We have an accredited Literature and Composition course that most 9th-grade students take their freshmen year. This course provides students with a 1 HS credit. We have open enrollment so you can certainly enroll in the course at any time.
If the student has some experience writing paragraphs and multi-paragraph compositions, reading quality literature, and using grammatically correct language, he or she could be prepared to take Literature and Composition. .
In Literature and Composition, students begin to learn and write multi-paragraph compositions and literary analysis by discussing theme, conflict, characterization, etc.. Literature and Composition students also will be introduced to high-school-level literature that may challenge the student depending on his/her reading level. In engaging with the texts, students answer discussion questions that guide their focus/interpretation, and Book Analysis essays ( 1-5 paragraphs). Book Analysis essays are distinct from "book reports" in that they focus specifically on various elements of a literary work where, depending on the prompt, they create their own thesis statement and apply relevant textual evidence. Additionally, students begin to learn how to research, format, and cite sources in a bibliography/footnotes for a 700-word min., 5-paragraph research essay on a particular saint or historical figure.
In addition to writing assignments, Literature and Composition students take comprehensive tests on the required texts, testing their retention of not only the main plot, but also deeper literary elements. Most of these questions are short answer, but there are some short-essay questions as well.
The information given below covers all the titles used in our current Literature and Composition course. All of the necessary course materials are provided to you as a part of your tuition cost (you do not have to buy books separately). As you may or may not know, for most of our courses, there are required texts, which are selections every enrolled student reads. Then, there are book analysis lists that allow the student to choose one novel out of the approved list for that specific quarter. The bolded titles are novels that students generally have the most success in our experience.
Literature and Composition
Required Texts: The Lilies of the Field by William E. Barrett, Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls, The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare.
1st Quarter:
The Bronze Bow by Elizabeth George Speare
An Old-Fashioned Girl by Louisa May Alcott
The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane (for mature readers)
2nd Quarter:
Shane by Jack Schaefer
The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway
Cyrano de Bergerac by Edmond Rostand (Brian Hooker translation)
3rd Quarter:
No book analysis due; research report due this quarter.
4th Quarter:
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi
In addition, every student enrolled in Literature and Composition is given access to Seton Online. It is a robust resource that is comprised of all the information you have in your physical course manual (which you are still going to receive) but in an online digital format. It is an aligned course. Meaning, all the assignments, and instructions for each week and day are identical between the physical course manual and Seton Online.