Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

Activity, Change, Progress

Graduate a Homeschooler

Best High School Homeschool Curriculum Packages (Accredited and Not Accredited)

| Leave a Comment
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

With the explosion of homeschooling, more families need access to high school homeschool curriculum packages. Check out my how to homeschool high school page for awesome tips.

If a student chooses to do a boxed or all-in-one homeschool program, there is still enough room in lesson planning to make it uniquely yours.

Best High School Homeschool Curriculum Packages (Accredited and Not Accredited)

Let’s face it, life can throw you a curve ball like it did me and I needed the help of laid out plans for my teen.

Besides, using a high school curriculum package doesn’t mean you have to use it exactly the way it’s laid out. That is unless you are using an accredited school.

First, let’s sort out this mystery about the term accredited.

High School Homeschool Curriculum Packages

Back in the day when I coached families whose student wanted to go to the military they had to have a diploma from an accredited school.

That has now changed.

Accredited has NOTHING to do with curriculum. The term accredited applies to a school which voluntarily decided to meet learning standards with certain agencies.

However, if you choose an accredited high school, your teen has to complete and have graded by the school certain parts of the courses.

This is the only way for the school to maintain their accredited status.

Accredited is a way that some parents know that a certain standard is being maintained.

Whether it’s teaching to excellence, credentialed teachers, or higher critical thinking ability, some families are of the opinion that accreditation is a higher standard.

More Homeschool High School Teen Elective Resources

It’s up to you to determine if that standard is high or as high as a private school which is not accredited.

In my 25 years of homeschooling, I’ve seen accredited schools which have too much busy work for my standard.

More Creative Solutions for High School Posts

The same can be said about a parent who has busy work for a teen that is not using an accredited school. A parent may feel that more is best and try to push a kid to be an overachiever.

Accredited and Not Accredited High Schools

On the other hand, I’ve also seen families who do not use accredited schools and their children entered college on full scholarships. As well, teens can enter 4 year universities without accreditation.

Homeschoolers who use accredited schools normally have particular reasons.

  • Because record keeping is done, you may need to show records to an ex-spouse.
  • Some families want to maintain certain standards between schools.
  • In addition, some homeschoolers have had problems getting into technical schools because they didn’t use an accredited school. Although, it’s not required, some technical schools are not informed and want diplomas only from an accredited school. Your best bet is to ask ahead of time if your teen pursues this track.
  • Also, some teens want the accountability with teachers, grading, and deadlines.

Next, let’s dive right into homeschool high school curriculum packages.

High School Curriculum Packages By Schools Not Accredited

The list below are high school packages from companies or a school which is not accredited.

A few more things to know is that with online or print curriculum companies you remain the teacher to guide your students. With accredited schools you use their teachers and adjust to the school’s schedule.

Granted, online schools have added in more flexibility, but again the pace is set to the online accredited school.

In addition, some homeschool companies have set up an online school which is accredited so that they could offer their curriculum through it.

Option for Either Accredited or Not Accredited

Look below at some of the companies who have set up online schools so that their curriculum can be used in the accredited schools. You have choices when you visit the sites.

Your teen can do an independent type of study using their packages.

Or choose a company’s online schools which are accredited.

Accredited High Schools

Then, below are online accredited high schools. There are packages where your child makes a choice for electives.

Each school is different when they offer high school curriculum packages. Some allow you to choose a language arts portion and math portion; other schools have guidelines for what they consider the essentials.

Too, I know some families including myself used an online school when tragedy hit my family. Even so I added in my own subjects too. It was a way for us to pursue what my teen’s goals were at the time, but to have guidance as well.

Best High School Homeschool Curriculum Packages (Accredited and Not Accredited)

Look at the total credits to graduate when selecting a school; choose a school with lower number of credits to graduate if you want to add in your own credits.

This will keep it a doable load for you and your teen.

As you can see there are many paths in high school. Exploring options is key to fulfilling what a successful high school homeschool curriculum package looks like for each of your grads.

You love these other tips and resources:

A Homeschool Beginner’s Guide to Figuring Grades and Saving Time

| 2 Comments
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

In this homeschool beginner’s guide to figuring grades, I’m sharing tips I didn’t know when I began. Also, look at my page The Dynamics of How to Homeschool Easily and Smarter.

