Long Story Short: High School English Full Course With Classic Short Stories
This is a full high school English curriculum. Learners master critical thinking and academic skills through the study of classic literature, Socratic seminars, and essay writing. Teachers give feedback on student writing.
Lemons-Aid Learning
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What's included
2 live meetings
1 hrs 30 mins in-class hours per weekHomework
2-4 hours per week. Students complete 60-90 minutes of homework to prepare for the class discussion on the second day. They have essay-writing to complete at the end of the week.Letter Grade
๐ฏ GRADES: If you need formal grades, please let your teacher know. The teacher's feedback is based on the mastery of concepts and skills, but traditional grades are left off unless you request them. Students may redo their writing based on the teacher's feedback and suggestions. I can also provide assistance in getting information ready for NCAA approval of this coursework.Progress Report
Students are assessed based on their mastery of skills and concepts.Class Experience
US Grade 9 - 12
Advanced Level
High school English is anchored in literature because stories illustrate some aspect of the human condition. When students learn to analyze, evaluate, and synthesize ideas in literature, they learn to think in ways that prepare them for life and other areas of study. Literature's illustration of the human condition is the content that enables great essays and great conversation and great critical thinking. In this ongoing class, we focus on short stories. Why? Because short literature is special. Quick narratives quickly introduce us to characters, settings, conflict, and themes that relate to our lives. Short story authors are a unique breed as well, able to craft a satisfying, thought-provoking story that we can read in one sitting. Here, we use classic short stories, but we also integrate poetry, essays, and even mythology. More importantly, students learn how to think, engage in a community discussion, and write about the human condition, illustrated by an author in a piece of classic literature. ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐? As students continue through the literature, they have requested more stories so they can remain enrolled in the class for yet another year. Therefore, we are working to add more short stories and literature so students can take this class for three years if they wish. We are grateful for your loyalty and honored to experience so much literature together for years! ๐ฅฐ ๐ ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐: Even though this is an ongoing class, if students remain enrolled throughout the year, they will complete a year of high school English in 30 weeks. We usually take a week off in November and two to three weeks off in December. Students can come and go as they like. Students complete various types of writing, read, analyze, and evaluate literature, and meet communication standards in Socratic Seminars. ๐๏ธ ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐: The benefit of this being an ongoing class is that students can pop in and out as they are able. Taking vacation? Pause the subscription and don't feel like you need to make up the work. One of the best aspects of homeschooling is flexibility, and this class enables you to be as flexible as you need. You can also remain enrolled and watch the recordings. ๐ฌ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐: After teaching this class online for three years, I moved to a Socratic Seminar style of discussion on the second live class. This empowers high school students to "own" their conversations and to be active participants. The discussion is much more thoughtful and students are more engaged as a result. The teacher guides them along, especially on the first day, as they prepare for the discussion; additionally, the Socratic Seminar Prep Sheet work they do between live classes helps them think deeply about what they read. This class requires a lot of participation! ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐: โ BEFORE CLASS: Early Monday morning, I post materials so students can print the story and other items. โฆTHE FIRST CLASS OF THE WEEK: In the first class, students prepare to read by discussing essential questions. Then, we read the short story together, and the instructor annotates the story as we read. After reading, the instructor teaches aspects of the literature: author's craft, literary elements, figurative language, irony, etc. Depending on the time available, they will write their own questions for the Socratic Seminar and the instructor will give feedback on the quality of their questions. โฃ๏ธ HOMEWORK: Students will reread the story and annotate it themselves. They complete work on a Socratic Seminar Prep Sheet, which gives them a chance to think deeply in preparation for the next dayโs discussion. Students will sometimes have a poem to read that is an interesting pair with our short literature. They study the poem and prepare for discussion. This will take 60-90 minutes, depending on the length of the story. They turn this work in. โฅ๏ธ THE SECOND CLASS OF THE WEEK: Each student is given the opportunity to evaluate the story for its entertainment value and literary value, defending their ratings by using literary terms. It is my hope that they start to understand who they are as readers and begin to understand what kind of literature they like and don't like and why. The most fun is our BATTLE OF THE GIFs. Students have to find a GIF that illustrates the story, and we vote on the most creative and hilarious! Students will then have a student-led and teacher-supported Socratic Seminar, working to answer the essential questions, formulating theme statements, discussing the authorโs craft and worldview, and analyzing and evaluating the piece of literature. โ ๏ธ HOMEWORK (WRITING COMPONENT): Students complete a writing assignment, which should take 30-60 minutes. The pieces vary from informative, argumentative, literary analysis, literature response, and even creative writing. When they submit their work, the teacher will give feedback on their writing in the areas of ideas, analytical thinking, support of a thesis, conventions, creativity, and writing style. ๐ฅ To see teacher introduction videos, go to the Lemons-Aid profile page where you can view the video and also read bios. https://outschool.com/teachers/Karen-Lemons?usid=0BAnv5zn&signup=true&authTrigger=follow_teacher&follow=true&utm_campaign=share_leader_link โฆ๏ธโฆ๏ธโฆ๏ธโฆ๏ธโฆ๏ธโฆ๏ธโฆ๏ธโฆ๏ธโฆ๏ธโฆ๏ธโฆ๏ธโฆ๏ธโฆ๏ธโฆ๏ธโฆ๏ธโฆ๏ธ 2024-2025 SCHOOL YEAR SCHEDULE - A mix of poetry, short stories, dramas, and myths *Students can take this course for three years as the literature differs yearly. **Stories are subject to change. โฆ๏ธโฆ๏ธโฆ๏ธโฆ๏ธโฆ๏ธโฆ๏ธโฆ๏ธโฆ๏ธโฆ๏ธโฆ๏ธโฆ๏ธโฆ๏ธโฆ๏ธโฆ๏ธโฆ๏ธโฆ๏ธ ๐ September: 1st week: NO CLASS 2nd week: "Memoirs of a Yellow Dog" by O. Henry 3rd week: "The Perils of Indifference" by Elie Wiesel 4th week: "She Walks in Beauty" by Lord Byron 5th week: "The Myth of Daedalus and Icarus" by Ovid ๐ญ October: 1st week: "Jabberwocky" by Lewis Carroll AND an excerpt from ๐๐ญ๐บ๐ด๐ด๐ฆ๐ด by James Joyce 2nd week: "The Ransom of Red Chief" by O. Henry 3rd week: "A Dog's Tale" by Mark Twain 4th week: "Berenice" by Edgar Allan Poe ๐ฆ November: 1st week: "The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson 2nd week: "The Five Orange Pips" by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle 3rd week: "The Sphinx" by Edgar Allan Poe ๐ฃ๐ฑ๐ช๐ท๐ด๐ผ๐ฐ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ท๐ฐ ๐๐ป๐ฎ๐ช๐ด ๐ December: 1st week: "The Magic Shop" by H.G. Wells 2nd week: "On Tragedy" by Aristotle 3rd week: "Allegory of the Cave" by Plato AND and excerpt from "Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass" by Frederick Douglass ๐๐ฑ๐ป๐ฒ๐ผ๐ฝ๐ถ๐ช๐ผ ๐๐ป๐ฎ๐ช๐ด โ๏ธ January: 1st week: "Ozymandias" by Percy Bysshe Shelley & โA Satirical Elegy on the Death of a Late Famous Generalโ by Jonathan Swift 2nd week: Excerpt from "The Tempest" by William Shakespeare 3rd week: "Mammon and the Archer" by O. Henry AND The myth "Cupid and Psyche" by Apuleius 4th week: "What Stumped the Bluejays" by Mark Twain ๐ February: 1st week: "Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer Rose" by William Shakespeare 2nd week: Excerpts from ๐๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฐ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐๐ถ๐ญ๐ช๐ฆ๐ต by William Shakespeare 3rd week: "The Duplicity of Hargraves" by O. Henry 4th week: "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty" by James Thurber โ๏ธ March: 1st week: Selected poems by Emily Dickinson 2nd week: "A Dream Within a Dream" by Edgar Allan Poe 3rd week: "The Adventure of the Creeping Man" by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle 4th week: "The Transformation of Arachne into a Spider" by Ovid 5th week: "The Model Millionaire" by Oscar Wilde โ๏ธ April: 1st week: Except from ๐๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐ฅ๐บ๐ด๐ด๐ฆ๐บ by Homer 2nd week: "Sonnet 18" by William Shakespeare AND "Sonnet XVII" by Pablo Neruda 3rd week: "The Sleuths" by O. Henry 4th week: "Luck" by Mark Twain ๐ท May: 1st week: Selected poems by William Blake 2nd week: "Letter from Birmingham Jail" by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. 