arcara Posted March 9, 2014 Share Posted March 9, 2014 My dd is finishing 8th grade, so I'm in the middle of planning her high school years. I'm wondering what additional literary analysis you would recommend for her. She's already well-versed in the "Teaching the Classics" method. She has taken their online class this year, so by the end of the school year she will have analyzed 12 novels with the authors of the program. So, she is good at talking about characters, setting, plot, conflict, and themes. What else does she need as she moves onto high school? I've seen these books/programs mentioned: How to Read a Book, The Well-Educated Mind, Windows to the World, and Teaching the Classic's Worldview Supplement. Which of these would be most useful without being redundant? Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Penguin Posted March 9, 2014 Share Posted March 9, 2014 Here is a current thread on the K-8 board that you might find helpful: http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/507337-how-to-read-a-book-vs-modern-lit-analysis/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori D. Posted March 9, 2014 Share Posted March 9, 2014 What else does she need as she moves onto high school? I've seen these books/programs mentioned: How to Read a Book, The Well-Educated Mind, Windows to the World, and Teaching the Classic's Worldview Supplement. Which of these would be most useful without being redundant? At the high school level, in addition to discussing the works, the student also begins to write about the works -- short discussion question answers, reader response papers, analysis essays, etc. (Side note: see SWB's hand-out on Literary Analysis (scroll down) for examples of reader response type of questions, or Tullia's post on More About Reader Response Papers and Their Context.) If DD is already conversant with literary elements, and has been doing some guided analysis, then likely you don't need How To Read a Book or The Well Educated Mind. If you want exposure to more literary devices, you might enjoy going through Figuratively Speaking as a 10-minute extra each week; or, Walch's Prose & Poetry, as 2 of the 3 units focus on poetic elements and then types of poetry. What you might find handy for high school is an actual literature program to give a bit of guidance for analyzing specific works, to help you cover a variety of works (novels, short stories, poetry, essays, biography/autobiography), and esp. to guide you through writing about Literature. I personally think the instruction on how to write a literary analysis essay in Windows to the World is outstanding -- clear, specific, step-by-step with great examples. The first section teaches annotation, the second section teaches how to use your annotations to write a literary analysis essay, and the third section teaches how 8-10 major literary devices work. WttW is a 1-SEMESTER program focusing on 6 short stories, but by adding the Jill Pike syllabus, you can expand it to a one-year program. Or you can select several novels of your choice and add an individual literature guide for discussion question ideas and writing assignments to flesh it out to fill a full year. Another great option that focuses on the writing is Excellence in Literature. There are five one-year programs, each with an "honors" option for each unit (a more complex work that can be substituted, usually by the same author, or in the genre, so it goes with the instructional material for the lesson). Intro to Literature (gr. 8-9) -- 6 short stories; 2 plays, 1 novella, 5 novels Literature & Composition (gr. 9-10) -- 1 essay, 3 plays, 5 novels American Literature (gr. 10-12) -- 1 biography, 1 novella, 2 short stories and some poems, 5 novels British Literature (gr. 11-12) -- 2 "novellas", 8 short stories, 1 play, 5 novels World Literature (gr. 12) -- 1 play, 8 novels If you were happy with the online course, you might continue with that option. Here are a few, there are others as well: The Potter's School Veritas Press Scholars Academy Brave Writer: Shakespeare Laurel Tree Tutorials -- writing only, not lit. BEST of luck in planning out the high school years! Warmest regards, Lori D. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1Togo Posted March 9, 2014 Share Posted March 9, 2014 Agreeing with Lori D about "Windows to the World." It is excellent and would a great follow-up to the TtC discussions your daughter has already done. Jill Pike (IEW) has a syllabus for WttW that expands it to a year-long class. The syllabus begins with TtC, so you would have those weeks completed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arcara Posted March 10, 2014 Author Share Posted March 10, 2014 Thank you! This is exactly the info I needed. It looks like WttW would be a good idea for her. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WishboneDawn Posted March 10, 2014 Share Posted March 10, 2014 A question about WttW...It seems to emphasise worldview. I'm Christian but I tend to stay far away from anything mentioning worldview so for all intent and purposes I'm looking for secular programs. Does the worldview aspect of it permeate the program to the point that a secular homeschool would have difficulty using it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
purplelily Posted March 11, 2014 Share Posted March 11, 2014 There is the Biblical allusions project, where she has the student find the meaning of biblical allusions. Example, washing one's hand of something? This appears in a Shakespeare play, but also in the New Testament, when Pilot washes his hand of the judgement of Jesus being crucified. This also, include the Greek and Roman myths, ie Pandora's Box. If you get a chance look it over, before making your final decision. IEW has a sample online. It also goes through several short stories to introduce the different parts of literature analysis. Learning about worldviews is not so bad. It helps in understanding the stories, as they are written. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jillpike Posted March 11, 2014 Share Posted March 11, 2014 Windows does not explore world views explicitly (nothing like Starting Points). There is one or maybe two lessons on "world view" that could be skipped. The main thing is to explore getting to know the author's point of view by examining their writing; that is all. The author, Lesha Myers is a Christian who taught at a Christian school. However, she is not your typical Christian author in that she includes works in Windows that some parents have not been happy about. For example, the first story is "The Most Dangerous Game" about a man who ends up being hunted by another man. That story is recommended in the AP literature lists and it is excellent, but it certainly isn't "Christian." Lesha does encourage students to engage with the themes but does not recommend any particular conclusion. As a Christian, I can't really say whether a secular teacher would be comfortable teaching Windows, but I did not find it overly Christian. Lesha does not proselytize in her books. If anything she leans toward shocking Christians out of their comfort zones. I found her work refreshing and a delight to teach. My students came away with a much greater understanding of how to handle literature. Even the boys enjoyed it, and that is saying something! HTH. Jill Pike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anacharsis Posted March 11, 2014 Share Posted March 11, 2014 George Orwell's essay "Politics and the English Language" (https://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/intrel/orwell46.htm) might be helpful for reading between the lines (as well as providing some very sound writing advice.