British Literature – Homeschool High School English Curriculum Review

If you’re trying to find a solid high school British literature curriculum for your homeschool, it can honestly feel a little overwhelming. There are so many programs out there, and not all of them make literature interesting or manageable for teens.

I had the chance to review Learning Language Arts Through Literature: The Gold Book from Common Sense Press, and I really liked how it combines classic literature with practical writing instruction in a way that feels organized without being intimidating.

This curriculum is designed as a full English homeschool curriculum for high school students, but it also works well as a complete language arts course since it includes both literature and composition.

I used some of the younger books with my boys with they were little, I love sharing a good book with my kids and being able to discuss the topics found in the book together.

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What’s Included

The set I reviewed included:

• The Gold Book British Literature student book
• The British Literature Anthology
• The British Literature Test Booklet

Everything works together to create a pretty complete literature-based program for high school students. This book is meant to be for 11th grade. But any teen who is ready to tackle these books could use this curriculum.

I love British literature; there are so many great books here for your child to study. I remember reading them when I was in high school myself. Which was a long, long time ago, lol.

The curriculum itself is easy to use and open and go. There are chapters assigned to the child to read, and then there are questions or summaries that can be written or done orally.

You can decide how slowly or quickly to go through the lessons based on your child’s reading. If they need more time, you can just take it; it’s very flexible. You can decide if your child should do all of the work in the daily lesson or pick and choose.

Once you gather up the books from the reading list, you have everything you need to start. The books are all classics and were easy to find.

Book List

• Emma
• A Tale of Two Cities
• The Time Machine
• Frankenstein
• Animal Farm
• The Hobbit

I like that there is background information about the book or author, and a lot of the questions used after the readings can be done as discussion questions. You could do this study along with your child to have further discussions with them. There is an answer key at the back for you to use in your marking, which makes it easy for a parent to use as a resource.

I like that the questions are varied for each set of chapter or section readings; they provoke thought to really get the child thinking about the material they’re reading. It’s not just a write a summary here and that’s it. But it’s not endless questions to the point where the child will get tired of the work, because you can decide which ones they complete.

Writing Lessons Included

I like that writing is woven into this curriculum; reading and then digesting what they’ve read should be the base of any literature study.

Students complete:

• Three five-paragraph essays
• Two five-page essays
• A book report
• A classic essay

Because this is written to be used in the 11th grade, I didn’t find the writing instructions as detailed as those for the essays, perhaps because the child would already know how to write an essay at this point in their education. If this is your child’s first time encountering five-paragraph essays, then you’d likely need more instruction here. This was the only place I felt the child needed more instruction.

However, if your child started writing essays in grade eight or nine, I think you’d be fine.

A New Edition Was Released This Year

One of the exciting things about this curriculum is that a brand-new edition was released this year with several additions that make the course even more engaging.

The Golden Age of British Mysteries

One of my favorite additions is the section on The Golden Age of British Mysteries.

Honestly, this is such a smart addition for high school students because mystery stories naturally pull readers in. It gives students exposure to an important genre in British literature while keeping reading interesting.

For teens who don’t always love classic literature, this section helps make the course feel more approachable.

British Humor Makes the Course More Fun

Another thing I liked was the focus on British humor through stories by:

• P. G. Wodehouse
• H. H. Munro
• A. A. Milne

Sometimes literature courses can feel very serious all the time, so it was nice seeing humor included as part of the curriculum. It adds variety and gives students a chance to see different writing styles and tones.

Students Study British Essays

The curriculum also includes essays from:

• Virginia Woolf
• T. S. Eliot
• Max Beerbohm

These selections help students work through more advanced nonfiction writing while building analytical reading skills.

It’s More Than Just Literature

What stood out to me most is that this is really a literature-based language arts curriculum for high school, not just a collection of reading assignments.

Students work on:

• Literary analysis
• Vocabulary
• Composition
• Reading comprehension
• Critical thinking
• Essay writing

I like it when literature and writing are connected naturally instead of feeling like completely separate subjects.

Overall, I found The Gold Book to be well organized, academically strong, and easier to use than some high school literature programs I’ve seen.

I especially liked:

• Daily lessons are all laid out and easy to follow
• The variety of literature selections
• The added mystery and humor sections
• The combination of literature and composition

It feels challenging enough for high school students without becoming overwhelming.

If you’re looking for a British literature homeschool curriculum that combines classic literature with solid writing instruction, The Gold Book is definitely worth checking out.

The updated edition adds some really interesting content, and the writing support helps students build confidence as they work through more advanced assignments.

You can learn more about Learning Language Arts Through Literature: The Gold Book and use the promo code LivingLife15 to save 15% on your order.

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