What’s a good high school Literature course of study?
What’s a Good High School Literature Course of Study?
In my years of advising homeschool high school families, I have often been asked: What’s a good high school literature course of study?
My answer, of course, is “There’s not ONE right way to homeschool!”
With that in mind we define 3 things:
- The teen’s interests
- The teen’s goals (college bound? science major? English? theology?)
- The teen’s abilities
- How many teens in your family will be studying together?
Then, you plan with those things in mind. Here are some good courses of study that our 7Sisters and local homeschool group classes have followed. Note that our teens and homeschoolers in local group classes have used 7Sisters’ Literature Study Guides because:
- They are NO busy-work
- They are based on real books, not excerpts
- They are adaptable to different academic abilities from average to honors
- They have a don’t-kill-the-book attitude
- They concentrate on one or two themes rather than overwhelm the student with too much material
- They include background information, vocabulary from the book, comprehension and inferential question and answer key
- They are vetted by teens
For teens who need to start with a little adventure and inspiration, then grow into more challenging topics:
- 9th grade: Great Christian Writers
- 10th grade: American Literature
- 11th grade: British Literature
- 12th grade: World Literature
For teens who want a full year of C.S. Lewis’ work, they will often swap out 11th grade or 12th grade Literatures for an in-depth year on this important author, including these books (all my kids loved their Lewis year):
- Chronicles of Narnia (in the fall semester)
- Screwtape Letters (in the fall semester)
- Space Triology (in the winter/spring semester)
For teens who are great readers, many start in 8th grade:
- 8th grade: Great Christian Writers
- 9th grade: American Literature
- 10th grade: British Literature
- 11th grade: World Literature
- 12th grade: C.S. Lewis Literature
Some teens can’t stand the idea of being pinned down to ONE topic for the entire year and do better with a mixed-subject bundle of literature (and writing).
Click image for full description.- Introduction to Literature & Composition Semesters A and B
- Intermediate Literature & Composition Semesters A and B
- Advanced Literature & Composition Semesters A and B
For some teens, a good course of study is simply allowing them to mix and match on their own with some free reading and at least one study guide per month for academic-skill growth.
There’s not ONE right high school Literature course of study. Give yourself the freedom to experiment! Download your Literature Study Guides and you’ll be ready for next year!
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