Middle School Medieval / Renaissance / Reformation Literature

This course introduces the students to the great stories, ideas, and cast of characters that molded the literature of the Medieval, Renaissance, and Reformation world. This class is paired with a corresponding Medieval/Renaissance/Reformation history class, taught by the same teacher, and scheduled back-to-back in a “block.” Students who take both courses receive a discount. Either course may also be taken as a stand-alone course. Because of this arrangement, and the nature of history and literature, there will necessarily be overlap between the two classes. This integrative experience of history and literature is one of the benefits of the classical model.

The literature section of the humanities block aims to introduce students to several of the “great books” of classical literature. Classes will consist of seminar-style discussions of the readings, with the instructor serving as the facilitator. The instructor may occasionally open class with a brief lecture on the author or historical background of a book. The goal is to encourage a deeper understanding and appreciation for the readings and their timeless truths through thoughtful dialogue on a book’s characters, plot, themes, and cultural context. Students are expected to participate actively in these discussions by formulating thoughtful questions and interacting with their peers.

Because the books studied are rich and complex, we could spend many classes plumbing the depths of these stories. However, given Scholé Academy’s focus on restful learning, this course is structured so as to give students a guided first taste of these classic works, consistent with the middle school level. It is assumed that this will not be the last time that students read books like Dante’s Divine Comedy, but that they pick them up again throughout their lives, with deeper understanding. The hope is that students come to love and appreciate these stories both as artifacts and as beautiful works of timeless art.

A tentative reading schedule will be provided at the beginning of the school year to give students and parents an idea of the kind of workload to expect. However, the instructor reserves the right to adjust the reading schedule throughout the year in order to maintain a deep, yet restful approach to learning in accordance with Scholé Academy learning philosophy.

Placement: Please read about our new process above.

This course is suitable for rising 7th–9th graders. Students are expected to have proficient reading and writing skills as well as the interest and capacity for engaging in discussion about literature and history. Students suited for this course will also be cultivating the following scholarship skills:

Actively and independently engage in note-taking
Apply teacher critiques
Adhere to deadlines
Be responsible for class and project preparedness
Take initiative to ask questions for understanding and comprehension

How much time will students spend on homework?
This varies by student according to his or her pace. However, students are generally assigned about 1.5–2.5 hours of reading each week. Additional time may be required to supplement the student’s own studying and paper or project development.

How does this course compare to the upper-school medieval/Renaissance/Reformation literature course?
The chief differences between the middle-school and upper-school levels for this course are noted below. While there will be some overlap of content taught, the upper-school course will be much more challenging and assume a more mature student with more background knowledge and greater reading, writing, and scholarship facility.

How is faith integrated with these courses?
These seminar-style discussions unfold organically. One could approach the texts with a focus on defensive critiques of classical authors. By contrast, we seek to read charitably. We treat classic authors as if they were friends, gleaning every available truth while also examining them from a robustly Christian perspective.

At Scholé Academy, we have carefully considered how we should engage our contemporary culture as those who believe that Christ is the Truth (John 14:6), and that all truth has its source in him. We think it is important to provide our upper school students (in grades 7-12) with tools and opportunities for critically examining various cultural trends, issues and mores through the lens of orthodox, Christian beliefs. Being confident in the truth revealed to us in creation, the Scriptures, and the tradition of the church, we are not afraid to follow the truth and its implications nor to address error and falsehood. … Read more about our Faith & Culture.

Syllabus

Mr. Marchand’s Syllabus

Mrs. Shaltanis’ Syllabus

For each skill instructors have determined whether it is a prerequisite skill or a skill to be developed throughout the course. For lower school, instructors indicate where parent support is expected.

With Parent Support: Skills that most lower school students will need help with.
Developing: Skills that the instructor will help develop and emphasize throughout the year.
Mastered: Prerequisite skills that the instructor is expecting students to possess.

Canvas

With Parent Support

Be able to set notifications settings to alert the student of class announcements, homework assignments, due dates, instructor comments made on assignments, instructor comments made on individual student submissions, instructor comments made on graded items, etc.

