Ambleside Online/House of Education Online Year 9

Please be advised that these booklists and curriculum suggestions are incomplete without a thorough understanding of Charlotte Mason's ideas and methods. We cannot emphasize enough that you take time to familiarize yourself with her philosophy by reading her books.

Exam Questions

This is a collection of some of the best resources for this time period. Even Advisory members aren't able to cover all of these with their own students and have to be selective. Feel free to pick and choose from among these suggestions. (If this looks overwhelming for your student, you might consider plan B - a lightened load for year 9. See it here).

Year 9 marks a transition for both parent and child in terms of effort, involvement, content and goals. High school is hard work. Students should be encouraged to approach it as though it's their first full-time job, and parents must remain involved -- even as the child is maturing toward independence and becoming capable of taking over some of the decision making and record keeping. Some students already have specific career goals in mind that can be integrated into their school work, while college bound students will need to tailor their studies to meet university admissions requirements. In short, Year 9 ushers in a new phase of life and school for everyone involved. It's an exciting time that can and should be enjoyed! (Read about high school credits here.)

Now for a word about books, and the design of Year 9 . . .
Selecting the best books is a challenge that increases with each successive school year. High school students are journeying across the bridge into adulthood, and the books they should read at this level reflect the adult world. While previewing the content of mountains of books for the HEO high school years, we've been constantly aware that we cannot predict how far across that bridge other people's children may be. Families vary greatly in their views on sheltering, protecting and preparing for adulthood, so it would be futile for us to attempt to be the censor or guardian (the bridge troll?) for all House of Education Online scholars. We set a very high standard for HEO materials, and we've gone the extra mile and beyond to create and provide a Year 9 prototype that reflects excellence. However, by no means do we claim to have done all the work for you! It remains the homeschool parent's job, most particularly on the high school level, to assume full responsibility for matching your child's sensitivities and sensibilities and your family's standards with the books you select for study.

In the booklist below, we've offered a few notes on potential concerns in certain books, but it goes without saying that we have not noted every potential concern in every book. Please understand that the absence of a comment does not mean the absence of anything your particular family might find offensive or inappropriate.

For these and other reasons, the HEO high school Years are designed not as a single curriculum list (like the preceding Years), but rather as what we fondly call the HEO "Salad Bar" approach. In many subject areas, we offer a variety of options for you to choose among (or you may substitute your own). The final product will be your design. Those who still prefer the comfort of a single booklist may simply select "Option One" where options are presented.

We feel that this Year 9 book list is in keeping with Charlotte Mason's principles, but it isn't the only possible way to "do" CM in high school. You are free to use it en toto, piecemeal, or simply as an example to consider.

To arrive at the best high school plan for your child, expect to burn some midnight oil, dig a little more than you did to prepare for the younger grades, and make more personal choices. You should budget time over a few weeks to focus on previewing and selecting books. Look on the bright side: you'll emerge from this process more conversant and familiar with the era and books your student is about to cover -- and discussion is so vital for students in the upper grades. You'll also be more sympathetic to your hardworking young scholar!

As you devise your own Year 9 curriculum, whether using our book suggestions or your own substitute titles, it's useful to keep a page count in mind. Charlotte Mason's students covered approximately 1600-2000 pages in a term by Year 9, using about 40 different books. This loose guideline will help you gauge whether your own academic load is in keeping with Miss Mason's.

Before beginning these upper years, please do yourself one very smart favor: zealously pursue some teacher preparation time for yourself. It's a little investment that will pay you back double every single school day. We suggest you read (or reread) volume 6 of Charlotte Mason's six volume set. Volume 5 may also be helpful to you. Both are available online, as free e-texts. You'll also find it useful to scan the sample Programmes from Miss Mason's own PNEU school, which are linked from the AmblesideOnline homepage. Forms III and IV are the ones relevant to Year 9. You'll find a wealth of helpful articles at Ambleside Online, so plan to spend a few evenings exploring the site. It's also helpful to have on hand a good current book on homeschooling through high school. And you'll find terrific support on the House of Education Online email list -- please subscribe and participate!

Blessings to you, and happy high schooling!
The Advisory

YEAR 9 BOOKLIST AND SALAD BAR

History studied in Year 9: 1688-1815 including French and American revolutions Term 1: 1688-1730; Term2: 1730-1786; Term 3: 1786-1815

Note: One asterisk * means a book will be used in Term One. Two asterisks ** means Term Two, and three *** means Term Three. Books with no asterisks may either be used all three terms, or scheduled at your discretion..

Formatted etexts for Year 9 can be accessed by joining the etext email list.

BIBLE
HISTORY
BIOGRAPHIES
GEOGRAPHY
GOVERNMENT AND ECONOMICS
CITIZENSHIP
CURRENT EVENTS
WORLDVIEW
LITERATURE
POETRY
GRAMMAR AND COMPOSITION
RECITATION
COPYWORK/DICTATION
MATH
SCIENCE
NATURE STUDY
LOGIC
ART
MUSIC
FOREIGN LANGUAGE
HEALTH
LIFE AND WORK SKILLS
FREE READING

BIBLE

The Bible - Read and narrate from the Bible, using a plan of your own preference, or follow this suggestion for this year:
* Exodus
** Joshua, Galatians
*** Judges, Ephesians

Atlas of the Holy Land
Bible Maps | Bible timeline | Study questions with nice maps |
Commentary of your choice

Charlotte Mason had her students reading a commentary. We suggest you use what fits best with your family's belief system, keeping in mind that this year should be a bit meatier than previous years.
One option is Matthew Henry's commentary.
Other commentaries are available at Christian Classics Ethereal Library.

