American Heritage (Honors English 11) is an honors level English course (grade 11) designed to reflect the best-practice methods (as defined by the National Council of Teachers of English), the national, state and local standards and the literacy initiative of the Londonderry School District. This course will provide opportunities for students who excel in English to become reflective and independent thinkers who are willing and eager to take intellectual risks.

In this course, we will further develop our critical thinking skills as we read and respond to selected literary works from each of the major periods in American literature. We will also continue to develop and expand upon our writing skills through the writing of a variety of expositional and creative papers with a special focus on the research process and the thesis-based research paper. Critical analysis of film, student presentations, and academic discourse activities will provide us with opportunities to further develop literacy in a variety of media beyond print. 

As an honors course, the pace is brisk, challenging and involves a consistent homework load of both short-term and long-term assignments.