High School Literature & Composition

Course: High School Literature and Composition I & II - Shelley George 
Olivia Oster class listed below

Grade Level: 9-10
Day/Time: Tuesday 8:20 - 9:50am OR Tuesday 10:30am - 12:00pm OR Tuesday 12:15 - 1:45pm OR Wednesday 10:40am - 12:10pm
Instructor: Shelley George
Cost: $86 per month + $45 application fee
Online Availability: Students can enroll in this class as an Online Real Time student, pending teacher approval.
Books:  The books may be purchased at Bookfinder.com,  Amazon, Abebooks, Christianbook, or Barnes and Noble.  If you have trouble locating a copy of the Easy Grammar, go to easygrammar.com. 

• A Beka World Literature Classics for Christians, Volume 4, 4th Edition, 2012 OR Volume 4, 3rd Edition, 2010

• Easy Grammar Ultimate Series: 180 Daily Teaching Lessons Grade 10 Student Workbook, by Wanda Phillips (2010 edition), ISBN # 0936981644; the 10th grade workbook will be used for the 2025-2026 year, and the 9th grade workbook will be used for 2026-2027. The comprehensive workbooks cover similar concepts but with different exercises.  

• Write Source Student Book 10, (soft or hard cover) ISBN # 0-669-00907-5. (If you own the Write Source Student Book from last year’s Literature and Composition grades 9-10 class, you do not need to purchase Student Book 10; they both cover the same material.) 

Supply List: 1” three-ring binder, binder dividers, notebook paper, pencils, and a red pen
Description: God’s redemptive work and man’s sin will be addressed as we take a journey around the globe.  Robert Frost, Lord Tennyson, Emily Dickinson, Martin Luther, Hannah Hurnard, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Isaac Watts, Leo Tolstoy, Victor Hugo, John Milton, Homer, Plato, Virgil, and Aesop are just a few of the authors that will be a part of our celebration through World Literature. Extensive reading, five-paragraph essays, vocabulary tests, weekly journal responses and other literary projects will be assigned.  Each semester students will choose a biography to read and analyze, in addition to the required reading.  The Write Source books will equip students with strong grammar skills, polish their existing sentence structure, and help prepare them for the grammar section of the ACT.  A two-year rotation of books is incorporated so your child can take the class two years in a row without repeating information, homework, tests, etc.  Next year, in 2026-2027, we will focus on American Literature.

Course: High School Literature and Composition I & II - Olivia Oster 
Shelley George classes listed above

Grade Level: 9-10
Day/Time: Tuesday 1:55 - 3:20pm
Instructor: Olivia Oster
Cost: $86 per month + $45 application fee
Online Availability: Students can enroll in this class as an Online Real Time student, pending teacher approval.
Books:  Order used or new online through Amazon, Thrift Books, AbeBooks, or try McKay’s. Please note that we will use the full, original version of each book.

Fall & Spring Semester

• Haroun and the Sea of Stories, by Salmon Rushdie, ISBN# 9780140157376

• Les Miserables, High School Edition, by Victor Hugo, ISBN# 1549764748

• City of the Beasts, by Isabel Allende, ISBN# B00C7GBJX2

• Zenzele, by Nozipo Maraire, ISBN# 0385318227

• A New Grammary, by Olivia Oster, ISBN# 979-8210544629

Spring Semester Only

• City of the Beasts, by Isabel Allende, ISBN# B00C7GBJX2

• Zenzele, by Nozipo Maraire, ISBN# 0385318227

• A New Grammary, by Olivia Oster, ISBN# 979-8210544629

Books may be purchased at Amazon, Abebooks, Christian Books, or Barnes and Noble. Mrs. Oster will have copies of A New Grammary available for $15 on the first day of class. (They are around $25 on Amazon.)
Supply List: 1” three-ring binder, binder dividers, notebook paper, and pencils
Description: Our literary journey around the world begins in India with a beautiful allegory about stories and then moves onto France to the novel that has inspired the iconic musical. After trekking in the Brazilian rainforest, we’ll take a trip into the fictional past of China, (through short stories available online) then end our year discovering important African history and wisdom. Throughout our journey we will be faithfully applying a Biblical worldview to encourage and enliven our reading, our writing, and our faith as well as using references from classical literature. The books will be read in the order they are listed above.  Sentence structure, grammar, punctuation, and essay writing will also be covered through class grammar starters, weekly assignments, and semester writing projects. It is my prayer for these students that they will grow in faith and understand better the breadth, excitement, and wonder of being a Christian in today’s world through these works of literature. Five-paragraph essays, short stories, vocabulary tests, weekly journal responses, and other literary projects will be assigned. A two-year rotation of books is incorporated, so your child can take the class two years in a row without repeating information, homework, or tests.  Next year, in 2026-2027, we will focus on American Literature.  You can check the class blog (hhlosterlit.blogspot.com) to gain more insight into this class, its literary works, and the grammar lessons.

