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One thing I loved about majoring in English at university was that after I got a few core classes out of the way, I was able to pick and choose classes that suited my interests.
There is no reason why you can’t use the same approach and create your own high school English credits for your children that will align with what they are interested in.
A lesson from a veteran homeschooler
The year I started homeschooling, I volunteered at our church library. The librarian had homeschooled her children until they graduated from high school. She told me how her son hated writing essays for her. He loved everything to do with technology though. So, she suggested he start a blog writing reviews of tech products and she told him she would count his reviews as his English writing.
A year later he had written many many sentences with no further complaints. And he had lots of people reading his writing. And companies were sending him free products to review!!
That story challenged me to try to think outside the box when a traditional curriculum wasn’t working for one of my children. It also encouraged me to try to incorporate their own interests into lessons wherever possible.
In 9th grade, I created an Arthurian Legend English credit for my oldest daughter based on one I had done at college. It was a success and so after that, I would choose a literature curriculum (I didn’t create anymore) and then added grammar, punctuation, vocabulary etc as necessary.
What must you include when creating an English curriculum?
You want to be sure, that by the time your teen graduates from high school, they know how to use good grammar, have an extensive vocabulary, be able to write the basic types of papers and be able to discuss literature and poetry with understanding.
You have 4 years to achieve that – and you can achieve it in SO many different ways.
If you are piecing it all together yourself, here are some resources I used with my children that I can recommend:
And here is a fun grammar program I would have LOVED had it been available then
You can either use a writing program – 7 Sisters Homeschool has a variety of good options – or you can assign some “real” writing eg blogging to cover this aspect of English.
A module approach to creating English curriculum
If you don’t feel confident in your ability to develop your own English curriculum, then there is something else I can suggest. You can find online 1/2 credit (1 semester) classes to put together to create a full English credit. This is similar to what students will do at college and allows you to find the topics your child will enjoy.
FundaFunda has started creating classes to cater to this approach. We currently offer
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- Writing Mechanics: This class covers grammar, vocabulary, punctuation, and how to write the 4 basic types of essays.
- Visual Literacy: This class gives students the tools to notice more of the images in their daily lives and learn how to critically engage with them.
- Exploring Jane Austen: Students learn about Jane Austen and the world she lived in and then read three of her novels. Assignments are engaging and relevant to 21st-century teens.
In addition, here are some other options:
You can also select use literature guides from 7 Sisters Homeschool and make your own selection of what books to study.
Just want it all done for you?
FundaFunda does also offer full-year English 1 and English Honors classes. These classes are asynchronous so fit into any schedule. There are weekly deadlines and all assignments are graded for you.
Prefer a live class? True North Homeschool offers a number of live English classes (please note: their classes are from a Christian worldview)
With so many options, you can make sure your teens enjoy their English studies and are well equipped for college and careers.
Meryl van der Merwe
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