Suggested Devotional Reading
Saints and Heroes, Vol 2 by George Hodges for church history if you didn't use Trial and Triumph in Years 1-6
* Christian Life by Sinclair Ferguson - 1996, non-fluff, sound summary of the doctrines Christian theology
** The God Who is There by Francis Schaeffer - the foremost apologetic work of the twentieth century
*** The Christian's Secret to a Happy Life by Hannah Whitall Smith OR The Practice of the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence

HISTORY

[Note: We do not wish to appear to imply that a full and complete study of American History is mandatory for non-Americans. Because of the influence the US has had on world events, we do believe that some understanding of the histories of England and the US is necessary for everybody; however, the depth of that coverage is an individual choice. Students from other countries should have a more thorough exposure to their own national history than our suggested options offer, and we encourage all HEO users to seek excellent books on their own history and heritage. However, as we lack the resources and time to choose histories for other countries, we leave this responsibility to our foreign users. Please be bold in making the curriculum fit your own needs.]

A book you might find helpful for reference while studying this era (both for yourself as a teacher, and for your student to use): The Cambridge History of English and American Literature (An Encyclopedia in Eighteen Volumes), Volume XI: English, The Period of the French Revolution.

Many AO/HEO parents find Truthquest History guides to be a tremendous help for enriching discussion of the big picture of history with their children. Somewhat reminiscent of the kinds of lesson preparation materials Charlotte Mason provided her PNEU teachers, they may be used to supplement whichever history books you choose. Truthquest Ages of Revolution Guides I and II fit the time period of Year 9. For more information see their website.

Make a century chart of the period studied. See reprint from PR July 1910. Continue to add entries to your Book of the Centuries. Instructions for making your own are at Ambleside Online.

See these helpful Parents Review articles:
Book of the Centuries
The Teaching of Chronology
The Correlation of Lessons

HISTORY OPTIONS:

You may wish to select Churchill's Age of Revolution plus one of the American history books, OR simply choose one of the following options. Choosing two American History books would probably be overkill.

OPTION ONE:
The Age of Revolution by Winston Churchill, which is Volume 3 of his 4 volume set, A History of the English Speaking Peoples. The last volume will be used in Year 10. This has recently gone out of print, but is widely available through used book sites such as AddAll.com, and often available at auction on eBay. (Note: PLEASE contact Barnes & Noble Publishing and strongly suggest (beg, plead, cry) that they republish their lovely slipcased edition of this set!) Separate volumes may be available from Barnes and Noble. (don't get the one edited by Henry Steele Commager, it's abridged) Churchill broader overview of the time period. Americans and those who desire a more accurate picture of the American Revolution (which is covered in Term 2) may prefer another option, or at least an additional option. In that regard, one alternative would be to use the Churchill book alone for terms 1 and 3, and substitute an American history book to be used alone for term 2.

OPTION TWO:
Oxford Book of American History by Samuel Eliot Morison. Factual, detailed, scholarly. Year 9 students would read roughly pages 140-400, a total of 260 pages (86 pages per term, about 7.2 pages per week).

OPTION THREE:
A History of the American People by Paul Johnson. An easier read than Morison (more engaging), perhaps more editorial in places. Juicier than either Churchill or Morison. Very enthusiastically pro-American. Year 9 students would read approximately pages 81-269.

OPTION FOUR:
A Basic History of the United States by Clarence B. Carson. Carson (a history professor) has a scholarly tone, and approaches his topic from a libertarian, probably Christian, point of view. This is a five volume series, available through used booksellers or currently in print from Bluestocking Press as a six-volume series. Available on cassette from www.blackstoneaudio.com , who offer a considerable discount to homeschoolers (order by phone for discount). Year 9 students would roughly use volume 1, pages 79-165; and volume 2, pages 1-201, which leaves only about 4 pages more of the book. (In Volume 1, Carson forays into some topics that range from Year 8's time period to the middle of Year 9's, such as general overviews of the development of culture and thinking, and tracing the development of ideas and events. This makes it a bit harder to assign pages in these chapters that fit precisely in the Year 9 time period. However, the material is still valuable.) There is an appendix including such historical documents as The Declaration of Independence, The Constitution of the United States, Washington's Farewell Address, Jefferson's Inaugural Address, and The Monroe Doctrine.

OPTION FIVE:
The Story of America by Hendrik Van Loon - Contains some of Van Loon's usual anti-Christian sentiments and snide asides that readers have noted in his Story of Mankind, but also offers his usual engaging writing style. Year 9 students would read approximately pages 86-224, more or less.

HISTORY ASSIGNMENTS BY TERM:

TERM ONE (1688-1730)

Churchill users read the first 135 pages (toward the end of chapter 9, to the paragraph ending ''there is still a White Rose League.").
Read the corresponding pages from your chosen history book(s)
Supplemental Historical Reading: Select documents from here.

