· CALIFORNIA AUTHORS (Year) Grade Level: 11-12 Prerequisite: Completion of English 2. All of the literature read in this course has been authored by Californians. We will look at the Monterey Bay Area when it was inhabited by Native Americans. We will read literature with settings in Northern and Southern California, as well as the Central Valley. We will examine the dreams of Californians and realities of California, as reflected in stories, poems, novels, drama, and non-fiction. A few of the units to be covered are the San Francisco "beat" poets, Santa Cruz County poets, Steinbeck, controversial issues in California, and a unit on the hard-boiled detective mystery. Students will self-select and evaluate mysteries that they read outside of class. Students will write evaluation, interpretation, and controversial issue essays, as well as reflections on what it means to be a Californian.

Christi Chrutchfield- Andrew Lachman-