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AmblesideOnline Year 8 Booklist

As students mature, their reading material will present more challenging content, and may include strong language and more mature themes. We have placed footnotes linked in red beside those books that most parents will consider an issue. However, we cannot anticipate which content might be an issue for every family. We encourage parents to pre-screen material to determine its appropriateness for their child and family.

Note: 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.

If you're planning to use AmblesideOnline, your first stop should be the the FAQ for some information about the curriculum and basic instructions. Our FAQ answers all the questions that people routinely ask: AO's history scope and sequence, how to schedule your school days, how to do narration, and more.

Key: (What do all those symbols mean?)

Book titles are linked to Project Gutenberg (which offers free etexts in a variety of formats) or other online text when no Project Gutenberg text is available.

Asterisks refer to which term the book is used: * Term 1 ** Term 2 *** Term 3

β - manybooks.net, another free ebook site.
α - free etext at archive.org; newer books can be borrowed for one hour at a time.
(ChrBk) - purchase from Christianbook.com using AO's affiliate link.
K - free Kindle text from amazon.com.
(£amzn) - Living Books Press purchase using AO's amazon.com affiliate link.
($amzn) - book purchase using AO's amazon.com affiliate link.
(K) - Kindle purchase using AO's amazon.com affiliate link.
(£) - Purchase directly from Living Books Press with an affiliate link; save 10% with discount code: AOBooks
Λ - free audiobook at Lit2Go
Ω - free audiobook at Librivox ^[2]
∩ - other free audiobook source
^[0] - Click the bracketed numeral to view any notes about the book near the bottom of the page.
^[0] - red footnotes indicate a heads-up for parents about the title. We cannot foresee every incident that might potentially be an issue to every family, but we have red-flagged those that are commonly a concern.

AO is an affiliate of Living Book Press, which means that when you purchase from our (£) links, we receive a commission which allows us to keep offering AO for free.

AO is an affiliate of Christianbook.com, which means that when you purchase from our (ChrBk) links, we receive a commission that helps with our costs.

AmblesideOnline is part of Amazon.com's Affiliate program. If you use the Amazon links, we receive a small commission which enables us to cover the costs of keeping the website and curriculum. Amazon links are identified like this: ($amzn) or (£amzn) or (K).

AmblesideOnline Year 8 Curriculum

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 every single one of their own students and have to be selective. Feel free to pick and choose from among these suggestions. The best choice may just be the book you already own, and the one from which your student can narrate. (If this looks overwhelming for your student, you might consider plan B - a lightened load for year 8).

Weekly Readings

The following weekly readings should be broken up into daily readings in whatever way works best for your family.

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Bible

Numbers 1-36, Deuteronomy 1-34, Joshua 1-24
Matthew 1-28
Psalms 56-105, Proverbs 17-31

Bible Gateway has many versions of the Bible online. ^[4]

Spiritual Formation

The Pursuit of Holiness by Jerry Bridges α α α (ChrBk) ($amzn) (K) ^[6]
The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis α α α (ChrBk) ($amzn) (K)
Jungle Pilot: The Life and Witness of Nate Saint, Martyred Missionary to Ecuador by Russel T. Hitt α α α ($amzn) (K)
or To A Different Drum by Pauline Hamilton α (ChrBk) ($amzn)

Optional: Saints and Heroes, Vol 2 by George Hodges α ($amzn) (K) ^[8]

History: 1400's-1688 (Renaissance and Reformation)

Term 1: 1400-1605; Term 2: 1605-1649; Term 3: 1649-1688

Make a century chart and Century Book of the period studied. ^[10]

The New World by Winston Churchill α ($amzn) (K) ^[12]
OR A History of England by H. O. Arnold-Forster α ($amzn; Lulu.com)