Salem witch trial transcript 1692
Incidentally, a good foil for reading the Witchcraft Trials of Salem would be the Malleus Maleficarum -- a book about how to discover witches published in England. The Salem Witch Trials were a blight on our history, but the fact remains that they stand out because of the rarity of witchcraft executions in the Colonies, and their comparatively late date (although Switzerland executed a witch in 1892). In the Colonies, 40 people were executed for witchcraft, half of them in the Salem Trials, and one of the key judges later repented and expressed his deep sorrow for his role in the executions. In England, there were nearly a thousand witchcraft trials from 1552 to 1722, and roughly a quarter of those ended in executions. Scotland tried nearly 2,000 in the same period, and even Switzerland had nearly 400 witchcraft trials in this period with nearly a quarter of the accused executed. Southwestern Germany executed some 3,000 during the same time period. For another perspective.

TERM TWO (1730-1786)

Churchill users read from page 135, paragraph beginning "In the crisis of the rebellion" to the end of Chapter XV, The Indian Empire
Read the corresponding pages from your chosen history book(s)
Supplemental Historical Reading -- Choose any or all of these, from Harvard Classics, Volume 43, online here.
Declaration of Rights (1765)
The Declaration of Independence (1776)
The Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence (1775)
Articles of Confederation (1777)
Articles of Capitulation, Yorktown (1781)
Treaty with Great Britain (1783)
Constitution of the United States (1787)
The Federalist, Nos. 1 and 2 (1787)

** Letters to His Son by Lord Chesterfield - These letters offer an interesting window into the culture, customs, and thoughts of the time. 488 pages, choose selections.

Michael Medved has done some absolutely riveting radio programs where he shares spellbinding accounts of Revolutionary War battles. Well worth hearing. Single tapes are about 10 dollars each. You can also get the entire set for $229 through World Net Daily. [Select Audio (lefthand bar), then History, then Michael Medved's First-Person American History Series.]

"Liberty! The American Revolution" - painstakingly accurate and gripping 6 hour documentary produced by PBS, which covers events from 1763-1788. Includes commentary from scholars and historians, and draws heavily from period journals, letters and source documents. Battle scenes recreated on location with Revolutionary War re-enactors. Excellent acting and period music -- clearly conveys a sense of the times, the force of personalities, the ideas that drove events, and the progression of the battles. Descriptions of each episode can be found here. Check libraries and video stores, or purchase home video. (A video series is something of a departure for Ambleside/HEO, and not a recommendation we would ordinarily make, but this one is unusually well done.)

Speeches:

Patrick Henry's famous 'Give me liberty or give me death' speech (which prepared Virginia for war against the Mother Country)
Edmund Burke's Plea for Conciliation with the American Colonies, March 22,1775
Jonathan Edwards' "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" Sermon (1741)
"John Wesley Denounces the Doctrine of Predestination" or "Free Grace" (1740) (provides a theological contrast to Edwards' sermon, above)

TERM THREE (1786-1815)

Churchill users read the remainder of the book, Chapters XVI through XXV
Read the corresponding pages from your chosen history book(s)
Supplemental Historical Reading - Choose any or all of these, from Harvard Classics, Volume 43, online here.
Washington's First Inaugural Address (1789)
Treaty with the Six Nations (1794)
Washington's Farewell Address (1796)
Treaty with France (Louisiana Purchase) (1803)
Treaty with Great Britain (End of War of 1812) (1814)

*** Miracle at Philadelphia by Catherine Drinker Bowen - very readable, fascinating account of the Constitutional Convention. A classic.

The Invasion of Canada by Pierre Berton provides an interesting concurrent study of the War of 1812.

Speech by William Wilberforce concerning the slave trade. In the book "A Treasury of the World's Great Speeches," (readily available on used book sites) this is listed as "William Pitt the Younger Indicts the Slave Trade and Foresees a Liberated Africa" April 2, 1792. We've been unable to find this online. We suggest that a book of famous speeches such as the above treasury ought to be in every homeschool library.

Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation by Joseph J. Ellis - A small paperback (248 pages) that won the Pulitzer in 2002, and thus should be in every public library. From the back of the book: "Through an analysis of six fascinating episodes -- Hamilton and Burr's deadly duel, Washington's precedent-setting Farewell Address [does not contain the text of it, but rather puts it in context], Adams' administration and political partnership with his wife, the debate about where to place the capitol, Franklin's attempt to force Congress to confront the issue of slavery, and Madison's attempts to block him, and Jefferson and Adams famous correspondence -- Founding Brothers brings to life the vital issues and personalities from the most important decade in our nation's history."

BIOGRAPHIES

Choose from these options or topics, or substitute your own. We suggest no more than 3-5 biographies, depending on the length of your selections.

