English Literature : Excellence in Literature (gr 8-12)

We're doing something new this year for our 8th Grade Language Arts course.
Since my 8th grader is also my eldest child, that should come as no surprise -- we get to break new ground together every year.

A dear homeschooling friend of mine used this system with her son last year.  It's called Excellence in Literature, Reading and Writing Through the Classics, by Janice Campbell.  And it's ideal for late logic and rhetoric stage learners.

I'm a science major, and the last English Lit course I took was English 1000, back too long ago to admit.  I always liked English in school, but it has not been my forte as a home school teacher. 

I have struggled over the years with finding a good structure for teaching English, and I'll admit that I haven't worried much about it.  We read.  A lot.  And we talk about books.  My son has done a couple of book reports, but after 1 or 2 of those, it feels like beating a dead horse. 

We're at the point now, though, where I would like him to start doing some structured work in Essay writing and Literary Analysis.  These are big words, but they are concepts that I feel are important to cover well, and to do this I'd like to get a good start on it.

Enter Excellence in Literature.  Oh. My. Goodness.  I can't say enough about this program. I love it.  And I'm so glad I found it when I did.  The timing is perfect.

AND, the best and most wonderful thing about it is that it's laid out for homeschoolers. There are specific tasks for the student and specific tasks for the "writing mentor" that's me...
The course is brilliant.

On top of all that goodness, it's under $30, lasts a whole year, can be used by multiple children and is downloadable so you can get started using it anytime you like! 

If you're looking for literature studies for Junior or Senior High students I urge you to have a serious look at this program. There are 5 levels altogether, perfect for using in grades 8-12.

Related posts:
Books for Excellence in Literature