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      • L2-Y2-St. Patrick’s Summer
      • Level 3 & 4 Gospel
      • Level 3 Old Testament
    • Language Arts
    • History
      • National History Outline for Australian Students
      • L1B|L1A-This Country of Ours
      • L1|L2-Introduction to American History
        • L1|L2-Further Reading–American History
      • L1|L2-Introduction to British History
        • British History Lesson Plans
        • L2|Y1-Further Reading–British History
        • L2-Our (An) Island Story
        • L2-Introduction to British History for American Students
        • L1|L2-2year-Introduction to British History for British Students
        • L1|L2-3year-Introduction to British History
        • L2-Introduction to British History for British Students – 3 Year Option
        • L1A|L2|L3-Our Lady’s Dowry
      • L1A -Bible History
      • L1A-Ancient Egypt
      • L2-Ancient Greece
      • L2-Ancient Rome
      • Level 3 World History
        • L3-Y1|Y2 – World History Reading List
      • L3-American History
        • L3-From Sea to Shining Sea Reading List
      • L4-20th Century World History
    • Geography & Earth Studies
      • Introduction to Geography and Earth Studies
      • L1B-Map Location Key
      • L1B-Rivers and Oceans
      • L1A-Weather
      • L1A–Y1– Maps & Mapping
      • L1A-Y1-Earth Studies – Weather
        • British Weather Lore
      • L1A-Y2-Mountains and Volcanoes
      • L3-4 Geography: History of Exploration
      • L4 – Geography of Europe
      • L3|L4-Geology
    • How to Study Shakespeare
      • Shakespeare Plan
      • An Introduction to Shakespeare
      • Comedy of Errors
      • Hamlet
      • Henry V
      • Notes on Julius Caesar
        • Julius Caesar
      • Macbeth
      • Much Ado About Nothing
      • Notes on The Merchant of Venice
        • The Merchant of Venice
      • Notes on The Taming of the Shrew
      • The Tempest
      • Notes on Twelfth Night
    • Science
      • Notes on Nature Study
      • L1B-Nature Study
      • L1A–Y1-Science
        • L1A-Y1-ARCHIVED-Science
      • L1A–Y2-Science
        • L1A–Y2-ARCHIVED- Science
      • L2-Y1-Science In Ancient Greece
      • L2-Y2-Human Body and History of Medicine
      • L3|L4-Science
        • L3-Science Through Time (Secrets of the Universe)
        • L3-ARCHIVED-Science
    • Poetry Plan
      • How to Read a Poem
    • Tales
      • L1A Tales
      • L2 Mythology
      • L3&4 Tales
    • Picture Study
      • Picture Study Resources – All Levels
    • Music Appreciation – All Levels
    • Civics
      • Plutarch
  • Prep Level
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  • High School – Level 5 & 6
    • High School Religion
    • High School English
    • High School History
    • High School Geography
    • High School Government, Economics, and Civics
    • High School Science
    • On Track to Graduation
    • A Sample Daily Schedule

High School English

Level 5 & 6 English

Choose ONE one-credit course of study for each year of high school

The levels and years listed here are recommendations and may be moved around to different years, though they are designed as a sequence to parallel the history sequences.

Level 5 Year 1

Classical Epics, British Literature to 1500 

1 credit

Lesson Plans

English Literature:

Poetry, Prose, and Drama, Book One, Memoria Press, 1x weekly N

(a family might opt to use the study guide for this book for narration/essay prompts)

Plus: 

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

Canterbury Tales (Prologue and excerpts)

Great Myths of the World, Colum (free online here)

Classical and Old English Epic: 

Term 1: The Iliad 2x weekly N (free online version)

Term 2: The Odyssey 2x weekly N (free online version)

Term 3: The Aeneid (free online version), Beowulf  2x weekly N

(again, a family might opt to use the study guides that accompany the Memoria Press books)

Drama: 

Shakespeare 1x weekly: 

Term 1: Twelfth Night (Globe Theatre 2012 Original Practices production)

Term 2:  Henry V (Kenneth Branagh)

Term 3: Julius Caesar (Marlon Brando)

Watch one live or filmed production per term (recommendations above)

Honors option: write a finished essay evaluating the production

Additional drama 1x weekly: 

Term 1: Antigone (Sophocles) 

Term 2: Everyman (in Memoria Press Poetry, Prose and Drama: Book One)

Term 3: (ad lib another Greek drama or medieval mystery play if time)

Watch one live or filmed production per term

Honors option: write a finished essay evaluating the production

Studied Dictation (optional at this stage, but recommended for Level 5): 

Spelling Wisdom Book 4: Study a given passage for 2 days, write on the 3rd day, weekly 

Composition: 

Term 1: daily written narration, 7 Sisters Introductory Guide to High School Essay Writing OR BraveWriter’s Help for High School  1x weekly

Term 2: daily written narration, 7 Sisters Introductory Guide to High School Essay Writing OR  BraveWriter’s Help for High School 1x weekly

Term 3:  daily written narration, researched essay in Weeks 30-35

End-of-term essays and essay exams, research project on a chosen topic at the end of Term 2, per Help for High School, longer research paper on a chosen topic at the end of Term 3

Honors option: at least six extra short essays (300-500 words) or pieces of creative writing per term. These essays may touch on readings in English or any other subject, including current events, and may count as honors credit in any subjects touched in these essays. 