If you assign only one biography of an American this year, we would recommend that it be a very good biography of George Washington. We also recommend that a good biography of George Washington be included in whatever number of bios that you select. Here are some to consider:

Founding Father -- Rediscovering George Washington by Richard Brookhiser. Written as a moral biography after the tradition of Plutarch. Many modern biographies of Washington are plagued with revisionism, while some earlier biographies treat him with such iconic, reverent distance that he remains out of reach and never comes to life for the reader. This book avoids both flaws. 200 pages, in print.
George Washington: A Biography by Washington Irving. Irving, who met Washington as a small boy, wrote a four volume biography which is available in condensed form. A very literary read. One note: Irving was aging toward the end of the work and as such the coverage of Washington's life from the presidency through his death is a bit thinner than the earlier chapters of the work. Regardless, a good choice. 740 pages, in print.
Washington: The Indispensible Man by James Thomas Flexner, winner of a Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award. A favorite among Washington biography enthusiasts, and considered by many to be the best work on his life. For an above average student, or one with a keen interest in Washington or the Revolutionary era. One note: according to one reviewer, Flexner makes the odd (and arguably insupportable) suggestion that Washington was a deist. 402 pages, in print.
The Life of George Washington by David Ramsay. Written eight years after Washington's death, this is one of the few online biographies of GW (out of print). Approximately 368 pages. Drier and more archaic in style than other titles here.
[Note: Albert Marrin's bio of Washington is not included here because of its darker tone and possible inaccuracies.]
110 Rules of Civility Not a biography, rather an interesting and instructive supplement to a study of Washington. Great source for copywork. Multiple websites; search for a version that best suits your purposes.
* A biography of Ponce de Leon or Peter the Great
* ** Autobiography of Ben Franklin
** *** John Adams by David McCullough - In print, marvelous but long; allow two terms. 752 pages. OR John Adams and the American Revolution by Catherine Drinker Bowen - also excellent, slightly less detailed. 698 pages.
*** Marie Antoinette and Her Son by Louise Muhlback - Creates a mood of sympathy for Marie Antoinette and her family. 544 pages
*** Napoleon Bonaparte by John S. C. Abbott a single-volume book (not to be confused with the much longer multi-volume The Life of N.B., or The History of N.B. by the same author) which has portions missing in all its online texts (paperback reprints may have used the same Project Gutenberg text and be missing the same pages). The Story of Napoleon by H.E. Marshall is a possibility, although written for younger children. Consider having your student write a narration comparing Napoleon to George Washington.
*** The Life of Horatio Lord Nelson by Robert Southey - Nine chapters. Horatio Lord appears in Churchill's Trafalgar chapter. 179 pages.
Life of Johnson - The famous, classic biography of the English author Samuel Johnson by James Boswell. Included in Encyclopedia Brittanica's Great Books of the Western World, Volume 44. The online version says "abridged and edited" but you may want to edit further for length. Also here. OR choose the Penguin Classics edition of this book, edited by Christopher Hibbard, the shortest edition in print at 300 pages. Available at www.bn.com or from used booksellers. The Introduction to this edition may warrant parental preview.

OTHER SUGGESTIONS:

Biographies of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Thomas Jefferson or Alexander Hamilton

GEOGRAPHY

* London to Land's End by Daniel Defoe
** A book about the Lewis & Clark Expedition - Two suggestions are Undaunted Courage by Stephen E. Ambrose, and Lewis and Clark by Dayton Duncan and Ken Burns. (Preview any other titles, as many books on this subject contain graphic material.)
*** A Journey to the Western Islands of Scotland by Samuel Johnson (the one online is called A Journey to the Western Isles of Scotland) currently in print, approximately 133 pages (will vary by edition).

If you wish your geography to be more current, select from our page of geography options. (The 36-week schedule uses The Royal Road to Romance by Richard Halliburton, and Walking the Bible by Bruce Feiler.)

Map Drills
Ten minutes of map drills each week - websites available. Geosafari (available now on CD-rom) would be sufficient.
Locate places from the day's reading on a map
Explore foreign places relevant in news and current events.
Many countries have a tourism department, and writing to their embassies for free brochures, maps, and other travel information might be an inexpensive way to supplement geography studies.

GOVERNMENT AND ECONOMICS

* Are You Liberal, Conservative, Confused? by Richard Maybury
* ** The English Constitution by Walter Bagehot
** Common Sense by Thomas Paine
** Essays by Jane Haldimand Marcet - Five entertaining illustrations of how legislated financial equality, wage fixing, supply and demand and welfare play out, using chapters titled A Fairy Tale, Patty's Marriage, The Treacherous Friend and The Wedding Gown.
*** The Rights of Man by Thomas Paine
*** Reflections on the Revolution in France by Edmund Burke

Alternative Options (For more advanced students particularly interested in political history)
Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith
The Federalist Papers by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison and John Jay
A Letter to a Noble Lord by Edmund Burke, 1796

CITIZENSHIP

Ourselves by Charlotte Mason, approximately 22 pages per term. This book will continue through all the remaining years of HEO curriculum. This is the 4th volume of Mason's 6 Volume Series, currently in print. This year: pages 136-210 of Book 1. If you don't own CM's Series but prefer a 'hard copy' to an online text, used copies of Volume 4 can be found online, or you can purchase Book I, Self-Knowledge, the first half of Volume 4, as a separate paperback book. Also available in a modern English paraphrase that can be read online or purchased.

Plutarch's Lives - follow the schedule posted at Ambleside Online.

* An Essay on Man by Alexander Pope
*** The Four Loves by C.S. Lewis - A candid and wise reflection on the four basic kinds of love, by a most perceptive Christian writer. As the teen years begin, it's quite natural for thoughts to turn to love and relationship issues. At this pivotal stage, gaining a Biblical understanding of the different types of love is of inestimable benefit, and can spare much confusion and heartache. A deep, important book that should be read and discussed with a parent. "The only place outside of Heaven where you can be perfectly safe from all the dangers and perturbations of love is Hell." -- Lewis. 140 pages, currently in print.