Biography

* A Man For All Seasons by Robert Bolt ($amzn (K) ^[14]
* The Life of Sir Francis Bacon by William Rawley This short biography is the introduction to "The Works of Francis Bacon". α
* ** The Voyage of the Armada The Spanish Story by David Howarth ($amzn)
** Mourt's Relation: Journal of the English Plantation settled at Plymouth α ^[16]
** The Life of Dr. [John] Donne by Izaak Walton (fairly short) α α
** *** A Coffin for King Charles by C. V. Wedgwood ($amzn) ^[18]
*** Chapter 23 (the epilogue) from Oliver Cromwell and the Rule of the Puritans in England by Sir Charles Firth ^[20]

History Supplements and Speeches

* A slightly abridged version of Martin Luther's defense before the Diet of Worms
* Queen Elizabeth's speech to the Spanish Armada, July 29, 1588 (included in Churchill's book)
*** John Donne's Devotions Upon Emergent Occasions - Meditation XVII

Literature

Follow AO's Shakespeare Rotation.

(The History of) English Literature for Boys and Girls by H.E. Marshall ch 32-59 β α ($amzn) (K) ^[42]
* Everyman, a Morality Play α (ChrBk) ($amzn) (K) Ω ^[44]
* ** Westward Ho! by Charles Kingsley β α (K) weeks 1-18 (study guide)
*** The Diary of Samuel Pepys, excerpts ^[46]
** *** I Promessi Sposi (The Betrothed) by Alessandro Manzoni β α ($amzn) (K) Ω ^[48]
*** The Holy War by John Bunyan β α Divided and slightly annotated here. (ChrBk) ($amzn) ($amzn) Ω ^[50]

Poetry ^[49]

* Fierce Wars and Faithful Loves by Roy Maynard (ChrBk) ($amzn) OR The Faerie Queene, Bk I, ed. by Carol Kaske ($amzn) (K) ^[52]
* Shakespeare's Sonnets β, selected. ^[54]
** John Donne (ChrBk) and George Herbert - 13 Donne poems (K) (notes here) and 10 Herbert poems
*** John Milton, selected poems, to include Paradise Lost Book I (14 poems here.)
The Roar on the Other Side: A Guide for Student Poets by Suzanne Clark (ChrBk) ($amzn)

Copywork

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

Grammar and Composition

Our Mother Tongue: An Introductory Guide to English Grammar by Nancy Wilson ($amzn) Answer Key: ($amzn) ^[56]
OR, work through Jensen's Grammar ($amzn) in Year 7 or 8.

Written narrations: 3 per week, varying among subjects. Include one written narration from a reading earlier in the week. ^[58]
Purchase a good English handbook. ^[60]

Optional: Paradigm Online Writing Assistant ^[62]

Recitation

Scripture suggestions: * Romans 6; ** 1 Cor. 13; *** Psalms 139
Shakespeare - selected passages, all terms. ^[64]
Poetry - a poem by that term's poet, all terms.

Foreign Language

Begin Latin if you've not started already.
Continue with any previous foreign language studies. ^92]

Geography

* Christopher Columbus, Mariner by Samuel Eliot Morison ($amzn) ^[22]
OR The Life of Christopher Columbus by Edward Everett Hale β α ($amzn) (K) ^[24]
OR 1493 for Young People: From Columbus's Voyage to Globalization by Charles C. Mann ($amzn) (K)

** *** Kon Tiki by Thor Heyerdahl ($amzn) (K)
OR ** The Discovery of Muscovy by Richard Hakluyt β α ($amzn) (K)
and *** The Discovery of Guiana by Sir Walter Raleigh β α K

Ten minutes of map drills each week ^[26]
Locate places from the day's reading on a map

Citizenship

Ourselves by Charlotte Mason (£) (£amzn) ^[32]

Character is Destiny by Russell Gough (£) (£amzn) ∫
* ** Utopia by Sir Thomas More β α ($amzn) Ω ^[36]
Francis Bacon essays (listed by title) β α ($amzn) (K), selected essays are suggested in the footnotes. ^[38]

Follow AO's rotation of Plutarch's Lives.

Government and Economics

Whatever Happened to Justice? by Richard Maybury α (ChrBk) ($amzn) ^[28]
I, Pencil by Leonard Read; this short essay is included in ch 15 of Maybury's book.

