Description
Students play town crier in their Anglo-Saxon village, and they have big news to share. That is the Breaking News presentation, set inside the world of Beowulf, and it is the first clue that this is not a passive survey course.
Anna Knaub’s live online British literature class for high school runs chronologically through the mighty islands: the Anglo-Saxon epic Beowulf, the dazzle of King Arthur, the humor of Chaucer, and a fall semester closing on the three sonnet styles with a Shakespearean focus.
Spring turns modern, with Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, Swift’s A Modest Proposal, Golding’s Lord of the Flies, and the Romantic poets: Yeats, Keats, Tennyson and more. Each student also picks one of four pre-selected classics to read as a choose-your-own.
The projects are the thing students remember. After “The Miller’s Tale” they build Miller’s Memes, each one annotated for characterization, theme, and plot. For Lord of the Flies they plot their own island in groups with minimal supplies and their wits.
Each semester brings four core assignments, a formal essay, a formal presentation, a formal creative assignment, and a unit test, with study guides and weekly Socratic discussion in between.
Anna Knaub is a licensed Pennsylvania teacher and homeschool evaluator who studied Medieval and Renaissance literature and has taught for over twenty years.
“You helped me blossom into a better writer and student. You’re patient, kind, and always ready to help, even when I ask obvious questions.”
— A TNA Student
Class details
– Teacher: Anna Knaub
– Day and time: Fridays, 10:15-11:15 a.m. CST
– Term: full year, 2027-28 school year
– Grades: high school
– Credit: 1 credit
– Prerequisites: none stated
– Materials: most works provided.
Families supply Beowulf, Pride and Prejudice, Lord of the Flies, and the student’s novel of choice (Frankenstein, Heart of Darkness, Tess of the d’Urbervilles, or The Murder of Roger Ackroyd)
– Live, small-group class on Zoom
Reserve a seat and the Cognia-accredited credit and grading are taken care of here.
A.B –
Mrs. Knaub’s Brit Lit class has been one of my favorite classes at True North. It has given me the opurtunity to grow, learn new skills, be proud of myself, and be part of a great and fun class. The lively discussions, creative projects, interesting books, and wonderful teacher all combine to make an amazing learning experience.
R.C –
Mrs. Knaub’s British Lit Survey class is for everyone, even if you don’t enjoy reading, giving presentations, or writing essays. The class material is thoughtfully and creatively made to make the learning experiences as fun as possible. All the help and resources you could need are provided, so you never have to dread coming into class; with the supportive learning environment, you’re sure to enjoy the books you read and remember them fondly for a long time!
S.S –
Mrs. Knaub is a fantastic teacher who wants her students to succeed, which makes us want to succeed. This year has been so fun, and I will definitely want to take more classes from her next year.
C.C –
Mrs. Knaub’s Brit Lit Survey class is a great way to expand your literary knowledge. In her class you will get to read literary classics like Beowulf, King Aruthur, Canterbury Tales, and Shakespeare. Even if you have already read these classics, you will still learn new things about them. In her class, you don’t have tons of boring assignments, you have creative assignments, and even some assignments where you get to work with a partner! This class is perfect for those who are struggling to appreciate British Literature, and those who love British Literature.
G.C –
Mrs. Knaub’s Brit-Lit Class is an absolutely amazing class! The course load is very manageable, and the assignments are both fun and challenging. In this semester we have covered four different units, three units on various stories and tales, and one on poems by Shakespeare. For each of these units there are projects ranging from an essay to a creative Coat-of Arms. One project I am most proud of is my family Coat-of -Arms and motto. We had to research what is was that makes a motto and make one for our own families, and we had to create a meaningful coat of arms to go with it.
Mrs. Knaub is an excellent teacher. She is very kind and funny and you are able to see she truly loves to teach British literature. Mrs. Knaub has created an amazing class that reads awesome literature, some of it you wouldn’t read until college, and then analyzes it with thoughtful and insightful questions and activities.
This class an amazing way to grow in your knowledge of other kinds of literature and learn to analyze and identity themes and morals in the stories. This class also helps you to grow in others ways as well. A skill that I, personally, have been learning and working on through this class in time management. Mrs. Knaub is pretty flexible with her deadlines, giving whole months to work on a project, but she is also strict and wants you hand in your things on time and perform your best.
I would absolutely recommend this class to other families next year! The class is super engaging and fun, as well as serious and analytical. Mrs. Knaub is super fun and also strict in the best possible way! This is probably one of my all time favourite classes that I’ve taken in my whole school career!
G.L –
This class absolutely took my taste in reading beyond my typical literature. Mrs. Knaub has an infectious joy while reading these books that made me love them too! Not only does this class provide incredible experience and learning, but Mrs. Knaub truly makes it interesting and fun. There’s a sense of community in this class, even only having an hour each week together. We get to talk and discuss literature, see each other’s projects, and give important feedback. I’ve never had that feeling in a live class before. It takes you beyond your comfort zone in the best way possible!
A.H –
I really enjoyed Brit Lit this year. I liked the fun projects like the Beowulf news report, the Coat of Arms and other homework and in class activities. Class was very interactive and the homework was very clear. There was a heavy amount of homework, but it was manageable because of the reasonable expectations. I appreciated that you knew exactly what the teacher was looking for in each assignment.