CURRENT EVENTS

Charlotte Mason had students at this level read the daily news and keep a calendar of events. We suggest students choose the most important 2 or 3 stories of the week and re-write them in their own words as a chronicle of the year, making the heading of each page something like "This Week in History, September 1st, 2003." Parents: pre-read and filter current events materials (on the web, or in print) as necessary, due to the potential for coverage and topics of an explicit nature, even from conservative sources. We've listed some possible options here.

Web blogs are an important new media form. News is being reported there, in some cases, faster and more accurately than other, older media forms. Students should learn about them, find one they trust, and check is regularly. However, we recommend that parents first become familiar with blogs and visit the one(s) their children will frequent. We suggest several poliblogs here, but parents should know that not every message on these blogs will be 'child-friendly' and often have ads that include scantily clad women. Also, most blogs link to a multitude of other blogs and sites that may not be child-friendly.

Comments posted on blogs can be considered a new media equivalent of a letter to the editor, and students should learn how to communicate well on blogs.

WORLDVIEW

* Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis, or, if your student has already read it, The Problem of Pain
** War of the Worldviews by Gary DeMar
*** Postmodern Times by Gene Edward Veith

For more options, additional list, most of which haven't been read by any of the Advisory, is here.

LITERATURE

Shakespeare - Continue with Ambleside Online Rotation.

History of English Literature for Boys and Girls by H.E. Marshall - Chapters 63-73, on Swift, Addison, Steele, Pope, Johnson, Goldsmith, Burns, and Cowper. Purchase from Kelly Kenar, who typed this e-text for the use of HEO. Postage at lulu.com is automatically set to UPS ground which is expensive, but you can choose media mail which is substantially cheaper. (Note - if you purchase this book, we request that you purchase from the link provided, as other publishers' reprints of this book have used Kelly's hand-typed etext for their own profit.)

Simond's Literature - Increase and Cotton Mather from Chapter 1, and all of Chapter 2.

* Isaac Bickerstaff and Days with Sir Roger DeCoverly by Richard Steele. Very fun.
OR The Coverley Papers from the 'Spectator', by Joseph Addison, Richard Steele, and Eustace Budgell, ed. by O. M. Myers
* Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift. (Skip chapter 5 in Part II, on Gulliver's visit to Brobdinnag, the land of the Giants. Also be aware that towards the end of the first chapter, the miniscule Gulliver is repulsed by the sight of a giantess nursing her child.)
* Tale of a Tub and Battle of the Books by Jonathan Swift
** History of Rasselas, Prince of Abissinia by Samuel Johnson
** She Stoops to Conquer and/or The Vicar of Wakefield by Oliver Goldsmith
** The School for Scandal by Richard Sheridan
*** The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas; (A must-read but very long -- plan accordingly. Possibly carry through summer break. Count of Monte Cristo overlaps the time periods of Years 9 and 10, so reading it through the summer will have the benefit of sustaining the flavor of the appropriate time period until the beginning of Year 10.)
*** Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen - Please do not assume this to be a "girl book" -- essential, thought-provoking reading for everybody, and widely enjoyed by many males in our acquaintance.
*** Faust, Book I by Johann Wolfgang Goethe

POETRY

The Roar on the Other Side: A Guide for Student Poets by Suzanne Clark, widely available. Published by Canon Press; also available at amazon.com. If your student has not already read this in Year 8, schedule it now. You can get a suggested idea of how to schedule it by looking at Year 8's 36-week schedule.

Check online sites such as Librivox for free audio readings of poems; this is a growing project and more poems are online every month.

OPTION ONE:
* Alexander Pope (1688-1744) 24 notated poems
** William Cowper (1731-1800), important as the voice of the Evangelical revival and Phillis Wheatley (1753-1784), the slave poet. "Phillis Wheatley was kidnapped and sold at a slave auction at age seven to a prosperous Boston family who educated her and treated her as a family member. Rescued from an otherwise hopeless situation by the sympathies of the Wheatley family, Phillis learned English with remarkable speed . . " 25 poems by Cowper and Wheatley here.
*** George Gordon, Lord Byron (1788-1824) 23 Poems here; Annotated version of Don Juan

OPTION TWO:
Use the Oxford book of English Verse, edited by Arthur Quiller Couch. This is a poetry anthology Charlotte Mason used; excellent (a classic!), and online in a searchable format. [Which version?]
Suggested use:
* begin with the poet Thomas D'Urfey and read through to Thomas Parnell. This is approximately 40 poems, or about 3 to 4 per week.
** Begin with Allan Ramsay and read through to the poet William Cowper. This is approximately 37 poems, or about 3 per week.
*** Begin with James Beattie and read through to the poet Henry Rowe This is approximately 3 poems per week.
[Of course, this option means there will be no poets outside the UK for Year 9, so you may wish to supplement with poets of your own country.]

