Scott Clifton has created his own textbooks for the online literature courses he has taught for years for grades seven through twelve. The courses are:
- 7th Grade Literature for Christian Homeschoolers
- 8th Grade Literature for Christian Homeschoolers
- American Literature for Christian Homeschoolers
- Classic Literature for Christian Homeschoolers
- British Literature for Christian Homeschoolers
- World Literature for Christian Homeschoolers
The first two courses are survey courses that draw from literary works written across time and from around the world, while the four high school courses are more narrowly focused. The high school courses don’t have to be used in the order listed above, but it is probably best to do so since the level of difficulty increases gradually.
Each course has three or four volumes. All courses, except World Literature, use public domain literary works almost exclusively, drawing from many genres, including several complete novels per course. Clifton adds introductions to most works, footnotes, and questions, plus other helps, such as a list of “Characters to Know” and “For Additional Thought/Essay Topics.”
The readings are an eclectic, interesting mix of novels, poetry, Bible stories, legends, humor, Christian exhortation, short stories, science fiction, and more. Using the first course as an example, in addition to six complete books, just a few of the briefer readings are “Casey at the Bat” by Ernest Thayer, The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood (excerpts) by Howard Pyle, Rikki-Tikki-Tavi by Rudyard Kipling, “The Lumber Room” by Saki, “On Raising Questions” by Charles Spurgeon, “A Christmas Inspiration” by L. M. Montgomery, “The Children’s Hour” by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, and “Zero Hour” by Ray Bradbury.
The courses are written from a Christian (Protestant) worldview. Clifton clearly states his perspective (that applies to both his online courses and textbooks) at the beginning of each volume, “My goal: to support Christian homeschooling parents like you as you pass on your Christian values and worldview to your children. The classes also emphasize the government’s proper function: limited, and focused on protecting life, liberty, and property—just what the Bible teaches!”
The Christian worldview is reflected in the selection of readings as well as in the introductions before some readings and questions that follow them. Some readings are from the Bible or have religious content, but most are not specifically Christian. The questions often direct students’ attention to Christian values or worldviews. For example, the first volume for seventh grade has a reading from Booker T. Washington titled “The Highest Education.” The first question is a comprehension question. The second question asks, “How can a young Christian compare Proverbs 23:23 and John 14:6 to the author’s main point?” The third question asks, “How does Washington say that a person can prove he has a real education?” The fourth question challenges students: “Since you’re a homeschooler, what’s something you can do this year to ‘take charge’ of your education, instead of waiting for Mom or Dad to tell you what to do all the time?” There’s also an invitation to accept Christ at the end of the first volume of the courses for both seventh and eighth grade.
Every literary work included in these volumes includes Questions for Review. These appear only at the end of shorter works, while complete books are broken up periodically with review questions. The questions get more challenging in subsequent years, varying in style to suit the readings. For example, after students read the short excerpt from The Attainment of Nirvana by Buddhaghosa in World Literature, they are to write the Four Noble Truths of Buddhism, and then compare or contrast them (as well as the concept of nirvana) with eight passages from the Bible. On the other hand, review questions for The Odyssey mostly check for comprehension and the ability to summarize events.
At the end of many of the complete books and plays are additional assignments and questions under the heading For Additional Thought/Essay Topics. These get into literary analysis and worldviews at levels appropriate for each course. I’ll give you two examples. Eighth graders who have just finished The Red House Mystery are given this question:
Men like Mark Ablett—ones who are already a little vain and self-centered—often are ruined if they come into a great deal of money. Why do you think this is true? What does God’s Word teach about this in Psalm 62:10, Mark 10:17-27, Matthew 6:19-21, and James 5:1-6?
Older students taking World Literature encounter the following question after reading The Martyr of the Catacombs:
More disturbing than the fact that the Roman government would allow and even promote such bloody murders in the Coliseum is how the general public reveled in the violence. Are there modern-day parallels in our culture, in which large numbers of people—not just a twisted few—get thrills from violence? What does this say about our society?
Clifton’s questions and assignments are excellent, but it is worth noting that they are less focused on literary analysis than most literature courses for this level. Students wanting more literary analysis should consider enrolling in one of Clifton's online courses.
A course schedule for each entire course is at the front of each volume. Course schedules are for 30 weeks, with students reading on their own four days per week and discussing questions with a class or a parent on the fifth day. Students will often read works from more than one volume, even within a week, rather than just reading straight through each volume. Stories, poems, essays, and speeches are grouped into one volume for each course, and assignments from that volume are interspersed between the novels. The schedule in each volume uses gray boxes on the chart to identify readings included in that volume and white boxes for those found in other volumes (or separate books for World Literature).
Currently, the books are available only in print through Amazon. Clifton has reformatted all the material for easier reading. Answer keys for the seventh- and eighth-grade courses are at the back of each volume, and answer keys for the high-school courses are online. (The URL for answer keys is in the front of each textbook.) Students taking Clifton’s courses live online are given tests, but those purchasing the books without course access do not. However, having students respond in writing to the For Additional Thought/Essay Topics should provide sufficient accountability without tests.
Details about the courses follow my summary.
Summary
Overall, these courses do a great job of exposing students to a wide range of excellent writing, including many significant literary works for understanding worldviews. That means Clifton’s courses should appeal to those who want literature taught through a Christian lens and place a lower priority on in-depth literary analysis.
Course Details
The three volumes for 7th Grade Literature for Christian Homeschoolers are:
Volume 1: Stories, Poems, and Essays
Volume 2: North Woods Manhunt, Mary Louise, The Prisoner of Zenda
Volume 3: The Time Machine, The Yellow Pearl, The Story of a Bad Boy
The three volumes for 8th Grade Literature for Christian Homeschoolers are:
Volume 1: Stories, Poems, and Essays
Volume 2: Some Fools and a Saint, Three Men in a Boat (To Say Nothing of the Dog), and The Red House Mystery
Volume 3: The Thirty-Nine Steps and Miss Cayley’s Adventures
American Literature’s four volumes are:
Volume 1: Essays, Poems, Letters, and Speeches
Volume 2: Short Stories
Volume 3: Up from Slavery
Volume 4: The Magnificent Ambersons
The volumes for Classic Literature are:
Volume 1: Classic Mysteries
Volume 2: Science Fiction Classics
Volume 3: Classic Tales
Volume 4: Short Story Classics
Within these volumes are the novels, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, A Christmas Carol, War of the Worlds, Robinson Crusoe, The Invisible Man, and The Hound of the Baskervilles, and the play Julius Caesar.
The four volumes for British Literature are:
Volume 1: Great British Works
Volume 2: Short Stories, Poems, and Essays
Volume 3: Jane Eyre
Volume 4: Great Expectations
In addition to the two novels listed in the titles, students also read Beowulf, Macbeth, Pilgrim’s Progress, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, and excerpts from Canterbury Tales.
World Literature has three volumes published by Scott Clifton and requires students to obtain copies of God of the Untouchables, Evidence Not Seen, Let Me Die in Ireland, and Animal Farm.
Clifton’s three volumes are titled:
Volume 1: Ancient Writings
Volume 2: Stories, Essays, and Speeches of the World
Volume 3: A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
The coursebooks include some readings taken from the Bible, a few articles by Scott Clifton, such as “Old Testament Prophecies of Jesus Christ” and “The Bible vs. the Quran (Koran),” and two other complete books: The Odyssey and Martyr of the Catacombs.
