High School Literature
Telling Other People's Stories
When you hear the word "literature," you might not think about biographies. After all, the subject matter comes straight from real life. Where's the creativity, invention, and literary devices of characterization?
You may be surprised to learn just how much literary expression goes into creating a biography, and we'll explore it through a careful read of three biographies/memoirs and their partner biopics.
Join us as we read/watch the following:
- Ray & Joan and The Founder (An exploration of the life of Ray Kroc, the founder of McDonald's)
- The Great and Only Barnum and The Greatest Showman (An exploration of P.T. Barnum's rise to circus fame)
- The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio and the biopic of the same name (An exploration of 1950s housewife Evelyn Ryan and her prize-winning prowess)
Question Biographical Framing
Was Ray Kroc a genius visionary or a grifting exploiter?
Was P.T. Barnum a romantic dreamer or a greedy conman who used disabled people for his own gain?
Was Evelyn Ryan a helpless housewife of an alcoholic husband or a brilliant wordsmith with the power to heroically provide for her family?
Maybe the answer to each of these questions is "Yes — both."
How much does the way the story is framed by the writers of the books and the creators of the films change the way we see their subjects? What responsibility do they have to tell us the "truth" — and who gets to decide what the truth is anyway?
These are the questions we'll be exploring in this class!
Practice Critical Thinking and Research Skills
This class is designed to provide high schoolers with college-prep research skills. In addition to reading and reacting to the texts, they'll also be tasked with creating a research project that requires independent research, credible support, and a meaningful engagement with the class themes.
Course Details
Schedule: February 2-May 16, 2026 with live meetings on Thursdays at 11am Eastern. (No meetings or assignments due the week of March 23 (Spring Break).
If a learner cannot attend a session due to illness or a schedule conflict, they will still have access to all class materials and can check in with the instructor with any questions.
Time Commitment
Most learners can expect to spend 5-7 hours per week (including the live meeting) working on class materials.
(This class will meet or exceed 60 hours of coursework to count as 0.5 credits of high school ELA).
Supplies
To participate successfully in class, learners will need the following:
- Copies of the following books:
- Ray & Joan by Lisa Napoli (9798218318970)
- The Prize-Winner of Defiance, Ohio by Terry Ryan (9780743211239)
-
The Great and Only Barnum by Candace Fleming (9780375841972)
(Note: It is highly recommended that learners have their own copies of the physical book that they can annotate as they read. Learners who prefer audiobooks may want to have a combination of audio and print copies. Learners will need to cite specific lines and passages frequently.) (Bookshop Link)
- Access to the following films (depending on student project selection, they may need access for the duration of the class):
- The Prize-Winner of Defiance, Ohio
- The Greatest Showman
- The Founder
- Microphone and camera for in-class participation
- PDF Reader
- Zoom (free account)
- Learners will submit work through Google Drive (a Google (Gmail) account can be acquired for free)
Assignments Open Each Week
In order to allow for learners and their families to have the flexibility they need, assignments open at the beginning of each week and are due at the end of that week. Learners can complete work at whatever time works best for them throughout the week.
Evaluation and Records
At the beginning of class, families will have the option to opt into numerical grading. All learners will receive a detailed class wrap-up report suitable for inclusion in a portfolio. All students receive detailed feedback (including video feedback) on major assignments.
Content Notes
None of these films/books depict any graphic violence or sexual content, but they do tackle some heavy topics in places. Participants will encounter discussions of alcoholism, gender oppression, disability discrimination, animal mistreatment, death and end-of-life care, poverty and financial hardship, economic inequality, racism, and colonialism.
The Founder is rated PG-13.
The Greatest Showman is rated PG.
The Prize-Winner of Defiance, Ohio is rated PG-13.
Families are encouraged to pre-screen content if they have any concerns.
Is this the right fit?
This is an advanced high school class. Learners will do best if they have the following skills:
- Can write about 1500 words (6 pages) on a single topic confidently
- Can integrate direct quotes and paraphrases smoothly into writing
- Can locate and evaluate sources for credibility and relevance
- Confidently reads texts at or above ~1100L on the Lexile rating
This class is a good fit for high schoolers who are confident in constructing essays over multiple drafts and have a solid writing process.
Finding the Right Challenge
Writers who have not had much experience writing academic essays would likely benefit from a High School Writing class before taking this one.
Skills Gained
We will practice in-depth research and critical thinking skills as well as constructing complex informative essays and a multimodal rhetorical text.
Students will gain the following skills:
- Exploring advanced reading and note-taking strategies
- Sustained attention to a single topic over multiple weeks
- Finding and evaluating sources for relevance and creativity
- Writing a complex informative text that explores multiple perspectives on the same topic
- Crafting rhetorical arguments through multimodal exploration
- Comparing and contrasting multiple texts on similar topics
Meet Your Teacher!