Although I live in Texas where grade keeping is not required by state law, I started keeping grades before high school for two reasons.

One reason is that my teen wanted feedback.

The second reason is that I wanted to know how to figure grades sooner instead of tackling it on top of learning how to homeschool high school.

Having homeschooled twenty-five years now, I see how figuring grades has changed in the public-school world.

It’s not that we want to keep up with public-school changes, but eventually our kids may be graded by those same standards. It’s important to be somewhat familiar with how to figure grades.

Figuring Grades

In addition, understanding how the public-school world decides grading gives us reason to not follow them because we don’t have a classroom of 30 kids.

It’s a conundrum to somewhat follow a similar pattern of grading with widely acceptable ways of determining grades while meeting our unique circumstances at home.

Look at these tried-and-true tips and pointers.

  1. First, I didn’t realize that public school teachers aren’t really taught how to grade. Sure, there are some exceptions to this. But several public-school teachers turned homeschool mom who took my workshops revealed that they didn’t really learn how to grade. It’s a skill they’re supposed to pick up while in training. You can do the same while homeschooling.
  2. Second, grading needs to be purposeful. It’s one thing for me to show you various grading scales, but another for you to wield the tool of grading effectively.

A Homeschool Beginner’s Guide to Figuring Grades and Saving Time

Reasons to Grade

So, beyond your state requiring it, grades should give valuable feedback to your children.

Grades serve other reasons:

  • they communicate what your children have learned,
  • they give valuable feedback where your children are along the learning continuum, identify skills mastered and identify skills which need practice, 
  • and motivates students to grow and advance in proficiency.

Besides, if the grading tool is not created and wielded correctly, it can also have the reverse effect.

Homeschool Grades for Elementary Children

Once I realized balance was needed, I moved forward with these distinctions.

  • In the elementary grades, a check system like satisfactory or unsatisfactory is perfectly acceptable.
  • Trying to not follow public school standards in the early grades is important. Kids at that age are building their foundation of knowledge. To constantly test, quiz, and drill can be harmful to their confidence.

However, you may need a guide at this age.

Below I will give you various grading scales to use for both elementary and middle and high school students.

Be sure you’re following me on my YouTube channel How to Homeschool EZ for awesome tips.

Look at my video How to Gauge Your Homeschooled Child’s Progress.

In addition, high school is the time when grades become important.

A lot of states have relaxed laws which means you create your own high school transcript and grading system.

It’s important to become familiar now with easy ways to grade. I have a free editable transcript and helps for high school too at the bottom of this post.

Homeschool Grades for Middle and High School Teens

Next look at these two different, but easy ways to figure grades.

ONE.

Whatever subject your child is covering, convert all grades and numbers to 100. That system is understood by us because a lot of us were graded on this system.

It’s also an easy way to quickly create grading standards. Letter grades are converted to numerical value or percentages.

This system is based on the thought that 100% means all answers are correct.

Afterwards, decide how to grade assignments based on a 100 percent.

Two Easy Ways to Figure Grades For Different Subjects

Look at these various examples of how categories of assignments are divided to see what I’m talking about:

  • daily work 50%, quizzes 20%, projects 10%, and final test 10% = 100
  • assessments 75%, practice 20%, and extra practice 5% = 100
  • project 25%, quizzes 25%, test 50% = 100

From this you can tell grading is very subjective.

You can apply equal percentages to types of assignments or different percentages like above.

Too, if you want a guide of what to teach your kid when, you’ll love my online self-paced course Teaching the Stages of Homeschool. From PreK to High School, Learn at a Bird’s-Eye View of What Subjects to Teach & When to Teach Them.

I am your coach as I take you though the ages and stages of homeschooling.

A Homeschool Beginner’s Guide to Figuring Grades and Saving Time

Furthermore, your grading form can list under each category the objectives or assignments.

Look at this sample below where I used Assessments, Practice, and Extra Practice breakdown from above.

Assessments – 75%Practice – 20%Extra Practice – 5%
daily assignmentsdaily handwritingtyping
essayscreate a lapbookspelling game
book reportsscience experimentwatching videos

This is how I kept things easy. I decided what I wanted to grade (not grading everything) and which type of assignments or activities were more important to the subject we’re studying at the time.