Current Events

Students should have a plan for keeping up with current events. ^[40]

Science ^[68]

The Handbook of Nature Study by Anna Botsford Comstock α (ChrBk) ($amzn)
Continue to use as in previous years with the AmblesideOnline curriculum.

First Studies of Plant Life by George Francis Atkinson, Parts 2, 3 α [Google Books] ($amzn) ^[70]
Napoleon's Buttons: 17 Molecules That Changed History by Penny Le Couteur and Jay Burreson ($amzn) (K) ^[71]
Or Marvels of the Molecule by Lionel Salem ($amzn)
Adventures with a Microscope by Richard Headstrom ($amzn) (K) ^[72]
Great Astronomers by R.S. Ball β α (£) (£amzn) ^[74]
* The Chemical History of a Candle by Michael Faraday β α ($amzn) (K) ^[76]
** Johannes Kepler: Giant of Faith and Science by John Hudson Tiner (ChrBk) ($amzn)
** Phineas Gage: A Gruesome but True Story About Brain Science by John Fleischman ($amzn) (K)
*** A Briefer History of Time by Stephen Hawking ($amzn) (K) ^[78]
*** William Harvey and the Discovery of the Circulation of the Blood by Thomas Henry Huxley β Images for text
Signs and Seasons: Understanding the Elements of Classical Astronomy by Jay Ryan (ChrBk) ($amzn) ^[80]

Nature Study

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

Rural Hours by Susan Fenimore Cooper α ($amzn) ^[82]

Follow AO's Nature Study Rotation of subjects.

Mathematics

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

Logic

How To Read a Book by Mortimer Adler and Charles Van Doren (ChrBk) ($amzn) (K) ^[84]

Art

The Story of Painting by H. W. Janson ($amzn) ^[86]
Work on drawing skills. Illustrate a scene from the week's reading.

Follow AO's Artist rotation; Picture Study helps on YouTube.

Hans Holbein the Younger would work great for Picture Study in Term 1 this Year, using the following portraits:
         Self Portrait, 1542
   1. Erasmus of Rotterdam, 1523
   2. Sir Thomas More, 1527
   3. Henry VIII, King of England, 1535
   4. Jane Seymour, 1536
   5. Anne of Cleves, 1539
   6. Edward, Prince of Wales, 1543

Music

Follow AO's Composer Study rotation.

Follow AO's Hymn Rotation.

Follow AO's Folksong Rotation.

Sing 3 songs per term from your foreign language ^[90]
Sing 3 folk songs in English ^[88]

Health and Physical Education

Fearfully and Wonderfully Made by Paul Brand (ChrBk) ($amzn) ^[94]

Physical Education: Learn and play a game (kick ball, tennis, croquet, ping-pong, softball, etc.) or folk-dance, or pursue other physical activity of your choice. One option is Swedish Drill Revisited by Dawn Duran purchase

Life and Work Skills

Charlotte Mason had students do house or garden work, make Christmas presents, other crafts, sew, cook, learn first aid...

Free Reading

Are Free Reads required reading?

Pickwick Papers by Charles Dickens β α (ChrBk) ($amzn) (K) Ω
The Innocence of Father Brown by G. K. Chesterton β α (ChrBk) ($amzn) Ω
Emma by Jane Austen β α ($amzn) (K) Ω
Freckles by Gene Stratton Porter β α ($amzn) (ChrBk) (K) Ω
* Unknown to History: Captivity of Mary of Scotland by Charlotte Yonge β α ($amzn) K
** The House of Arden: A Story for Children by E. Nesbit β ($amzn) Ω
** Harding's Luck by E. Nesbit β α ($amzn) Ω
** Lorna Doone by R. D. Blackmore β α (ChrBk) ($amzn) Ω
*** Galileo's Daughter by Dava Sobel ($amzn) (K)
The Wonderful O ($amzn) and/or The Thurber Carnival by James Thurber ($amzn)
To Have and to Hold: A Story of Virginia in Colonial Days by Mary Johnston β α ($amzn) Ω
All for Love, or, The World Well Lost by John Dryden β α
Discourses on Satire and Epic Poetry by John Dryden β
The Compleat Angler by Izaak Walton β α (ChrBk) ($amzn) Ω (short contemplative readings)
The Memoirs of Gluckel of Hameln tr. by Marvin Lowenthal; 1690 diary of a Jewish widow ($amzn) (K)
Pioneers of the Old South: A Chronicle of English Colonial Beginnings by Mary Johnston β α
Unknown to History: Captivity of Mary of Scotland by Charlotte Yonge β α (£) (£amzn) Ω K
The History of King Charles II of England by Jacob Abbott β α (edition/publisher under review)
The Book Nobody Read: Chasing the Revolutions of Nicolaus Copernicus by astronomer Owen Gingerich ($amzn)
Jean Henri Fabre: Choose any of his books on insect life

