*I received the yearlong homeschool literature curriculum, High School Modern Literature Series by Literary Adventures, for one year in exchange for this review. However, the opinions expressed are solely my own. This post also contains affiliate links for your convenience.*
Last year, my rising 9th grader and I used the Book Clubs in the Clubhouse Membership from Literary Adventures to read eight books throughout our homeschool year. We enjoyed them so much, we decided to use one of Literary Adventures high school courses for our freshman year.
Literary Adventures has six different high school courses to choose from. Their suggestion for 9th grade is their Poetry and a Movie Series. And while I am sure we would have enjoyed the movies in the series, I could not picture my son studying poetry for an entire year.
However, I loved the book selection in their Modern Literature Course, which just released this summer AND can be done at any grade level, so that is what we chose! I have purchased the books, created a schedule for reading them, scheduled out our first week of lessons and we are now a couple days in. The course definitely includes everything one would want to cover in a high school ELA course…vocabulary, spelling, grammar, and writing projects PLUS fun Rabbit Trails and Magic Dust! I will explain what those are below. 😊
I am also sharing how we are adapting the different sections for my particular learner.
High School Modern Literature Course
There are nine books in the course and each one has its own four-week mini course. There are also four one-week courses about mini parables. These can be great to spread throughout the year when a one week course would work better in your schedule or you just need a break from reading longer books.
The Nine Books Included in the Modern Literature Course
We purchased two copies of each book so that it is easy for us to both do the daily readings on our own and them come back together to discuss the book and other activities.
The books can be read in any order, but we scheduled them in the order below. We decided to start with some lighter, fun books to get us started.
Below is a short description of each book. I also noted which books have movies as we plan to watch the movies at the end of each of those books and compare.
The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan (2005) – In our first book, the main character discovers he is the son of Poseidon and must navigate a world where Greek gods and monsters exist in modern America, leading to a quest to prevent a war between the gods. (This is the first in a series of eight books. A movie based on the book was released in 2010.) (416 pages)
Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs (2011) – In the next book, the main character discovers a hidden island home for children with supernatural abilities, protected by a time loop. When monsters threaten their home, he must help defend it while uncovering family secrets. (This is the first in a series of six books. A movie based on the book was released in 2016.) (382 pages)
Under the Mesquite by Guadalupe Garcia McCall (2011) – This novel in verse is about a Mexican-American teenager who must balance her dreams of becoming an actress with caring for her family when her mother is diagnosed with cancer. (240 pages)
The Giver by Lois Lowry (1993) – In this popular, Newbury Medal award winning book, there exists a seemingly perfect society without pain, war, or suffering. A young boy is chosen to receive all human memories and discovers the dark truth behind his community’s peace. ( A movie based on the book was released in 2014) (240 pages)
Unwind by Neal Shusterman (2007) – In a dystopian future where parents can have their teenagers “unwound” (harvested for organs), three teens on the run must survive while questioning the ethics of their society. (384 pages)
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins (2020) – This prequel to The Hunger Games series focuses on young Coriolanus Snow as he mentors a tribute from District 12, exploring the origins of tyranny. (528 pages)
Maus I and II by Art Spiegelman (1986, 1991) – A graphic memoir depicting the author’s father’s experiences as a Holocaust survivor, told through the metaphor of mice (Jews) and cats (Nazis). ( 300 pages)
I Must Betray You by Ruta Sepetys (2022) – Set in 1989 Romania under Ceaușescu’s regime, a teenager is blackmailed into becoming an informer for the secret police while his country stands on the brink of revolution. (336 pages)
Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson (1999) – A high school freshman struggles with selective mutism and social isolation after a traumatic incident at a party, gradually finding her voice and the courage to speak her truth. (224 pages)
In addition, the four parables, The Missing Piece by Shel Silverstein, The Sneetches by Dr. Seuss, Hope for the Flowers by Trina Paulus, and The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery, each with their own one week class are included in the course.
Schedule
For each book, there is a schedule of what to read each week. I further break this down into daily assignments for my son. But if the course is used in the later years of high school, the weekly schedule can be used to allow the student to pace themselves.
When you log-in to your account, you will see the weekly theme and all of the lessons for the week. Clicking on a particular lesson will open that lesson on the right-hand side while keeping the list visible on the left.
Literary Elements
There is literary element highlighted with each book. For example in The Giver, the element is irony and for Under the Mesquite it is symbolism and metaphors. The element is taught and practiced through various activities throughout the month.
For The Lightning Thief, we are learning about the Hero’s Journey. The first week, we are digging into the idea of protagonists and antagonists. We had a great carry-over discussion last night at dinner about different TV shows and movies and who the protagonists and antagonists might be.
Vocabulary and Spelling Work
Vocabulary words are given for each chapter in a book. The direction in the course is to look for the words as you read.
This is part of the course you can definitely make your own. I ask my son to look up a certain number of words each day (usually 3-5) and write down their definitions. Then, write a sentence for each one. Alternatively, if he finds the word in his reading, he can copy the sentence into his notebook.