It can feel a bit complicated in the beginning.

While some subjects are easier to grade than others, once you have the hang of it, just repeat the same percentages.

6 Easy Steps to Calculate Grades on Numbered Assignments

Also, look at my video How to Successfully Begin Homeschooling Middle & High School.

Additionally, some assignments are more straightforward to grade. Math is one type of subject which is easier to grade.

TWO.

Look below at these 6 easy steps to determine grades on numbered assignments like math. One of the best tips is to have a calculator handy or your phone calculator.

Here is how to easily grade an assignment like math which normally has a set number of problems like 20 or 30 problems.

  1. Correct any wrong answers on your child’s assignment.
  2. Look at the total number of problems on the assignment.
  3. Calculate the total number of problems correct.
  4. Divide the total number of correct answers by the total number of problems in the assignment.
  5. When you get that answer, multiply it by 100.
  6. Consult your grading scale to determine a letter grade if you want one. (I’ve shared grading scales below.)

Look at this real-life example from our math. The math assignment had 30 problems. My son missed 5 of the problems; he got 25 correct.

I divided 25 correct answers by 30 total number of problems which equals .83.

Next, multiply .83 x 100 or 83%. Finally, look for the percentage grading scale and find the corresponding letter grade if you’re keeping letter grades. Too, you’ll love this free EZ grader tool online tool.

A Homeschool Beginner’s Guide to Figuring Grades and Saving Time

As I mentioned, grading scales are subjective, but these are the two most common I’ve used in my homeschool. These grading scales can easily work for any grade level.

Easy Grading Scales For Homeschool

90–100% = A93–100% = A
80–89% = B86–92% = B
70–79% = C78–85% = C
60–69% = D70–77% = D
below 59% = Fbelow 69% = F

Noting the easy 6 steps above and based on my example about math, you can see that my student can make two different letter grades, namely a B or a C, depending on which grading scale I choose.

Now, let’s switch back to understanding the basics of percentages or the first method I mentioned.

In addition, look at my video How to Choose the BEST Middle School Literature for Your Homeschooled Child.

It’s important to understand how to categorize assignments using the 100 based system because some subjects or assignments especially like writing have very different objectives.

Grading essays is an art and is subjective.

In addition to the different genres of writing, there are many skills to learn as your student demonstrates writing.

Art is another subject that can be tough to grade.

Those types of assignments do not have a set number of problems.

Because you have specific goals for your children to meet, the best method to grade those types of subjects are percentage based.

Tina’s Time -Tested EASY Grade Figuring Tips

You can literally get overwhelmed with all this information and I’m going to keep it easy for you.

I have used these three easy grading tips and recommend them to you.

  1. choose one grading scale and stick to it
  2. use third percentages (more on this in a minute) on writing and other subjects which are hard to grade like art, writing, hands-on projects, and life skills.
  3. use both grading systems to keep grading uncomplicated.

My own opinion is that the grading scale of 90 to 100%= A is more reflective of a wider range of skills and it’s the one I’ve used more often.

Also, when grading essays, writing, or any other type of subjective assignment I keep my percentages divided by thirds only.

Having only 3 broad categories with assigned percentages kept grading easier for me.

Under each of those broad categories I created objectives.

Of course, you can use any combination of 100 to create your unique goals based on the needs of your children.

Back to mentioning thirds.

I understand that 100 can be divided different ways and it has great flexibility. Again, I prefer easy segmenting and having objectives within those sections.

For example, with the free form below for descriptive writing, I have 3 segments. One section is Grammar, Usage, and Mechanics 30%, Content and Style 35%, and Organization 35%.

However, you will notice I have objectives within each of those 3 categories.

Look below at my sample of the free form Middle School Descriptive Writing Grade Record which I created for you.

The grading record is for middle school, and it is to be used for a descriptive essay. Thank you to Kimberley, my follower, for allowing me to create it for her and for you.

Free Middle School Descriptive Writing Grade Record

A Homeschool Beginner’s Guide to Figuring Grades and Saving Time

The Middle School Descriptive Writing Grade Record is a subscriber only freebie.

That means when you sign up to follow me, you get access to my Exclusive Subscriber’s Only Library which has this form in the library.