Kenilworth by Sir Walter Scott β α ($amzn) Ω (or other Scott novel)

* Don Quixote by Miguel Cervantes ($amzn) Find an edited version!
Unedited version here; The PNEU recommended an edition called The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha by John Ormsby. α There's also a fun retelling for youths by James Baldwin here ($amzn) (K)

The Space Trilogy by C.S. Lewis (ChrBk)
Out of the Silent Planet (ChrBk) ($amzn) (K)
Perelandra (ChrBk) ($amzn) (K)
That Hideous Strength (ChrBk) ($amzn) (K)
Note - parents should pre-read That Hideous Strength (and possibly Perelandra); some may prefer to save these until high school.

The Prydain Chronicles by Lloyd Alexander ($amzn) (K)
The Book of Three (ChrBk) ($amzn) (K)
The Black Cauldron ($amzn) (K)
The Castle of Llyr ($amzn) (K)
Taran Wanderer ($amzn) (K)
The High King ($amzn) (K)
Read a fan's archived blog post about these books here.

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

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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 1999 edition of his book. (ChrBk) ($amzn)

Footnotes

2. Note on Audiobooks: While links to audio books are added as a courtesy, Miss Mason's approach to grammar and composition is heavily dependent upon the children receiving an immense amount of visual exposure to the written word over many years, so parents should exercise extreme caution in how many audiobooks they use each year. Our brains just work differently when we see the words.

For children who have difficulty reading, one solution is to have them follow the audio version along in a written text.
Librivox free audio is done by volunteers, and some are better than others. Heidi Nash has a list of some favorite Librivox readers. Be aware that apps, including Librivox, that have clickable ads can open a browser and allow children unfiltered access to the internet, even when browsers have been disabled by the parent. There are options: either download mp3 files from Librivox and listen without the app, or only install the app on a parent-controlled device. Librivox has a pay option to turn off ads.

Cindy Rollins did a Circe Mason Jar podcast that included the role of audiobooks with difficult books.
(Back)

4. Continue AO's plan (6 years through the Bible in Years 7-12), or follow a plan of your own preference. AO's plan schedules the following for this year:
Numbers 1-36, Deuteronomy 1-34, Joshua 1-24
Matthew 1-28
Psalms 56-105, Proverbs 17-31
Resources: Study questions with maps; Bible Maps; Bible timeline. Encyclopedia of Bible Truths, 4 Volumes by Ruth C. Haycock (purchase from CBD)
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. (Back)

6. The Pursuit of Holiness: a no nonsense guide to godly living. (Back)

8. Saints and Heroes is an option for church history if you didn't use Trial and Triumph in Years 1-6
Term 1: (Vol 2) ch 1 Luther-ch 8 William the Silent
Term 2: ch 9 Brewster-ch 10 Laud
Term 3: ch 11 Cromwell-ch 12 Bunyan (Back)

10. Timeline: At this age, students should be keeping a Century Chart and Book of Centuries. Instructions for making your own timelines and charts are included in these Parents' Review articles: Book of the Centuries; Teaching Chronology; The Correlation of Lessons. For more details about the why, when, how of keeping CM timelines (and other notebooks), we recommend Laurie Bestvater's book, The Living Page ($amzn). Two Book of Centuries options: (£) (£) (Back)

