Scuff Posted March 23, 2016 Share Posted March 23, 2016 What curricula are there for lit at this age? What curricula in general are you using for high school? How do you put together english at this age? Feeling a little lost. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted March 23, 2016 Share Posted March 23, 2016 I don't use curricula. I put together my own courses. We read books, talk about books, write about books. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kassia Posted March 23, 2016 Share Posted March 23, 2016 I used Oak Meadow for 9th grade and will use Lightning Literature American Literature for 10th grade. Erica Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scuff Posted March 23, 2016 Author Share Posted March 23, 2016 I'm not confident in my abilities to create this myself ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Penguin Posted March 23, 2016 Share Posted March 23, 2016 Excellence in Literature gets many good reviews here. http://excellence-in-literature.com/ To pick or put together a credit, you will have to decide which parts of "English" you think your student needs. For example, Excellence in Literature addresses reading and writing about literature, but does not explicitly teach composition skills, rhetoric devices, grammar or mechanics. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brad S Posted March 23, 2016 Share Posted March 23, 2016 What curricula are there for lit at this age? What curricula in general are you using for high school? How do you put together english at this age? Feeling a little lost. Thanks. It's really hard to say without knowing how much time you have, what you've done, and what your DC's background is. Have you read The Well-Trained Mind by SWB yet? The WTM answers exactly this question in a general sense and IMO does an excellent job for literature/English. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori D. Posted March 23, 2016 Share Posted March 23, 2016 (edited) Typically, a high school English credit is composed of about 1/2 Composition (Writing Instruction and Assignments) and 1/2 Literature (reading classic literature and literary analysis) -- often a number of the Composition writing assignments "double dip" with the Literature and the student writes about the Literature. - Sometimes Grammar (which is learned for the support of Writing and Foreign Language) is included, as needed/desired. - Sometimes Spelling is included, if needed. - Vocabulary is an optional inclusion, frequently coming from the Literature, or possibly combined with Spelling. - Sometimes a unit, or semester, of Public Speaking or Speech & Debate is included as part of an English credit, as it requires similar thinking, organizing and writing skills as Writing/Composition. Some typical goals for Literature might include: - learn/use literary elements for discussion/analysis of Literature - learn about topics in Literature - exposure to a variety of types/forms of Literature (novels, novellas, short stories, poetry, plays, essays) - exposure to a variety of genres of Literature (realistic, epic/adventure, comedy, sci-fi, fantasy, etc.) - exposure to movements in Literature (Gothic, Romanticism, Naturalism, Magical Realism, etc.) - familiarity with the most commonly referenced works of literature for cultural literacy - college prep (read from "college bound reading lists" for familiarity/foundation for future class discussions and prep for works read in college) Typically, high school Writing/Composition focuses on essay writing, reader responses to prompts, and research papers with citations. But if you have a student interested in creative writing, then help the student develop the specific interest in poetry, fiction-writing, play-writing. Or, if the student has a specific interest in non-fiction, with journalism or technical writing. Some typical goals for Writing might include: - writing in the 4 areas of Descriptive, Narrative, Expository, Persuasive - writing various types of essays (compare/contrast; analysis; process; persuasive; etc.) - timed essays from a prompt for SAT/ACT test practice - written responses to discussion/analysis type of questions - writing science lab report - writing research papers - writing for oral presentations or power-point presentations- exposure to various types of "real life" writing (reports, articles, letters of recommendation/complaint/etc, business types of writing, resumes, etc.) There are a number of ways of accomplishing the English credit: Typical Writing Credits - Composition (the writing process; paragraphs; structure; various types of essays) - Creative Writing (poetry, fiction, plays, etc.) - Non-Fiction Writing (also called creative non-fiction: essays, reviews, biographies, speeches, etc.) - Journalism Typical Literature Credits - Intro to Literature - Lit: focus on type of literature (poetry, or, plays, or, short stories, etc.) - Lit: focus on a specific genre (ex: Dystopian Lit., or, Gothic Novels) - Lit: focus on author(s) works (ex: Shakespeare, or, Dickens, or British female 19th century authors, etc. - Ancient Literature - Medieval Literature - Renaissance Literature - Modern Literature - American Literature - British Literature - World Literature Topics NOT Counted Towards English Credit - Logic (elective credit) - Web Design (Fine Arts - OR - Elective) - Drama (Fine Arts credit) - Yearbook (extracurricular) There are a lot of programs out there that will hold your hand so you don't have to create this yourself. You can also outsource to an online class, local high school class, homeschool co-op, or dual enrollment. Frequently, the programs or the classes focus on either Literature or Writing, but some include both. You can also spend one year (one credit) focusing on Composition, and then in another year, focusing on the Literature. When I can, I'll pop back onto this this post and add a list of programs and online courses to get you started in your research. ? Welcome to planning for high school Literature! Warmest regards, Lori D. Edited November 8, 2018 by Lori D. 