This is how you get access to this form quickly.
 1) Sign up on my list.
 2) Download the freebie.
3) Happy to have you following me by email. Look for my future emails in your inbox.

Exploring Space and Astronomy Free Unit Study for Multiple Ages

Rubric Versus Grading Scales

Another term which can make grading hard is understanding what is a rubric. A grading scale is a way to convert checkmarks to letter grades or to a number grade.

Although in the educational world now that has somewhat changed to a 1-to-4 point system. However, that still would have to convert to a letter grade for purposes of a report card. Don’t let me lose you.

A rubric is a term used more in the educational world and not as much in the homeschool world. A simpler term to understand is checklist.

Some homeschool evaluators with a teacher background prefer the term rubric. Whatever term you use checklist or rubric, it can be used different ways.

A rubric is a tool used by a student as a guide to view assignment expectations and objectives set by the teacher. It is a way to encourage students to self-check and can be used as a grading tool. Many rubrics exist on the internet and a lot of them are based on a 1-to-4 point system. Rubrics can be complex or simple.

Four is the highest and can mean achieve, accomplished, or even mastery. Three can be interpreted to mean proficient or practiced. Two can mean developing and one can signify incomplete.

Right away you see that a rubric or self-checking list may be more beneficial to a student of any age. We homeschool for mastery, not just a letter grade.

In addition, a checklist or rubric can encourage children to be challenged and show what they know instead of always measuring what they don’t know.

I think it’s important that if you use a rubric with young kids to assign positive terms to each number one through 4.

You’re encouraging growth at every age, but it’s especially important in the early grades that your children value practice and progress.

More Homeschool High School Teen Elective Resources

How to Calculate Homeschool Grades Using Rubrics

Here are a few more terms to describe each 1-to-4 point level; they can be mixed and matched based on the ages of your learners, subject type or project.

  • Needs Improvement, Satisfactory, Good and Well Done
  • Just Beginning, Getting There, Right On and Wow
  • Poor Effort, OK, Great, and Exceptional
  • Novice, Intermediate, Proficient and Distinguished
  • Beginning, Developing, Experienced and Exceptional
  • Beginning, Developing, Accomplished and Exemplary
  • Novice, Approaching, Proficient and Advanced Understanding
  • Not So Much, I Tried a Bit, I Did a Good Job and I Did My Best Ever is a cute one for art by Art Projects for Kids.

One thing I did when my children were teens was to show them my grading record, objectives, and goals. Can you see from that morphs a checklist or rubric?

A Homeschool Beginner’s Guide to Figuring Grades and Saving Time

Whether you use a checklist or orally convey your expectations to your children, I hope this information about figuring grades helps to simplify the process for you.

Look at these other helps.

How to Build High School Curriculum Directly From Amazon

| 4 Comments
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

Knowing how to build high school curriculum directly from Amazon is a valuable skill set when you want to know how to homeschool well. Check out my how to Homeschool High School page for awesome tips.

You may not think so in the beginning, but you soon realize there is NO one right way to homeschool high school. So you need flexibility and options to change midstream.

How to Build High School Curriculum Directly From Amazon

Quickly, you can build a high school homeschool curriculum package which suits your teen.

Today, I’m showing you what is important to know right away and what you can decide later.

However, before I go on, here are my super helpful posts for How to Build Elementary Homeschool Curriculum Directly From Amazon and How to Build Middle School Curriculum Directly From Amazon.

Many states are flexible meaning you don’t have many requirements to fill for high school according to the law.

5 Steps to Build High School Homeschool Curriculum

Step 1.
Meet Your State Law.

State law is your first starting point.

Know exactly what requirements you need to meet.
Don’t make this harder than it has to be by using a measuring stick that is unbending. Simply, meet the state law. Your own measuring stick is different.

If you’re having trouble knowing or finding your local law, shoot me an email or post here. I’ll help you to be sure that you’re in the absolute know.

Step 2.
Determine Credits by Choosing a Path – Career or College.

Next, don’t get sideways like I did when my first teen told me he wasn’t sure what he wanted to do.

If your teen knows right away that he’ll choose a career or college track, then that is your perfect starting points for subjects to fill.

Ask the college about subjects if your teen is college bound; this is not as hard as it appears.

Most colleges maintain a website for admission. Right away you can see the number of credits they require for each subject. Boom – done.