12. The New World is Volume 2 of Winston Churchill's 4 volume set, "A History of the English Speaking Peoples." The next two volumes will be used in Years 9 and 10. Don't get the one edited by Henry Steele Commager, as it's abridged. If you can figure out how to use this, this book is online in audio For planning purposes, there is a table of contents with dates for all 4 volumes of A History of the English Speaking Peoples, and a schedule to break down the week's chapter into 4 short daily readings.
Term 1: Ch 1-10
Term 2: Ch 11-18
Term 3: Ch 19-26
An alternate option is A History of England by Arnold-Forster, online at archive.org, Google Books Purchase Whole Book: ($amzn; Lulu.com; Options) Just Yr 8: ($amzn; Lulu.com); a schedule is here.
Land of Hope: An Invitation to the Great American Story by Wilfred M. McClay is an option, though it only covers American history. ($amzn K) The paperback version may not be sturdy -- we saw one that had pages falling out after a few days. Year 8 corresponds with Introduction-ch 2. There's a schedule that fits it into Years 8-11. (Back)

14. A Man for All Seasons is a play about Thomas More. Preferably, the student should read the book. Alternately, the student could watch the Paul Scofield movie ($amzn), or as a second option, read William Roper's biography of Thomas More. Also here. (Roper was Thomas More's son-in-law.) (Back)

16. Mourt's Relation: A Relation or Journal of the beginning and proceedings of the English Plantation settled at Plymouth in New England, by certain English Adventurers both Merchants and others attributed to G. Mourt (George Morton), 1622, is a compilation of journal entries of the original settlers. The pdf file was provided by Caleb Johnson, and is 45 pgs long. The text posted at Google Books and archive.org α was edited by Dwight B. Heath in 1963.
Alternately, you may use A History of Plymouth Plantation by William Bradford β α Ω Mayflower scholar Caleb Johnson has edited William Bradford's Journal and modernized some of the spelling. His book (over 600 pgs) includes Mourt's Relation and is available for sale on his website. ($amzn). There is also a version of Bradford's Journal rendered into modern English by Harold Paget in 1909. α ($amzn)
The Mayflower and Her Log by Azel Ames, 1901, is "a chronicle, covering a period between July 15, 1620, and May 6, 1621, compiled largely from original sources by Azel Ames, M.D., member of the Pilgrim Society."
Mourt's Relations is scheduled over 4 weeks (weeks 18-21), which works out to 11 pages of Caleb Johnson's pdf per week. If you use a longer book, plan accordingly. Another option: The Landing of the Pilgrims is a Landmark book by James Daugherty drawn from the Pilgrims' own journals, including Bradford's journal. ($amzn) (K) (Back)

18. A Coffin for King Charles was also published under the title The Trial of Charles I in England. Weeks 21-36 (Back)

20. Oliver Cromwell and the Rule of the Puritans in England: we suggest just the epilogue/ch 23. If you want to read the entire book, it is available online. α ($amzn) (Back)

22. Christopher Columbus, Mariner presents a fairly balanced account of Columbus. This book, especially ch 11 (pg 79, the paragraph beginning "The skirmish at Salt River..." tells of the first girl subdued in the Caribbean), will require parental screening. (Back)

24. The Life of Christopher Columbus: The Advisory hasn't reviewed the Kindle copy of this yet. This book should be scheduled at a chapter per week, except for ch 2 and 3, which can be doubled up in week 2. (Back)

26. Geography: SeterraOnline offers Free Map Quiz Games. If you have an iPad or iPhone, TapQuiz is a free map quiz app. (Back)

28. Whatever Happened to Justice? emphasizes the two basic laws that our legal system is based on, and which the The Primary Laws on the Able Kinetic website paraphrased as "Keep your word," and "Don't mess with other people or their stuff." (Back)

