
The Thought Plickens
The Thought Plickens is primarily for students in 6th-8th grade. The purpose of this class is to prepare students of a younger age group for the more intensive reading and critical thinking assignments of high school. It will introduce the students to novels that have a deeper subtext, that are applicable to transitioning into their teenage years and in some cases an awareness to social structures in the world at large. In addition to the aforementioned overarching concepts of the novel, there will be a focus on reading for details as well. Students are essentially being taught to be literary detectives - seeking out general plot themes and picking apart the minutiae of character, narrative and historical background.
What we study during the year*, by month:
September
The Wish, by Roald Dahl
Redwall, by Brian Jacques
October
Redwall
November
Complete Redwall (short test composed of short essay questions)
Begin Anne of Green Gables, by L.M. Montgomery
December
Anne of Green Gables
The Christmas Holidays will absorb two weeks of this month
January
Complete Anne of Green Gables
Test/Midterm Essay
February
Begin A Wrinkle In Time, by Madeleine L’Engle
March
Complete A Wrinkle In Time
Begin Ender’s Game, by Orson Scott Card
April
Continue and Complete Ender’s Game
May
[If there is overflow we would complete Ender’s Game this month]
A short story (tba)
June
The final assignment ( an essay) will be due anytime between the 1st and 3rd week of this month. This simply depends on how much we are able to adhere to the schedule due to cancelled classes or students failing to accomplish their reading assignments.
* This is subject to change, depending on number of students and parent requests or concerns.
Enrollment: To enroll in this course, or for further information on Scholars Online, please visit the Scholars Online Website.
Registration opens March 1, 2024.
This course will be offered as one two hour class once a week: Tuesdays 11:30am - 2pm Eastern. Hours are potentially flexible.