(Formerly “Lit Club”)

Studying literature creates empathy and compassion, allows you to see the world through the filter of others’ beliefs, and allows you to have experiences and adventures that can permanently shape your view of the world without even leaving your couch! Not only that, but studying literature broadens your vocabulary (which in turn improves your writing), strengthens your own grasp of grammar and composition, and sharpens your critical thinking abilities and reading comprehension, making you a stronger communicator and equipping you with important reasoning skills. This year-long literature survey class will bring books to life with engaging activities and lively discussion while contributing to students’ development as thinkers and writers. We’ll utilize a wide variety of literary genres in order to discuss the elements of literature, learn about different periods of history, and discover how great literature can challenge, teach, and affect us.

The books featured in this class deal with a number of mature issues (gang violence, social engineering, politics, euthanasia, racism, adultery, war, mental illness, etc.) and some may include racial slurs, strong/crass language/swearing, so it is recommended that students be at least sixteen years old to enroll. Our classroom conversations will likely (hopefully!) delve into deep issues as we engage with the challenging and sometimes even controversial contents of these books. While my worldview as a Christian will naturally affect the viewpoint I contribute to our conversations, it is expected that your student’s worldview will also natural affect theirs – students will be encouraged to share freely and also respect the views and opinions of others who may not see things the same way. Parents are encouraged to read along with their teen so they can discuss the themes and content of the books at home and share their own family’s virtues, values, and views with their teen on the subject matter being covered.

Students will be assigned roughly 20-30 pages of reading per day Monday-Friday, as well as brief weekly homework assignments. They will be graded on class participation, weekly homework, and semester projects.

This course (which meets Wednesdays at 2pm and is taught by a multi-published novelist) can be counted as one English credit for your student’s high school transcript, however students can also enroll in only one semester for half the listed fee and count it for half an English credit. Combining one semester with a one-semester writing or grammar class would also create one full credit; combining the entire year-long course with my year-long grammar course or two of my single semester courses would create two full credits.

The reading list can be found below. I am partnering with Buy the Book, a new and used bookstore here in The Woodlands, to provide students with a 10% discount off their class books! Email me at Alison.Morrow@legacyoaksacademy.com to place your order. You can request the full bundle or one semester’s selections only, all new books or a mix of new and used (depending on their availability), or specific books to accompany the books from the list that you already own. You will pick up and pay for your books at their store (25162 Grogan’s Park Dr.). You can also contact the store to order directly from them; just let them know you’re purchasing the books for Mrs. Morrow’s literature class at Legacy Oaks Academy!

Fall semester:
-The Outsiders (S. E, Hinton)
– The Giver (Lois Lowry)
– Murder on the Orient Express (Agatha Christie)
– Great Gatsby (F. Scott Fitzgerald)
– Romeo and Juliet (William Shakespeare – I recommend getting an edition that includes vocabulary definitions and scene summaries. One such version is the Folger Shakespeare Library Updated Edition, which publishes the play itself on the right page of each page spread and vocabulary definitions on the left so readers can easily look up confusing terminology as they read. It has also modernized spelling and punctuation to make the already challenging text a little more accessible to contemporary readers.)
– Our Town (Thornton Wilder)
– Short stories (Eve’s Diary (Mark Twain), The Lottery (Shirley Jackson),  Flowers for Algernon (Daniel Keyes) – these are all available for free online, links will be provided)

Spring Semester:
– The Hiding Place (Corrie ten Boom)
– To Kill a Mockingbird (Harper Lee)
– Animal Farm (George Orwell)
– Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry (Mildred Taylor)
– Ender’s Game (Orson Scott Card)
– Various Poetry Selections (TBD)

This class is normally $850 for the year BUT is currently on sale for only $600 for the year with payment plans available. You can also register for just one semester for $300 (normally $425). Save another $100 off the year-long course when you bundle it with any of my other classes!