32. Ourselves, the 4th volume of Mason's 6 Volume Series: approximately 22 pages per term. This book will continue through all the remaining years of AO's high school curriculum. If your student is graduating before Year 12, you may wish to speed up in order to complete the book before graduation. This year: pages 66-135 of Book 1.
There is a modern English paraphrase that can be read online or purchased. ($amzn) (K) Relying on paraphrases will prevent your child from developing the mental muscles needed to comprehend older books. But sometimes a paraphrase is needed. If a child is completely lost, then nothing in their brain is firing up, so there are times (and specific children) where it can make the difference between giving up on a book, or using a paraphrase so the ideas at least get through. Read more about this in Wendi Capehart's blog post Imagination and the Mind's Eye.
Term 1: Book 1 pg 66-86
Term 2: Book 1 pg 87-107
Term 3: Book 1 pg 108-130 (Back)

Plutarch: Charlotte Mason recommended Thomas North's "inimitable translation." (Back)

36. Utopia: We suggest the modern translation by Paul Turner. If you're using an online public domain text, we've divided one for weeks 1-24 here. There's also an online text listed by book/chapter. (Back)

38. Francis Bacon essays: Here are some suggested essays to choose from, but feel free to do any (or all!) of them. Of Truth, Of Revenge, Of Adversity, Of Innovations, Of Friendship, Of Regiment of Health, Of Suspicion, Of Discourse, Of Riches, Of Nature in Men, Of Youth and Age, Of Building (first half), Of Studies (paraphrase), Of Praise, Of Honor and Reputation, Of Anger. These selections have been collected and divided into manageable paragraphs here.
Yes, the language is a stretch. But don't give up - there's lots of great material here for discussion, and they get easier. Read Jeanne Webb's experience with these essays on her blog. One useful suggestion: have your student write their own paraphrase. (Back)

40. 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.
Blogs as a media form have rapidly overtaken hard-copy publications. 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 it regularly. However, we recommend that parents first become familiar with blogs and visit the one(s) their children will frequent. We suggest several poliblogs, 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. (Back)

42. (The History of) English Literature for Boys and Girls:
Term 1: ch 32 (Beginning of Theater) - 43 (Spenser)
Term 2: 44 (First Theaters) - ch 54 (Some Lyric Poets)
Term 3: ch 55 (Herbert) - 59 (Bunyan)
AO schedules this book in conjunction with Invitation to the Classics; more material is covered in Marshall's History of English Literature from Year 7 to the middle of Year 10, and more is covered in Invitation to the Classics from the middle of Year 10, and through Year 11. If you prefer to use only Invitation to the Classics by Louise Cowan and Os Guinness ($amzn), Year 8 students would read pg 113-176 The Second Shepherds' Play and Everyman to John Bunyan, The Pilgrim's Progress. A Table of Contents to help with planning is here. (Back)

44. Everyman Morality Play: There's a slightly less archaic version here, or click on Everyman in the contents of this Google Book. There is a very abridged version (perhaps useful for the parent to look at before starting this with the student?) Check YouTube for live presentations of this play. (Back)

46. Diary of Samuel Pepys: List member Sarah Bruce has kindly compiled an excerpted copy with his account of the Great Fire. Charlotte Mason used parts of this book. Pepys gives a great first-hand account of the Great Fire. However, this needs editing both for length but also because Pepys was wretchedly honest about his sordid behavior, details of which really aren't appropriate for young people to read. His entries for April 22 and 23 have to do with the coronation of Charles II and may be useful. If you wish to read the entire diary, it is available online: The Diary of Samuel Pepys β ($amzn) excerpted copy of (the part detailing The Plague and The Great Fire) and excerpts from his entries on the plague. (Back)

48. I Promessi Sposi (The Betrothed): Penguin Classics has version translated by Bruce Penman and called The Betrothed ($amzn) (K) Weeks 19-36. (Back)

49. Poetry: How do you "do" poetry? Simply read it and enjoy it, re-read it, read it again and listen to the sound of the phrases, let them paint a word picture in your mind. Do you feel like you need more direction? How to Read a Poem: Based on the Billy Collins Poem "Introduction to Poetry" by Tania Runyan is "less as an instructional book and more of an invitation." This is a suggested optional parent resource that encourages you read poetry for enjoyment. (Back)

