Adapting LCC: An Example
Here is an example of how you can adapt the LCC reading lists to your needs. The following is a four-year literature plan that I drew up for the directors of a classical high school who asked my advice on curriculum. The plan assumes a 40-week school year.
9th: Homer (24 weeks), Oresteia (6 weeks), Aeneid (1 term)
10th: Beowulf (1 term), Dante (2 terms), Chaucer (1 term)
11th: Shakespeare (2 terms), Milton (1 term), English poetry (1 term)
12th: 19th- and 20th-century European and American novels (full year)
This plan condenses the ancients down to one year to better correspond to the school's 9th grade history program. It also gives more time to Dante and to the novel. Milton is introduced in 11th grade so that all five of the great European epics are studied during the four-year course. Since American literature is a typical high school offering in the state where the school is located, teachers would be able to select from a short list of American novels for 12th grade, along with the European ones listed in LCC2.