Courses

Honours Literary Analysis of Short Works*

Taught by Laura Morefield
ages 14+ (or permission of instructor)

Add the companion Honours Literary Analysis Writing Lab
to provide the writing component required for a full high school English credit

Full-Year 32-week Course

Course Overview:

Honours Literary Analysis of Short Works is a discussion-centered literature course designed for high school students who are ready for deep, thoughtful engagement with complex texts. Using carefully selected short stories, poetry, speeches, and other short-form works, the course minimizes outside reading while maximizing intellectual depth in class. Students explore literary meaning, structure, and significance through guided discussion and analytical inquiry.

*Add the companion Honours Literary Analysis Writing Lab to provide the writing component required for a full high school English credit. (Thursdays 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. ET)

Course Description:

This is an advanced literature course designed to cultivate sophisticated reading and interpretive skills in high school students. Rather than assigning lengthy novels, the course focuses on powerful short stories, poetry, speeches, and other short works, allowing students to engage deeply with language, structure, theme, and cultural context without an overwhelming reading load outside of class.

Through close reading and seminar-style discussion, students analyze how authors construct meaning through literary devices such as symbolism, imagery, tone, structure, characterization, and rhetorical strategy. Works will include texts by writers such as Ray Bradbury, Rosario Ferre, Emily Dickinson, Langston Hughes, and speeches by figures such as Martin Luther King Jr. and Abraham Lincoln.

Course discussion dives deeply into textual analysis with full class participation in learning how to support interpretations with evidence, consider multiple perspectives, and evaluate literary significance within broader historical and cultural frameworks. By focusing on short works, students develop habits of precise, attentive reading that prepare them for advanced literary study.

*A typical English course from middle school through to the end of high school requires both a literature component and a writing component. Our courses are designed to enable you to choose the best combination for your learner’s needs.

Literature Options:	Writing Options:
English Lit: Genre Cohorts: ages 9-12 / ages 11-13 / ages 12+ ages 13-16 / ages 15+ / Parents	Writing 1 ages 9-15
	Creative Writing: Springboard ages 9-13
	Writing 2 Completion of Writing 1
	Writing 2: Encore Completion of Writing 2
Introduction to Literary Analysis of Short Works ages 13+	Creative Writing: Deeper Writing ages 13+
	Essay Writing Lab ages 14+ (or permission)
	Research Papers Writing Lab ages 14+
Honours Literary Analysis of Short Works ages 14+	Honours Literary Analysis of Short Works Writing Lab ages 14+

Schedule and Cost:

Tuesday 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. ET

Course Dates (click to download pdf)

For Tuition Fees, Code of Conduct, and all the details, see THE FINE PRINT

What your Student will Learn:

By the end of this course, students will be able to:

• Closely read and annotate complex literary texts

• Identify and analyze literary devices such as symbolism, imagery, tone, and structure

• Interpret theme and authorial purpose

• Support interpretations with specific textual evidence

• Engage respectfully and thoughtfully in seminar-style discussions

• Consider historical and cultural context in literary interpretation

• Articulate complex ideas clearly in discussion

Why this Course is Important:

This course teaches students how to read deeply, a skill that is required for students in advanced high school and college courses. By focusing on rich short works and engaging in guided, discussion-based analysis, students learn to think critically, listen carefully, and articulate complex ideas with confidence. The seminar format strengthens intellectual maturity, respectful dialogue, and evidence-based reasoning. These habits prepare students for higher-level English courses, standardized assessments, and college classes, as well as preparing them for analytical coursework in other academic disciplines.

Class Structure and Homework:

• Weekly Discussions & Assignments: In each live, weekly class, students will engage in discussions around the techniques of literary analysis, applying them to the texts they read as homework.

• Parental Involvement: Parents are welcome to join Google Classroom as students to stay informed on assignments and support their teen’s progress throughout the course.

Upon registration, students and parents will be provided with a Google Classroom link to join. Class materials and assignments will be posted directly to Classroom, and students may communicate with each other through this platform. Students may communicate with the instructor through Classroom and student inquiries are usually addressed as quickly as possible between 9:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m. ET. Student inquiries made on the day of class may be addressed in class instead of through Classroom.

Course Materials:

Students will be given access to the short works via links, PDFs, Google Docs, or videos.