50. The Holy War by John Bunyan: Charlotte Mason's Kingdom of Mansoul in Ourselves (volume 4 of her series) is based on this book. Mount Calvary Baptist has a helpful study guide, links to study notes, audio files and links to online texts.
The a librivox version (here) is read beautifully by Joy Chan. To divide it into 24 readings over a 12-week term, you might listen to one of the 20 audio files twice a week, except for chapters 1, 3 and 4, and 5 which can be divided in half. A text with divisions based on this recording so your student can follow along is here. (Back)

52. Fierce Wars and Faithful Loves is Book I of Spenser's Fairie Queene, updated and annotated. We don't recommend the Kindle version because of formatting issues. For those who need a children's version, there's a 'modern' (1916) retelling by Mary MacLeod available. It's online at Sacred Texts and archive.org. Book I is "The Red Cross Knight." Ω (Back)

54. Shakespeare Sonnets: Selections: XVIII (18), XXIX (29), XXX (30), LIII (53), LIV (54), LVII (57), LXXIII (73), XCIV (94), CIV (104), CVI (106) CXVI (116), CXXIX (129) (read one per week) Download these 12 sonnets in one collection. CliffsNotes and shakespeare-online.com have helps for the sonnets. Check online sites such as Librivox for free audio readings of poems; this is a growing project and more poems are online every month. (Back)

56. Grammar: In terms of difficulty (easiest to most challenging), Easy Grammar Plus is probably the easiest, followed by Jensen's, and then Our Mother Tongue.
Jensen's Grammar goes slowly and step-by-step; their answer key is thorough (Our Mother Tongue doesn't always have answers). There are 75 lessons, so plan to take two years, or else do two lessons per week. Expect to pay about $30 for the Jensen's text and answer key. The DVD's are not necessary. You will probably find it cheaper at New Leaf Publishing, or other homeschool sellers such as Lamppost Homeschool.
If you are not confident about teaching grammar, you might prefer Easy Grammar Plus by Wanda Phillips. It's less intense than Jensen's, but still doesn't assume a lot of previous knowledge from the teacher. It's easier than Jensen with just a couple suggested alterations (for example, don't insist on memorizing the prepositions at the start, just write a list of them and explain an easy way to remember most of them: any way a worm can go in relation to two apples, or ways a bird can fly in relation to two mountains). A parent using this with one child could get by with only the Teacher's Edition (ChrBk) since the student workbook is included in it, but multiple students would need their own workbooks (ChrBk). You can also purchase from their website. Easy Grammar Grade 8 Student 180 Daily Teaching Lessons by Wanda Phillips is just as good; it also has the student workbook included in the teacher's edition.

Those who are more familiar with grammar may prefer Our Mother Tongue. It's more interesting as it uses classic literature for exercises and includes snippets of history about language. The Answer Key ($amzn) is sold separately. Our Mother Tongue has 49 chapters. One suggestion is to spread the book over two years, doing about 9 chapters per term. (Back)

58. AO's Language Arts Scope and Sequence for this level. (Back)

60. A favorite Advisory English handbook is The Little, Brown Handbook by H. Ramsey Fowler and Jane E. Aaron ($amzn). Some may find Writer's Inc. more user friendly ($amzn). (Back)

62. Paradigm Online Writing Assistant: 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. This is the link to the section on writing a support essay. At the top of the page, you can see the progression of the whole course. (Back)

64. Recitation: 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. (Back)

68. Science: If your child wants to pursue a scientific major and needs to prepare for special exams, you may want to contact your college of choice to find out what the requirements are. We have not undertaken to prepare our students for specialty exams, but to give them a foundation of knowledge about science which will make it a matter of interest to them for life. (Back)

70. First Studies of Plant Life: continues from Year 7; parts 2 and 3 this year. Planting, growing and observing germinating seeds and plants is necessary to benefit from this book. If you prefer, you may substitute Exploring Creation with Botany by Jeanne Fulbright ($amzn) over Years 7 and 8, with selected activities from the book. (Back)