OPTION THREE:
Follow this time-line of English Poetry and do an anthology of sorts this term. This option is a little more complicated to adjust for your personal use, but it does include British, Canadian and American poets. Select "timeline." The poets for year 9 are the Augustans (scroll down to the year 1688 for the Augustans) and the Romantics. (Note: Some firewalls may block access to this link - just a technical glitch. In that case, try this: shorten the addy to a href="http://rpo.library.utoronto.ca/display/index.cfm">http://rpo.library.utoronto.ca/display/index.cfm then click on "e-Books" which will take you to a search field. Type in "Representative Poetry". From that page, choose "timeline" and you'll be in the right place.)

GRAMMAR AND COMPOSITION

If your student hasn't yet had any formal grammar lessons, use Our Mother Tongue: An Introductory Guide to English Grammar by Nancy Wilson This book has 49 chapters. One suggestion is to spread the book over two years, doing about 9 chapters per term.
OR, if you have Jensen's Grammar, work through that this year
OR, Dr. Robert Einarrson's Grammar Handouts are reasonably priced and very user friendly. (If you buy this, Karen Glass requests that you tell him she sent you. She gets no monetary reward, she just wants him to know how much she likes his text ;-).
The Elements of Style by Strunk and White - print version preferred over online etext.

Assign 3 to 5 written narrations each week, varying the assignments among subjects, and assigning some narrations to be written from readings done earlier in the week. [Example: On Tuesdays, the student would read the scheduled Literature, news of the week, historical or allegorical subjects, etc. Then on Thursdays, the student would write a narration of one of those readings.] Narration can be done in many ways: poetic, in answer to an essay-style question, straight narration, narration in letter-writing form, and many other creative ways. Write verses (perhaps using metre of poems set for this term) on current events and characters in the term's reading, upon heroic deeds, or on seasonal scenes. Write Narrative poems on striking events.
Karen Glass: Paradigm Online Writing Assistant is a whole online free course about writing four kinds of essays. I haven't explored the whole thing, but I like what I've seen so far. I'm not sure the link I've given you would be the best link for us to use (it's a little confusing), but it is the link to the beginning of the first lesson. At the top of the page, you can see the progression of the whole course.
Purchase a good English handbook. An Advisory favorite is The Little, Brown Handbook by H. Ramsey Fowler and Jane E. Aaron. Some may find Writer's Inc. more user friendly.

AO's Language Arts Scope and Sequence for this level is here.

RECITATION

Memorize each term:
2 Bible passages of about 20 verses each
2 Psalms (whole chapters)
2 Hymns
2 Poems (or 50 lines) from the term's poets
1 passage from the term's Shakespeare play.

Scripture suggestions: Psalm 23; Isaiah 40; Romans 8 (or Rom 8: 1-17); Matthew 5; James 1; 1 John 1; choose your own .

Shakespeare - selected passages, all terms. Bartlett's Familiar Quotations is a helpful tool for looking for quotable sections from various plays of Shakespeare, especially quotes from the various plays which appear in various other literature. Bartlett's Familiar Quotations, 10th edition, is online (in html and text here.) Note: To get the list of plays from the Bartlett's Familiar Quotations page, try selecting 1) the Author index, then select 2) the Shakespeare entry, which should provide a list of quotations from the first play in the list; and then try selecting 3) Shakespeare's name above the quotations. This last step should bring you to an index of the plays, not just the list of quotations. Or, you may go directly to the play needed from the Shakespeare play index.

Poetry - a poem by that term's poet, all terms.

COPYWORK/DICTATION

COPYWORK

Include selections from Shakespeare, the Bible, poetry and other sources. These selections may be the same ones used for recitation.

This is a good year to begin a personal quote book.

DICTATION

The student studies two or three pages of dictation material per week, from which the teacher dictates several paragraphs or sections. Students should have the opportunity to study the passage carefully for spelling, punctuation and form before they are required to write it from dictation. At this level, you may wish for your student to alternate between taking dictation in the traditional way by hand, and with a word processor (an added benefit here is the spellchecker function, which can be a useful teaching tool and actually functions in a manner complementary to CM's spelling methods.)

Dictation selections may be drawn from sources such as the term's prose, poetry and Bible readings. You may also occasionally choose to assign selections from well-written journalism sources to exemplify a more technical and factual style of writing. However, choose carefully as newspapers and magazines are often poorly written. Examples of worthy sources might include World Magazine, and columnists such as Peggy Noonan, William F. Buckley, William Raspberry, Charles Krauthammer, Cal Thomas, George Will, and Thomas Sowell, most of whom are accessible from www.drudgereport.com (site will need screening by parent; daily entries are increasingly and disturbingly non-family-friendly). Another good resource for exemplary journalism is http://www.opinionjournal.com from the Wall Street Journal. Writers from these sources are prolific and skilled at the craft of writing. The New Yorker magazine is known for being expertly written and edited, but may require parental previewing.

You may also select among these essays for dictation work. These provide a good starting point for the essay form of writing. After two or three terms of studying Lamb's essays, students should be prepared to tackle writing essays on subjects they choose. One possible usage is to have students read an essay on Monday, outline it on Tuesday, rewrite it from their outline on Wednesday, and polish up that rough draft on Thursday.

Note: In PNEU's Form III, a paragraph was dictated; in Form IV, selections were occasionally written from memory. You might occasionally assign the student's mastered recitation work for the dictation lesson.

MATH

Continue your math program; for some options, see this page.