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WishboneDawn Posted March 11, 2014 Share Posted March 11, 2014 Windows does not explore world views explicitly (nothing like Starting Points). There is one or maybe two lessons on "world view" that could be skipped. The main think is to explore getting to know the author's point of view by examining their writing; that is all. The author, Lesha Myers is a Christian who taught at a Christian school. However, she is not your typical Christian author in that she includes works in Windows that some parents have not been happy about. For example, the first story is "The Most Dangerous Game" about a man who ends up being hunted by another man. That story is recommended in the AP literature lists and it is excellent, but it certainly isn't "Christian." Lesha does encourage students to engage with the themes but does not recommend any particular conclusion. As a Christian, I can't really say whether a secular teacher would be comfortable teaching Windows, but I did not find it overly Christian. Lesha does not proselytize in her books. If anything she leans toward shocking Christians out of their comfort zones. I found her work refreshing and a delight to teach. My students came away with a much greater understanding of how to handle literature. Even the boys enjoyed it, and that is saying something! HTH. Jill Pike That sounds excellent. I'm off to check out samples! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori D. Posted March 11, 2014 Share Posted March 11, 2014 Agreeing with previous poster. In chapter 9, "Theme and Worldview", there is about a 3-page explanation of what worldview is; the point is to highlight the connection between themes that appear in a work and an author's beliefs / worldview / believes. WttW does specifically explain key points of Christian doctrine (worldview, if you will) in those pages. However, rather than proselytizing, the purpose is to understand the basics of Christian beliefs, because Christian themes and images show up in SO much of Western literature, and to be able to compare/contrast with other types of worldviews, beliefs, and themes. The only other places that I recall that Christianity comes up are in the introduction, where she explains her own worldview so you understand where she's coming from. And then in chapter 3 on "Allusions", the author uses a few Biblical allusions as examples, along with Greek myths. Again, that's actually a very handy thing, because, again, SO much Western literature contains Biblical allusions. IMO, the works most frequently alluded to by The Great Books: - the Bible- Greek myths- Shakespeare- ancient Greek epics of The Iliad and The Odyssey, and the ancient Greek play, Oedipus the King- King Arthur and related Arthurian legends- Robin Hood In case it helps, here are 2 past threads on how easily WttW can be used secularly: Windows to the World religious content Windows to the World: How much religious content? And, as an unasked-for bonus :tongue_smilie: , you might find this thread interesting, which has specific helps for getting your student started with annotating/discussing and WttW: Why does my daughter have lots to say. BEST of luck, whatever you decide to go with! Warmest regards, Lori D. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JumpedIntoTheDeepEndFirst Posted March 12, 2014 Share Posted March 12, 2014 We've been enjoying Windows (using Jill Pike's syllabus actually)... and as Lori D. mentions there is a course long project on Biblical allusions with a briefer discussion of classical allusions. IMHO it is impossible to divorce much western literature written from Biblical allusion/imagery. In our case we have added a bit more balance between the classical and Biblical as I think both are important. Successful completion of the course doesn't require belief, just understanding the source of the allusion and the meaning it would convey in the context of another piece of literature. There are some essay questions that are more faith oriented but you could easily alter them or elect to use different questions. I think the short stories and literature selections are high quality and appear regularly in secular courses as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WishboneDawn Posted March 12, 2014 Share Posted March 12, 2014 Thanks everyone. I got caught up on the term worldview, thinking it would be a program that was pushing a particular set of dogmas. This sounds like something my atheist husband would be enthusiatic about, a program that supports Biblical and cultural literacy. It's definitely going on the purchase list for next year. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KarenNC Posted March 12, 2014 Share Posted March 12, 2014 Thanks everyone. I got caught up on the term worldview, thinking it would be a program that was pushing a particular set of dogmas. This sounds like something my atheist husband would be enthusiatic about, a program that supports Biblical and cultural literacy. It's definitely going on the purchase list for next year. :D I had similar concerns, but it looks like we will be using it for part of 9th grade and I think it will be fine. We also did a summer session using "The Bible and Its Influence" last year for a baseline familiarity with the stories in the Jewish and Christian scriptures in prep for this text, which I think will prove useful as my daughter has not grown up steeped in those stories in the way I did and in the way most older Western literature assumes people did. We did it last summer as I had originally planned on using WttW this current year before another literature option came up that we decided to use. We also did a session with Movies as Lit since she's a pretty visual person and into movies/theater. As someone suggested (possibly Lori D.), it was a lot easier for her to see the elements in the films. We have a lot of fun identifying "forethwacking" vs "foreshadowing"---many of the movies we've watched recently haven't exactly been subtle at times. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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