Course Sample for Our Exploring Literature Homeschool Language Arts Curriculum

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Exploring Literature

By Katherine Tanyu, Miranda McCulley, and Christine Hage

Unit 1: Short Stories and Poetry

Short stories are much the same as full length ones; they have all the same elements and characteristics, just power packed into a small space. They’re concentrated! And they make a quick way to learn a lot about literature quickly. All literary works will have some simple basic elements: plot, characters, setting, and point of view. We will look in detail at one of these each week, but every day keep in mind that all are present. You have noticed and paid attention to them for years already but maybe didn’t always focus on specific points.

Poetry is much the same as short stories: a concentrated effort to tell the reader something. But poetry is even more concentrated, and it is told in a metered, measured pattern of rhymes or other literary devices to give a flow and rhythm to the piece. Poetry is fun to read aloud and can often be set to music. It still has all the major elements of literature: plot, characters, setting, and point of view. However, some elements may not be very well developed and may be a bit harder to recognize.