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This article is part of a series on homeschool literature curriculums. If you have older or younger students, check out Best Homeschool Literature Curriculum for High School and Best Homeschool Literature Curriculums for Elementary.
Our top pick for the best homeschool literature curriculum for middle school:
- Learning Language Arts Through Literature
- Memoria Press Literature Guides
- Progeny Press Literature Study Guides
- Beautiful Feet Books
Scroll down to learn more about each of these curriculums!
Are you looking for a wonderful homeschool literature curriculum for your middle school student? If so, then you’re in luck, because there are many wonderful options on the market that will help your child develop a love of high-quality books while also learning critical language arts skills. In this article we’ll tell you about four of our favorite options. If you’re looking for poetry curriculum in particular, check out Best Poetry Homeschool Curriculum for Middle School. And for more recommendations on homeschool language arts curriculum for middle school, click here!
Learning Language Arts Through Literature
If you’re looking for a fantastic literature curriculum that constitutes an entire language arts curriculum, consider the popular Learning Language Arts Through Literature (LLATL) series. Published by Common Sense Press, this series is available for all grades and color-coded by level. The middle school levels are The Tan Book (grade 6), The Green Book (grade 7), and The Gray Book (grade 8).
The LLATL series teaches comprehensive language arts skills using literature as its core. Students read a wide variety of literary works, including novels, short stories, poems, and plays. These texts are carefully chosen to expose students to different genres, styles, and themes. Language arts instruction, including grammar rules, vocabulary, punctuation, and literary analysis, are integrated into the study of literature. The program is flexible, well-structured, and user-friendly, and the literary selections are high-quality.
Each level of the course includes a teacher’s edition as well as an excellent student activity book. You’ll also want to purchase or obtain from the library the following literature selections:
For grade 6 (The Tan Book):
- Carry on, Mr. Bowditch, Jean Latham
- The Bronze Bow, Elizabeth George Speare
- Big Red, Jim Kjelgaard
- The Horse and His Boy, C. S. Lewis
For grade 7 (The Green Book):
- The Star of Light, Patricia St. John
- The Mysterious Benedict Society, Trenton Lee Stewart
- Much Ado About Nothing, William Shakespeare
For grade 8 (The Gray Book):
- Daddy-Long-Legs, Jean Webster
- A Lantern in Her Hand, Bess Streeter Aldrich
- Eric Liddell, Catherine Swift
- God’s Smuggler, Brother Andrew
Memoria Press Literature Guides
If you’re looking for a solid, user-friendly literature curriculum for your middle school student, consider the popular literature guide series published by Memoria Press. Memoria Press is a top publisher of classical Christian homeschool curriculum. Its programs are known to be comprehensive, rigorous, and easy to use. Its literature guide series incorporates writing, grammar, vocabulary, and other language arts skills into the study of classic literature, so they provide a great way to make sure your child learns valuable language arts skills while also developing a love of reading.
This series can be used with other Memoria Press programs or on its own as a supplement to whatever other curricula you are using. The series can also be purchased in grade-level packages or individually for a unit-study approach to literature. Each unit includes a classic work of literature, a student guide, and a teacher guide.
One of the best things about Memoria Press’s literature guide series is the wonderful and extensive selection of quality literature it offers! From Treasure Island to Anne of Green Gables to The Hobbit, students will have a chance to sample some of the greatest books ever written in the English language. And if you’d like to introduce your child to classic poetry and short stories, Memoria Press offers two guides for this as well: Poetry for the Grammar Stage (grades 3-7) and Poetry & Short Stories for the Logic Stage (grades 7+). Also check out our article Best Poetry Homeschool Curriculum for Middle School!
Progeny Press Literature Study Guides
If you’re looking for an excelling literature curriculum that is Bible-based, consider the literature guide series published by Progeny Press. Designed to be used alongside specific literary works – including novels, short stories, and classic literature – these guides help students engage with the texts they are reading on a deeper level by providing a structured framework for analysis and discussion. A variety of literary elements are explored, such as plot, character, theme, and vocabulary. Discussion questions urge students to think critically about the text, connecting literature to their own beliefs and values.
These guides incorporate a Christian world view and may include discussion questions and activities that explore moral and ethical themes within the literature from a Christian perspective.
These study guides are user-friendly for both students and parents. They include detailed lesson plans, answer keys, and suggestions for further reading and exploration.
A wide variety of literary selections are offered in this series, including wonderful classics such as The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, The Giver, and The Indian in the Cupboard. To see all the available study guides, see here.
Beautiful Feet Books Middle School Literature Packs
If you’re looking for a curriculum that uses high-quality literature to explore subjects such as history, geography, and science, consider the popular curriculum offerings by Beautiful Feet Books. This curriculum is unique in that it explores various subjects, from U.S. history to world geography to the history of science, through the context of relevant literature.
Each Beautiful Feet course includes a pack of books, including fiction and non-fiction, as well as a beautiful teacher guide. Yes – the teacher guides really are beautiful! They include wonderful illustrations and artwork, lots of background information, “rabbit holes” you can explore with your children on various topics, and lots of extension ideas such as hands-on activities, art projects, and recipes.
Beautiful Feet offers numerous courses for middle school students, including:
- Early American History
- California History
- Modern American and World History
- Ancient History
- Medieval History
- U.S. Geography
- World Geography and Ecology
- History of Science
- History of the Horse
- Teaching Character
We really can’t say enough good things about these literature packs, so check them out yourself here!!
Conclusion
If you’re homeschooling a middle school student, you have lots of great options for literature-focused curriculums. If you have a younger or older student, make sure to check out our recommendations at Best Homeschool Literature Curriculum for High School and Best Homeschool Literature Curriculum for Elementary. You may also want to check out our other language arts curriculum recommendations for middle school here.