group of related passages and has two parts: a reading assignment and a discussion. Many study sessions also have optional Web activities.
- Reading Assignments: Lesson reading assignments are drawn from the course’s primary textbook, Prentice Hall Literature: The American Experience and the required novel, My Ántonia.
It’s essential that you carefully read—and then reread—all parts of the reading assignment. It’s also important for you to think about what you’re reading.
Your textbook does a fine job of helping to promote thinking by analyzing and raising questions about each reading. The “Build Skills” sections will help you look more deeply at and appreciate each reading. Mentally answering the questions in the margins and in the “Critical Reading” and “Apply the Skills” sections will also help you think more deeply about the readings and help you earn a better grade in the course. Be sure to use these and other features in the textbook to guide your reading and promote more meaningful understanding of the assigned selections. You’ve paid considerably more than a few dollars for the textbook; why not get your money’s worth out of it? - Overview: The overview briefly discusses the reading assignment and may provide information that the textbook does not cover. The overview will help focus your reading by pointing out the important things you should watch for in the reading assignment.
- Optional Web Activities: Many study sessions offer optional Web site activities that will reinforce your understanding of the historical and cultural background of reading selections as well as enhance your comprehension of authors and their works.
Although the activities are not required, I do urge you to try them, if you can. I think you will find them both interesting and enjoyable.