If your teen doesn’t know what he wants to do like a majority of adults today, then try to give him what I call a traditional high school experience.

This keeps all doors open for whatever direction your teen chooses.

Next, a traditional high school experience will include these subjects below with 4 years being closer to what colleges want for a college bound teen and 2 to 3 years for subjects for a teen who is not college bound:

  • 2 to 4 years of Math. Intro to Algebra is now considered middle school, but in our parents time it started in high school. If a teen is pursuing a science or math major, then intro to Algebra begins in middle school and Algebra 1, 2 and Geometry and another higher course will be needed.
  • 3 to 4 years for English or I like the term Language Arts which we have used up to this time. English doesn’t just mean covering grammar or composition. It can be any theme or subject your teen likes that has to do with writing or speaking. For example, poetry, British or American authors, literature analysis, public speaking, world literature, vocabulary study, and etc.
  • 2 to 4 Sciences and with Lab. Typically Biology, Chemistry and Physics are what I call the main three areas to study. I have two sciences listed because kids that are not science majors may choose to do only two sciences; kids who are college bound will need more.
  • 2 to 4 Social Studies. Again, I don’t like this term but it’s the one used in colleges. I prefer the terms history, geography, social science, American government, world geography, etc. In addition, I again list only two years if your child is not college bound. If your child is college bound or you’re wanting to leave the door open for college, then stick closer to 3 or 4 years.
  • 1 to 4 Foreign Languages. Again what is accepted in one college may not be in another. Too, ASL is considered the study of a foreign language with some colleges. If your child is not college bound and there are no requirements for foreign language in your state, then you and your teen decide how many years.
  • 4 to 5 Electives. Electives are subjects that are subjective. This means you have much room to either add them to your teens load or focus more on core subjects like math, language arts, science and social studies.
  • 1 – 3 Fine Arts and Physical Education. Normally a few years to study fine arts is a good rule of thumb and like one credit for physical education unless of course these topics are your child’s college majors.

Build High School Curriculum

Step 3.
Determine a 2 – 5 year Graduation Plan.

Next, determine how long your teen will be in high school.

Some teens do a two year study and align the other years with an apprenticeship. Some teens prefer dual enrollment and still others need another year to mature.

Four years is not always the magic number for graduating; it’s a good guide. Moreover, grab my high school planning pages too and fill in as you go.

How to Build High School Curriculum Directly From Amazon

Download the High School Planning Page below.

High-School-Planning.pdf (6975 downloads )

Too, read Free Homeschool High School Planning Sheet (and pssst help for high school too) if you need more help on planning and then also grab the Editable High School Transcript.

Step 4.
Choose Core Subjects First, The Other Subjects Can Wait

Then, narrow down the overwhelm more by selecting first the books and courses need to fill the core subjects.

When homeschoolers use the word core it can mean various things. Some states divide subjects by core and non-core.

For example, some states require math, language arts, history and science as the core subjects.

When I talk about core, I mean the skill subjects which are the three Rs – reading, writing, and ‘rithmetic. They have been your child’s 3 legged stool for an excellent education up to this time and they continue to be important in high school.

How to Build High School Curriculum Directly From Amazon

The point is unless your state requires other subjects, use your hard earned dollars for the skill subjects first. Unless social studies and science are required immediately, you can purchase those items in increments to give your budget a rest.

Step 5.
Choose Curriculum from Amazon by mixing and matching resource type.

Finally, you now have a big picture of the resources you need from Amazon.

In addition, to help you choose resources wisely, I have divided resources by topic or subject. Do not forget that many kids today learn well by videos and hands-on activities.

So don’t limit your choices to just textbooks or books. Look at the choices below for each subject.

Math High School Homeschool Curriculum From Amazon

Science High School Homeschool Curriculum From Amazon

Science Lab Component High School From Amazon

History and Social Studies High School Homeschool Curriculum From Amazon

Language Arts High School Homeschool Curriculum From Amazon

MORE Language Arts High School Homeschool Curriculum From Amazon

High School Graduation and College Readiness Curriculum From Amazon

Electives High School Homeschool Curriculum From Amazon

Also, do not forget to visit my store on Amazon. 
I have Lists created by subjects so you can see more choices.