Literary Adventures has included Quizlet cards for the vocabulary words at the high school level. A definition is given and the student then picks the correct word out of four choices. This provides some quick practice after writing definitions and sentences.
The course also includes spelling practice for the vocabulary words. The students clicks a button and a word is read out loud. There is space to type the word and then feedback is given as to whether you spelled it correctly or not. I found the voice hard to understand and given some of my son’s processing challenges I think he will, too. I plan to repeat the words out loud for him so they are easier for him to understand.
I will likely add a crossword puzzle at the end of the week using the specific words he looked up during the week. I like to use the Crossword Puzzle Maker from The Teacher’s Corner when I need to make up a quick puzzle.
Grammar Work
There is a short grammar review in each week of the course where students watch a video and then are cued to find the type of grammar discussed in their reading.
For example, each of the grammar lessons for our first book, The Lightning Thief, center around verbs. The four topics, one per week, are: action verbs, linking verbs, helping verbs, and verb tenses.
I have asked my son after watching the video to explain to me what he learned. Then to point out some of those verbs in what he just read. We may further discuss how the author’s use of those words contributed to the story. This is another place in the course you can really make it your own.
Rabbit Trails
Rabbit Trails were our favorite part of our middle school course last year and we are glad they kept them for high school! These are short lessons that teach about a topic related to the book. For example, during the first week of The Lightning Thief, the Rabbit Trail topics are Dyslexia & ADHD, New York City, Minotaur, The Fates, and Gaia. Most consist of a short written introduction and then a video or two to watch. Sometimes there is music to listen to or an article to read instead.
The Rabbit Trails help students connect the book to the real world and learn some history at the same time. They also foster great discussions and may start your student off on an independent study of the topic!
Magic Dust
Magic Dust are your hands-on projects. There is one for each of the first three weeks of a book. We definitely pick and choose which projects we do, typically only choosing one per book
We are planning to do the Family Tree of the Gods of Olympus with our first book. This topic is probably not of high interest to my son, but I think visualizing the hierarchy of the gods will relate to one of his areas of high interest, which is coding. Plus, organizational skills are an area he needs to work on and this will be a great project to target those skills.
The other Magic Dust in The Lightning Thief course are Capture the Flag and Arachne’s Weaving,
Discussion Questions
At the end of each week there are “Questions to Ponder”. Five to eight questions about that’s week reading are provided as a jumping off point for discussions. This is a new activity for us in moving from the middle school to high school courses and I really appreciate that they are included. Thinking of discussion questions is not a strong suit for me and any I come up with might be better suited for a women’s book club, than a high school discussion!
There is encouragement in this section for the student to spend 10-15 minutes freewriting about one of the questions. You can even share your writing with Literary Adventures, if you choose! I think this a great activity and can help kids prepare for college and scholarship essays. I plan on trying it a few times with my son, but I feel like it might become a point of contention. Maybe I will be surprised!
Regardless, he will have plenty of writing practice as part of this course…
Writing Project
Students have a writing project each week. For each book, the weekly projects build upon each other so that by the end of the book, the students will have created a full project. Here are the projects students will create for each book:
The Lightning Thief: An essay on the Hero’s Journey
Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children: A story focusing on the use of imagery
Under the Mesquite: A story written in verse
The Giver: Compare and contrast essay
Unwind: A survival guide for the characters
The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes: Fanfiction
Maus I & II: An allegory
I Must Betray You: A series of resistance writings
Speak: Writing a journal
Show What You Know
Something else that is new at the high school level is a weekly “Show What You Know.” The course indicates it will take about 45 minutes. It includes a spelling assessment where the parent reads a passage from the book for the student to write. The assessment also asks students to explain the literary element that was discussed that week, and take short grammar and vocabulary tests.
Knowing that there will be an assessment at the end of the week motivates students to put a more effort into committing to memory what they are learning. The assessment also provides a routine for the teacher to easily provide a grade each week.
Support for Homeschool Parent-Teachers
While these course are created in a way where you can really make them your own, there is plenty of support if DIY homeschool within your comfort zone. A short, downloadable teacher’s guide is provided with the course to help implement and grade the different sections.
Dachelle. the creator of Literary Adventures, also offers live office hours via Voxer. This is a free walkie-talkie type of app where you can exchange text and voice messages with her. She offers these hours a couple full days each month and it is an opportunity for members to get feedback on using the homeschool literature curriculum with their kids.
Is This Course For You?
If you are someone wants a meaty literature course, that covers all aspects one should have in an ELA course, but wants it delivered in a fun way that you can adapt to your needs, then this course is for you. It definitely needs a parent to be involved in discussions and to provide a structure for working through the course.
If you are looking for a course where your student is completely independent and assigned what to do each day, then this is not the course for you.
Try Before You Buy
Committing to a full year course from a new curriculum creator is a big commitment! If Literary Adventures sounds like a homeschool curriculum that might work for your family, check out a sample course for free. Call of the Wild is the free high school club. Or if one of the books above sounds good, you can always buy just that one course.
