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How do you handle reading/literature as a subject for high school? Do you just assign books to be read and that's all or do you use literature guides/comprehension questions, literary analysis sources etc?

 

Last school year and this school year we have just been reading to read with not much check on comprehension. Prior to these two years I used various approaches- BJU Reading which I didn't care for because we like reading novels. We also used Progeny Press and Teacher Created Resources lit guides, but we like to read novels more quickly than these resources call for. Also, since we used wordly wise for vocabulary I feel like pulling vocab from a novel is just making more work for us. I think what I want to do is find a happy medium. I envision a Literature text book for occasional short stories w/ comprehension questions-- combined with novels while using PP and TCR lit guides. I think I would dump Wordly Wise in favor of the vocabulary lists in these guides, but I like the SAT prep aspect of WW. :confused1:

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I let the girls design their own literature studies. I gave them a list of 'genres' and asked that they read at least 2 examples of each. Genres included novels, biographies, plays, allegories, graphic novels, not-originally-in-English, short stories, non-fiction etc.

 

We then discussed each book as they were reading it. Both girls tend to like to analyze stories, movies, TV shows anyway, so this just extended the types of things they were reading.

 

I had them keep book lists and write a brief summary or description in their reading log. I also had them pick one book to do an in depth response. Oldest girl wrote a fan-fiction of a favorite book and illustrated it with pixellated (can't get any spelling of that word to be approved:001_smile:) art. The younger one is working on a production design (staging instructions) for a favorite play.

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In the past, I have done BJU/A Beka Literature books for 10th - 12th grade. I got whole grade DVDs with BJU for my son in 12th grade and we both really liked their British Literature. My friend liked BJU's American Literature w/dvds in 11th grade. Now that I have done literature with and without dvds, I like having the teacher better. They go over and review the literary elements, the history surrounding the piece, the author's worldview and it makes the study way more meaningful. There is no way I could do that. This year, I am doing World Lit. (no dvd) with dd and it is going alright, but if we don't go over what is in the teacher's edition, she is a little lost. I am wanting to venture out beyond the texts, but am spoiled to have them "run themselves." You just read, answer questions, go over, test, repeat. Before 10th grade, I didn't like the literature books very much, so we read books and got Spark Notes or Cliffs Notes to go with them. That does free you up to read any book you want, and to read whole books. I don't want to just do whole books because we won't cover as much territory as you do with a literature text. But, maybe a balance between the two would be good.

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In high school, literature study usually moves on to "literature analysis." Comprehension checks are no longer needed (and may never have been needed when you can talk with your homeschooler one-on-one).

 

A high schooler should start to understand not only the components of literature (plot lines, foreshadowing, etc) and the different genres (poetry, plays, etc), but should be moving on to explore themes, symbolism, irony, and so on.

 

They don't have to analyze everything to death, but they usually need help learning to think beyond the "events" of a novel. Their writing should go beyond a summary of events, and start to take a stand about something, backed up with examples.

 

You can just use SparkNotes or something online to discuss the novel, or you can use a formal guide like Progeny Press or Glencoe's free online guides.

 

That's the way I see it, anyways.

Julie

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Do you read what they're reading and discuss it with them? I think they miss a lot if they just read for pleasure. I remember reading books in high school that I really enjoyed, but when it came time to discuss them in class, I couldn't remember what had happened in them.

 

My younger ds and I still do read alouds. We're doing David Copperfield right now. When I come to something I think he might not get, I stop and ask. Usually I'm right and then I have a chance to explain it to him. Example: Mr. Micawber was talking about using a razor, and the next day David expressed worry about his well being. My ds didn't get that the mention of a razor was a threat of suicide. There have been many little things like that that I could explain to him. Also, he will make comments that give me an opportunity to discuss the reading with him. I don't solicit these comments, but I do welcome them.

 

In addition to the read aloud, we do a regular literature program. Right now we're doing short stories. We're using Teaching Literary Elements with Short Stories, The Art of the Short Story, and various famous stories found on the internet (my older son and I put together a list that we thought everyone should read). I make a worksheet for each story he reads and he also has to write some stories. After we finish short stories, we're going to do poetry. I'm planning to use A Child's Introduction to Poetry and a list of famous poems that I will put together. Then we will probably do a Shakespeare play. Then we will do Greenleaf Press's Guide to Ancient Literature since this year is ancients in history. We probably won't finish the Greenleaf, but I really wanted to do the short stories and poetry because I feel he's a little lacking in familiarity with those genres.

