Tuesday Literature and Composition Classes
AMERICAN LITERATURE
Grades 9 to 12 will be offered for the 2009-2010 school year in place of British Lit.
BRITISH LITERATURE & COMPOSITION
Grades 10 to 12
Semester Fee: $70
This is a rhetoric level course. We will read whole books/literary works before engaging in each lesson. Genres we will
cover include narrative prose, essays, poetry, and drama. Some lessons will be short, and others will span over 2-3 weeks.
The student will be asked to participate in higher-level thinking and problem-solving. We will write one to two essays per
week. Class time will consist of lively discussion and critique of the readings. We will converse about the major worldivews
of authors, both past and present. Before taking this course, students need to be able to write a grammatically sound and
cohesive paper. Homework will consist of an average of 70-100 pages of reading a week, and one to two one-page essays a week.
This course includes Beowulf, Chaucer, English church history, Shakespeare, Hardy, Dickens, Austen, Lewis, Shelley, Stevenson,
and many more.
Note to Parents: We will continue instruction in writing a cohesive essay and answering essay questions. Students will
write a variety of essays including a research paper in the spring. This class includes recitations, oral reports, poetry
writing, and lots of writing and reading. Students are encouraged to take notes in their books. Students need to have mastered
the five paragraph essay before taking this course. We will move beyond the essay format. We read an average of 9 novels and
2 plays throughout the year. Class time will consist of lively discussion of the novels and instruction and critique of writing.
This is an upper-level high school course, ideally suited for the student who has already had another literature/writing course.
REQUIRED TEXTS: British Literature--Encouraging Thoughtful Christians to be World Changers by James P. Stobaugh. Order
from Rainbow Resource Center, #001562, $16.95 (do
not purchase older editions.) Also, the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, 6th Edition, ISBN 0873529863 (if you
have an older edition, you will need a newer one; usage rules change.) These can be purchased used online for around $8. We
will be using Dover Editions for the novels which are $1 to $3 each. We plan on reading approximately 3 novels and 1 play
per semester.
SHAKESPEARE
Grades 9 to 12
Semester Fee: $64 plus $15 book fee
Studying the Bard doesn’t have to be hard! Come and learn how to understand the works of the greatest writer of
the English language. Be intimidated no longer. Students will study six Shakespeare plays during the course of the year, with
accompanying writing assignments. Each play will culminate with a test or an essay. (There will be some writing, though it
is not the main emphasis of the course.) Plays to be studied are tentatively: As You Like It, The Tempest, Romeo and Juliet,
Henry IV, Henry V, and Hamlet.
REQUIRED TEXTS: Texts will be provided by the instructor.
ESSENTIAL LITERATURE OF WESTERN CIVILIZATION: THE GREAT BOOKS
Grades 9 to 12
Semester Fee: $85
Class Size: Min. 5
Western civilization (our Christian culture) was shaped by a core of intellectual thought -- commonly called the “classics.”
These are great works of literature which have survived the test of time and still, after hundreds (sometimes thousands) of
years, dictate the reading lists of colleges, universities, and educated men. Students will read selected works, in their
entirety, from the great books. Students will be asked to briefly research the cultural/historical context of the work and
to acquaint themselves with the intention of the author composing the work. Lively discussion should ensue! A prior read of
Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey (or at least an understanding of their themes) is recommended. All books will be available
at the local library or on the Internet. A tentative list of texts will be available at registration. Acquisition of the texts
is the student’s responsibility; no special editions are required. NO abridged editions, please.
LITERATURE AND WRITING
Grades 5 to 8
Semester Fee: $65*
Class Size: Min. 8, Max. 15
We will read several great books and complete study guides written by Prodigy Press that include comprehension and vocabulary
questions. The assigned books are: The Giver, Out of the Dust, The Hiding Place, The Secret Garden, Across Five Aprils, The
Door in the Wall, and Bridge to Terabithia. Students will need to have access to the books, but I will provide the study guides.
There will be corresponding creative writing assignments.
*Covers study guides, fair entry, and copy fees.
REQUIRED MATERIALS: A three-ring binder and a dictionary.
Updated September 2008
