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Teaching high school English can feel like a daunting task if you are homeschooling and suddenly realize that you have no idea how to help your teen pull ideas from a text.
There are so many things we feel like we need to cover in high school and it can be really hard to know where to start. We all homeschool with the best of intentions to give our kids a rich education and so we hand them books we expect them to read. But for many of us, with at least one of our kids,
…we then watched them struggle with close reading, understanding literary texts, or writing anything meaningful.
Yes their eyes moved over the page…but did they get anything out of it? How do you know?
If you have felt this way, you waren’t alone!
And honestly, this is exactly why I was so intrigued when I discovered Telemachos Publishing’s Guided Editions of the Classics and The English Coach’s Instructional Playbook.
Because for years, I’ve been trying to solve this exact problem across our English curriculum—especially during the high school years.
Table of Contents
Why Literature Matters More Than We Think
As a mom of nine kids, one of my biggest goals has always been simple:
I want my kids to love learning. And I want them to develop real critical thinking skills. That may seem overly simple….but if they love learning, they are unstoppable, and if they have critical thinking skills they will carefully process ideas coming their way.
For me literature isn’t so much about the stories themselves but developing the ability to analyze ideas, evaluate arguements, and have meaningful discussions and disagreements. Those are things that apply to all of life…not just high school English!
The Kind of English Education I Wanted to Recreate
Some of my own English teachers and professors created unforgettable memories. We used famous Italian art as hall passes while creating our own version of Dante’s Inferno in class. How fun is was to act out Romeo and Juliet with a bunch of 9th graders. Lord of the Flies is part of my core memories and I’ve made multiple models of that island with my teens as they study it now. And oh how I loved Anne of Green Gables!
We didn’t just read the classics, we became part of the story. Books overlapped with learning culture and writing styles. We learned to not just read but understand the author’s intent. A deep dive on The Scarlet Letter wasn’t just a homework assignment, it was an opportunity to look at the world around us and ask better questions.
Literature connected with life and that experience shaped my understanding of literary criticism, persuasive writing, and even how ideas influence culture.
English wasn’t about the books we read or the papers we wrote, It was about learning how to think.
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The Problem I Kept Running Into In The Homeschool World
When I started homeschooling, especially during middle school and into the freshman year, I quickly realized that most homeschool parents don’t know how to teach the classics the way I was taught. Moms are busy juggling ten things at once and most of us don’t have time or the interest to make literature come alive.
While private schools meet 5 days a week and can cover a book from many creative angles, its harder at home or in a co-op. Homeschool groups often meet just one day a week and focus on more than just literature. That 1 hour period is often focuses on getting as much done as possible rather than deeply exploring literature or creating an environment where debating books is the main point of the class.
For many English classes, covering literature meant reading the book and writing an essay on a topic in the book. But building layered high level engagement is often difficult…and many of us don’t know how to teach this way.
Trying to check a lot of boxes often means that detailed skills like analysis and studying figurative language gets missed.
Because I had such a rich education in literature and experiences, I obviously wanted the same for my own kids. I wanted the books they read to come alive and be something they could dissect…partly to gain the ideas the author’s intended message…but also because I want them to understand how words are used to persuade and influence.
And while most homeschool teens may not be preparing for an AP Exam or other college credit test, if you teen is, it can feel like a completely daunting experience to prepare them! It really is hard to prepare teens with so many different skills, interests and abilities to be prepared for the next thing!
Guided English Books For Real Teens
As someone with an English degree who doesn’t always love a lot of classic literature, I still argue that it should be studied. For me, the value of studying literature or any other text isn’t whether we like it or not. The value is what it can tell us about the world, the author’s thinking or the time period in which it was written.
It provides the platform for discussing whether we think the culture and the traditions of a time period are good, right and just. We can together have bigger conversations and debates over something that is removed just enough to be personal but also valuable enough that the ideas we exchange are meaningful.
High school is the perfect time to talk about those big life issues. But unfortunately, studying literature often becomes a task and not an adventure. Having had 7 teens far, I know that the quickest way to kill the love of learning is to make it dry and boring. And most language arts courses are.
Over the years, I have realized that teaching English is very difficult if you don’t have a guide. It’s hard to start from scratch. Of course discussion guides exist, but it is hard to teach kids how to extract deeper ideas from the books themselves.
That was why I was SO excited to discover Telemachos Guided Reading Editions of books like Huckleberry Fin, Anne of Green Gables and A Christmas Carol.
