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🌟Overview🌟
Welcome to YEAR 1 ongoing high school classics book club! 

This course is for you if you want your learner to:
✅ develop a love of reading
✅ strengthen critical engagement with literature
✅ practice speaking and writing analytically about literature with their peers
✅ prepare for college-level reading and discussion

This is a relaxed but rigorous discussion-based course, where students come together to talk about great literature. In our weekly classes, we discuss themes, symbols, motifs, character development, conflict, literary devices, cultural relevance, and other elements at work in each novel. 

Though the class is discussion-based, I sometimes include direct instruction where needed, especially when introducing new novels. Some of these books are quite challenging, but in my experience, teenagers can absolutely understand and enjoy them with a little bit of encouragement and help along the way. I consistently hear from my students that though they wouldn’t necessarily choose to read the novels assigned, they are glad they did!

The curriculum is organized into four thematic units, and each unit consists of two novels. Students read each novel over the course of four weeks, and complete each unit over the course of eight weeks. Throughout each unit, we discuss each novel separately, as well as the thematic links between the two.  (See “Weekly Breakdown” below for further details.)

For each unit, I offer students an extension essay assignment or project that they can complete and submit to me for individual feedback. There is no direct essay-writing instruction in this class, but I do provide feedback and grades to students who wish to practice their writing semi-independently. For students preparing for AP Literature & Composition, I provide an AP-style essay prompt each unit.

Students also practice short analytic writing and receive feedback from me in each class. This is low-stakes writing usually sent in the Zoom chat that is meant to help students pause, think, and articulate their ideas in writing before discussing. This practice ultimately leads to deeper discussion.

Students finish each novel with a cohesive and analytic understanding of the text and its place within the wider canon of literature. Throughout this course, students will have a chance to get a feel for what a college-level literature course is like by participating in analytic reading, writing, and discussion. 

This course is great for students who:
✅ love reading and discussing literature
✅ are looking for homeschool full-year language arts curriculum
✅ are preparing for the AP Literature & Composition exam
✅ are preparing to be English majors in college
✅ want to get college-ready
✅ are ESL or ELL students looking for advanced reading classes from experienced ELA teacher with TEFL certification
✅ are neurodivergent learners seeking a safe space to learn with peers
✅ want to supplement their English language arts classes
✅ want opportunities to receive feedback on their written work
✅ are looking for a welcoming and inclusive space to interact with peers

🌟 Class Format 🌟
- Warm up discussion (~10'): As students enter, we do introductions if there are new members, and talk about our first impressions of what we read for the week. 
- Literary Analysis Writing (~10'): After discussing, students write for 10 minutes, responding to a literary analysis prompt that gets them thinking about character development, themes, symbols, etc. Although this is a discussion class, the written portion allows students to understand what they think about the novel on a deeper level. Ultimately, it helps students not only practice writing analytically, but also deepens our subsequent discussion. During this time, I encourage students to send their responses to me in the chat, where I provide individual feedback and extension questions wherever time allows.
- Analytic discussion (~25-30'):  We then discuss the questions, using them as a jumping off point for deeper discussion. During this time, I also encourage students to pose their own discussion questions to the group.
- Sign off (~3'): We close with a short activity that asks students to make an observation or a prediction about the book.

🌟Materials & Optional Graded Essay/Project🌟
For each book, I provide guided reading questions or workbook pages for the upcoming chapters. Students can use these materials alongside their weekly reading to facilitate critical thinking and engagement with the text. I do not correct or grade this work.

For each unit, I also offer students an extension essay assignment or project that they can complete and submit to me for individual feedback. There is not direct essay-writing instruction in this class, but I do provide literary analysis prompts and feedback to students who wish to practice their writing semi-independently. I provide one AP-style essay prompt per novel for students who are preparing for AP Literature & Composition.

Essays and projects will be submitted via Google Classroom.

🌟Weekly Breakdown🌟
***Please note that the readings should be complete BEFORE class each week, including the first week of classes.

🍁 Fall Semester 

UNIT 1: ON THE OUTSIDE LOOKING IN: OUTCASTS IN AMERICAN LITERATURE

Book 1: The Scarlett Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne  
**Students are expected to come to class having read chp. 1-6.