High School Homeschool Curriculum Packages

Last but not least, I have listed all-in-one programs below. Sometimes you just need to start with a framework. I’ve listed curriculum packages below.

Remember that you can always tweak them to suit your student’s needs. You don’t have to use all-in-one programs as it. I firmly believe all of them are to be tweaked even if just a bit to suit your teen’s schedule, needs, and goals.

All-In-One Programs

Also, grab these other tips below to help flesh out any interests your teen may have:

I know you can give your child a solid education when you build the curriculum yourself. Did this give you a starting point?

Best Homeschool High School Literature Suggestions For Teens

|
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

Creating these homeschool high school literature suggestions for teens is more satisfying now that my teens graduated. Looking back, I know their love of reading came from being exposed to a variety of genre. Also, look at my page How to Homeschool High School.

Having a variety of genre to choose from is just one element of keeping teens reading into adulthood.

Beyond reading to fill a high school credit, use your time with your homeschooled teens to shape and develop their thinking.

Best Homeschool High School Literature Suggestions For Teens

Contrary to what some educators think, teens are still questioning beliefs. Their thinking is not fully matured. Issues raised in literature gives you the opportunity to analyze beliefs.

Too, high school and college courses require your teens to interpret literary terms and techniques.

I found this was best done by classic literature.

The point is whether your teen is reading American, British, or World literature he is gaining a greater understanding of the world.

That is something which will stick with him well into adulthood.

This high school literature list will give you a starting point in choosing the best literature for your family.

Moreover, don’t fret if your teen is still not loving to read.

Some of these books will ignite a fire and did I mention some are short?

Whether you have a teen who is a voracious reader or who is an unenthusiastic reader, I have some high school literature suggestions for all.

Homeschool High School Literature

Also, it’s important to remember that there is so much more going on when a teen engages with a book

Books for your High School Teen

For example, when a teen reads

  • and the genre is historical fiction it can make the time period come alive;
  • and the prose is challenging, it can raise his reading comprehension;
  • his vocabulary is expanded; and
  • critical thinking skills are introduced.

Knowing that so much more is involved then filling a credit at the high school level, be choosy about what your teen reads.

Also, what helped me at the high school level are the self-paced online classes, Literary Adventures for Kids.

We covered a poetry unit for one of my teens in a fun way.

Look at my post Online Homeschool High School Poetry (No Teaching Involved).

Best Homeschool High School Literature Suggestions For Teens

Teens Reading List

See, I had to learn the hard way that a teen should have a choice in what he reads.

I remember being in English class in middle school and reading about boring topics.

I was a good reader, but not an enthusiastic reader until I read The Raven by Edgar Allen Poe. He’s not an author I thought I would be drawn to as a teen.

However, his stories and poems invoked a love for reading detective stories along with his great storytelling. I loved everything about that poem, the figurative language, the dynamics, and the theme.

Homeschool High School Reading

The point is I would have never picked up his book on my own when evaluating my choices.

So your teen needs your help. It literally takes one book your teen can’t put down for your teen to look at reading differently.

Now as a parent, it is a learned balancing act when each teen got to the high school level.

I tried to find their interests and themes they loved to weave that with other genre they weren’t interested in or thought so at the time.

Also, another way to engage your high school kids is to learn through a theme.

We love history in our house and learning history through living literature has been one of our very favorite ways to learn history.

For 10th Grade

We love Beautiful Feet History, and have used their high school literature.

They suggest the following sequence which we mostly followed which has changed too.

Grade 9  |  Early American

Grade 11  |  Medieval History Senior High

Grade 10  |  Ancient History Senior High

Grade 12  |  Modern U.S. and World History for Senior High

Books for High School Readers

Although my teens had choices, I also had requirements because I wanted to invoke conversations to get my teens to think about the broader picture.

Learning to think critically means to know how to support your ideas from the book. It’s not always easy to do with just books they chose to read.

Why Some Homeschoolers Choose to Read Banned Literature

Next, I also had to decide how I wanted to talk to my teens about sensitive subjects.

A lot of homeschoolers, including myself, reject some modern reading lists.

However, the similarity stops there when choosing literature. Families and teens differ in how they want to handle sensitive topic.

When you research about banned books, the Washington Post stated, “The American Library Association launched Banned Books Week in 1982 to celebrate the freedom to read.”