When students open the book, they aren’t met with a story from another time with no context.
These Literature Guides Feel Almost Mathematical!
When something has a clear system, that feels mathematical and repeatable to me. And when opened the reading guides, I could see a repeatable process clearly explained…a system for studying books!!
Each book has a helpful introduction with 30 pages that guide students in how to read a book closely and how to annote it following the Telemachos method that focuses on Evidence, Associations and Relationships as key ideas to note in a book and draw from the reading.
To make the process even better, throughout the book are prompts to help the student identify what kind of questions they can ask of the story on this page. Brilliant. Rather than mindlessly reading, the prompts serve as anchors to help people
This is exactly what teens need to bridge the gap between reading book and actually processing ideas.
These guides are written by instructors who teach at private schools and have over 30 years of teaching experience. The methods shared inside are tried, true and test and designed to help your student be prepared for the AP exam and for future academic studies.
These Guided Editions support students through classic english literature with built-in help.
Students are guided through:
- close reading
- understanding figurative language
- identifying authors’ techniques
- building vocabulary roots
- analyzing literary analysis elements
This creates a strong mix of comprehension and deeper thinking.
A Coaching Guide For Parents and Teachers (I’ve Always Wanted This!!)
When I opened the English Coach’s Instructional Playbook, I felt like I was holding something I had always wished for…but couldn’t quite imagine. Using ideas drawn from athletic coaching, this book teaches the 3 repeatable processes for teaching students how to analyze literature as well as practical activities and games to do with students that make learning engaging and more applicable.
It is fantastic paired with the Telemachos Guided Reading literature books but the Playbook actually makes it possible to become the favorite literature teacher while using any book you want your students to read.
I’m genuinely amazed that IAN BERRY & MICHAEL DEGEN have found a way to capture the energy that amazing English teachers seems to naturally have and reduce it down to a process that parents and teachers can actually learn…whether they have an English background or not. Literary analysis is often something we skip in the homeschool space because its too difficult or cumbersome….but that doesn’t have to be the case.
This guide removes the excuses.
The Instructional Playbook provides:
- scaffolded instruction
- clear steps for literary analysis skills
- structured approach to sentence composition
- tools for variety of writing types and variety of writing purposes
It turns something abstract into something teachable and includes processes that are easily learned and repeatable. No more guesswork!
As the Playbook emphasizes, students don’t develop these skills without intentional practice and structure.
Every homeschool parent or co-op teacher needs this for high school English…no exceptions!
Telemachos Guides For Home & Group Learning
Whether you have one teen learning at home or are trying to teach a whole group of teens, Telemachos resources are the perfect way to give your students a high quality rigorous education, without burning you or them out.
The guided reading editions make it possible for your son or daughter to work their way through a book independently.
And the English Coachs’ Instructional Playbook will give your life back if you are teaching a homeschool co-op English class. If you have spent hours and hours planning classes and struggled to get students to do their work or participate, you need a tried and true playbook for teaching English to teens.
I talk to homeschool teachers almost every week who struggle to get teens motivated. THIS resource will prepare you to teach literature, help you develop stronger writers and prepare students well for college and life.
Preparing for the AP Literature and Composition Exam
If you have a high school student preparing for the AP Literature exam, Telemachos Guided Editions offer a practical way to build the exact skills the test measures—without turning your home into a test-prep factory. As students read, they are consistently practicing close reading, noticing key details, and connecting those details to larger ideas. Instead of guessing how to “analyze,” they learn a repeatable process for moving from evidence to interpretation and then into clear written arguments.
Over time, this naturally strengthens their ability to write about unfamiliar passages, organize their thoughts under time pressure, and develop a confident interpretive voice. In many ways, these books function as both literature and preparation—helping students grow into thoughtful readers and writers while quietly equipping them for the demands of the AP exam.
Its Time For Your Teens To Be Excited About English!
Too often, literature becomes something students rush through. But the ability to analyze ideas, understand perspective, and communicate clearly is essential—not just for school, but for navigating real life. Telemachos provides a structured way to teach thinking, writing, and analysis.
And that’s something I’ve rarely seen done this well.
Ready to Take a Look?
Explore Telemachos Publishing here:
https://telemachospublishing.com/
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Sarah McCubbin and her husband and 9 kids live in Ohio. She loves talking about all kinds of education topics and is passionate about helping families find the best education options in each season! After being very socially awkward growing up, she now loves to help families teach life skills, social skills and leadership to their kids!
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