SWB's lit. essays for middle grades

[hollyhock]

This is a bit of a s/o from the 8th grade goals thread. I mentioned this a bit there but thought I would bring it to a thread of its own.

 

If you are following SWB's middle grades lit. analysis methods, how do you get your kids to write half a page or a whole page? As far as I can remember, her instructions are to answer 2-3 of the lit. analysis questions including an evaluation question. For my boys, that translates to about 3 sentences.

 

Should they be writing more and expanding on their answers? Or is this fine and the half-page is the upper limit, not the lower limit on length?

[tmstranger]

I don't know the answer, but I'm interested to know what others do.  My 11yo hates writing and will always give me the minimum.  If I say, "6-8 sentences," I'm getting 6!  If I want 8, I better ask for it!

 

[Lori D.]

Two DSs here, one average writer and one struggling writer, and neither was keen on the idea of writing in elementary / middle school years. --->   :ack2: We did not start doing anything like literary essays until high school. And at first, the process was very guided by me to achieve one solid paragraph. I have been doing a similar process with my Lit & Comp co-op class for grades 7-12.

 

For literary essays, I personally wouldn't worry about page length. To me, the initial goal is learning what needs to go into making a solid paragraph of that type, and that the paragraph works as a unit that is all about a controlling idea (topic), with examples (support) and explanation (commentary) of how/why those examples explain the idea, and concludes with an overall opinion, argument or thought (conclusion). The paragraph is all about developing that controlling idea, so length (number of sentences) is not the primary goal.

 

So, yes, I think more than 3 sentences is usually going to be needed to accomplish this goal. JMO, but rather than having students answer 2-3 of the evaluation questions and each question getting a one sentence answer -- which has a tendency to lead to unconnected writing -- I'd suggest picking one question, and then asking the students a lot of specific follow-up questions to help them expand the writing into a solid, meaningful paragraph. (And, JMO: I actually think the questions from SWB's "For a Novel/Story" list (see link 3 paragraphs below) are a LOT easier to work with and help a beginning student expand into a paragraph answer. They also make great follow-up questions for the Evaluation questions.)

 

This takes a lot of time and patience on the part of the parent-teacher.  :eek: <---I know, not what you want to hear. ;) I often felt like this, but intensive one-on-one was the only way I could figure out how to model and explain how to THINK of something to say, and THEN worry about how to WRITE it down. I worked closely with my DSs in the brainstorming and rough draft steps of the process in those middle school and early high school years. As we talked and brainstormed, I would jot things down on the whiteboard. After we had some things written down, we could look for connections. Some students do better with a "mind mapping" visual or graphic organizer to have something to "fill in" and helps prompt them

 

That does seem to help reluctant (and struggling) writers, having you there guiding the process with specific questions, or with a visual representation or graphic organizer to keep them moving forward in the "thinking of what to say" process -- and occasionally you throwing in ideas (more brainstorming) when they get stumped. 

 

So... From SWB's handout "Academic Excellence: grades 5-8", about 2/3 of the way down under Language Arts and then under "Reading", she lists a 3-step procedure (Read, Talk, Write), and then suggests several sets of questions ("For a Novel/Story"; "For a Biography"; "For Evaluation").

 

The key to guiding the writing process is having tons of specific follow-up questions in your back pocket to help bring to the surface what your student is thinking. Notice how SWB has some follow-up questions in her lists; you can use some of her questions as follow-up, or to probe for more detail. What you ask is really going to depend on the specific book and answers of the student. Unfortunately, that is going to require a lot of hard thinking on your part to come up with follow-up questions. You may find some of the general Socratic Questions can be adapted to fit your specific needs. 

 

Also, some types of analysis are MUCH easier to start with than others.

 

Compare and contrast is a great first analysis. Pick two things to compare/contrast (2 characters; 2 settings or objects; beginning / end of the story; 2 choices of the same character, or same character at 2 different points in the story; etc.). List what's similar/dissimilar. Draw a conclusion from the comparison (what "big idea" does this point to that the author might be trying to express; what new idea did you see; what lesson did the character learn as a result; what does that say about human nature; etc.)

 

Character analysis is also an easier first type of analysis. Examine a personality trait of the character and follow that through the story. Discuss what you think of the character's choices and actions. Explain a lesson learned by a character. Discuss what you learned from the character's conflict and choices. Show how the character's actions reveal the character's basic nature. Etc.

