​​​​ Writ Large Learning

​​​​Honors British Literature  plus 10-day Study Tour in England

'This blessed plot, this earth, this realm, this England...'


This course is a survey of British literature from the Medieval period to the Modern while integrating a study of history in relation to the context of the literary work. This helps the reader's understanding and appreciation of the literature, as well as provides cultural context for University level study to come.


Students write critical and argumentative essays, engage in creative writing projects, and make technology-assisted oral presentations. Students also continue to prepare for the ACT, SAT, and college entrance exams.


Major works to be read include:


  • The Canterbury Tales
  • Beowulf
  • Two Shakespearean plays, based on the summer performance season
  • Independent reading and oral report on a novel from a curated list of options
  • Great Expectations by Dickens
  • ​Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by Rowling
  • Sherlock Holmes mysteries
  • A broad selection of the great British poets.


Choice of Shakespearean plays to be read will depend on the performance schedule of the Globe Troupe and Royal Shakespeare Company for the Summer season.

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Study Tour (COVID CONDITIONAL)


The ‘crown jewel,’ so to speak, of this course is a 10-day study tour in Great Britain in May of 2025. Students will be chaperoned by their instructor to London, where they will tour and watch a play at the reconstructed Globe Theatre and attend performances by The Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford-upon-Avon. Trips will also be made to the homes of several authors, a tour of the Harry Potter Studios, a spin on the London Eye, visit the Tower of London, and Warrick Castle, to name but a few excursions.  


This class has 3 special requirements which help ensure a positive group dynamic for the Study Tour:  

     -1- The student must have taken either English II or instructor approval. 
    -2- The student must either have taken a class with Mrs. Lynch or submit at least 2 references and meet with
             the teacher prior to acceptance into the class. 
    -3- The student must be at least 15 years of age by May 1 before the trip, and no older than 18 years of age.