LITERATURE AND COMPOSITION 3

Tentative Course Overview

Subject to revision for 2026-2027 

LITERATURE

"Rip Van Winkle" and "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow," by Washington Irving

The Aeneid, by Virgil

The Story of King Arthur and His Knights, by Howard Pyle

Great Expectations, by Charles Dickens

The Hound of the Baskervilles, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle 

The Hobbit, J.R.R. Tolkien

Animal Farm, by George Orwell

​The Yearling, by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings


PARTIAL LIST OF SKILLS TAUGHT

Building on skills taught in L&C2:

Literature:

  • expand familiarity with epic literature and devices
  • recognize updated fables ​
  • understand tone of literature
  • recognize recurrent themes in literature 
  • compare and contrast thematic content between novels (syntopical reading) 
  • understand the importance of point-of-view
  • intelligently define a classic 
  • continually be required to identify authorial intention and textual integrity (internal consistency) 
  • utilize understanding of genre to identify author intention
  • identify what a given author defines as good, true, and beautiful in a given work 
  • demonstrate ability to interact with thematic ideas orally and in writing

Composition:

  • reinforce and build upon L&C 2 skills in thesis-driven essay construction, focusing on unity, cohesion, and coherence
  • learn to skillfully integrate quotations and cite material using MLA format
  • learn new skills in organizing and writing the comparison essay and exploratory essay
  • practice using sentence variety for interest, style, and emphasis
  • practice using grammar knowledge to improve writing 
  • practice modeling well-written pieces and generating original compositions
  • improve skills in paraphrasing, summarizing, and outlining
  • practice writing concise and relevant introductions and conclusions 

Grammar:

  • nouns: concrete/abstract, collective, and direct address
  • pronouns: relative, indefinite, reflexive, intensive, person
  • verbs: principle parts, regular/irregular, active and passive voice, progressive tense
  • conjunctions: correlative and conjunctive adverbs
  • subject complements: predicate nominative and predicate adjective​
  • adverbial and adjectival phrases
  • punctuation as a function of grammar
  • dependent clauses: adjective, adverb, noun


FOCUS OF WORK

In class:  

  • A balance of lecture and discussion focusing on literary analysis and literary appreciation. 
  • Focused lessons on grammar and composition.
  • Guided practice in composition.
  • Review of weekly grammar homework.​

Homework:

  • Read assigned literature and prepare for discussion. 
  • Complete weekly composition assignments. 
  • Complete weekly grammar practice. 
  • Complete multiple developed compositions throughout the year. 

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