Why I Finally Built the High School Literature Curriculum I Always Wanted
I’ve spent an embarrassing number of hours looking at homeschool curriculum.
Not just for my own kids — I’ve coached enough homeschool families over the years that “browsing curriculum catalogs” could probably count as a hobby at this point. One I never signed up for but somehow ended up with, like a stray cat that now owns the couch. (Yes, we are the people that save homeless kitties… and cranky hedgehogs that the owners are tired of… and sugar gliders that don’t…er…glide!)
When my daughter started heading toward high school, I knew I wanted something different from what I’d used with my son. What we’d used before was fine. Fine is a word that sits in my throat a little. There were always books I quietly skipped, always a grammar section that felt half-finished that went too far or not far enough, always an essay prompt that inspired exactly no one to greatness.
I wanted a free Charlotte Mason high school literature curriculum that treated great books the way they actually deserve to be treated — not as tasks to check off, but as worlds worth entering.
What Is “Journeying Through the Classics”?
Journeying Through the Classics is a complete, free homeschool English curriculum for high school students — over 700 pages of literature units, writing instruction, discussion questions, and answer keys (Yay, you don’t have to remember *all* those Charles Dickens characters but can still look smart to your kids!), all built on Charlotte Mason’s living books methodology.
It covers high school literature and writing skills for grades 9–12 (and advanced 7th and 8th graders who are ready to work at a higher Book Nerd Status). It’s rigorous enough for a college-prep transcript and joyful enough that you might actually want to sit down and do it. You may even enjoy the books your high schooler is reading, too!
Which, honestly, should be the baseline requirement for any curriculum. But here we are.
Why I Built This Free Homeschool Literature Curriculum
Here’s the thing about having an academic background in English literature and creative writing, graduate school tutoring centers, plus years of editorial work, plus reading more curriculum guides than any reasonable human should: You develop opinions. Strong ones.
About which books we assign because we feel like Serious Homeschoolers Must — versus the ones we’d pull off the shelf again ourselves with genuine fondness.
About writing instruction that actually teaches students to think and be curious, not just fill in five-paragraph templates until everyone loses the will to go on and starts slooowly… slllllliding out of the chair, under the kitchen table. About the difference between busy-work and real learning.
I wanted to build something around the second kind of everything.
I wanted high school writing curriculum that made sense — where students come away knowing how to write for different audiences and real purposes. I wanted literature that was treated as beautiful, not as a task. And I wanted thinking. Actual thinking. Not crosswords. (I know some people love crosswords. I am not those people.)
So I built it. And now it’s yours, completely free.
What Makes This Charlotte Mason High School Curriculum Different
No printing 700 pages all at once.
Each unit is completely self-contained — usually 20 to 40 pages. Print only what you’re using right now. Skip a unit that doesn’t fit your student. Come back to it later, or don’t. It’s the homeschool curriculum equivalent of checking out one book from the library instead of hauling home the entire shelf.
Every book is accessible three ways — including free.
Every unit includes a direct link to a free, legal online version of the book. Prefer a physical copy? There direct links to the best editions, always unabridged, to get for your own personal library or at your local one.
This free homeschool curriculum works on any budget, because good literature shouldn’t cost a fortune — and you’re not stuck buying a whole kit with books you feel lukewarm about that stay gathering dust on the shelf and make you feel guilty for not ever cracking open.
Charlotte Mason’s living books approach, all the way through high school.
No busywork. No soul-crushing comprehension packets with mind-numbing factoids that siphon the joy out of reading. No activities that feel like filler. Students read deeply, narrate their understanding, discuss ideas that actually matter, and write with real purpose. This is Charlotte Mason literature at its most rigorous and most joyful — which, as it turns out, are not opposites.
College-ready writing skills, clearly taught.
Students who complete this high school English curriculum know how to write analytical essays with confidence, cite sources in MLA format, engage critically with complex texts, and build vocabulary the way writers actually do — by reading a lot of really good books. The kind of skills that follow them into college, into careers, into a lifetime of intentional reading.
I’ve been in undergrad and graduate school literature classrooms and I know what is required of feeling confident in them versus feeling like a poser! (Sorry, Millennial Mom slip there..)
Complete answer keys included.
Because I remember the helpless feeling of staring at a discussion question for a book I’d read fifteen years ago, knowing I should know the answer, knowing it was somewhere in my brain. I didn’t want to do that to you. Everything is there. You’re covered. ✨
Who Is This Free High School Homeschool Curriculum For?
Journeying Through the Classics is designed for:
- High school students in grades 9–12
- Advanced middle schoolers in grades 7–8 who are ready for high school–level literature
- Families who want a Charlotte Mason approach to high school English
- Homeschoolers looking for a free, complete literature and writing curriculum with no hidden costs
- Students preparing for college-level reading, writing, and critical thinking
- Families who need flexibility — to work across multiple grade levels or follow a student’s interests
You can move through it chronologically as written, Homer to Helprin, or wander through it in whatever order suits your student best. It adapts to your family, not the other way around.
What’s Included in This Free Charlotte Mason Literature Curriculum?
The complete Journeying Through the Classics download includes:
- 700+ pages of 34 self-contained literature units
- Units covering a wide range of classic and world literature for high school
- Discussion questions that ask students to think, not just recall
- Essay writing assignments across multiple formats and audiences
- MLA citation instruction woven naturally into the writing units
- Vocabulary building through context and deep reading
- Spelling lists to help students grow confident in their writing
- Complete answer keys for every unit
- Full-page notebook cover and divider pages for beautiful organization
- Free online ebook links, recommended editions for paper books, and library ISBNs for every title
How to Download “Journeying Through the Classics” for Free
The complete 700+ page PDF — including all full color artistic cover and divider pages — is free and always will be. No credit card. No catch. Just great literature and the tools to teach it well.
→ Subscribe Free & Download the Curriculum
Already a Homeschool with Joy subscriber? Your download link will be in your inbox this Friday morning. You don’t have to do a single thing — it’s already on its way. 🌟
Looking for more free homeschool curriculum and Charlotte Mason resources? Browse the Homeschool with Joy Resource Library for more tools, guides, and unit studies for every age.
