Honors English 1 (Proctor)

Course options: Live or Asynchronous

Grades: 9th-12th (14+) | Recommendation: Successful completion of Introduction to Literature & Composition or a rigorous 8th-grade English course

Course dates: August 17, 2026 to May 7, 2027

Course length: Traditional, full year

Live Sessions - attendance required: (choose 1)

Section 1: Mondays | 12:30–1:45 p.m. Eastern
Section 2: Tuesdays | 1:00–2:15 p.m. Eastern

Course size:

Live: 20 students maximum
Asynchronous: TBD

Instructor: Christine Proctor

Cost: $885

More about Christine Proctor

Christine Proctor is an avid reader, lifelong supporter of the English language, and an enthusiastic writing coach. After sixteen years of homeschooling her three sons—now grown and pursuing college and careers—Christine transitioned fully into online teaching, where she brings literature and writing to life for students around the country.

Christine holds a degree in journalism from the University of North Carolina and has professional experience as both a news reporter and a copywriter for a national advertising agency. Teaching writing and analysis was a natural next step. Her years of raising three boys with wide-ranging interests expanded her world beyond reading and writing to include art, music, theater, and sports—experiences that continue to inform her teaching and deepen her perspective.

Before joining Blue Tent Online, Christine led poetry, dramatic writing, and storybook art classes through both the homeschool community and her church. Today, she teaches AP and Honors English to a global student base through Blue Tent, where she also facilitates enrichment offerings such as Creative Writing, Aspiring Authors, Journalism Club, and The Zenned Out Student, a course inspired by Yale professor Dr. Laurie Santos’s Happiness Lab.

From the first edits students receive on their work, Christine’s appreciation for clear, effective, and thoughtful communication is evident. Nothing brings her greater satisfaction than helping students discover their own voices and express complex ideas with confidence and precision.

Feedback on Christine Proctor

Required:

Core Texts:

Easy Grammar Ultimate Series: 180 Daily Teaching Lessons – Grade 10 Student Workbook, Phillips
Prose & Poetry, Walch Toolbook Series, Helen Ruth Bass and Diane Morrill
The Synonym Finder, Rodale
MLA Made Easy: Your Concise Guide to the 9th Edition, Hatala

Core Reading:

(This list might change slightly, and the instructor will send the complete resource and reading list to families over the summer.)

The Alchemist, Paulo Coelho
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Robert Louis Stevenson
The Lord of the Flies, William Golding
Our Town, Thornton Wilder
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
Tuck Everlasting, Natalie Babbitt
Book Club selection: more about this to come!

Short Stories:

(This is a sample of some of the stories that will be provided online by the instructor.)

"The Gift of the Magi. O. Henry
"A Jury of Her Peers," Susan Glaspel
"The Most Dangerous Game," Richard Connell
"The Necklace," Guy Maupassant
"The Open Window," Saki
"The Ransom of Red Chief," O. Henry
"The Scarlet Ibis," James Hurst
"Rip Van Winkle," Washington Irving

"We are extremely glad that the format used by your Honors English class fits [our son’s] learning style very well. The asynchronous nature, coupled with the highly interactive requirements of the class, keeps him accountable, yet provides him with a flexible schedule. And the class seems to challenge him at the right level and makes him learn the English language in a more fun and comprehensive manner. Truly, we could not have asked for more! Thank you for challenging him and allowing him to grow at the same time."

"Thank you for sending such a thorough and encouraging assessment of [our daughter’s] work and participation in your Honors English class. I appreciate the time you put into planning assignments and giving feedback and evaluations throughout the semester. I can't imagine reading and evaluating papers for an entire class with the attention to detail and thoughtful feedback that you provide. I think I can honestly say my daughter has never put more time into a class and has never been more challenged to push herself to do well. I feel she is getting an experience that many kids don't experience until their first semester of college, and I appreciate that it is happening now when we are here to encourage her and you are a teacher who is helpful and accessible."

"We are exceptionally pleased with your excellent [English] class. The reading material has been challenging, varied, and interesting. You have consistently provided well organized assignments, and timely feedback on the many assignments. You have fostered energetic and positive class participation through the message boards and through the online chat sessions. [Our daughter] has improved in all areas of her English skills through this class. We are impressed how supportive and constructive you are as a teacher to the whole class, and even more so because this is a distance-learning online experience."

