Class Overview
Made With You in Mind
Did you know that reading can also help you WRITE better?
Finally—this is a class that does it all! Lots of writing practice inspired by in-depth literature study.
This class does double duty as we teach teens to
- Navigate more complex texts (hello, college!)
- Move beyond surface-level comprehension
- Use effective creative devices in their writing
- Make connections to the ideas teens care about
Traditional literary analysis has focused on simple comprehension questions or “find the symbolism” searches. There’s no point in questions like those in the age of ChatGPT.
We go deeper with out-of-the-box assignments that inspire students to create work that’s original and unique.
Each week of this class is centered around a Big Question, the type that scholars ask about books.
More details about this session:
Theme: "Seeking Dreams"
Dates: Mar 23 - Apr 17, 2026
Choose a title:
- A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansbury (Feb Boomerang)
- American Wings: Chicago's Pioneering Black Aviators and the Race for Equality in the Sky by Sherri L. Smith & Elizabeth Wein
- The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros
- Hidden Figures (Young Readers Edition) by Margo Lee Shetterly
- Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
- The Silence Between Us by Alison Gervais
Your student will follow this reading schedule:
- Read the first 1/3 of the book before starting on Week One assignments
- Read the second 1/3 of the book before starting on Week Two assignments
- Finish the book before starting on Week Three assignments
At Brave Writer®, we read a range of books that address a wide variety of perspectives and include time-bound references. Please be aware that you may experience strong reactions to what you read. By using literature as a teaching tool to foster understanding and growth, we have the opportunity to discuss these evolving ideologies.
We encourage you to pre-read books to determine their appropriateness for your family and to prepare to have discussions on these topics with your students as they participate in the class.
Discussion in this class includes use of a private Padlet board.
It doesn’t stop there!
The exercises from this class can be saved and re-used by you at home. You can work your way through other books on the list or use this as the structure for a book of your choice.
All our titles are also offerings in our Boomerang store (older titles can be found in our Old Brave Writer® Favorites section). As an optional extension of learning, purchase the Boomerang to explore grammar, punctuation, spelling, and more literary devices based on the book.