High School Freshman Literature

by heavenstobetty, posted in Homeschool

This year my oldest (9th grade) is using IEW Structure and Style for English/Language Arts. So far, so good. These are the “recommended optional books”. But yeah, “recommended optional books” are required in my homeschool. 😁 Sorry, not sorry son.

I purchased “Julius Cesar” as a graphic novel. We recently finished “Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea” on Audible. I’m planning on reading “The Princess Bride” aloud. We listened to “Treasure Island” this past summer. I read “Around the World in 80 Days” aloud a few years ago. I’m thinking that an additional assignment for reading “Tom Sawyer” will be to create a redacted version that’s cleaned up to today’s standards. I think I had “A Man for All Seasons” as required reading when I was in high school but I don’t remember it. My son initially balked at “The Whydah” but ended up enjoying it since he loves true information, factual type books.

I’m happy with the selections IEW recommended. I’ll probably add a few other required books to support some of his other high school courses, TBD.

I’m also really hoping to get to my goal of reading “Little Women” by Louisa May Alcott this year. Do you happen to have a favorite audio version of that title? There are lots of them.

What’s on your high school freshman reading list?

15 thoughts on “High School Freshman Literature”

  1. I love your reading suggestions!! Last night I just finished reading Louisiana’s Way Home by Kate DiCamillo and it’s so good. If you guys have time, give it a try. It’s an easy read but the content is deep with lots of sadness but hope too.
    I hope your 9th grader enjoys his reading!!

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    1. We loved “Because of Winn Dixie” by DiCamillo. Thanks for the suggestion! I’m always on the lookout for reading suggestions!
      My son was hitting a wall with the assigned reading. “A Man for All Seasons” is a bit different and he couldn’t seem to get into it or be disciplined to just read it. I pulled out all the assigned books so he could see how far along he was and how little he had left to complete. I hope it worked, and he’ll be motivated to make some progress! 📚

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      1. I’m so proud that your son is doing his assigned readings!! Good going and I hope he pushes through the last bit. Please tell him that he’s almost there and that he should be proud of all the work he’s done so far. Cheering him on!!

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  2. BTW, are you taking an IEW class? Both my kids are taking an online class: Ellis is doing Medieval History and Elliot is doing U.S. History. Elliot has made a lot of progress with IEW, and it took him 2 years. I don’t know if you remember how this kid despised writing and writing anything was torture for him. Just this past month or so, he’s been able to write his rough and final drafts by himself, which is major for someone who cried writing sentences. Please don’t think I’m bragging, because that is not at all why I’m sharing. I just wanted to share how IEW helps A LOT!

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    1. I had ordered the deluxe full version with the parent classes, but I haven’t taken them yet. You?
      I’m glad Elliot enjoys IEW! That’s good to know. I’ve heard great things about the program. I have a couple of very reluctant writers/readers myself. And yes, we too, have been in tears over a sentence or two. Please tell Elliot that we get it, and we’re proud of him! 😊

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      1. I had to outsource the teaching to someone else, because the process became too stressful for me and Elliot. Also, I wasn’t consistent enough with the curriculum to make the lesson stick with him; the curriculum I used to teach writing was Brave Writer.
        But our ES told us about teacher who are trained through IEW who teach online classes. You can find them on the IEW website. So the teacher teaches the kids once a week for an hour and I help them with writing rough drafts and editing final drafts. I recommend it! It will cut down on a lot of stress for you.
        Thank you so much for the encouragement! I told Elliot and he was beaming. It’s been a rough go for him with learning how to read and learning how to write. Reading for fun is still a sore issue for him.

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      2. Which is your favorite Jules Verne book (that’s we’ve listened to), and why?

        B (age 10) boy – 20,000 Leagues bc of all the action scenes
        K (age 12) girl – Journey to the Center of the Earth bc I don’t like the squid in 20,000 Leagues
        S (age 14) boy – 20,000 Leagues bc … idk

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    1. Agreed! 👍👍 (two very enthusiastic thumbs up)
      We have a USA map and a world map on the wall in our dining room. I make little copies of book covers 2 inches tall, and we stick them on the map where the books are set. It’s so fun. I’ll have to post a photo of it. I didn’t come up with the idea, but I think it’s such a good one. 🗺️ 📚

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