| This site
is designed to help you get the most out of your American
literature class. Here you can test your knowledge
of the Norton Anthology of American Literature
period introductions, generate ideas for paper topics, begin
a research project, or learn something new about an American
author or literary work.
Organization of the Site:
Review: Summaries of the six period introductions
help you to understand the historical and cultural background
of the texts included in the Norton Anthology of American
Literature, 6e. A helpful list of the key points covered precedes
each summary.
Self-grading multiple-choice quizzes (25-45
quiz questions per NAAL volume) allow you to test your knowledge
of the period introductions. You can take each quiz as many
times as you’d like and you can choose to answer as
few as 10 questions. The questions will appear in a different
order each time you take the quiz. If your teacher has requested
that you do so, you can e-mail him or her the results of your
quiz after you take it.
A brief Making Connections section offers
ideas about how to make connections between the five literary
periods included in the Norton Anthology.
Explorations: The Explorations are intended
to help you think creatively about the literature in the Norton
Anthology of American Literature, to explore the vitality
and uniqueness of these texts and authors, and to think about
connections among various writers and literary periods. You
can also read the Explorations to test your understanding
of a particular work, generate ideas for writing, begin a
research project, or prepare for an essay test. There are
at least two question-based explorations for each author covered.
Some questions are intended to help you read closely; others
consider complex themes of these texts or suggest broader
connections to the American experience.
Topics: Five substantive online essays--one
for each volume of the Norton Anthology of
American Literature--help you to see relationships among writers
and literary periods and to generate ideas for writing and
for independent research.
Other Useful Features of the Site:
Timelines with Historical-Literary Contexts:
You’ll find one easy-to-navigate timeline for each of
the five volumes.
Author Biographies: You may enjoy browsing
this collection of short biographies of selected authors included
in The Norton Anthology of American Literature.
Web-Based Resources: The Explorations include
links to sites relevant to a particular author, work, or subject.
Additional Resources: Be sure to visit the
wonderfully rich American Passages website at www.learner.org
(coming in January 2003). Here you’ll find an Online
Archive that provides searchable access to primary source
materials for student research, including visual art; newspaper
articles; musical recordings and spoken-word sound files;
government documents; diaries; maps; photos of cultural artifacts.
Media Composition Software allows you to compose audio and
visual presentations using materials in the archive.
For questions or comments about this site, please e-mail Eileen
Connell at eme@wwnorton.com
For desk and exam copy requests and customer service issues,
please contact your local
W. W. Norton Sales Representative
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