Course: High School Literature and Composition III & IV 

Grade Level: 11-12
Day/Time: Wednesday 12:40 - 2:10pm OR Thursday 10:30 - 12:00pm OR Thursday 12:15 - 1:45pm
Instructor: Shelley George
Cost: $86 per month + $45 application fee
Online Availability: Students can enroll in this class as an Online Real Time student, pending teacher approval.
Books:  Books may be purchased at Amazon, Abebooks, Christian Books, or Barnes and Noble.  If you have trouble locating a copy of the Easy Grammar, go to easygrammar.com. 

Fall & Spring Semester

• Easy Grammar Ultimate Series: 180 Daily Teaching Lessons, Grade 11 Student Workbook, by Dr. Wanda C. Phillips, ISBN 978-0936981901

• Write Source Student Book, ISBN 9780669531374 or 9780669009088 (If you have the Write Source Student Book from last year’s Literature and Composition grades 9-10 class, you can use it – instead of purchasing this new one) 

• 101 Amazing Stories of Hope and Faith: Inspiring Stories from Real Life, ISBN 978-1496446671 

Students also need to purchase one book from each section below:

Section 1 – Screwtape Letters, by C.S. Lewis; Pilgrim’s Progress, by John Bunyan or Confessions, by St. Augustine

Section 2 – The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald; Lord of the Flies, by William Golding or The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne

Section 3 – Night, by Elie Wiesel; The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, by John Boyne or Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl

Section 4 – Improving your Serve, by Charles R. Swindoll; The Starbucks Experience, by Joseph Michelli; The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership, by John C. Maxwell or The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, by Stephen R. Covey

Section 5 – David Copperfield, Oliver Twist, Great Expectations, or A Tale of Two Cities (all by Charles Dickens)

We have not listed ISBN numbers for the “Section (1-5) books” because it does not matter which copy you purchase.  All these books have been published multiple times and should be easy to find.

Spring Semester Only

• Easy Grammar Ultimate Series: 180 Daily Teaching Lessons, Grade 12 Student Workbook, by Dr. Wanda C. Phillips, ISBN 978-0936981567

• Write Source Student Book, ISBN 9780669531374 or 9780669009088 (If you have the Write Source Student Book from last year’s Literature and Composition grades 9-10 class, you can use it – instead of purchasing this new one) 

• 101 Amazing Stories of Hope and Faith: Inspiring Stories from Real Life, ISBN 978-1496446671 

Students also need to purchase one book from each section below:

Section 4 – Improving your Serve, by Charles R. Swindoll; The Starbucks Experience, by Joseph Michelli; The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership, by John C. Maxwell or The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, by Stephen R. Covey

Section 5 – David Copperfield, Oliver Twist, Great Expectations, or A Tale of Two Cities (all by Charles Dickens)
We have not listed ISBN numbers for the “Section (1-5) books” because it does not matter which copy you purchase.  All these books have been published multiple times and should be easy to find.

Supply List: 1” three-ring binder, binder dividers, notebook paper, pencils, and a red pen
Description: Take a wild literary ride through some of the greatest classics! We will embark on a literary journey that will engage students and help them develop stronger reading and writing skills.  Students will read, analyze, and respond to thought-provoking works. The literary works will be discussed from a Biblical worldview and universal themes will be addressed. Extensive reading, vocabulary tests, weekly journal responses, 5-paragraph essays, and other literary projects will be assigned. Each semester students will choose a biography to read and analyze, in addition to the required reading.  The Write Source books will equip students with strong grammar skills, polish their existing sentence structure, and help prepare them for the grammar section of the ACT.  A two-year rotation of books is incorporated so your student can take the class two years in a row without repeating information, homework, tests, etc.   Next year we will read a completely different selection of classics.

Course: High School Writing Intensive (fall semester only)

Grade Level: 9-12
Day/Time: Wednesday 2:20 - 3:20pm
Instructor: Olivia Oster
Cost: $62 per month + $25 application fee
Online Availability: Students can enroll in this class as an Online Real Time student, pending teacher approval.
Book: Please purchase in class for $15 - Do not purchase on Amazon, it is much more expensive.

• A New Grammary by Olivia Oster, ISBN: 979-8210544629

Supply List: 1” three-ring binder, binder dividers, notebook paper, and pencils
Description: Writing well is an essential but uncommon skill that can win scholarships, open occupational doors, and clarify important communications. Your child’s writing ability will be enhanced through this dedicated time during the school week. Using four writing assignments, this single semester course will improve writing skills through group work, discussions, revisions, in-class exercises, and homework with the end goal of instilling confidence in the college-bound writer. The course will reinforce writing fundamentals, including sentence structure, punctuation, capitalization, paragraph structure, self-editing, and proofreading as well as increasing writing abilities through mastering each step of the writing process. We will cover thesis development, the use of citations of secondary sources, effective organization, using mature grammatical structures, and developing strong transitions and unified paragraphs. Peer and teacher feedback will be available while all homework, classwork, and writing assignments will be accessible on the teacher’s website. Various handouts will be used to create a college writing resource notebook.