momacacia Posted September 1, 2014 Share Posted September 1, 2014 As I consider our advance toward middle school, I'm realizing that to have great discussions with students an educator might want to read the literature/materials covered. How does one accomplish that timewise? My "plan" is to use Tapestry the rest of the way---and I guess all those dialectic and rhetoric discussion questions will help me---but still, wouldn't there be better discussions with the teacher having read the materials as well? Do you read what your kids are reading? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrysalis Academy Posted September 1, 2014 Share Posted September 1, 2014 Yes, everything she reads for school. It takes a lot of time, but I can't imagine leading meaningful discussions without having read the books myself. There are a couple of keys to getting it done, for me - one is planning in advance, knowing what's coming up so that I'm reading ahead. If TOG has assigned books, then that's easy, there's your reading list. For me, this means I'm planning for next year early, and I'm using the summer to read the books that are coming up and I'm reading ahead, desperately sometimes. For example, we're doing LOTR this year, and Shannon is starting Fellowship, and I'm just finishing The Two Towers. I'm not too far ahead of her! The second key is using audiobooks. When I'm driving, walking, working around the house I can listen to the audio version of some of the books she'll be studying. This really helps me get through more of them, it would be hard to keep up if I was reading all of them. It definitely takes commitment. I don't read as much for myself these days, I'm almost always reading things that I will be teaching. But, since I'm setting the curriculum, I get to choose things I want to read for us to study! So that's an upside, I guess. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momacacia Posted September 1, 2014 Author Share Posted September 1, 2014 Wow! Audiobooks--yes, that will be me. I listen to Circe podcasts, etc., while I clean up the kitchen at night. I'm seeing an audible subscription in our future. ;) Thank you, Rose Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Penguin Posted September 1, 2014 Share Posted September 1, 2014 I stay (at least) one chapter ahead. Honestly, getting much more ahead isn't that helpful b/c I start to forget the details again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori D. Posted September 1, 2014 Share Posted September 1, 2014 In addition to Chrysalis Academy's great ideas of audio books, advance summer reading, and careful scheduling of your own time: We also did some books aloud together (either audio books or "popcorn" style of "you read a page, I read a page"), which not only had us both reading the book, but had the added benefit of further condensing time by allowing us to discuss *while* reading. Plays are really fun to either watch performed rather than reading them, or to do as "reader theater", with several family members taking different roles and letting your inner thespian out. ;) Also, consider doing some things orally rather than the student having to take additional time for written responses to the works and then me having to take the time to grade the written responses. (Not suggesting you ONLY do oral work, just enough from time to time -- if you need to speed up the schedule a bit, or if it is a book the student is not "getting", etc.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lewelma Posted September 2, 2014 Share Posted September 2, 2014 We do a lot of short stories and novellas for literary analysis purposes in middle school. They are much easier to write about. (and on the good side, quicker for me to read). Ruth in NZ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Penguin Posted September 2, 2014 Share Posted September 2, 2014 I would like to expand on my post. DS is allowed to choose his lit from a pre-selected shelf. Most of the books are books that I have read, albeit perhaps 100 years ago lol. The ones that I have never read are "safe" choices, so I don't feel like I need to preread them. This year, we will have a book going for read-and-discuss, and only analyze short stories. I always preread short stories. Some of them are really out there, lol. Rose, we are starting LOTR this week and I am SO excited!!!!! Also like Rose, I don't read much now that isn't with DS in mind. I did start Les Miz in June just for me, but I am still only half way through. But now that DS is reading high school level lit, I don't feel deprived. OP, I think it would be much harder for me to keep up with a reading list that came from TOG or anyone else. I think I would have to start reading way in advance to get a sense of where things are going. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Penelope Posted September 4, 2014 Share Posted September 4, 2014 This is hard, isn't it? I find it hard. I do my best, but I do reach my limit of keeping up with them. I can do it well enough now in middle school, but soon enough I will have one in high school and two in middle school, and then I'm going to need outside classes or a discussion group. I have read lots of classics, but i still find I don't remember enough details anymore to have good discussions without re-reading at least parts, even if I only read them a few years ago. So I don't think I am going to be able to count on reading books with the eldest and then using them all again without re-reading. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrsH Posted September 6, 2014 Share Posted September 6, 2014 I guess I'm in the minority here but I don't read everything she does... We have an audio book in the car, usually a classic, and we discuss all sorts of things about those. For her assigned books, I read maybe half of them. A few I might have read in the past. I do take her recommendations seriously: when she says "this is so good, you've got to read it!" Then I do even if I wasn't planning to. Sometimes I read online notes and ask her about the book. Questions from WTM. I ask her to explain things to me just enough so I understand. She's joining a book club at the library, so that should help too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malory Posted September 6, 2014 Share Posted September 6, 2014 We do a lot of short stories and novellas for literary analysis purposes in middle school. They are much easier to write about. (and on the good side, quicker for me to read). Ruth in NZ This sounds like an excellent idea, but I would be completely lost without a guide or someone showing me. Would you please explain how you do this with your son? My oldest is in 8th grade this year and has gone rather independent with all subjects the last two years because my time was completely spent on his four demanding younger brothers. I feel that I have to reclaim some of those lost times NOW before it becomes even harder for us to have any meaningful discussion. We are using WWS2 this year, but I don't mind taking a break from that once in a while to do writing related to literary. Thanks so much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dauphin Posted September 6, 2014 Share Posted September 6, 2014 This sounds like an excellent idea, but I would be completely lost without a guide or someone showing me. Would you please explain how you do this with your son? My oldest is in 8th grade this year and has gone rather independent with all subjects the last two years because my time was completely spent on his four demanding younger brothers. I feel that I have to reclaim some of those lost times NOW before it becomes even harder for us to have any meaningful discussion. We are using WWS2 this year, but I don't mind taking a break from that once in a while to do writing related to literary. Thanks so much. Have you looked into Betond the Book Report? (It is intended to be used just for a season.