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Book Buzz, novel study – Spring 2019

$124.50

NEW Course! “There’s something about discussing a book with other enthusiasts that imprints it on your mind and fills out the experience. Join me while we take time to enjoy a book every semester in a way that combines analysis, criticism, and just plain fun. Let’s jump into a novel or play and experience it from the inside out.” ~ “Prof.” Deborah

Available

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Instructor

Deborah Simon, M.Ed.
Content Level

High School
Course Length

8-Week Course – Spring (January start date)
Enrollment

Enrollment Options Linked Below

Description

Like a good meal, great novels take time to experience. Literature classes, as survey courses, have limited time to explore a novel in-depth. But this class will allow you the time to savor the entirety of a novel.

Two weeks prior to class, you will have access to resources that will guide your independent reading. You should finish reading our chosen piece of literature by the end of the first week of class.

We will explore various aspects of the work throughout the first seven weeks of class. These aspects will be specific to the work itself and will also include:

  • Author
  • Setting
  • Social Influences
  • Cultural Impact
  • Characters
  • Protagonist(s)
  • Antagonist(s)
  • Conflict(s)
  • Vocabulary
  • Plot
  • Figurative Language
  • Themes

During the final week of class, you will choose one of your favorite aspects of this literary work, develop a lesson, and teach us to value and understand that aspect in an interesting exciting way.

Each class will feature a new novel. The current schedule is:

  • Spring 2019: A Tale of Two Cities, Charles Dickens
  • Fall 2019: War and Peace, Leo Tolstoy
  • Spring 2020: Catch-22, Joseph Heller
  • Fall 2020: Jane Eyre, Charlotte Brontë
  • Spring 2021: Moby Dick, Herman Melville
  • Fall 2021: Silas Marner, George Eliot
  • Spring 2022: The Trial, Franz Kafka
  • Fall 2022: All the Pretty Horses, Cormac McCarthy
  • Spring 2023: Screwtape Letters, C. S. Lewis
  • Fall 2023: A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court, Mark Twain
  • Spring 2024: The Old Man and the Sea, Earnest Hemingway

Note to Parents: 

What to Expect

What to expect during the course:

  • A forum topic that reflects the week’s focus is opened so that you can add an individual opinion and participate in a group discussion.
  • A character journal, glossary, plot map, author profile, culminating project, and other work-specific projects.
  • Outside links including articles, information sheets, and videos will be posted each week to help you examine and learn more about the week’s focus.
  • An extra credit writing assignment to comparing and contrasting a film or other adaptation of a work to the work itself.

This class delves into a chosen literary work to understand its place in history, society, and culture as well as its structure, elements, and devices. The class will work together in an analytical and project-based approach to grasp the full breadth of the author and their work’s significance and meaning. Students should be prepared and able to read the work independently before approaching it together as a class.

May be taken asynchronously by listening to recordings rather than attending live class sessions.

Athena’s Book Buzz Syllabus

Materials & More

Before taking this course, students should be able to:  

  • Work at a 9th grade literary analytical and writing ability level.
  • Working knowledge of 9th-grade-level literary figurative language and elements.
  • Desire to understand the inner workings of the novel, novella, and drama genres.
  • Ability and willingness to attend class and discuss novels with others.

Students should be willing to:

  • Be prepared for the webinar.
  • Be willing to complete and stay current on the required readings for the class.
  • Be willing to participate in discussions in such a way that they demonstrate their preparation in advance of class and engage fellow students.

Required books & materials:

  • A Tale of Two Cities, Charles Dickens

You will need to obtain an unabridged copy of our chosen literary work. You may work from an electronic, physical, or audio format of the work. If you use a loaned copy (from a library, for example), please arrange to have a copy until the class is completed since we will refer to the work throughout our eight weeks together.

 

Enrollment Options

Live Webinars - Wednesdays, 11 AM, Pacific

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