Great Books in a Year

⭐ How a day adds up to about 40 XP

The ladder gives 3 XP for every right answer on a Great Books rung, in learning, extra practice and review, and a 5 XP bonus the first time you pass a rung (three right, the last two in a row). The daily goal starts at 40 XP.

• Day 1 of a rung: 14 questions. If about 4 in 5 are right, that is 11 × 3 = 33 XP, plus the 5 XP pass bonus: about 39 XP.
• Day 2: 10 more questions on the rung and a review round of 6 from the Practice page: about 38 XP.
• Review and catch-up days: 16 questions, about 38 XP.
• Young readers answer a few fewer (12 on day 1, 13 on most other days): about 31 to 34 XP.

After you pass a rung, press Keep practicing to go on; those answers still earn XP. Your XP is saved with the rest of the ladders and shows on your progress page.

🏡 Three ways to take the year

• Young reader. Children of about 8 to 12 read the young readers’ path, try its activity, and answer a little less practice. A parent can read along.
• Teen or adult. The full lesson on day 1, Going deeper and the family questions on day 2.
• Family read-aloud. Read the young readers’ path aloud together, then take turns answering. Older readers can add the full lesson. Use one learner on this device for the family so the XP adds up in one place, or give each child their own learner.

The order is the same on every track: era by era, roughly in the order the books were written, with stories, philosophy, history and science taking turns. 121 rungs get two days and 70 shorter ones get one, with 26 review days and 26 catch-up days along the way.

📚 Fifteen minutes more

Each day also shows the Harvard Classics reading for today’s date: an optional fifteen minutes from the 1909 Five Foot Shelf. When it reads the same author as your rung, the card says so.