(like 3 months) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScoutTN Posted September 6, 2014 Share Posted September 6, 2014 We are a year away from logic stage, but I do reread or preread for my fourth grader this year so as to have some of those good conversations. I either have my own copy of the book and mark in it as I read or take notes so that when she gets to it, I have something to spur my memory and refresh the details. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heartsjoy Posted September 11, 2014 Share Posted September 11, 2014 With D and R students now, I read maybe 3-4 of their books a year. I read the TOG teacher notes, about 1 hour a week for history for both since there's so much overlap, D literature about 20 minutes/ week, R Literature about 2 hours. 2-3 hours a week for my teacher preparation to lead discussions is great. This does not include planning time where I decide exactly how much to assign in each week in each subject for 3 precious students nor daily checking/ grading. Instead of prereading, I skim read books they read that I don't have teacher notes on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EndOfOrdinary Posted September 12, 2014 Share Posted September 12, 2014 I am like Rose and do a lot of audiobooks as I clean the kitchen, do the dishes, fold the laundry. I find it actually really helps me with drive to do the mundane tasks. I cannot listen while I drive; I get too sucked in. Normally I take and make an entire year plan, then I can see how many I have to read over a space of time. It allows me to prioritize. Longer books for history are either read aloud or audio so that I can really get through them quicker. Much of our literary analysis work I read because I make curriculum for it. Many of those are audiobooks on YouTube as well since they are classics. Independent reading books at this point for Ds are rather short - like between 100 and 300 pages. Getting through that takes less than a week of nights where I just tell myself it is the week to read _____. I do not allow myself Netflix, surfing the web, or whatever. It is my homework. When I do it diligently, then Ds can see it and diligently work. If I do not set that example, it is like saying that he has to read, but not me as an adult. I try to model it and remind myself that academic skills are important for him to see throughout someone's lifetime. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luckymama Posted September 12, 2014 Share Posted September 12, 2014 I read during the summer. I read across the table from dd as she does independent work or work for her outsourced classes. I read on the elliptical, using either my kindle or ipad (we have a great library system, both for print and ebooks). I do outsource English, which means I don't have to read all the lit books and short stories (not my thing--I am a recovering academic chemist). I read for history, AP Human Geography, and various streams of science. Like EndOfOrdinary I think it is important for dd (and my older kids when they were home) to see me studying and working and persevering with something I find difficult. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrsH Posted September 12, 2014 Share Posted September 12, 2014 I think though that it's equally important for my kids to see me reading for pleasure or personal interest. So while I read (and often enjoy) a good amount of dd12's materials, I also prioritize recommended novels, parenting books, and noon-fiction on a range of interesting (to me) topics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrixieB Posted September 12, 2014 Share Posted September 12, 2014 I stay (at least) one chapter ahead. Honestly, getting much more ahead isn't that helpful b/c I start to forget the details again. That's the problem I had when I used to pre-read my kids' books over the summer. By the time discussion time rolled around, I had forgotten pretty much everything about the books. :blushing: Now I try to pre-read the week before. Or the day before. Or the morning of... Speaking of which, we are supposed to discuss this afternoon and I've forgotten what happened in the last couple of chapters! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pen Posted September 12, 2014 Share Posted September 12, 2014 As I consider our advance toward middle school, I'm realizing that to have great discussions with students an educator might want to read the literature/materials covered. How does one accomplish that timewise? My "plan" is to use Tapestry the rest of the way---and I guess all those dialectic and rhetoric discussion questions will help me---but still, wouldn't there be better discussions with the teacher having read the materials as well? Do you read what your kids are reading? I do not use some one else's lists or questions etc. I read a lot, but not all, of what my ds reads...or like others here have him read things I read a zillion years ago. And I do use audio books for this quite a lot. I have an only child which makes it a bit easier, both to do that, and also to have audio books going since I don't have to worry about suitability for a younger child who might overhear. I do find that when I read books now, even if I read them long ago, my understanding is often different than what my memory recalls of them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
purduemeche Posted September 13, 2014 Share Posted September 13, 2014 Lots of great responses to an important question as we lead out children through Logic stage discussions! I started out trying to read them all but quickly got buried (and frankly I wanted to read some books for fun). I have instead started reading only the classics/great books and then using Wikipedia for the others so I know the plot line beforehand. For example, in TOG1 this year, I have read The Wanderings of Odysseus but am not going to read the Golden Goblet. We also use quite a lot of audio books. An audible subscription is a good idea! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrysalis Academy Posted September 14, 2014 Share Posted September 14, 2014 I suppose I should clarify one thing - I didn't read all the books dd read in the early logic stage - 5th & 6th grade level books - the historical fiction stype stuff she was reading in those years. I read anything I worried might be too heavy topically - too heavy or too much death or suffering - but I didn't read every single historical fiction book she read. Life is too short! Those I could read a quick overview of and still have an intelligent conversation about them with her. But anything that we were specifically studying for literature - a "classic" - and certainly all the assigned books she is reading now as a 7th grader, both lit as well as history and science, I do read. So, I wouldn't have felt compelled to read The Golden Goblet, for example, in 5th grade. And I don't read all of the books my 3rd grader is reading. But I do read every book that I have assigned to my 7th grader this year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momacacia Posted September 16, 2014 Author Share Posted September 16, 2014 Thank you again everyone! DD is reading Golden Goblet right now! (Affectionately referred to as GG). I have no clue what's going on with it but she'll do TOG acticity sheet on it. Just mentioned to DH this morning though that I'm going to have to get more involved with the books at some point. Classics vs historical fiction is a good dividing line. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.