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I do not have a high school aged child, but I do teach a small group of teens for a co-op and thought that experience might help you. I graduated college with a double major in writing and in English.

 

A reading list is determined at the beginning of the year. I am not totally sure how they chose their books in previous years. As the teacher this year, I chose the books from TWTM rhetoric stage medieval recommendations, with a few selections of my own thrown in.

 

Literature selections are read and discussed weekly with me. Some selections are given only one week (one discussion) and others take a couple weeks. In discussion we go over vocabulary briefly, run through a quick (2-3 minute) summary of the piece (what happened, characters, timeline), and then spend about an hour just analyzing. For the analysis, students are specifically expected to support their thoughts about the piece using excerpts from the piece. Sometimes this may take the form of quoting lines; other times this takes the form of saying, "You know the part where . . ." and summarizing a part of the piece.

 

The kids also have a weekly writing assignment that I evaluate on four levels:

 

1--Writing mechanics (punctuation, grammar, etc.)

2--Layout mechanics (length, appearance, etc.)

3--Thesis: Is there a thesis? Supporting points? Did the student appropriately use text to support their thoughts? Does this fulfill the requirements of the assignment?

4--Writing: I provide specific feedback about the writing itself, independent of the information that is presented.

 

My younger students write a page a week. My older ones write 3 pages a week. They all read roughly 100 pages a week.

 

SWB recommends in TWTM 8-18 literature selections a year.

 

This semester's reading list is:

 

3 short selections: "The Wanderer", "The Battle of Maldon", "The Dream of the Rood"

Bede's Ecclesiastical History of the English People

Beowulf

Mabinogion

Everyman

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

Second Shepherd's Play

Next semester we hope to cover:

 

Comedy of Errors

Le Morte d"Arthur

1-2 saints' autobiographies--considering Teresa of Avila and Margery Kempe

Utopia, by Thomas More

Canterbury Tales

Faerie Queen

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We use McDougal Littel's Language of Literature from the 7th to 11th grades. It is filled mainly with short stories , poetry speeches , articles, a play, and some excerpts of longer workers. The selections are from a wide range of authors, time periods, and genres. There are assignments we occasionally read. Mainly I like these texts because my children will get a taste for a quite large variety of classics and modern authors.

 

That said, we also read complete novels during the year. Most of the time I let the kids decide what classic novels to read. The number of classic novels will vary with each child.

 

I assign a couple of papers per semester, and we discuss the literary elements of the short stories read in the textbook several times per semester.

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... Right now we're doing short stories. We're using Teaching Literary Elements with Short Stories, The Art of the Short Story, and various famous stories found on the internet (my older son and I put together a list that we thought everyone should read).

 

SheWhoWaits,

 

May I ask you to share the list of those stories that you and your son compiled? (Just call me a listaholic!)

 

Regards,

Kareni

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How do you handle reading/literature as a subject for high school? Do you just assign books to be read and that's all or do you use literature guides/comprehension questions, literary analysis sources etc?

 

Both.

 

We have designated literature studies. For our current unit, the Aeneid. In our documentation, I call that literature study. It includes use of a study guide, discussions of plot, literary devices, and "psychology" (e.g. why do you think Aeneas wasn't paying attention to whether his wife was keeping up with him as they fled?), tests, and essays. Books that I choose for literature study are the big classics.

 

We also have required additional reading, that is documented with various types of book reports. Currently, Quo Vadis. In our documentation, I call that reading. Books that I choose/permit for this are invariably lighter -- one was a murder mystery by a contemporary author, set in ancient times. My goal for this reading is mainly to give some "flavor" of the historical setting/time we are studying in sync with the reading assignment.

 

We do grammar and vocabulary altogether separately.

 

HTH,

Karen

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SheWhoWaits,

 

May I ask you to share the list of those stories that you and your son compiled? (Just call me a listaholic!)

 

Regards,

Kareni

Since it's short, I'll just post it here with a copy in a pm to you.

Twain: The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County

Maupassant: The Necklace

O Henry: The Gift of the Magi

Borges: The Circular Ruins

Saki: The Open Window

Chopin: The Story of an Hour

Faulkner: A Rose for Emily

Bierce: An Occurence at Owl Creek Bridge

Poe: The Tell-Tale Heart

Haruki: Superfrog Saves Tokyo

Wongar: Dingo's Picnic

 

I just came across one by Dickens I wish I had added. It's called The Child's Story. It's really well written (who knew Dickens could write anything short?) but the schedule is made and I don't want to mess with it. If you want to know more about any of those stories or why we chose them, just ask.

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