Developing

Be responsible for reviewing teacher feedback, suggestions and comments about student work and employing that feedback as necessary.
Be able to manage Canvas assignments and submissions (view assignments, check for teacher messages, submit homework as pdf file, submit revisions if necessary, set Canvas notifications for the class, view class notifications when posted, etc.).
Be able to review notifications ongoing throughout the year; notifications which include: class announcements, homework assignments, due dates, instructor comments made on assignments, instructor comments made on individual student submissions, instructor comments made on graded items, etc.
Be able to respectfully and wisely engage with other students and the instructor on Canvas discussion boards.
Be able to respectfully, wisely and formally engage with instructor through private Canvas messaging.

Writing

Developing

Be able to build and use alphanumeric outlines as part of the writing process.
Be able to self-edit written submissions for grammar and spelling mistakes.
Be able to employ the feedback of the instructor into future edits and submissions of the assignment.
Be able to build well organized paragraphs which employ (among other skills) topic sentences, transition sentences, clear linear thinking throughout the essay.
Be able to build a logical, well-reasoned argument through a written essay providing sound reasoning (i.e. true premises, valid arguments, sound conclusions).
Be able to spell at grade level and employ course vocabulary cumulatively throughout the course.
Be able to request a family or peer to edit submissions, but understands these requests should be for the purposes of raising important questions for the student to consider and suggesting minor edits. The student understands that family or peer editors should not be reworking of sentences, redefining terms, building new concepts, building arguments or writing passages for the student.

Mastered

Be able to hand-write answers in complete sentences.
Be able to write sentences with basic sentence syntax (i.e. capitalization of first word in a sentence, punctuation at the end of each sentence, space between sentences, capitalization of proper nouns, each sentence having a subject and predicate, etc.).

Reading

Developing

Be able to read material independently and identify questions which require clarification or further explanation from the instructor.
Be able to mark, underline or highlight important words, definitions or concepts within a text being read both while reading independently and reading corporately as a class.
Be able to identify key terms in a passage, and follow the author’s argument.
Be able to listen to the author’s argument and understand it even if the student disagrees with the conclusion reached or reasons given.
Be able to read material independently and identify the information which might be relevant to course discussions and objectives (even if the student doesn’t fully understand all of what’s being read).

Typing

With Parent Support

Be able to employ MLA citations for (for quoted material and referenced material) through the use of footnotes or endnotes, bibliography, work-cited page. Student should have a concept of what plagiarism is and know how to avoid it.

Developing

Be able to employ basic MLA formatting skills (i.e. 1-inch margins, double spacing, heading on paper).
Be able to type paragraph essays (short essays, and 5 or more page essays).

Mastered

Be able to type short answers in complete sentences.

In-Class

Developing

Follow class discussions and seminar conversations to record notes without the instructor identifying specifics.
Be prepared to generate thoughtful questions to enhance the class discussion, to identify areas needing clarification, and to make valuable connections with other course content.
Be prepared to thoughtfully answer questions when called on in a group setting, during class.
Be prepared to volunteer thoughtful comments, answers and ideas in a group setting, during class.
Follow along with instructor-led note-taking and record notes during class.
Follow along with instructor-led workbook completion and record answers during class.

Study

Developing

Understand the difference between assignments given by an instructor and the necessary and independently initiated need for private study of material.
Be able to schedule and manage multiple projects from multiple instructors and courses.
Be able to schedule time outside of class to complete independent review of materials.
Be able to determine the best places and ways to study at home (i.e. quiet, undistracted, utilizing various methods of review (auditory, written, visual, practice tests, flashcards, etc.).
Be responsible to study at home for quizzes, tests and other assessments.

Reading List:*

Sections with Mr. Marchand:

Beowulf. Kevin Crossley-Hollan (Translator). New York: Oxford World Classics, 2008. 9780199555291
Le Morte d’Arthur: The New Retelling. Gerald J. Davis, 2019. 1794607609
Sir Gawain and The Green Knight (Oxford World’s Classics) by Helen Cooper (translator), 2008. 0199540160
The Divine Comedy. Dante. C.H. Sisson (translator). New York: Oxford World Classics, 2008. 0199535647. NOTE: we will be reading portions of the three sections of The Divine Comedy rather than the entire work.
Don Quixote. Miguel de Cervantes. Edith Grossman (translator). Ecco (publisher), 2003. 0060188707 NOTE: we will be reading portions of different sections of this work.
Hamlet: Oxford School Shakespeare. William Shakespeare. Oxford University Press, 2009. 0198328702

Sections with Mrs. Shaltanis:

