Brenda Wade

This course covers modern American History and some world history from 1850 to 2000 and beyond. Topics include the Civil War and Reconstruction, western migration, the Spanish American War, World War I and World War II, the Great Depression, the Korean War, the Cold War, Civil Rights, the Space Race, the Vietnam War, and wars in the Middle East (yes, that is a lot of war).  We’ll learn about the states as they are admitted to the Union and the Presidents (yes, there will be memory work).  Geography lessons and mapwork will reinforce the history lessons.  Homework will be checked for completion only; students will need to self-check their answers for accuracy.  We will have three tests per semester. 

We will be using BiblioPlan materials, but it seems the publisher is upgrading the Year 4 materials.  When the new materials are available this spring, I will decide then which edition we will use. 

This course introduces students to literary analysis using Teaching the Classics videos and the Windows to the World workbook to analyze and discuss several short stories to start. Then we will apply what we’ve learned to three or four novels, including The Lord of the Rings series.  Homework will include exercises from the workbook as well as analysis worksheets such as story plot charts (which I will give to students).  Written assignments will include five or six paragraphs and one essay per semester.  There will be several short quizzes per semester that will focus on story/novel vocabulary and content.  Upper-level students are welcome to take the class even if they have already had other literature classes.  

Required books:

• Windows to the World Student Book by Lesha Myers (Institute for Excellence in Writing)

• The Lord of the Rings Trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien (I’m using the 50th Anniversary, one-volume edition published in 2004, but definitely a paperback version)