71. Napoleon's Buttons: Chapters 11 (The Pill) and 12 (Molecules of Witchcraft, because of the first paragraph on page p. 235) are not scheduled and can be skipped. Aditionally, these brief comments should also be noted by parents:
ch 5 (Nitro Compounds) pg 89 refers to the waste products of wine drinkers and "clergyman, or better yet a bishop" to make gunpowder.
ch 7 (Phenol) pg 131 suggests gossypol as a potential male chemical birth control method.
ch 10 (Wonder Drugs) pg 187 refers to "venereally spread" syphilis.
ch 16 (Chlorocarbon Compounds) pg 327 "In the Book of Genesis women, as Eve's descendants, are condemned to suffer during childbirth as punishment for her sin..." and goes on to mention why. (Back)

72. Adventures with a Microscope: Choose 12 adventures if you are able to procure/borrow a microscope. Jeanne Webb wrote a study guide (Back)

74. Great Astronomers is spread across Years 7-10. This year: Term 1: Galileo. Term 2: Kepler. Term 3: Isaac Newton. A paraphrase is here. Relying on paraphrases will prevent your child from developing the mental muscles needed to comprehend older books. But sometimes a paraphrase is needed. If a child is completely lost, then nothing in their brain is firing up, so there are times (and specific children) where it can make the difference between giving up on a book, or using a paraphrase so the ideas at least get through. Read more about this in Wendi Capehart's blog post Imagination and the Mind's Eye. (Back)

76. Chemical History of a Candle resources: We highly recommend going through this book with Bill Hammack, "The Engineer Guy." His YouTube readings with guided commentary are invaluable helps, and we have posted the amazon link ($amzn) (K) above to his updated revision of the book. There is also a Pdf Study Guide by AO mom Kathy Wickward, and there are video helps from Khan Academy or Crash Course Chemistry. (Back)

78. A Briefer History of Time: A shorter version of A Brief History of Time containing less technical concepts. We encourage you not to skip this book; Hawking is one of the most respected scientists of our time and it is important for our students to be literate in this subject and know what other people believe. Hawking acknowledged the role of God in creation, and this book is respectful to the beliefs of others. (Back)

80. Signs and Seasons - ch 3-5 this year. Field work is an integral part of this book. Field activities are included in the back of the book, so the field guide is not necessary.
If you prefer, A Walk through the Heavens: A Guide to Stars and Constellations by Milton Heifetz may be used. ($amzn) (K) (Back)

82. In place of Rural Hours, you may choose the nature writings of Edwin Way Teale α (search amazon.com) if you have them on your shelf. Unfortunately, few are online, and go in and out of print. A particular favorite is "The Circle of Seasons" but other titles are also commendable. (Back)

84. How to Read a Book may be saved for a later year. Be sure to get the revised edition, and read only Part 2 this year (this book continues into Year 10). 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. Note: The revised version was written by both Mortimer J. Adler And Charles 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. (Back)

86. Janson's Story of Painting: chapters 4-5 this year. (Some nudity; parents should preview first.) If you already have Janson's Picture History of Painting, Janson's History of Art for Young People or Janson's History of Art, those books are broken down into their appropriate terms for Years 7-11 here. Note that Janson's History of Art and History of Art for Young People are huge books with much more text than the Painting books, and may be too much for most students on top of their other reading. (Back)

88. English Folk Songs: you may choose to continue the Folk Song rotation at AmblesideOnline; as well as the AmblesideOnline rotation for Hymns each term. Carols would do for the Winter term. Work on each song about 4 weeks. Folksongs which are particularly appropriate selections for the Year 8 time frame include:
* Barbara Allen, Star of the County Down, Andrew Barton
** The Death of Queen Jane, The Miller of Dee, Drink to Me Only With Thine Eyes
*** Three Mariners, The Oak and the Ash, My Lodging is on the Cold Ground [tune], English folksongs and other folksongs. (Back)

90. Foreign Folk Songs: Charlotte Mason did 3 in French and 3 in German. (Back)

92. Charlotte Mason's students were learning three languages at this level. A good English/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. (Back)

94. Fearfully and Wonderfully Made: preview this first (see notes) (Back)

Last updated March 31, 2023 (to update Bible)