Kevin Crossley-Hollan (Translator). Beowulf. New York: Oxford World Classics, 2008. ISBN # 9780199555291
Chaucer, Geoffrey. The Canterbury Tales. Oxford World Classics, 2011. ISBN # 0199599025
Tolkien, J.R.R (Translator). Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Pearl, and Sir Orfeo. William Morrow Paperbacks, 2021. ISBN # 0358652979
Dante, The Divine Comedy. New York: Oxford World Classics, 2008. 0199535647. (excerpts)
Mallory, Thomas. Le Morte Darthur: The Winchester Manuscript (Oxford World’s Classics) Annotated Edition. ISBN # 0199537348
Hamlet: Oxford School Shakespeare. William Shakespeare. Oxford University Press, 2009. 0198328702
Assorted poetry, epics, and other writings provided by instructor via PDF.

*Required texts are not included in the purchase of the course.

Phaedra Shaltanis has taught in private and classical schools for over 25 years and has educated her four children in the classical tradition, which has been the monumental joy of her life. After college graduation, she began teaching high school Writing, Literature, Spanish, and Art in classical schools. Her involvement with Scholé Academy includes teaching American Literature, British Literature, Western History, Rhetoric I, Formal Logic and Well-Ordered Language Levels 1 and 2. She is enthused to serve as the Humanities department chair and appreciates guiding parents and teachers toward restful education. In her Dallas community, she currently directs a high school university-model program, trains and mentors teachers, conducts seminars on classical education, builds curriculum, supports parents, and provides fine art instruction at a classical high school. She and her husband hope to support classical education as avenues present themselves. pshaltanis.scholeacademy@gmail.com

Chris Marchand (pronounced mar-shan) is a music pastor and priest within the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA), serving in Peoria, Illinois. He holds a Master of Theological Studies and a Master of Arts in Music Ministry from Garrett Evangelical Theological Seminary, and was trained as a hospital chaplain in a residency program at Saint Francis Hospital. A former headmaster and teacher at Aletheia Classical Christian School, he has taught humanities, history, science, and government courses. He is married to Elisa and they have four children. The author of Celebrating the 12 Days of Christmas: a guide for churches and families, he also produces podcasts, composes music, and loves to discuss anything related the arts and his favorite sport tennis.cmarch34@gmail.com

Computer: You will need a stable, reliable computer, running with a processor with a speed of 1 GHz or better on one of the following operating systems: Mac OS X with Mac OS 10.7 or later; Windows 8, 7, Vista (with SP1 or later), or XP (with SP3 or later). We do not recommend using an iPad or other tablet for joining classes. An inexpensive laptop or netbook would be much better solutions, as they enable you to plug an Ethernet cable directly into your computer. Please note that Chromebooks are allowed but not preferred, as they do not support certain features of the Zoom video conference software such as breakout sessions and annotation, which may be used by our teachers for class activities.

High-Speed Internet Connection: You will also need access to high-speed Internet, preferably accessible via Ethernet cable right into your computer. Using Wi-Fi may work, but will not guarantee you the optimal use of your bandwidth. The faster your Internet, the better. We recommend using a connection with a download/upload speed of 5/1 Mbps or better. You can test your Internet connection here.

Webcam: You may use an external webcam or one that is built in to the computer. Webcam Recommendations: Good (PC only) | Best (Mac and PC)

Headset: We recommend using a headset rather than a built-in microphone and speakers. Using a headset reduces the level of background noise heard by the entire class. Headset Recommendations: USB | 3.5mm

Zoom: We use a web conferencing software called Zoom for our classes, which enables students and teachers to gather from around the globe face to face in real time. Zoom is free to download and easy to use. To download Zoom:

Visit zoom.us/download.
Click to download the first option listed, Zoom Client for Meetings.
Open and run the installer on your computer.
In August, students will be provided with instructions and a link for joining their particular class.

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First, read the available course descriptions, noting prerequisites, target grades, and course objectives. If you think your student is prepared for the course, go ahead and register. After registration, a placement assessment may be provided to students, depending on the course and the student’s previous enrollment with Scholé Academy. Registration is finalized when the student’s placement assessment has been returned by the course instructor with placement confirmation.

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Our Assistant to the Principal will be in touch with you after your enrollment to help you with next steps, including any placement evaluations that may be required for your course selections.

This registration will be finalized when the student's placement assessment has been returned by the course instructor with placement confirmation.