SCIENCE

Apologia science materials by Dr. Jay Wile. (read Susan Wise Bauer's review of Apologia here.) Read the suggested course sequencing at http://www.highschoolscience.com to determine what will work best for the needs of your student, based on interest and math level. If a student missed out on the Ambleside science selections and nature study rotation, General Science should be considered as a starting point with Apologia materials; otherwise start with Physical Science. Read through Jay Wile's website, especially "course sequencing" to see what will work best for the needs of your student based on interest and math level. If financial resources are a concern, any of their science courses may easily be stretched to two years.
Another possible option: BJU Press Science, which schedules Physical (basic) science in 9th grade, Biology in 10th grade, Chemistry in 11th grade, and Physics in 12th grade. The Advisory has not used this yet. Some have recommended BJU Biology, Apologia Chemistry and Apologia Physics.

NATURE STUDY

Keep flower and bird lists of species seen, select a special study for outdoor work, and continue to maintain nature notebooks.

The Handbook of Nature Study by Anna Botsford Comstock - Continue to use as in previous years with the Ambleside Online curriculum.

The Microbe Hunters by Paul de Kruif - The chapter on Leeuwenhook and chapter 2 on Spallanzani. (This is a collection of science biographies. The remaining chapters will be split between Years 10 & 11. Since only 2 chapters are used In Year 9, you may opt to assign some chapters from the Great Astronomers book, below, in other terms.)

The Land of Little Rain by Mary Austin OR The Natural History of Selbourne by Gilbert White (Spread either book over all three terms.)

Henri Fabre's works on insect observations (online at Gutenburg or Online Books)
Select one of the following Fabre works from the above link:
Bramble-Bees and Others
The Life of the Caterpillar
The Life of the Fly, With Which Are Interspersed Some Chapters of Autobiography
The Mason-Bees
More Hunting Wasps
The Story-Book of Science
The Wonders of Instinct: Chapters in the Psychology of Insects

Other possibilities:
The Great Astronomers by Robert S. Ball (this appears in the 36-week schedule.)

LOGIC

How To Read a Book by Mortimer Adler (may be saved for a later year) - Please be sure to get the revised edition, and read only Part 3 this year. This breaks down to five chapters for the year, seven weeks to get through each chapter. This is slow, but this material is weighty and should give much material for reflection and discussion. The revised version was written by both Mortimer J. Ader And Chares Van Doren. If Van Doren is not a co-writer, it's the older book. It was revised in 1972, but later books may not be called "revised." The version to use has five chapters in part 1; 7 chapters in part 2; 7 chapters in part 3; and two chapters in part 4. The unrevised edition may have fewer parts.

Love is a Fallacy by Max Schulman - An amusing short story which manages to entertain while instructing in some of the basic rhetorical fallacies.

DRAWING AND ART

Choose one of these three options (Parents may wish to screen all options for nudity.)

The Story of Painting by H. W. Janson - The Chapter titled "Towards Revolution", terms 1 and 2; and the first few pages of the section titled The Age of Machines. Stop at the paragraph ending "Here, then, you see the beginning of the split between artist and public that still persists today."
The History of Art by H. W. Janson In print. Begin around The Rococo, and include portions of the chapter "Neoclassicism and Romanticism."
The Arts by Hendrik Van Loon - this book is OOP (out of print), but worthy of an exception to our usual exclusion of OOP books from the curriculum. Begin with either chapter 40 (which overlaps year 8 and 9) or chapter 41 and read through to chapter 48.

Continue the artist rotation posted at Ambleside Online.

Work on drawing skills. Illustrate a scene from reading of your choice once a week, more as desired.

MUSIC

Continue composer rotation posted at Ambleside Online.

Music lessons on instrument of choice.

Singing:
Foreign language - 3 songs each term (Charlotte Mason did 3 in French and 3 in German).

Hymns:
Continue to follow the Ambleside rotation each term. Carols would do for the Winter term.

Three Folk Songs in English - you may choose to continue the Folk Song rotation at Ambleside Online
The Skye Boat Song arrangement 2
The World Turned Upside Down More information on the song here in a popup window link
Yankee Doodle historical - More info here in a popup link for The World Turned Upside Down
The Water is Wide
Johnny Has Gone For a Soldier
Robert Burns' poetry and music fit this era; one of his many songs is A Man's a Man For a' That (You'll have to click to the alternate lyrics linked on that page to hear the midi. )
Other Scottish folks songs arranged chronologically, including a large collection of Burns' songs.

FOREIGN LANGUAGE

Begin or continue Latin.
Continue with any previous foreign language studies. (Charlotte Mason's students were learning three languages at this level.) A good English/appropriate foreign language dictionary is also recommended.
You might find that your foreign language studies cover enough grammar to be counted as English Grammar as well.

HEALTH

Schedule regular exercise of some sort. (One Advisory suggestion: For routine fitness, Living Arts' Pilates videos/DVD's offer a challenging but enjoyable 30 minute mat workout that will benefit the entire family. Instructor Ana Caban gives clear and concise verbal cues that even young children can follow with a little guidance (even a 3 yob! ;-) and the background music is neither loud nor distracting. Start with the Beginning Mat Workout video/DVD, which explains the basics, before advancing to the Intermediate Mat Workout. Available at most major bookstores and fitness stores.)

Study nutrition. You may wish to consider books by Shonda Parker, a Christian homeschooling mother and certified herbalist.

