PREVIOUS MIDDLE SCHOOL CLASS
SEPTEMBER 2020-2021
The M&M Challenge (Mythology and Multiculturalism)
Middle School/Early High School (ages 11-15)
One of the biggest trends in 21st century fiction for middle schoolers is integrating ancient mythology into contemporary stories of a teenager’s own heroic journey. In this class, we will read, yes, The Lightning Thief. We will analyze the Hero’s Journey in the book, but we will also study the gods and goddesses, monsters and mentors, and other material related to the underlying Greek myths. Each month after that we will read a book that uses traditional myths from African, British, the Americas, Asian, and Oceanic cultures in their fictional tales, set mostly among current teen society. Not all of these heroes will be doing literal battle against powerful mythological monsters; some are discovering how the old myths help them to face more common difficulties, such as how to succeed when you are different from the norm or how to overcome racial or gender prejudice. At the conclusion of the course, students will not only have developed their literary analysis skills, but will also have a basic understanding of traditional mythology from around the world. Other traditional literary devices will also be covered, particularly through analyzing 1-3 poems per month. Students are expected to read a minimum of one book per month and to present to the class an analysis of that book, but the analysis can be in the format of their choosing (traditional essay, movie or animation, artwork, music composition or rap, creative writing or drama, Minecraft model, etc.)
PREVIOUS MIDDLE SCHOOL CLASSES
SEPTEMBER 2019-2020
The S&S Challenge (Setting and Satire)
Middle School/Early High School (11-15)
This class focuses particularly on the role the literary concept of “setting” plays in literature. A special emphasis will be the use of satirical or fantasy settings in fiction as a reflection or social criticism of real life people and societies. Other traditional literary concepts will also be covered, particularly through analyzing 1-3 poems per month. Students are expected to read a minimum of one book per month and to present to the class an analysis of that book, but the analysis can be in the format of their choosing (traditional essay, movie or animation, artwork, music composition or rap, creative writing or drama, Minecraft model, etc.).
PREVIOUS CLASS
SEPTEMBER 2018-2019
The Double-A Challenge (Analyzing Archetypes)
Middle School/Early High School (ages 11-15)
This class explores using standard personality archetypes as a means to better understand characters, both in fiction and in our real lives. Students will develop a deeper understanding of some prevalent archetypes, and will see how archetypal characters drive the plots in both classic and contemporary novels. Other traditional literary devices will also be covered, particularly through analyzing 1-3 poems per month. Students are expected to read a minimum of one book per month and to present to the class an analysis of that book, but the analysis can be in the format of their choosing (traditional essay, movie or animation, artwork, music composition or rap, creative writing or drama, Minecraft model, etc.).
PREVIOUS MIDDLE SCHOOL CLASS
SEPTEMBER 2017-2018
The Hero’s Journey by Donna Belt
The Tri-L Challenge (Literature, Language Arts, Life)
Middle School/Early High School (ages 11-15)
This class provides an introduction to Joseph Campbell’s theory of the Hero’s Journey as a tool for both literary analysis and facing our own life challenges. Students will learn to use the stages in the Hero’s Journey to better understand the plot and characters of a mixture of classic and contemporary novels. Other traditional literary devices will also be covered, particularly through analyzing 1-3 poems per month. Students are expected to read a minimum of one book per month and to present to the class an analysis of that book, but the analysis can be in the format of their choosing (traditional essay, movie or animation, artwork, music composition or rap, creative writing or drama, Minecraft model, etc.)