However, every since then, the topic of banned books sparks controversy for any education.

You too have to decide if you’ll present these banned books to your teen.

It’s been my experience that the sensitive subjects in books allows me the chance to direct my children about mistakes of the past.

I didn’t want to cover up mistakes in history, but to expose them so we learn from them. Most important that we don’t repeat them in the future.

Children relate to everyday things and some kids lives have had painful turns they couldn’t control. Although my kids didn’t experience the sadness of divorce and death at the time, they had friends who did.

Homeschool High School Books

It helped my sons to form a compassion for their friends. Every child has a different maturing rate and I was sensitive to each teen’s emotions.

The point is that you are the only one to know whether you want your children to read banned books or not. Me? I will do the choosing for my family and determine the values; you probably feel the same way.

Homeschool High School Reading List

I want the opportunity to help my sons’ learn from the past, but not be promoting ideologies which conflict with our worldview.

That is not always easy to do, but being familiar with literature your teen is absorbing is essential.

As you see from this quick list that the books reflect personal tastes of each teen. In the end, you want your child to enjoy reading.

I stressed way too much about balancing the genre when my focus should have been on the short time I had with each teen.

Besides being forced-fed never worked for any reader. So use this list to begin your list for your unique teen.

Lastly, this is by no stretch all that each kid read in high school.

As I pore over my huge amount of books, I’ll update this post for you.

The point today was to get this quick glance to you.

In the end what matters is creating a lifelong reader.

Remember what Francis Bacon said “Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed and digested; that is, some books are to be read only in parts; others to be read, but not curiously; and some few are to be read wholly, and with diligence and attention.”

Best Homeschool High School Literature Suggestions For Teens

I know you’ll love these other posts:

How to Choose the Best Middle School Literature And Favorite Resources

| 2 Comments
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

Today in how to choose the best middle school literature I want to help you conquer the overwhelm by giving you a few seasoned homeschooler secrets.

Best Middle School Literature

When I approached the middle school years, there was no lack of middle school literature lists.

I loved having the lists, but I quickly learned that having tips on how to choose literature for my teen was better.

So first, look at these four questions asked and answered full of tips to help you decide which books are best for your family.

Four Middle School Literature Questions Asked and Answered

How to Choose the Best Middle School Literature And Favorite Resources

Question 1.
Should I Read Every Book My Child Reads?

The answer is complicated. It’s both yes and no. The way you determine if it’s a yes or no is your purpose.

For example, if you’re wanting to use literature for analysis and to engage your child with understanding an author’s purpose it’s hard to do that unless you read the book.

Middle school is the time that most kids can do some introductory analysis. If you’re wanting to fill the literature requirement for just reading or for enjoyment, the answer is no.

I couldn’t read every book my kids chose, but focused on reading the few we would used for analysis. That secret tip helped me conquer the literature overwhelm in middle school.

In addition, this site for Banned and Challenged Books gives you an idea of the theme or worldview behind some books.

Question 2.
How many books should my kid read each year?

That is another subjective answer. Some kids are voracious readers others not so much.

But if you’re using the literature to fill a credit (yes you can get high school credit in middle school), you’ll want to set your goal for a realistic amount.

Looking over some literature lists for middle schooled kids, I’ve seen some unreachable numbers.

Whatever the number of books you come up with lower it. It’s so much better to get through a handful of books with meaningful discussions than to overestimate and rush through them.

That is disheartening for both teacher and kid. Remember you can always add more literature for analysis anytime during the year.

I’ve had different requirements with each kid as my circumstances were different each year, but a good rule of thumb at this age was to analyze between 4 to 6 books or less.

Some years we did more, other years I struggled to get through three books, but it was still solid language arts.

The other books were pure pleasure and met my reading requirement.

Reading for Middle School

Again, this is NOT all your child will read, but it’s the amount you want him to read to help him with the critical thinking part of literature.

Question 3.
Do I want my child to integrate other subjects or skills or to use literature as stand-alone?

My answer is to integrate as much as possible. My preference from the time I learned about how to integrate was to use this method for all literature.