Course Details

Our live, rigorous, and full-year Honors English Literature & Composition 1 course is designed for advanced high school homeschoolers who are ready to begin high school–level literary study and academic writing in a structured, supportive environment.

This course introduces students to literature as an art form—one that rewards close reading, thoughtful analysis, and careful attention to language. Readings span a wide range of genres and time periods, including short stories, poetry, drama, nonfiction, and novels, offering students a broad foundation for understanding how literature works and why it matters.

Students learn to examine texts closely, paying attention to character, setting, structure, diction, tone, symbolism, and theme. Alongside literary study, students practice analytical and creative writing, learning how to develop ideas clearly, support claims with evidence, and write with increasing confidence and control. Honors English 1 prepares students for the analytical demands of Honors English 2, AP English courses, and college-level English study.

This course is offered in two live sections and an asynchronous section, allowing students to choose the format that best fits their learning style and schedule. All sections follow the same curriculum, pacing, and expectations and share the same interactive online classroom.

Live Sections: Students enrolled in a live section meet weekly on Zoom for structured, instructor-led sessions that include:
- Literature discussion
- Live writing instruction and guided in-class writing
- Practice with analysis, grammar, and essay skills, plus sharing tips for studying, forming study teams and more
- Creative group exercises and collaborative exploration of texts
- Live sessions are interactive and workshop-based rather than lecture-driven.
Asynchronous Section: Students in the asynchronous section do not attend a required weekly live meeting. Instead, they engage fully through the online classroom with instructor-led assignments, peer discussion forums, and written feedback. This section remains highly interactive, with regular student-to-student and student-to-teacher engagement and is well suited for students who need scheduling flexibility while still benefiting from a collaborative learning environment.

All sections emphasize active participation, discussion, and peer review and receive consistent instructor guidance and feedback.

Writing & Instruction

This course is designed to strengthen students’ writing skills through consistent instruction, frequent practice, and detailed feedback. Writing instruction begins with foundational skills and steadily builds toward more complex analytical writing.

Over the year, students will:

Write short analytical responses and multi-paragraph literary analysis essays
Practice integrating quotations smoothly and effectively
Develop strong thesis statements, topic sentences, and paragraph structure
Learn and apply MLA 9 formatting and citation conventions
Complete a creative research project later in the year
Build grammar and mechanics skills through short, focused practice
Learn to both understand, analyze, and write poetry, from simple haikus to the sonnet

Instruction emphasizes clarity, organization, and purposeful word choice. Vocabulary, grammar, and punctuation are taught in context, reinforcing skills as they arise in student writing rather than in isolation.

A central component of writing instruction in this course is peer review. Students are taught how to read and respond constructively to one another’s writing through instructor modeling, guided practice, and structured feedback prompts. By offering feedback on peer essays and weekly analysis, students sharpen their own reading and writing skills while learning how revision improves both the writer and the reviewer. This collaborative approach helps students gain confidence and develop habits essential to strong academic writing.

Format

Students share an interactive online classroom
Two live sections and one asynchronous section follow the same curriculum and deadlines
Regular student/student and student/teacher interaction throughout the week
Average weekly time commitment: 7–9 hours
This course is NCAA-approved.
See our FAQs for:
- age/grade guidelines, prerequisites, and class fit recommendations
- a complete list of days, times, and breaks
- a list of CA charter schools where this course is a-g approved

Course Goals

By the end of the course, students will:

Read, annotate, and analyze literature from a variety of genres, including short stories, poetry, drama, nonfiction, and novels
Develop foundational literary analysis skills through close reading and discussion
Write clear, organized analytical paragraphs and essays supported by textual evidence
Write creatively through short poems
Learn to integrate quotations smoothly and cite sources correctly using MLA 9
Build confidence in grammar, mechanics, and academic style
Complete a creative research project using credible sources
Develop the ability to give and receive constructive peer feedback
Participate thoughtfully in academic discussion and collaborative analysis
Prepare for the increased rigor of Honors English 2 and future AP English courses
Expand vocabulary and grammatical skills through weekly practice and application