| This site
is designed to help your students get the most out of their
American literature class. Here they 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. Instructors
who have a computer with Internet connection and a projector
can use sections of this website for in-class activities.
The Site Has Three Main Sections:
Review: Summaries of the six period introductions
help students 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 students to test their
knowledge of the period introductions. Students can take each
quiz as many times as they would like and can choose to answer
as few as 10 questions. The questions will appear in a different
order each time they take the quiz. If you wish, you may require
your students to e-mail their quiz results to you. An optional
form appears at the end of the quiz. The student fills in
the professor's email address and his or her email address
and name. Included in the email you will receive is the percentage
of questions the student answered correctly, a repetition
of the question, the correct answer, and the student's answer.
While these quizzes obviously should not be used for assessment
purposes, many professors find that requiring students to
e-mail the results encourages them to review.
A brief Making Connections section offers
ideas about how to make connections between the five literary
periods included in the Anthology.
Explorations: The Explorations are intended
to help students think creatively about the literature in
the Norton Anthology, to explore the vitality and uniqueness
of these texts and authors, and to think about connections
among various writers and literary periods. You might suggest
that students read the explorations to test their 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 students 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
students to see relationships among writers and literary periods
and to generate ideas for papers and for independent research.
Other Useful Features of the Site:
Timelines with Historical-Literary Contexts:
There is one easy-to-navigate timeline for each of the five
volumes.
Author Biographies: Students 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.
We have made every effort to include links to reputable sites,
but because of the nature of the Internet some of these links
may change unexpectedly. If you discover a broken or inappropriate
link, please let us know.
Additional Resources: Be sure to visit the
wonderfully rich American Passages website at www.learner.org
(coming in January 2003). Here you will find an Online Archive
that provides searchable access to primary source materials
for classroom activities and 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 both instructors
and students 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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