1. September 9 - September 15: Chapter 1 (The Scarlett Letter) through Chapter 6 (Pearl)
2. September 16 - September 22: Chapter 7 (The Governor’s Hall) through Chapter 12 (The Minister’s Vigil)
3. September 23 - September 29: Chapter 13 (Another View of Hester)  through Chapter 19 (The Child at the Brookside)
4. September 30 -  October 6: Chapter 20 (The Minister in the Maze) through Chapter 24 (Conclusion) (END)

Book 2: The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald 
5. October 7 - October 13
6. October 14 - October 20
7. October 21 - October 27
8. October 28 - November 3

UNIT 2: DYSTOPIAN LITERATURE 

Book 3: 1984 by George Orwell 
9. November 4 - November 10
10. November 11 - November 17

🦃 (Thanksgiving) *NO CLASSES*: November 18 - December 1   (two weeks)

11. December 2 - December 8
12. December 9 - December 15

☃️ Winter Break *NO CLASSES: December 16 - January 5 (3 weeks)

🌸 Spring Semester 2024

(UNIT 2 CONTINUED)

Book 4: Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
1. January 6 - January 12
2. January 13 - January 19
3. January 20 - January 26
4. January 27 - February 2

UNIT 3: COMMUNITY & IDENTITY: AFRICAN AMERICAN LITERATURE 

Book 5: Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
5. February 3 - February 9
6. February 10 - February 16
7. February 17 - February 23
8. February 24 - March 2

Book 6: Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison
9. March 3 - March 9
10. March 10 - March 16
11. March 17 - March 23
12. March 24 - March 30

UNIT 8: GOTHIC HORRORS: BRITISH LITERATURE

Book 7: Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
13. March 31 - April 6
14. April 7 - April 13

🌿 Spring Break *NO CLASSES*: April 14 - April 20

15. April 21 - April 27
16. April 28 - May 4

Book 8: Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
17. May 5 - May 11
18. May 12 - May 18
19. May 19 - May 25
20. May 26 - June 1

Schedule subject to change based on student interest

🌟Teaching Methods🌟 
In this course, I gently guide students toward critical engagement with the text through socratic questioning and light direct instruction where necessary. I also engage students in short writing exercises, usually in the middle of class, to develop their skills in thinking and writing critically about texts.

While there are no black and white answers when it comes to analyzing literature, there are pathways that lead to rigorous critical engagement with the text. My aim is to set students on these pathways, and the challenge their thinking, all within a relaxed and engaging environment.  

🌟Interaction🌟 
This course is heavily discussion-based and requires students to actively engage with each other in discussion about the novels, either through speaking or through the chat-box. The level of peer-engagement in this course is akin to that of a college-level literature course. 

🌟Prior Knowledge🌟 
No prior knowledge is necessary. However, students should be able to read high-school level novels within 4-week time periods. 

🌟 A Note About Content 🌟
Please note that because of the nature of this course, and of the reading content, sensitive topics are often discussed. I aim to create a judgement-free zone where students feel free to express themselves, and I expect and ensure that students discuss sensitive topics appropriately and with respect for their classmates.

All the novels taught in this class are pulled from standard high school literature curriculum in the United States. However, be aware that many of them deal with adult topics such as racism, violence, drug use, and sexuality. Please research each book and decide if it is ultimately appropriate for your learner. 

🌟 A Note About Inclusion 🌟
Also please note that whenever new learners join, I invite students to introduce themselves. As part of introductions, I give students the option to share their preferred pronouns (not required). 

I am committed to creating a fully inclusive classroom for today's teenagers. To that end, I also welcome neurodiverse learners and all students who have unique learning and/or social needs. I am a dually certified ELA and special education teacher, and thus have experience working in inclusive spaces with diverse groups of students.

🌟About the Teacher (official third-person bio) 🌟 
Meg Connolly is a certified teacher with bachelors degrees in literature and philosophy. She has masters degrees in teaching ELA, grades 7-12, and in teaching students with disabilities. She has 11 years of teaching experience both in the US public school system and online. She has taught a wide range of courses throughout her career, from self-contained special education ELA to Advanced Placement Literature and Language & Composition. In addition to her masters, she is TESOL certified and experienced in working with ESL students.  She also writes her own fictional short stories for podcasts. Check out her teacher profile for more info.