Level 5 Year 2

Dante, British poetry to 1900

1 credit 

Lesson plans (scroll down for Y2)

Literature:

The British Tradition II, 1x weekly N

Great Myths of the World, Colum (free online here) 1x weekly N

Epic: The Divine Comedy 2x weekly (1 Canto per reading, typically)

Term 1: Inferno

Term 2: Purgatorio

Term 3: Paradiso

Study guides are available for all these Memoria Press resources

A helpful online Dante study guide

Drama: 

Shakespeare 1x weekly: 

Term 1: As You Like It (Globe Theatre)

Term 2: Richard III (2012 Globe Theatre Original Practices production)

Term 3: Macbeth (Ian McKellen/Judi Dench)

Watch one live or filmed production per term N

Honors option: read then watch the play and write a finished essay about the production

Studied Dictation (optional at this stage, but recommended for Level 5): 

Spelling Wisdom Book 5: Study a given passage for 2 days, write on the 3rd day, weekly

Composition: 

All Terms: written narration, end-of-term essays, Traditional English Sentence Style, Einarsson. The lesson plans will also continue to make reference to Help for High School. 

Honors option: at least six extra short essays (300-500 words) or pieces of creative writing per term. These essays may touch on readings in English or any other subject, including current events, and may count as honors credit in any subjects touched in these essays. 

Level 6 Year 1

Novels, English Poetry, American Literature 

1 credit

Lesson Plans

Literature:

The British Tradition II (continued from Level 5 Year 2 into Level 6 Year 1, Term 1), AND Poetry Book 

Three: The Romantic to the Victorian Age 1x every other week (alternating with American lit) N

Poetry and Short Stories: American Literature 1x every other week (alternating with British poetry) N

Readings in American Prose, as scheduled in the lesson plans N

Great Myths of the World, Colum (free online here) (Term 1 only)

Novels 2x weekly N: 

Term 1: Pride and Prejudice

Term 2: David Copperfield

Term 3: Huckleberry Finn

Drama: 

Shakespeare 1x weekly: 

Term 1: Much Ado About Nothing (Branagh or David Tennant)

Term 2: Hamlet (Mel Gibson or David Tennant)

Term 3: The Tempest (Globe Theatre w/Roger Allam)

Watch one live or filmed production per term N

Honors option: write a finished essay evaluating the production

Composition: 

On Writing Well, Zinsser 1x weekly

Term 1: Parts I-II

Term 2: Part III

Term 3: Part IV

Composition will also continue to include daily written narration across all readings in all subjects, plus one finished essay per term and end-of-term essay exams. 

The lesson plans will continue to make reference to Help for High School. 

Honors option: at least six extra short essays (300-500 words) or pieces of creative writing per term. These essays may touch on readings in English or any other subject, including current events, and may count as honors credit in any subjects touched in these essays. 

Level 6 Year 2: 

Novels, Literary Genre Study: 1 credit

Lesson Plans

Literary Genre Study:

Perrine’s Literature: Structure, Sound, and Sense, Arp and Johnson

OR (better) Structure, Sound, and Sense, Perrine 

Note: I have the 1970 edition of Structure, Sound, and Sense. It’s worth searching for inexpensive early editions with Perrine as sole author. I actually own three copies of the 1970 edition, two of which I bought for under ten dollars at the same time via either ThriftBooks or AbeBooks, but any edition you can find will work. I will schedule from the edition I have, trying to avoid page numbers, because those might not be consistent. I often give my children some choice of short story or poem to focus on after reading a chapter, which gives you leeway if you have a different edition with different choices.  – Sally

Term 1: Fiction 3x weekly N, but study questions and exercises are helpful 

Term 2: Poetry 4x weekly N,  but ditto

Term 3: Poetry and Drama 3x weekly N, but ditto

Novels (ad lib/free reading): 

Term 1: My Antonia, Cather

Term 2: The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald; Gaudy Night, Sayers

Term 3: Invisible Man, Ellison

Drama: 

Shakespeare: 

Term 1: The Winter’s Tale

Term 2: King Lear 

Term 3: A Midsummer Night’s Dream

Watch one live or filmed production per term N

Honors option: write a finished essay evaluating the production

Honors option: read and/or watch Will Arbery’s Heroes of the Fourth Turning and write an essay about this contemporary play by a Catholic playwright.

Composition: 

Office of Assertion: An Art of Rhetoric for the Academic Essay, Crider (Term 1 only)

Written narration daily, plus one finished essay per term. 

Honors option: at least six extra short essays (300-500 words) or pieces of creative writing per term. These essays may touch on readings in English or any other subject, including current events, and may count as honors credit in any subjects touched in these essays. 

*** High Honors option: a year-long Senior Thesis on a topic of the student’s choice, researched, written, and (optionally) delivered as a presentation at the end of the year. A family may choose to use Classical Academic Press’s Senior Thesis program as a guide. 

Further options for studied dictation passages include: 

    • Any passages from the student’s own reading in any subject
  • Wheeler’s Graded Studies in Great Authors (especially good for students new to dictation, or who continue to struggle with spelling and writing)
  • Posterity: Letters of Great Americans to Their Children 

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Mater Amabilis

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Copywork Made Clear

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A Tour of the MA website

Here is a brief tour through the website, including how to find the introduction, overview, subject helps, and level landing pages. We have also included a tour of level 1A as an example of the resources available for most levels, and a quick look at the high school levels.

The Joy of Copywork

by Sally Thomas I’ve always loved copywork. In grade school, the nicest days – aside from the days when the art teacher read us Amelia Bedelia – were the days when the teacher handed us a poem, purple, damp, and vaguely vanilla-scented, fresh from the ditto machine. Generally it was a poem of the season, … Read More about The Joy of Copywork

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