Complete Homeschool High School Language Arts Curriculum
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When I dream about my ideal homeschool high school language arts curriculum I want something that:
- Is personalized to include books my high schoolers will enjoy
- Has a mix of classic novels and modern literature
- Includes literary elements, grammar, vocabulary, and writing
- Sprinkles in a bit of fun
- Bonus – Someone else does most of the teaching
For many years I put together a plan like this myself for my high school students. It takes quite a bit of time to put together a comprehensive high school language arts curriculum!
Thankfully, we don’t have to create this dream language arts curriculum on our own. Literary Adventures for Kids has done the work for us with the Society for Literary Adventurers!
Complete Homeschool High School Language Arts Curriculum
The Society for Literary Adventurers (aka the Society) is a high school language arts program that offers:
- A variety of online courses
- Monthly interactive book club
- Instructor feedback
- Workshops for homeschool parents
It is a comprehensive English course that combines easy-to-follow lessons, online resources, rabbit trails, and magic dust to teach reading, spelling, grammar, vocabulary, and writing. It is a win-win! Teens actually enjoy the lessons so they learn the material. Parents don’t have to fight with their students and most of the teaching is done for them.
At the end of the year, the student will have earned one high school language arts credit.
Variety of Online Courses
Poetry and a Movie
My daughter took this course when she was in 9th grade. I really liked that this course taught poetry better than I ever could. It provided just the right amount of literary instruction while still being enjoyable.
Each month she focused on one poet. She read and analyzed their poetry. At the end of the month, she watched a movie that either paired well with a poet or used a poem as inspiration.
The poets include:
- Samuel Taylor Coleridge
- William Blake
- Edgar Allen Poe
- Walt Whitman
- Lord Alfred Tennyson
- Langston Hughes
- William Wordsworth
- William Butler Yeats
- Dylan Thomas
- Robert Frost
American Literature
The American Literature course focuses on American literary classics. Each month students read one novel. Through that novel, they study grammar, vocabulary, and literary elements. There is also a writing project to accompany each novel. Every month, and book, wraps up with a little celebration. Many of these books pair well with an American history course.
The American literature books included are:
- Up From Slavery
- The Great Gatsby
- To Kill a Mockingbird
- The Scarlet Letter
- The Call of the Wild
- Of Mice and Men
- Little Women
- The Outsiders
- Slaughterhouse-Five
- Fahrenheit 451
British Literature
The British literature course structure is similar to the American literature course structure. I like that the formats are similar because that makes things flow well from year to year.
Each month students will read one novel. They will learn grammar, vocabulary, and literary elements while reading the book. There is also a writing project to accompany each novel so teens can work on their writing skills.
The books can be read in any order that the students prefer.
The British literature titles include:
- Murder on the Orient Express
- The Eagle of the Ninth
- The Hound of the Baskervilles
- Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
- Animal Farm
- Emma
- Frankenstein
- Alice in Wonderland
- A Tale of Two Cities
- A Midsummer Night’s Dream
World Literature
The World literature course follows the same format as the American literature and British literature courses. It would pair very nicely with a World history course. Students will learn grammar and vocabulary as they work their way through the novels. Each month includes a writing activity.
The World literature titles include:
- A Long Way Home
- Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress
- Crime and Punishment
- I am Malala
- Midnight’s Children
- Refugee
- The Alchemist
- The Book Thief
- The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind
- The Boys in the Boat
Shakespeare
The Shakespeare course is a little different than the other courses. This course only lasts one semester while the others last for a whole school year. This means it is worth 0.5 language arts credits.
It can be a great high school language arts elective or parts of it can be used to enhance one of the other courses.
The plays include:
- A Midsummer Night’s Dream
- Twelfth Night
- Romeo and Juliet
- Macbeth
There is also a section about William Shakespeare.
Individual Book Clubs
The beauty of the Society is that you have access to all of the high school book clubs. You are not locked into the ones in any course. This means that you can create a custom language arts plan.
The book clubs work like a novel study. The student reads one each month while working through the assignments. They learn grammar, vocabulary, and literary elements just like they would in the courses.
The individual book clubs include:
Every title mentioned in the courses
- Edgar Allan Poe mini-course
- The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes
- A Poem a Day
- A Christmas Carol
Each month there are private interactive live book clubs for the students to attend virtually if they choose. The titles and dates are announced early so you can work them into your homeschool lesson plans.
Parent Workshops
The parent workshops are a perk of being a Society member. Each month parents can hear a presentation that will help them in their role as homeschool parents. Think of it like homeschool teacher professional development.
Some of the past workshops have included sessions on planning high school courses, the importance of including certain subjects, planning workshops, and how to start a community book club.
The parent workshops are not included with the lite membership.
Membership Tiers
There are three Society membership tiers:
Lite – This tier includes only the courses and instructor feedback. It does not include the parent workshops, interactive book clubs, bonuses, or a trial.
Premium – This tier includes everything:
- All of the courses and book clubs
- Instructor feedback and live office hours via Zoom (This a great way for students or parents to get questions answered!)
- Interactive book clubs
- Monthly live poetry teatimes
- Online access to current and past workshops
- All bonuses (including how to write research papers)
- 7 Day-free trial
- Community group
Lifetime – This membership tier includes everything in the premium tier with the exception of the free trial. Pay one time and then you never have to pay again.
Personally, I like the premium tier the best because you get access to everything but are not locked in forever.
The lifetime tier makes sense though if you homeschool a lot of kids or are just beginning your homeschooling high school journey.
Society of Literary Adventurers Questions
What is the advantage of buying the Society vs individual book clubs?
The Society offers a few advantages:
- The courses combine book studies to create full-credit high school language arts courses
- Flexibility – If your teen truly hates a book you can swap it out without needing to purchase another book club
- Specifically for the high school years
- Members-only bonuses – The bonuses are not available to people who purchase the individual book clubs. The bonuses include:
- How to Write a Research Paper Course
- Book club planner
- Nature journal
How is grading handled?
The instructors can give feedback, but grading is ultimately a parent’s responsibility. It doesn’t need to be complicated though. I teach to mastery and that worked just fine for us when my daughter took the A Poet and a Movie course.
What do parents need to do?
Parents are responsible for:
- Making sure students stay on track (I give them a list of one week of assignments at a time. This is easy to see on the online platform.)
- Getting any necessary supplies
- Grading
The courses take care of most of the teaching needs, but I liked to check in and make sure that my kids were understanding everything.
What if I don’t think my teen can complete all of the books in one year?
The courses recommend that a student complete a minimum of 8 books in one school year. Ultimately, you are the administrator of your homeschool and get to make the final decision on what is required in a high school language arts course. You know your student’s grade level best.
I encourage you to let your student try to meet that pacing, but I do understand that sometimes that just isn’t possible. You get to decide what is worth a high school English credit in your homeschool.
What types of instructional strategies does the Society use?
The courses are all online, with the exception of the novel. Lesson formats vary but include:
- Reading chapters in a novel
- Reading informational text online
- Watching online videos
- Online quizzes
- Writing essays and literary analysis
I definitely recommend checking out the Society of Literary Adventurers! My husband and son plan to do a bit of international traveling this school year, and I think this will be a great homeschool language arts curriculum to use while traveling.
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