3rd week: "Markheim" by Robert Louis Stevenson 4th week: "Orpheus and Eurydice" by Ovid โฆ๏ธโฆ๏ธโฆ๏ธโฆ๏ธโฆ๏ธโฆ๏ธโฆ๏ธโฆ๏ธโฆ๏ธโฆ๏ธโฆ๏ธโฆ๏ธโฆ๏ธโฆ๏ธโฆ๏ธโฆ๏ธ 2025-2026 SCHOOL YEAR SCHEDULE - All short stories *Students can take this course for three years as the literature differs yearly. **Stories are subject to change. โฆ๏ธโฆ๏ธโฆ๏ธโฆ๏ธโฆ๏ธโฆ๏ธโฆ๏ธโฆ๏ธโฆ๏ธโฆ๏ธโฆ๏ธโฆ๏ธโฆ๏ธโฆ๏ธโฆ๏ธโฆ๏ธ ๐ September: "A Retrieved Reformation" by O. Henry โThe Most Dangerous Gameโ by Richard Connell โArabyโ by James Joyce and โWitchesโ Loavesโ by O. Henry โTo Build a Fireโ by Jack London ๐ญ October: โThe Betโ by Anton Chekhov โYoung Goodman Brownโ by Nathanial Hawthorne โThe Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras Countyโ by Mark Twain โThe Body Snatcherโ by Robert Louis Stevenson ๐ฆ November: โThe Yellow Wallpaperโ by Charlotte Perkins Gilman โLamb to the Slaughterโ by Roald Dahl โRip Van Winkleโ by Washington Irving ๐ฃ๐ฑ๐ช๐ท๐ด๐ผ๐ฐ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ท๐ฐ ๐๐ป๐ฎ๐ช๐ด ๐ December: โThe Landladyโ by Roald Dahl โThe Reluctant Dragonโ by Kenneth Grahame ๐๐ฑ๐ป๐ฒ๐ผ๐ฝ๐ถ๐ช๐ผ ๐๐ป๐ฎ๐ช๐ด โ๏ธ January: โAli Baba and the Forty Thievesโ by anonymous (Arabian Nights) โA New England Nunโ by Mary E. Wilkins Freeman โAn Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridgeโ by Ambrose Bierce โStory of an Hourโ by Kate Chopin ๐ February: โThe Cask of Amontilladoโ by Edgar Allan Poe "A Sound of Thunder" by Ray Bradbury โA Good Man is Hard to Findโ by Flannery OโConnor โA Jury of Her Peersโ by Susan Glaspell โ๏ธ March: โThe Fall of the House of Usherโ by Edgar Allan Poe โThe Masque of Red Deathโ by Edgar Allan Poe โA Dark Brown Dogโ by Steven Crane โRuthlessโ by William de Mille "Federigo's Falcon" by Giovanni Boccaccio โ๏ธ April: โA Case of Identityโ by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle โThe Ones Who Walk Away From Omelasโ by Ursula K. Le Guin "The Aged Mother" by Matsuo Basho "The Antique Ring" by Nathaniel Hawthorne "An Angel in Disguise" by T.S. Arthur ๐ท May: "The Happy Prince" by Oscar Wilde "Yesterday Was Beautiful" by Roald Dahl "Springtime a la Carte" by O. Henry "The Tell Tale Heart" by Edgar Allan Poe โฆ๏ธโฆ๏ธโฆ๏ธโฆ๏ธโฆ๏ธโฆ๏ธโฆ๏ธโฆ๏ธโฆ๏ธโฆ๏ธโฆ๏ธโฆ๏ธโฆ๏ธโฆ๏ธโฆ๏ธโฆ๏ธ 2026-2027 SCHOOL YEAR SCHEDULE - A mix of short stories, poetry, and myths *Students can take this course for three years as the literature differs yearly. **Stories are subject to change. โฆ๏ธโฆ๏ธโฆ๏ธโฆ๏ธโฆ๏ธโฆ๏ธโฆ๏ธโฆ๏ธโฆ๏ธโฆ๏ธโฆ๏ธโฆ๏ธโฆ๏ธโฆ๏ธโฆ๏ธโฆ๏ธ ๐ September: โThe Lady or the Tigerโ by Frank R. Stockton "The Phantom Rickshaw" by Rudyard Kipling "Genesis and Catastrophe: A True Story" by Roald Dahl ๐ญ October: "The Guilty Party" by O. Henry "Harrison Bergeron" by Kurt Vonnegut โThe Black Catโ by Edgar Allan Poe "The Pedestrian" by Ray Bradbury ๐ฆ November: "The Man in the Well" by Ira Sher & Excerpt from "The Overcoat" by Nikolai Gogol "The Pit and the Pendulum" by Edgar Allan Poe "The Last Leaf" by O. Henry "The Story of the Bad Little Boy" by Mark Twain ๐ฃ๐ฑ๐ช๐ท๐ด๐ผ๐ฐ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ท๐ฐ ๐๐ป๐ฎ๐ช๐ด ๐ December: "The Sniper" by Liam O'Flaherty "The Gift of the Magi" by O. Henry ๐๐ฑ๐ป๐ฒ๐ผ๐ฝ๐ถ๐ช๐ผ ๐๐ป๐ฎ๐ช๐ด โ๏ธ January: "Dr. Heidegger's Experiment" by Nathaniel Hawthorne "Eleonora" AND "The Raven" by Edgar Allan Poe "Sweat" by Zora Neal Hurston "Everyday Use" by Alice Walker ๐ February: "The Law of Life" by Jack London "Echo and Narcissus" by Ovid, translated by Brookes More "Through the Tunnel" by Doris Lessing "The Storyteller" by Saki โ๏ธ March: "The Open Window" by Saki "A Horseman in the Sky" by Ambrose Bierce "The Ambitious Guest" by Nathaniel Hawthorne "A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez โ๏ธ April: "A Dead Woman's Secret" AND "Was It a Dream?" by Guy de Maupassant "Never Bet the Devil Your Head" by Edgar Allan Poe "The Fly" by Katherine Mansfield "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner" by Samuel Taylor Coleridge ๐ท May (class may end sometime this month): "The Selfish Giant" by Oscar Wilde "Poor, Dear Margaret Kirby" by Kathleen Norris "The Last Dream of Old Oak" by Hans Christian Anderson "Showdown" by Shirley Jackson
Learning Goals
Improve reading comprehension of upper-level high school texts.Learn to think deeply about literature.