Integrate means to combine several skills or to combine subjects. By integrating skills or subjects,

  • your child learns the practical application of grammar, vocabulary, or writing in a way that makes sense;
  • the areas of language arts that your child is weak at can be strengthened. For example, he sees the correct spelling of a word in literature and applies it to his writing;
  • your child can choose literature choices based on his interests or to cover a subject he may not like as well. Unlike public school, your child doesn’t have to follow arbitrary lists. Too, if he is not passionate about history, then well-written fiction prose can help him to fill a history credit. Literature can make a history time period come alive while filling both a literature and history requirement in a more fun way; and
  • one unexpected benefit was that my kids learned study skills and research skills.

Literature Analysis for Middle School

Question 4.
Should I require my child to write book reports?

Although it’s not necessary for kids to write book reports, understanding the purpose of a book report lets you decide if it’s for your family.

Book reports, oral or written, are the blueprints for high school literary analysis.

The point is not whether you assign a book report or not, it’s that your child understands things like elements of fiction, genre, and figures of speech.

Whether you choose to do this orally, through a book report, a lapbook, or reading journal, it’s your choice. I have only one kid that loved book reports, but I orally reviewed with each kid the assigned books.

Next, look at this list of questions to include in a written book report or to go over them orally:

  • Was it better that . . . ?
  • What do you think . . . ?
  • In your opinion . . . ?
  • How would you change the character to . . . ?
  • How is ____ tied in or related to ____?
  • What choice would you have made ____?

Now that you have a quick overview of some of the general tips about how to choose middle school literature, look at this list of books.

Remember that you can choose classics, follow a history theme, favorite author or do a balance of genres. There are many genres to choose from.

Of course, if your child is college bound you will want to do a variety of genre even in junior high.

Reading for Middle School Homeschool

And one final thought there is a huge difference in maturity between sixth grade and eighth grade.

Keep that in mind in looking over this literature list as I provided options for different reading levels. This list below is a mix of literature that works well for this age, but you can always add to it.

Books for Middle School Kids

Alternatively, you may want to use something besides just a reader or the literature.

Teacher Guides, Themed Guides and All-in-One Curriculum

For my first time teaching literature at the middle school level I loved using teacher helps and many times I used them as life happened. Why reinvent the wheel?

You can choose a book along with a teacher guide to help you teach the important parts of the book or use an all-in-one guide or curriculum.

Look at some of your options below.

How to Choose the Best Middle School Literature And Favorite Resources

I love Lightning Literature and they’re perfect for the older grades because they have a schedule which helps when you’re first beginning to teach literature.

Still, I had the tendency to over teach literary analysis, but key to keeping it fun is to do a bit each day.

Then, Language Arts Through Literature series is timeless. Their middle and high school grades are solid.

It is a Charlotte Mason gentle approach to literature and fits a lot of my likes; it takes an integrated approach which aligns with how I feel beautiful literature should be learned.

However, one of my VERY favorite resources for middle school kids was created by another homeschool mom.

You’ll love Literary Adventures for Kids which is online and self-paced. You choose the books and course and your child goes at his own pace. All the stress and prep for learning about literature was taken out.

If you’re looking for something that your child can do on his own, or you don’t have time to read every book, you’ll love Literary Adventures for Kids.

Also, Progeny Press Study Guides have been timeless.

My kids can pick the book they want to read and we find the accompanying study guide. The guides cover background information, vocabulary, literary analysis, and more.

In addition, be sure you check out the discounted resources at Homeschool Buyers Co-op Language Arts section. There are many discounted providers for literature guides.

More Resources for Middle School Tips

Homeschool Helps for Middle School

Another favorite has been the literature unit guides by Teacher Created Resources. Although they are created for a classroom, I’ve been able to get many ideas to flesh out with my kids.

Additionally, Memoria Press literature guides are grade level literature units which also have helped me at this age.

Next, Beautiful Feet literature are some of my favorite themed literature units.

Covering history and literature simultaneously helped us to learn how to utilize our time and widen our reading diet.

If your child loves history, then integrating history and literature together makes practical use of your child’s time.

Did I mention that reading doesn’t become a chore, but becomes a time you and your child look forward to during the day?

Finally, paying attention to detail looks different for each book with each child, but that is the purpose of literature analysis. Too, our children can come to view each book loved as an artistic expression. It’s quite possible.

What books are you using for literature analysis for middle school kids?

Hugs and love ya,