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mschickie Posted March 23, 2016 Share Posted March 23, 2016 I did Literature every year and then I also did a year that included grammar (Easy Grammar) and then a year with a writing focus (Jensen's Format Writing). I then chose 4-5 novels a year and did either Progeny Press or Novel Units literature guides to go along with them. Oh I also used Jensen's Vocabulary too. For sd's senior year I opted to use Movies as Literature which is a wonderful course. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom22ns Posted March 24, 2016 Share Posted March 24, 2016 Excellence in Literature gets many good reviews here. http://excellence-in-literature.com/ We used this. The kids liked the reading selections and the models for the papers. I like the grading rubrics, schedules, and easy to follow instructions. I also liked the selections, particularly the Intro to Lit level. It was a great choice for a freshman IMO. Many people also use programs that do English and history together such as My Father's World, Sonlight, Tapestry of Grace, and others. Many of these are Christian though, and I don't know if that works for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 25, 2016 Share Posted March 25, 2016 This has been a big hit with my dd this year: https://writingwithsharonwatson.com/illuminating-literature-when-worlds-collide/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scuff Posted March 25, 2016 Author Share Posted March 25, 2016 Thanks for the ideas so far. Especially, the huge, long detailed post :) Christian is ok. I've been thinking I should reread through the high school section of WTM. But, we're planning on moving this summer and it's already packed away. Perhaps it won't be too difficult to find. 😕 About Excellence in Lit. I was looking at that Saturday at a local little conference. I really liked the looks of it, and the rep showed me writing that went with it, which is nice to integrate those. But, then she showed me a huge set of teaching dvds that explained how to teach IEW, saying that I should watch those so that I'm familiar with the IEW way of teaching, etc. It got a bit overwhelming. We don't use IEW. My dds took a co-op class when they were younger, but I kinda hated it, then. (They were not ready for it all and kept making run on sentences trying to fit all the dress-ups and clauses, etc in) The ds I'm looking for lit for hasn't had any IEW (but he has had a lot of other writing) So, is EIL going to be doable? Will I have to immerse myself in the IEW ways? Thanks! And I welcome any other ideas, too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scuff Posted March 25, 2016 Author Share Posted March 25, 2016 More info: DS will be in 10th grade next year, but took a few high school level classes in 8th. He's taking a general "English 9" class right now that was grammar 1st semester & Lit secon with vocab and spelling worked in. Last year, he took a "High School Writing" class that had a little grammar and a lot of writing. He's also done R&S English 2-7. He hates grammar and I don't see a reason to make him do more, as he understands it pretty well. He's also a science kid. So, he doesn't really want to have input in this. He'll do what I assign, but doesn't want a say on what that is. (as long as it's not grammar lol) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Penelope Posted March 25, 2016 Share Posted March 25, 2016 I wasn't sure if you knew this from your post, so I hope I didn't misunderstand, but EIL is not the same thing at all as IEW. IEW does involve a set of DVDs and books and is also a larger company that sells programs for other parts of language arts, like editing and spelling. EIL is a set of books by Janice Campbell. One book for each year (although I think you could mix and match if you wanted) with assignments, examples, sample schedules, and web links for background information and other things like related movies and book suggestions. Different company, different approach. Not really a composition class, but literature that involves plenty of writing assignments. In EIL, you are the writing teacher, not the DVDs. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LisaKinVA Posted March 25, 2016 Share Posted March 25, 2016 I just ordered the literature from Textword Press, which is a lot like Mosdos. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom22ns Posted March 26, 2016 Share Posted March 26, 2016 About Excellence in Lit. I was looking at that Saturday at a local little conference. I really liked the looks of it, and the rep showed me writing that went with it, which is nice to integrate those. But, then she showed me a huge set of teaching dvds that explained how to teach IEW, saying that I should watch those so that I'm familiar with the IEW way of teaching, etc. It got a bit overwhelming. We don't use IEW. My dds took a co-op class when they were younger, but I kinda hated it, then. (They were not ready for it all and kept making run on sentences trying to fit all the dress-ups and clauses, etc in) The ds I'm looking for lit for hasn't had any IEW (but he has had a lot of other writing) So, is EIL going to be doable? Will I have to immerse myself in the IEW ways? Thanks! And I welcome any other ideas, too! You were at an IEW booth, not an EIL booth. IEW sells EIL, but it doesn't own it. We have never done a day of IEW, but have done multiple years of EIL with both kids. There is never one mention of any IEW writing thing (dress-ups etc) in EIL. They're just trying to sell their product. Ignore them and enjoy EIL. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scuff Posted March 26, 2016 Author Share Posted March 26, 2016 Oh my goodness, that's a weight off. I did think it was their product. I'll have to look at it more closely. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scuff Posted March 26, 2016 Author Share Posted March 26, 2016 Ok, so, would it be ok to jump in at American Lit with a 10th grader? Looks like it's a 5 book set and that's book 3. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scuff Posted March 26, 2016 Author Share Posted March 26, 2016 Lori D, thank you for all that. So very informative and helpful. Please do list out programs! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.