Other Details
Parental Guidance
***While we read many touching and sweet stories, others have mature themes, such as murder, violence, suicide, revenge, alcohol, death, prejudices, guilt, racism, betrayal, etc., and are intended for mature secondary students. For example, in Edgar Allan Poe's "The Cask of Amontillado," the main character is a murderer getting revenge. He takes a drunken man down to a cellar and buries him alive. We discuss revenge, the potential for wickedness in men, the dangers of drunkenness, verbal irony, and how people can use deceptive language to manipulate others. I AVOID stories with sexual themes as well as modern stories. Many stories have religious allusions, and I sometimes point them out so that students understand the literary and cultural relevance of such. Discussion is focused on what the characters believe, what the author believes, and what beliefs were central to literary periods of time, such as the romantics or even the dark romantics. A particular religion or a belief system is neither favored nor advanced. The stories we do read are classics and most--if not all--were written a century ago or longer and are commonly read in high schools. They help students understand the world in which they live as they ponder deep questions that are as relevant now as they were then. Stories are written with a Lexile score between 700-1400. Parents are welcome to listen in to class or to watch the recording, which I automatically post. I encourage students to talk to their parents about the stories and the issues we discuss.***
Pre-Requisites
I highly recommend your learner take this argumentative writing class before or along with this short story class. https://outschool.com/classes/argument-writing-assert-reason-counter-xTL0qcUm?usid=0BAnv5zn&signup=true&utm_campaign=s
Supply List
The instructor provides all materials. Students will use Google Docs & Drive.
External Resources
In addition to the Outschool classroom, this class uses:
Sources
Literature will be provided to students in class.
Joined June, 2020
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Teacher expertise and credentials
6 teachers have teaching certificates
New York Teaching Certificate in English/Language Arts
Pennsylvania Teaching Certificate in English/Language Arts
Pennsylvania Teaching Certificate in English/Language Arts
Washington Teaching Certificate in Foreign Language
Washington Teaching Certificate in English/Language Arts
Washington Teaching Certificate in Social Studies/History
North Carolina Teaching Certificate in English/Language Arts
Missouri Teaching Certificate
Tennessee Teaching Certificate in Science
2 teachers have a Graduate degree
Master's Degree in Education from Liberty University
Master's Degree in Education from Western Governors University
11 teachers have a Bachelor's degree
Bachelor's Degree from Purdue University
Bachelor's Degree in Education from Philadelphia College of Bible
Bachelor's Degree in Education from Millersville University
Bachelor's Degree in Education from Liberty University
Bachelor's Degree in English from Florida State University
Bachelor's Degree in Psychology from Catawba College
Bachelor's Degree in Early Childhood Education from Missouri State University
Bachelor's Degree in Music from Western Connecticut State University
Bachelor's Degree in Political Science and Government from Patrick Henry College
Bachelor's Degree in Biology/Biological Sciences from Middle Tennessee State University
Bachelor's Degree in Mathematics from University of Northwestern - St. Paul
The founder of Lemons-Aid, Mrs. Lemons has a B.A. in English and an M.Ed in Education Administration. She is certified to teach English, has a principal's license, and has many years of experience at every level. She also supervises teachers in their undergraduate and graduate-level teacher preparation programs at Colorado Christian University. She is a teacher of teachers.
All teachers who teach this class have an appropriate degree, teaching experience, and training, giving your learner a teacher who is a content-area expert who loves kids. Mrs. Lemons is very selective and only hires the very best. They are star teachers!Reviews
Live Group Class
$49
weekly ($25 per class)2x per week
45 min
Completed by 115 learners
Live video meetings
Ages: 14-18
4-15 learners per class
