Homeschool Literature Curriculum for Your High Schooler Made Easy

Are you looking for a homeschool literature curriculum for your high schooler that is easy to use for both you and your student? Find a good fit with Common Sense Press.

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post for Common Sense Press. I received free product and was compensated for my time. I am not required to give a positive review and all opinions are my own. This post contains affiliate links. See my full disclosure for more information.

Choosing homeschool curriculum has always been a love/hate thing for me. I love that I have the freedom to choose resources that will fit our homeschool needs best. But I hate that having so many wonderful resources to choose from makes me question if I’m making the best choice.

This worry has become much larger as my kids are getting older. We’re beginning to move into the high school years, and it feels like my curriculum decisions matter so much more now.

From our first year of homeschooling, I have focused on keeping our days simplified. We’re a busy family, and I’ve always homeschooled at least three of my children at the same time. So when I choose curriculum, I look for resources that are easy to use for both my children and me.

This is still just as important to me as I now look for high school curriculum. When I started looking for a high school literature program for my upcoming high schooler, my biggest requirement was that I needed to find a resource that my son and I would both enjoy using. A resource that didn’t over-complicate our busy homeschool day. Luckily I found an easy to use curriculum through Common Sense Press.

Homeschool Literature Curriculum that Is Easy to Use

Along with something we enjoy using, there were several other aspects I wanted in a homeschool literature curriculum for my high schooler. I wanted to find an open and go curriculum that covered the entire school year. With three kids in a wide age range to homeschool, I need curriculum that doesn’t require a lot of planning or teaching time.

For my high schooler, I wanted resources that he can use on his own to encourage independence. My son likes to know exactly what work is required each day. He wants his assignments to have purpose and not be lots of busywork. But I also realize that this particular child isn’t a huge fan of reading. So I needed a flexible curriculum too. Something that could go at his pace with varied lessons.

Luckily, we found a curriculum that benefits both of us. Learning Language Arts through Literature, or LLATL, is an open and go curriculum that is easy to use. We both found The Gold Book-British Literature to be a great high school literature program for him.

LLATL The Gold Book-British Literature: An Overview

If you aren’t familiar with them, Learning Language Arts through Literature is a literature-based program for grades 1-12. Each level is separated by color. The high school series is The Gold Book. They offer British Literature, American Literature, World Literature, and Literary Criticism. Each level is a full-year curriculum for 36 weeks. The high school series contains five days of lessons each week that is meant to be mostly independent work.

My son and I were able to try out The Gold Book-British Literature. Along with the textbook, Common Sense Press offers a test and answer booklet that also contains course notes. They also offer A British Poetry Anthology which contains the poetry used throughout the textbook. This inexpensive booklet makes it quite easy to find the necessary poetry passages used in lessons. The five novels used in British Literature will also need to be obtained through the library or bookstore. Overall it’s a pretty affordable curriculum.

Benefits of Using LLATL The Gold Book-British Literature

My son and I both enjoyed various aspects of The Gold Book-British Literature. First of all, I appreciated the ease of obtaining the necessary books. The five novels studied in British Literature are easily found in the library or bookstore. I was able to find mine inexpensively at an online used bookstore. The rest of the books needed can be found right in the Common Sense Press online store.

Additionally, the textbook is very open and go. The weekly lessons are easily found numbered for each day of the week. The textbook contains the lessons and answers to the discussion questions found in the lessons, so it’s meant for both the parent and student to use. By high school age, I don’t mind the answers to discussion questions being in the same textbook. Students at this age can take charge of their own learning and check work themselves.

Why You’ll Enjoy Using this Homeschool Literature Curriculum

As a busy homeschool mom, I like that I don’t need to do much planning to prepare for the course. The lessons are all numbered and ready to go. The books are easy to find, and the tests are already prepared. There’s very little prep work that I need to do, which is so helpful when I have two younger children to homeschool as well.

My son also found much to like with this textbook. He enjoyed the independence that came from using it the most. As one of my older children, he likes being able to do work on his own and take charge of his learning. But he also appreciated the background information and notes offered in the book to help him understand the novels and poetry.

It’s Not Just Reading

Along with reading wonderful literature, these books also have students work on literary analysis. My son and I both felt that the questions for both the poetry and novels were interesting and helpful. Another benefit with these questions especially is that answers can be written or used in discussion between parent and child. Throughout the year there are some months when we’re busier than others, so it’s nice to have the option to answer more quickly or spend a little more time discussing the works together.

Students also have writing assignments beyond the daily questions throughout this textbook. Some are shorter paragraphs, while others are longer essays. You won’t find any writing lessons as it appears to be assumed the student knows how to write paragraphs. However, the instructions on what is expected in the paragraphs are given, such as how to begin the paragraph, how many words to write, and how to end the paragraphs. If you need a writing program to teach writing, this isn’t the book to use. But it is a good book to use for literary analysis for those who know how to write. I think the whole Gold Level series is great to use for your homeschool literature curriculum.

Finding quality curriculum to use with high schoolers can be intimidating and overwhelming. But you can find great materials out there to use through the high school years that both you and your high schoolers will enjoy. I think Learning Language Arts through Literature The Gold Book is a homeschool literature curriculum you’ll want to try.