Next to math, deciding high school literature curriculum for my first high school teen was scary for me. Today, I will share practical pointers in choosing high school literature curriculum.
Looking back after three homeschooled grads, I’ve learned you need to be absolutely clear of your goal.
Choosing curriculum versus stand alone components was confusing as well. So, I want to help you make a better choice.
First, confusing to me in the beginning was what to teach from high school literature. Also, how to transition from teaching your child reading to literature wasn’t clear.
Quickly, I learned there is a shift in high school to not just reading a variety of literature, but to analyzing it.
What to Teach With High School Literature
As you can see, the elements you look for in a high school literature curriculum will vary depending on your goals.
If your teen is on a college track, analyzing literature is a basic requirement for most colleges. However, if your child is on a career track, you decide if analyzing literature will benefit your teen.
That was the part that confused me. My English teacher in high school taught me like I was in an AP Lit class. I was not, but her love for literature was obvious.
The very basic reason why you teach high school literature is to move your child beyond the reading is fun stage. Appreciating why literature moves us, how to be involved in the great conversation, and how to analyze literature is one goal.
Another goal is to help your child appreciate the variety of genre. Think about it. You have doing this all along as you taught your child to read.
Teaching a love of reading doesn’t stop in high school, but you want your child to now dig into the literature.
In addition, one more thing to be aware of before choosing curriculum is to decide if you need the other components of language arts.
Besides literature, grammar, vocabulary, composition, and writing are other components of language arts.
Teens are normally all over the place on each component of language arts, I encourage you to try to choose just literature curriculum.
High School Literature Curriculum Goals
One huge advantage to choosing just high school literature curriculum which is not tied together with the other components is to save time.
I don’t think teens should get bogged down with the other components when focusing on beautiful pieces of literature.
However, some options I share below is curriculum which does not make deep dives into analyzing.
That too has been a great option some quarters in high school when your teen needs a change of pace from analyzing in depth.
Covering all the components together may be your goal. The point is your teen, your choices, and your goals should stay front and center when poring over options.
Furthermore, tying literature to history is another fun way to bring both subjects to life. This is a slant that many teens enjoy. On top of that, some choices will be more faith-based and others with a secular focus.
Keep all those facts in mind as you compare curriculum below.
12 High School Literature Curriculum
Finally, look at these twelve high school literature curriculum.
- BJU Press Literature for Junior and Senior High. This is one of my favorite because it’s so comprehensive in the variety of genre.
- Memoria Press is another one I’ve used and although they’ve updated through the years, I still love their guides.
- Stobaugh is another keeper which has been around for years. It’s comprehensive and takes more of a classical approach.
- Lightning Literature has been another mainstay by homeschoolers. I love their choices.
- Windows to the World: An Introduction to Literary Analysis. Although the topics covered are comprehensive, there are short passages. So it makes for a great option.
- Illuminating Literature is one by Sharon Watson. I’ve used her other writing and love them because of their step by step guidance.
- Beautiful Feet we used when we wanted to cover literature analysis lightly. Focusing on our history love, we could include a framework of analysis with the literature choices.
- Progeny Press is another favorite because of how many activities they have and ease of use.
- Learning Language Arts Through Literature is not as well know today as it used to be. I love it because it’s gentle and has a Charlotte Mason flair. Some years, we just needed light language arts and literature. So, I’m listing it as option. There is both American and British literature options. It’s just a beautiful option
- Sonlight has been around for years. Started by a homeschool family like some of other companies, it too has a comprehensive language arts program.
- Total Language Plus is just what it says. All the components of language arts when you want to cover them at one time. We love this curriculum as well.
- The Art of Poetry is a resource we just absolutely loved. If your teen is wanting to dive deeper into poetry, you’ll love this resource. In addition, this resource can be used for middle school kids too.
These are not all the resources available for you, but they are ones I know will work. They give your teen guidance; And the best part is they create a love of literature and push your teen out of his comfort zone.
Which ones have you tried?
Look at some more posts which will help you:
- Best Homeschool High School Literature Suggestions For Teens
- Modern U.S. and World History High School Literature
- 3 Beginner’s Tips: Homeschool High School Literature
- How to Choose the BEST Homeschool Middle and High School Language Arts Curriculum & Options
- Homeschooling High School: Curriculum, Credits, and Courses
- Free Homeschool High School Planning Sheet (and pssst help for high school too)
