LITERATURE AND COMPOSITION A 

2026-2027 Course Overview

LITERATURE

Heroes, Gods and Monsters of the Greek Myths by Bernard Evslin

The Phantom Tollbooth, by Norton Juster

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, by C.S. Lewis

Over Sea, Under Stone, by Susan Cooper

​A Midsummer Night's Dream, by William Shakespeare

Favorite Poems Old and New, by Helen Ferris (or another anthology of children's poetry)

A study of numerous poems, fables, fairy tales, and legends*    

*Provided by Instructor


PARTIAL LIST OF SKILLS TAUGHT

Literature:

  • Learn the skill and the art of reading a story well.
  • Identify foundational narrative components: setting, character, plot structure, conflict, and theme.
  • Recognize recurring motifs, archetypes, story patterns, and themes across myth, fairytale, and core texts.
  • Identify basic figures of speech (simile, metaphor, onomatopoeia, alliteration, personification) and figures of description within prose and poetry.
  • Explore descriptive and narrative poetry. 
  • Practice basic poetic scansion, analyzing rhyme schemes, metrical patterns, and stanza structure.
  • Develop familiarity with Shakespearean comedy, language, and comedic tropes.
  • Enter the "Great Conversation" by discovering how modern literature echoes, adapts, and builds upon earlier literary traditions.
  • Maintain a Commonplace Book to record and reflect upon favorite literary passages and rhetorical expressions.

Composition:  

  • Construct orderly, well-crafted narrative and descriptive compositions.
  • Learn to paraphrase sentences, paragraphs, and stories.
  • Craft single-level outlines using parallel language.
  • Utilize a dictionary and a thesaurus for vocabulary work and for improving word choice.
  • Apply a host of copia tools to craft artful sentences.
  • ​Develop skill in the art of revision and proofreading.

Grammar:

  • the eight parts of speech
  • verbs: action verbs, linking verbs, helping verbs
  • verb tense: simple and progressive
  • subject and predicate
  • subject/verb agreement
  • pronoun/antecedent agreement
  • direct objects and subject complements​
  • prepositional phrases 
  • complete sentences vs. sentence fragments
  • sentence type: simple and compound
  • sentence purpose (declarative, exclamatory, imperative, interrogative)
  • punctuation as a function of grammar


FOCUS OF WORK

In class:  

  • A balance of lecture and discussion focused on literary elements, archetypes, and connections between works 
  • Focused lessons on grammar and composition
  • Guided practice in composition
  • Review of weekly homework

Homework:

  • Read assigned literature and maintain a commonplace notebook. 
  • Complete weekly grammar and composition exercises. 
  • Complete multiple narrative compositions throughout the year.


 This syllabus is subject to revision.