The Bridge of San Luis Rey: a free high school literature study guide

The Bridge of San Luis Rey: a free high school literature study guide

This is a free The Bridge of San Luis Rey study guide, designed to be used over four weeks in a homeschool co-op or tutorial. I first read Thornton Wilder's The Bridge of San Luis Rey in high school, and his beautiful, heady, aphoristic writing has stayed with me ever since. It is the story [...]

To Kill a Mockingbird: A free high school literature unit for homeschool

To Kill a Mockingbird: A free high school literature unit for homeschool

If our country had a required reading novel for high school students, it would be To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. People have been trying to ban the book since it was published in 1960, and it does contain racial slurs that make it problematic to read with children today. However, it is an [...]

How I taught high school Modern Literature at our homeschool co-op

How I taught high school Modern Literature at our homeschool co-op

This year we are taking on Modern Literature at our high school co-op English class, and it's been the most fun list for me to put together so far. There are so many books that students will thoroughly enjoy in this category (no offense, Victorian Lit). In fact, my co-teacher and I couldn't narrow it [...]

Things Fall Apart: A free high school literature unit for teachers

Things Fall Apart: A free high school literature unit for teachers

Chinua Achebe is the great Nigerian author of the 1900s, and Things Fall Apart deserves a spot in any high school world literature course. In my opinion, at least. I've put together a free curriculum unit for Things Fall Apart with weekly homework, quizzes, and teaching notes that I used at our once-per-week homeschool co-op. [...]

My 10th grade World Literature course reading list

My 10th grade World Literature course reading list

I'll be teaching several English literature courses next year, and I'm very excited about the books in my 10th grade World Lit class. These aren't all heavy-hitters, but I think they're all books that will challenge or inspire the kids in some way. Our school year follows a calendar of four 8-week quarters. Here's what [...]

The Great Gatsby: A free high school literature unit for teachers

The Great Gatsby: A free high school literature unit for teachers

*This post includes a free high school literature teaching unit on The Great Gatsby. * Two lines of literature that I was required to read in high school have stuck with me until today...many years later. The first: "In the room the women come and go / talking of Michelangelo," from T. S. Eliot's classic [...]

What we’re reading: Everything Sad is Untrue by Daniel Nayeri

What we’re reading: Everything Sad is Untrue by Daniel Nayeri

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt USD-1291938587 ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. When I spotted Everything Sad is Untrue by Daniel Nayeri in nearly every "best of" YA list for 2020, [...]

How to read “Pride and Prejudice” along with the BBC miniseries

How to read “Pride and Prejudice” along with the BBC miniseries

This winter I'm reading through one of my favorite books of all time, Pride & Prejudice, with my thirteen-year-old daughter for her homeschool literature course. It's the perfect time of year for it, when we can pull up blankets by the fireplace and read out loud to each other...kind of like the Bennett sisters would have done. [...]

Our 2020 printable summer read-aloud list is here!

Our 2020 printable summer read-aloud list is here!

We're excited to share our 2020 printable summer read-aloud list with you all! With pools closing or limiting attendance, camps cancelled, and so many other disappointments for our kids this summer, we're trying to look for the silver lining...and (ahem) some activities that will keep them busy during these long days. So, we've created this [...]