Academic Year 2023-2024 • Grade 6 and above • Literature Sequence

For reference only; see current year course listing for course availability and details.

The Thought Plickens: Learning to Think Critically

This class is primarily for students in 6th-8th grade. If you intend to take the Fairytales and Mythology class, it would be best to take that before Plickens.

The purpose of this class is to prepare students of a younger age group for the more intensive reading and critical thinking (i.e. the five paragraph essay) 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.

Course Website: The Thought Plickens: Learning to Think Critically

Sections and Teachers

Section 1:

Instructor: Alexandra Dascalu Nelson

Starts: September 12, 2023
Ends: June 1, 2024

Tuesday 11:30 AM to 1:30 PM ET

Tuition: $600.00

Recommended background

Grade 6 (age 12) level reading ability.

Teacher's notes:

Attaining the reading material from your local library is highly encouraged!

Class schedules are flexible and can be altered from what is posted, as long as the proposed time/day change in possible for all students in the class.Please do not hesitate to contact the instructor to arrange class time.

Course reading list will be made up of partially required reading and then filled out with books tailored to the students reading and comprehension level.

Textbooks and Materials

This item is required:

A Wrinkle in Time [Edition or Version: 1], Authors: Madeleine L'Engle

ISBN: 9780312367541

Best sources: Barnes and Noble has a good edition: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/wrinkle-in-time-madeleine-lengle/1100128524;jsessionid=FE7605EA2161C25678BF923948091267.prodny_store01-atgap05?ean=9780312367541

This item is required:

Anne of Green Gables , Authors: L.M. Montgomery Publisher: Bantam Doubleday Dell

ISBN: 055321313X

Best sources: Any edition from your local bookstore or library will do. Option for online search: thrift books, abebooks, powell's, better world bookstore, etc.

Other information: If possible there will be an online or PDF version available as well and posted to the website. If you are having trouble finding the edition, please contact me.

This item is required:

Ender's Game , Authors: Orson Scott Card

ISBN: 9780812550702

Publisher's website: Ender's Game

Best sources: Any edition from your local bookstore or library will do. Option for online search: thrift books, abebooks, powell's, better world bookstore, etc.

Other information: This book will be assigned based on the students reading level and age.

This item is required:

Little Women [Edition or Version: 1], Authors: Louisa May Alcott

ISBN: 9781593081089

Publisher's website: Little Women

Best sources: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/little-women-louisa-may-alcott/1116668150?ean=9781593081089

Other information: If you have your own edition or find another, unabridged version elsewhere, that is fine. Borrowing from the local library is encouraged, but this book may need to be checked out a couple times during our time with it.

This item is required:

Redwall [Edition or Version: 1], Authors: Brian Jacques

ISBN: 978-0-441-00548-2

Best sources: Any bookstore - this book is easily found. Suggestions include: Barnes and Nobles, Powell's Books, Penguin Random House.

This item is required:

Treasure Island , Authors: Robert Louis Stevenson Publisher: Modern Library Classics

ISBN: 0375756825

Best sources: Any edition from your local bookstore or library will do. Option for online search: thrift books, abebooks, powell's, better world bookstore, etc.

Other information: If possible there will be an online or PDF version available as well and posted to the website. If you are having trouble finding the edition, please contact me.

This item is recommended but not required and its use is optional:

The Witch of Blackbird Pond , Authors: Elizabeth George Speare Publisher: Houghton Mifflin

ISBN: 0547550294

Best sources: Any edition from your local bookstore or library will do. Options for online search: thrift books, abebooks, powell's, better world bookstore, etc.

Other information: If possible there will be an online or PDF version available as well and posted to the website. If you are having trouble finding the edition, please contact me.

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