literature
In Literature courses, students read works of literature of various levels of complexity by Russian and foreign authors. Our objective in these classes is to read good books that may be too intimidating for students to read on their own and show students that reading in Russian can be both exciting and rewarding, and give them the confidence to read books in Russian on their own.
Literature Lukomoriye (2-3 grades)
Literature Chernomor (3-4 grades)
Literature Gvidon (8-10 grades)
Literature Saltan (9-12 grades)
Literature Petushok (5-7 grades)
In Saltan courses students will tackle longer and more complex works of fiction from the 19th and 20th century. Our students read the following books over the past several years (in Russian):
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2023-24 academic year: Аркадий и Борис Стругацкие, "Трудно быть богом"; Давид Гроссман, "С кем бы побегать"; Лидия Чуковская, "Софья Петровна"; Варлам Шаламов, "Колымские рассказы".
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2024-25 academic year: Михаил Булгаков, "Мастер и Маргарита"; Борис Акунин, “Кладбищенские истории”.
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2025-26: Федор Достоевский, “Преступление и наказание”; Николай Гоголь “Ревизор”.
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2026-27, this group will spend the year reading Leo Tolstoy’s masterpiece, “Anna Karenina”.
In Gvidon courses, students will read short novels and poems by classic and modern Russian and foreign authors. Students are expected to read 15-30 pages per week at home, with parents’ help, if necessary. Examples of works read in the past: Анатолий Алексин “Мой брат играет на кларнете”, Нина Дашевская "Скрипка неизвестного мастера", Михаил Лермонтов "Мцыри", Элия Барсело "Хранилище ужасных слов", Владимир Железняков, “Чучело”, Михаэль Энде "Момо", Флор Веско, “Мирелла”, as well as a variety of classic Russian poetry of the 19th and 20th century. Students will start the 2026-27 academic year with a novel by Борис Васильев, “Завтра была война”.
In Petushok, students are reading works of increased difficulty and length and the level of discussion in class becomes more sophisticated. Examples of works read include Мария Парр “Тоня Глиммердал”, Даниэль Пеннак “Собака Пёс”, Александр Пушкин "Руслан и Людмила", Юрий Коваль "Недопёсок", Константин Паустовский “Растрёпанный воробей” и другие сказки, Александр Куприн “Белый пудель”.
In Chernomor courses, students read longer, more complicated works of literature with more difficult vocabulary and more complex sentence structure, and with more sophisticated themes. Classwork and homework involves some writing assignments, and students are expected to read 10-15 pages per week at home, with parents’ help, if necessary. Examples of works read in the past: Астрид Линдгрен "Рони - дочь разбойника", Руне Белсвик "Простодурсен", Эдуарт Успенский “Вниз по волшебной реке”, Ульф Старк “Маленькая повесть о любви”, Константин Паустовский “Растрёпанный воробей” и другие сказки, Александр Куприн “Белый пудель”. These courses are geared towards students in 3rd-4th grade who understand and speak Russian and can read at least a short story such as Dragunsky or Nosov, or a chapter in a chapter book on their own.
In Lukomoriye courses, students read works of literature by Russian and foreign authors. About half of the reading is done in class by the teacher, and discussion focuses on reading comprehension, plot lines and characters. Students are expected to read 5-10 pages per week at home, with parents’ help, if necessary. Examples of works read in the past: Ирина Пивоварова “Верная собака Уран”, Ян Экхольм "Тутта Карлссон и Людвиг Четырнадцатый", Нина Дашевская "Тео - театральный капитан", Виталий Бианки "Мышонок Пик", Эрик Распэ, “Барон Мюнхаузен”. These courses are geared towards students in 3rd-4th grade who understand and speak Russian and can read at least several paragraphs on their own.
