2024-2025 School Year

Literature Analysis SPT

Tuesday AND Thursday

 

Course Description

This class has two primary goals: to introduce the basic concepts of literary analysis and to introduce students to classic works they might not be ready to read on their own, but can enjoy with the support and guidance provided by an engaging teacher and class.

Students will learn ways to approach and appreciate challenging literature and will practice the skills of close literary analysis. They will analyze and respond to literature through discussion, written assignments, projects, presentations, tests, and a variety of fun, hands-on activities.

This reading material is at an upper middle school level. In choosing this class, parents should consider the amount of reading required by students’ other subjects and the level of parental support and involvement each individual student will need in order to understand and enjoy reading at this level. Books can be read and/or listened to for auditory support. Please read UHC Middle School Literature for 7th/8th Grade for further details.

*Note: This course satisfies required literature and vocabulary instruction, but please note that this is not a complete English Language Arts course for the student.  The teaching parent will need to add the other components of a middle school ELA course: grammar and composition.

To be successful in this class:

Students should be able to follow an assignment calendar for assignments, read an average of 50-75 pages per week, participate in teacher-facilitated class discussions, and follow directions to participate in a variety of assignments that may include creative writing (no formal essays), projects, test/quizzes, and presentations on the works studied.

Parents must be prepared to monitor and support the student’s reading and guide him or her in following the teacher’s instructions to complete essays, projects, and other assignments.

**Summer Reading Homework: Click on this link for the summer booklist and be ready to share the title, author, your opinion of the book and give a brief synopsis. REQUIRED and due at the first class. **

Grades: 7th Grade, 8th Grade

Fees: $360 per year

Sections Offered: 1st Hour or 2nd Hour - Arbuckle

Required Materials

Purchase an unabridged copy of each book:

  • The Hobbit by JRR Tolkien, ISBN ‎ 978-0547928227, (Lexile score 1000)
  • Agatha Christie short stories-  compare and contrast unit focusing on Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple. ISBN 0062074423
  • The Secret Garden by Francess Hodgson Burnett, ISBN 978-9386538994, (Lexile score 920)
  • The Giver by Lois Lowry, ISBN 9780544336261, (Lexile score 760)
  • Cyrano de Bergerac by Edmond Rostand, ISBN 0486411192

RECOMMENDED MATERIALS:

This class employs two separate book lists on a two-year rotation, so students can take it in seventh grade, eighth grade, or both without repeating books. Students are welcome to use audio and electronic versions for reading at home, but paper editions of the books are required in class. No e-readers permitted in class. The specific editions suggested are recommended, not required, but any edition substituted must be unabridged. After the ISBN for each book (except for drama and poetry, which are rated differently) you can find the Lexile score, which is an estimate of the reading level for each book. You can learn more about Lexile scoring, what it means, and how to use it here.

2024-2025 Booklist

  • Summer Reading Homework: Click on this link for the summer booklist and be ready to share the title, author, your opinion of the book and give a brief synopsis. REQUIRED and due at the first class.
  • The Hobbit by JRR Tolkien, ISBN ‎ 978-0547928227, (Lexile score 1000)
  • Agatha Christie short stories-  compare and contrast unit focusing on Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple. ISBN 0062074423
  • The Secret Garden by Francess Hodgson Burnett, ISBN 978-9386538994, (Lexile score 920)
  • The Giver by Lois Lowry, ISBN 9780544336261, (Lexile score 760)
  • Nonfiction: selected works by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Abraham Lincoln, and Helen Keller (teacher will provide) as well as current event news articles approved by the teacher and parent.
  • Poetry: selected works by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Alfred Lord Tennyson, Langston Hughes, and others (teacher will provide)
  • Cyrano de Bergerac by Edmond Rostand, ISBN 0486411192

2025-2026 Booklist (subject to change):

  • Summer Reading Homework: Click on this link for the summer booklist and be ready to share the title, author, your opinion of the book and give a brief synopsis. REQUIRED and due at the first class.
  • Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson, ISBN 0375756825;  (Lexile measure 570)
  • Short stories: “The Diamond Necklace” by Guy de Maupassant and “The Ransom of Red Chief” by O. Henry (teacher will provide)
  • The Hound of the Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle ISBN 1497483646 (Lexile measure 1010)
  • Poetry: selected works by Emily Dickinson, Walt Whitman, and others (teacher will provide)
  • Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery, ISBN-13 : 978-0553213133 (Lexile measure 970)
  • Nonfiction: selected works by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Abraham Lincoln,  and others (teacher will provide)
  • Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain, ISBN 9781593081393 (Lexile measure 560 )
  • Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare, ISBN 048647806

1st Hour or 2nd Hour - Arbuckle

Meet Madison Arbuckle

Education:

  • BS in English from Bob Jones University
  • Masters of Education in Literacy from Clemson University

Certifications:

  • Middle School Language Arts
  • Secondary English
  • Literacy Teacher
  • Gifted and Talented
  • ESSL

Teaching Experience:

  • 8 years teaching middle school Language Arts for Greenville County Schools

Began teaching at UHC in 2023