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Holly Van Houten

Students will receive instruction from Holly Van Houten, who has decades of experience preparing young writers with the skills they need to succeed. In addition to teaching Literature and Writing at The Huckleberry Center for Creative Learning, in Valencia, California since 2009, Holly taught in the USC Freshman Writing Department for 10 years, while completing her Ph.D. coursework in English and American Literature. Holly has also taught in the English departments at Pepperdine University, California State University, Northridge, and California State University, Long Beach. She has helped young scholars become confident writers for over 30 years and has successfully prepared students of all abilities for college-level writing.

High School British Literature

This class will cover a variety of British literature, including novels, plays, poems, short stories,
essays, and speeches. Students will have a chance to explore wonderful works of literature with
their peers. They will have an opportunity to exchange ideas and exercise their critical thinking
skills, while enjoying imaginative literature that will stay with them forever!

Fall
We will begin the fall quarter with a focus on our theme, “The Perils of Power,” as we look way
back at the Anglo/Saxon hero epic, Beowulf. Once we have reassured ourselves that Grendel and
his Mama have been defeated by our mighty hero, we will jump several hundred years through time
to the medieval stories of Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales and explore the slightly more
realistic power of everyday Brits from the Middle Ages. We will be reading an abridged and
modernized-English version of several of Chaucer’s tales. Renaissance literature could keep us
busy all year, but with so much to cover, we will limit ourselves to Shakespeare’s Macbeth, some of
his Sonnets, and excerpts from Christopher Marlowe’s Doctor Faustus. Both these plays focus on
the horrific lengths some will go to in their pursuit of power. We’ll also read a selection of John
Donne’s metaphysical poetry as we explore the power of love and finish up by exploring a higher
power with the poetry of John Milton, (including excerpts from Paradise Lost). I am so excited!
This literature is profoundly moving, and students will be in awe of the beauty and complexity that
can be created and conveyed through language.

Winter
For the Winter quarter, as we focus on literature from the Restoration through the Romantic period,
our theme is “Satire, Sense, and Sensibility.” We will begin with a look at the biting social satire
of Jonathan Swift’s “A Modest Proposal,” and Samuel Johnson’s “The Vanity of Human Wishes,”
before dipping our (relatively) giant toes into the Lilliputian waters of Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels
(Book 1). Assuming the waters will be fine, we will dive into the shipwrecked, but eminently
practical world of Daniel Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe. Once back on British shores, we will heed the
sensible advice offered by Alexander Pope in his “Essay on Man,” and enjoy his unique brand of
satire in excerpts from two of his most humorous poems: “The Rape of the Lock” and the
“Dunciad.” To awaken our sensibilities, we will look with proper awe at the Romantic poetry of
John Keats, William Wordsworth, Percy Bysshe Shelley, and Samuel Coleridge. Finally, after
nearly two full quarters of exclusively male authors, we will happily turn to the ladies, as we
analyze Jane Austen’s classic novel, Pride and Prejudice and take a brief look at Mary
Wollstonecraft’s A Vindication of the Rights of Women.”

Spring:
In the Spring quarter, we will finish our survey of British literature by exploring the work of 19 th
and 20 th century authors as they process the profound changes brought on by the Industrial
Revolution, Darwinian theories of evolution, and emerging technology. Our theme will be
“Negotiating New Worlds.” Our literature for this quarter will begin with a small taste of Victorian
poetry: Alfred Lord Tennyson’s “The Charge of the Light Brigade,” Elizabeth Browning’s “How do
I Love Thee?” and Robert Browning’s “My Last Duchess.” The remainder of the semester will be
spent on two great novels and one hilarious drama. We will contrast the wealthy, upper-class
lifestyle of Oscar Wilde’s comedy, The Importance of Being Earnest with the poverty portrayed in
Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations. In Dickens’ classic novel, the main character, Pip, embodies

I
The Writing Process will also be a central focus in this course, as students apply their creative and
analytical thinking to these marvelous works of literature. Students will not only have an
opportunity to express their ideas, argue their opinions and demonstrate their understanding in our
class discussions, but they will also organize, develop and argue those ideas in their writing. In
addition to longer, academic essays, students will participate in weekly online discussion forums
and develop their own critical discussion questions to help them organize their responses to the
literature we read. Through oral presentations, in-class essays, short reader-responses, and speeches,
students will have many opportunities to hone and practice their communication skills. Students
will also learn research techniques and MLA documentation as they develop their persuasive,
analytical, expository and descriptive writing skills. As students practice their writing skills, they
will simultaneously build their understanding of vocabulary, grammar, syntax, punctuation and the
conventions of formal writing.

In this class, we will be implementing technology to help us work on the Writing Process. Our
classes will take place each week through live, interactive, and engaging online sessions, and we
will utilize a variety of tools to enhance our classroom discussions and encourage collaboration
(breakout rooms, polls/quizzes, discussion forum questions, video access, and screen sharing for our
intensive essay revision sessions). The Zoom video platform will allow us to meet like a regular
classroom for lecture and discussion purposes as we immerse ourselves in wonderful literature and
the process of writing literary analysis essays. The class will also utilize Google Classroom for
assignments, discussion forums, and work-sharing both during class sessions and outside of class.
Taking advantage of the incredible, collaborative power of Google Docs will allow us to share ideas
and revision techniques far more efficiently. This class will be a great opportunity to enjoy some
wonderful literature and practice essential literary analysis and writing skills.
This course meets A-G Course Requirements as outlined by the UC system. We aim to cover the
course standards and UC requirements for A-G credit per Sage Oak Charter School & Blue Ridge
Academy's approved A-G Guides. However, it is the responsibility of the family & student to
compare our syllabi with their charter school’s outlines to determine if there is any additional
learning that should be done. All work should be shared with the charter school for their review.
Please remember that your charter school is ultimately responsible for assigning grades, although
we are always happy to provide suggested grades for work done in our classes.

About Holly
Students will receive instruction from Holly Van Houten, who has decades of experience preparing
young writers with the skills they need to succeed. In addition to teaching Literature and Writing at
The Huckleberry Center for Creative Learning, in Valencia, California since 2009, Holly taught in
the USC Freshman Writing Department for 10 years, while completing her Ph.D. coursework in
English and American Literature. Holly has also taught in the English departments at Pepperdine
University, California State University, Northridge, and California State University, Long Beach.

She has helped young scholars become confident writers for over 30 years and has successfully
prepared students of all abilities for college-level writing.

Contact

Holly Van Houten

hollyvanh@gmail.com