Famous American Authors
American Literature Unit
English Language Arts – 11th Grade
Mr. Omar Martinez
Objectives
• By the end of class, students will know background information about famous
American author.
• By the end of class, students will be able to identify works from famous American
Authors.
Objectives California Common Core State Standards
• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.11-12.7.
and • Integrate and evaluate multiple sources of information presented in different media
or formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively) as well as in words in order to address a
question or solve a problem.
Standards • CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.11-12.2.
• Integrate multiple sources of information presented in diverse formats and media
(e.g., visually, quantitatively, orally) in order to make informed decisions and solve
problems, evaluating the credibility and accuracy of each source and noting any
discrepancies among the data.
• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.11-12.5.
• Make strategic use of digital media (e.g., textual, graphical, audio, visual, and
interactive elements) in presentations to enhance understanding of findings,
reasoning, and evidence and to add interest.
In the next minute, write down as many things as you
can about a famous/favorite author. (ex: Name of
author, books, facts, etc.)
Quick-Write
and Pair-
Share: Next, turn to a partner and share your information to
each other.
Famous
Authors Finally, write down some information about your
partner’s author that stood out to you. (ex: Why did
they choose that author? Have you heard about the
author before?)
Educational Hook (Interprersonal)
Table of Authors
Edgar Allan Poe Walt Whitman Ernest Hemingway Toni Morrison
Photograph
Background
Information
Writing Style
Famous Works
Reminder Visual
Table Organizer
Edgar Allan Poe
• January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849
• American short-story writer, poet, critic, and editor.
• “Father of the detective story”
• Joined the army due to poverty.
• Married his younger cousin Virginia.
• Cause of death uncertain.
Edgar Allan Poe – Style/Works
Famous works
Writing Style • The Raven
• Narrative poem about a talking raven draws the
• Many of his works were romantic writings. main character to madness
• Romanticism – movement that focused on • The Tell-Tale Heart
emphasizing, inspiration, subjectivity, and the
primacy of the individual • Short gothic fiction which deals with sanity and
murder.
• Wrote about the occult, satanic ideas, terror, and
sadness. • The Masque of the Red Death
• Short gothic fiction which is believed to be about
the inevitability of death.
Edgar Allan Poe – Short Biography
• Watch the short biography provided about
Edgar Allan Poe.
• Write down any information which stands out
to you.
• Try to find an image you can use on your table.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-387NMCR6w&t=1s
Dual-Coding
Edgar Allan Poe – Visual Reminder
Now you try! Example Images
• Using the information presented earlier
and on the video, what images come to
mind which you can use to remember
Edgar Allan Poe or his works?
• Draw any images which would help you
on the table provided earlier.
Progress Monitoring Question
Walt Whitman
• May 31, 1819 – March 26, 1892
• American renaissance poet,
journalist, essayist.
• Labeled as “The father of free
verse”
• Gained more recognition in
Europe than US.
• Died after his health continued to
decline after a stroke.
Walt Whitman – Style/Works
Famous Work
• Leaves of Grass
Writing Style • Collection of poetry.
• Influenced by the Romantic movement in literature and • Whitman’s most famous and popular work.
art.
• Went through nine variations all throughout his life.
• Believed the poet should “Express his own personality in
his verse” • Franklin Evans
• Extensively used free verse. • Temperance novel
• Poems are filled with religious faith, fertility, sex, nature. • First novel by Whitman.
• Rag-to-riches story.
Walt Whitman – Short Biography
• Watch the short biography provided about
Walt Whitman.
• Write down any information which stands out
to you.
• Try to find an image you can use on your table.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nla-JDEp4jw&t=1s
Dual-Coding
Walt Whitman – Visual Reminder
Now you try! Sample Images
• Using the information presented earlier and on
the video, what images come to mind which
you can use to remember Walt Whitman or his
works?
• Draw any images which would help you on the
table provided earlier.
Progress Monitoring Question
Ernest Hemingway
• July 21 1899 – July 2, 1961
• American novelist and short-story writer.
• Awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature.
• Noted for the intense masculinity of his
writings and his adventurous life.
• Large influence on American and British
fiction in 20th century.
• Died by suicide.
Ernest Hemingway – Style/Works
Works
Style • The Sun Also Rises
• Writings deal with war. • Early and enduring modernist novel. Hemingway’s
• Economical and understated style. greatest work. Characters are based off real people
and events.
• Reflections to his experiences of war.
• The Farewell to Arms
• Developed the “iceberg theory” • Set during Italian World War 1. First-person account of
• Facts float above water, the supporting structure and an American serving in the Italian Army.
symbolism operate out of sight.
• The Old Man and the Sea
• Simplistic prose style. • Last major work by Hemingway. Tells story of an
aging Cuban Fisherman who struggles with a marlin.
Ernest Hemingway – Short Biography
• Watch the short biography provided about
Ernest Hemingway.
• Write down any information which stands out
to you.
• Try to find an image you can use on your table.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0JQDe0GCNHg
Dual-Coding
Ernest Hemingway – Visual Reminder
Now you try! Sample Images
• Using the information presented earlier and on
the video, what images come to mind which
you can use to remember Ernest Hemingway
or his works?
• Draw any images which would help you on the
table provided earlier.
Progress Monitoring Question
Toni Morrison
• February 18, 1931 -
• American novelist, editor, and professor.
• Nobel Prize and Pulitzer Prize- winning novelist.
• Selected for the Jefferson Lecture
• The highest honor for achievement in the humanities.
• Received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2012.
Toni Morrison – Style/Works
Works
• The Bluest Eye
• First novel by Toni Morrison. Tells the story of a young
Style African-American girl with an inferiority complex
following the Great Depression.
• Known for epic themes, exquisite language, and richly
detailed African-American characters. • Beloved
• Strong ties to politics and social issues. • Set after the American Civil War. Inspired by the story
of Sethe, a slave who escaped slavery in 1856.
• “Postmodern Feminist”
• A Mercy
• Story of mothers and daughters and primitive
America. Reveals what lies beneath the surface of
slavery.
Toni Morrison – Short Biography
• Watch the short biography provided about
Toni Morrison.
• Write down any information which stands out
to you.
• Try to find an image you can use on your table.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xxVUB4g2IUI&t=1s
Dual-Coding
Toni Morrison – Visual Reminder
Now you try! Sample Images
• Using the information presented earlier and on
the video, what images come to mind which
you can use to remember Toni Morrison or her
works?
• Draw any images which would help you on the
table provided earlier.
Progress Monitoring Question
Closing Activities
Now you try!
Sample Table: Writing Response:
• Using the author that you shared with a • Following this presentation, is there an author
partner earlier, fill out the following chart with that we discussed that interests you further?
information about the author you chose. What did you like about the
author/presentation that interested you?
Name Background Info Writing Style Famous Works
Culminating Question/Activity