Fearfully and Wonderfully Made by Paul Brand; preview this first. (see notes here) If you use the book this Year, you might look at how the book was divided over the year by looking at Year 8's 36-week schedule.

LIFE AND WORK SKILLS

Charlotte Mason had students do house or garden work, make Christmas presents, pursue useful crafts, sew, cook, and learn first aid. She also suggested that the student help darn and mend garments from the wash each week and sew for charity (serving at a soup kitchen would also work).

We suggest that over the course of high school, your student might do the following (a rough guideline would be to choose about three of these per year for the next four years):

Learn to cook using a basic cookery book such as Joy of Cooking, one of Sue Gregg's cookbooks, or whatever you have on hand.
Learn CPR and first aid (This can also be counted for Health.)
Learn to balance a checking account
Learn to read a map
Read a book about Small Engine Repair
Take a course in Driver's Ed
Work with an Election Campaign
Learn to garden and/or yard care
Change a flat tire
Use jumper cables
Pump gas, change the oil and plugs on a car
Make some simple furniture
Lay a tile floor
Paint a room
Some basic home repair and maintenance
The Walls Around Us by David Owen is a well-written book about how our houses are built, but it needs some previewing or parental editing.

Miss Mason frequently recommended Scouting tests (Parents' Review, May 1920) and said that all girls should take the First Aid and Housecraft Tests. We suggest that all students learn CPR and First Aid. Scouting or 4-H are other options to consider.

DOMESTIC SCIENCE OPTIONS:
Home Comforts: The Art and Science of Keeping House by Cheryl Mendelsohn (excellent resource for all homes)
The Hidden Art of Homemaking by Edith Schaeffer
Do I Dust or Vacuum First? by Don Aslett
books by Emilie Barnes
Get More Done in Less Time by Donna Otto
Speed Cleaning by Jeff Campbell
Who Says it's a Woman's Job to Clean? by Don Aslett
(These last two may be particularly useful with boys.)

MONEY MANAGEMENT
Books by Larry Burkett
The Tightwad Gazette books

FREE READING

The History of Henry Esmond, Esq., A Colonel in the Service of Her Majesty Queen Anne by William Makepeace Thackeray
Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen [Note: Gothic novels such as Castle of Otranto by Horace Walpole and Mysteries of Udolpho by Ann Radcliffe (referred to in Northanger Abbey) were quite popular in this time period, and Northanger Abbey is a delicious spoof of the genre. Exposure to these works forms a good backdrop for the works of Scott, Bryon, and Poe.]
A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
The Scarlet Pimpernel by Emmuska Orczy
The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck
The Great Divorce, The Screwtape Letters, and/or Til We Have Faces by C.S. Lewis
Man Alive and/or The Man Who Was Thursday by G.K. Chesterton.
The Little Nugget, Uneasy Money or others by P. G. Wodehouse (These two are available online; freely choose any other Wodehouse titles of your choice. Some readers may be uncomfortable with the alcohol consumption in his books, a reflection of differing standards of culture and time. Read these for the superb humor and Wodehouse's remarkable knack for simile.)
Sir Gibbie by George MacDonald or other book from this website.
Two Years Before the Mast by Richard Henry Dana
Three Men in a Boat (To Say Nothing of the Dog) by Jerome K. Jerome
Scaramouche by Rafael Sabatini, French Revolution #2 in series
*** William Carey's "An Inquiry Into the Obligations of Christians to Use Means for the Conversion of the Heathens" by William Carey (1792) - since he was known as the 'Father of Modern Missions.'
Horatio Hornblower books by C. S. Forester - Particularly suited for male readers (although we know several women who enjoy them as well). The character Hornblower was inspired by Horatio Lord Nelson, and is noted for his personification of honor, duty and personal integrity. These books are historical fiction accounts of actual battles and incidents in the wars between England, France and Spain during this era. Titles are, in chronological order: Mr. Midshipman Hornblower, Lieutenant Hornblower, Hornblower and The Hotspur, Hornblower and the Atropos, Beat To Quarters, Ship of the Line, Flying Colours, Commodore Hornblower, Lord Hornblower, Admiral Hornblower in the West Indies, and Hornblower During the Crisis.
Sir Walter Scott:
Choose one title for literature and one for free reading from these books by Sir Walter Scott. If the student has not yet read Rob Roy, we suggest that you begin with it.
* The Bride of Lammermoor - East Lothian, 1695
* The Pirate - Shetland and Orkney Islands, 1700
* The Black Dwarf - The Lowlands of Scotland, 1706 (Jacobites)
** Rob Roy - The Jacobites
** Heart of Midlothian - Time of George II. (Porteous Riots)
** Waverley - The Jacobites
** Redgauntlet - Time of George III.
** Guy Mannering - Time of George III
** The Surgeon's Daughter - Fifeshire, Isle of Wight, and India (1780)
*** The Antiquary - Scotch Manners, last decade of the 18th Century
*** St. Ronan's Well - Near Firth of Forth, 1812

Useful for future reference: A Guide to the Best Historical Novels and Tales by Jonathan Nield

Many thanks to David Hicks, author of Norms and Nobility, for his kind permission to draw from his work and ideas. For more information please see the amazon.com link to the 1999 edition of his book.

Last update Oct 15, 2006