 

While middle/high school students have LOADS of opinions about most things, and love to share those opinions ;), for some odd reason, when it comes to discussing and writing about literature, evaluation questions like "Did you like a character, why/why not?" are just too broad. I'm finding from my own DSs and these Lit. co-op classes I've been running that, frequently, students need to start with a much more specific question. Or hear a thought or opinion from the parent or teacher and then they respond/react to that and from there you get into discussion. Or compare or connect with something going on in the news, or in a movie/TV show they've watched, or an event from their real lives...

 

Goodness, I really rambled here. Don't know if anything helped there, but wishing you the BEST of luck in your Literature and literary analysis adventures! :) Warmest regards, Lori D.

[Alte Veste Academy]

...intensive one-on-one was the only way I could figure out how to model and explain how to THINK of something to say, and THEN worry about how to WRITE it down.

There should be a love button. :D

[Alte Veste Academy]

I don't know the answer, but I'm interested to know what others do. My 11yo hates writing and will always give me the minimum. If I say, "6-8 sentences," I'm getting 6! If I want 8, I better ask for it!

I don't usually set a length. I want a sincere, thoughtful effort. They know I can tell the difference. I'm sure they think it's a magical power. LOL 

[madteaparty]

This is a bit of a s/o from the 8th grade goals thread. I mentioned this a bit there but thought I would bring it to a thread of its own.

 

If you are following SWB's middle grades lit. analysis methods, how do you get your kids to write half a page or a whole page? As far as I can remember, her instructions are to answer 2-3 of the lit. analysis questions including an evaluation question. For my boys, that translates to about 3 sentences.

 

Should they be writing more and expanding on their answers? Or is this fine and the half-page is the upper limit, not the lower limit on length?

Where are you getting the literature analysis questions? What middle grades curriculum did I miss?

To answer the question, i don't do literary analysis but he is doing a Lightning Lit class (not much writing there). When I ask him to write about a topic in, say history, I give a specific prompt "what was the treaty of Verdun" "conpare this guy to that guy", and I usuay get back a handwritten half page/page and a half max.

[mom31257]

Following!

[hollyhock]

Where are you getting the literature analysis questions? What middle grades curriculum did I miss?

 

These are SWB's suggestions for literature. It's in her literature analysis lecture and the questions are also in the WTM, possibly under the Reading section (can't exactly remember right now). Maybe I should listen to the lecture again.

[madteaparty]

These are SWB's suggestions for literature. It's in her literature analysis lecture and the questions are also in the WTM, possibly under the Reading section (can't exactly remember right now). Maybe I should listen to the lecture again.

No, maybe I should! Very many thanks!

[TracyP]

The questions are also listed in the Academic Excellence handout linked in LoriD's post. :)

[ScoutTN]

These are SWB's suggestions for literature. It's in her literature analysis lecture and the questions are also in the WTM, possibly under the Reading section (can't exactly remember right now). Maybe I should listen to the lecture again.

She also gives some suggestions about literary analysis in her lecture on teaching writing to middle grades.

[lmrich]

Excellent advice!

 

I taught a lit class to middle school students this year. It takes a long time for the kids to prepare for a literary analysis. Just be patient and keep talking - use those questions SWB provides. Start slow and build. We wrote the first few responses together so the kids knew what I wanted. Some kids got it while others did not. It is ok: they have time to develop. 

[Wildiris]

In addition to the above, middle school kids should be using quotes from the story/novel to support their assertions. I recently bought Reading and Writing about Literature a Portable Guide. (Check out "Look Inside")This book is not intended for middle school, but it does cover writing about literature in a way that other sources do not. There are sample papers and good examples that can be pared down for a younger student. My take on literary analysis is there are no wrong responses to literature; one just needs to support their response by citing text.

[hollyhock]

I listened to the middle grades portion of the Literary Analysis lecture last night. I looooove those lectures more than I can say. Every time I listen to them I learn something new.

 

I think what I need to do is ask more questions as follow-ups to the main questions and really help my sons come up with more than one sentence to write about each. I believe SWB says in the lecture to start with 5 sentences/about half a page. So, more discussion!

[VANURSEPRAC]

I listened to the middle grades portion of the Literary Analysis lecture last night. I looooove those lectures more than I can say. Every time I listen to them I learn something new.

 

I think what I need to do is ask more questions as follow-ups to the main questions and really help my sons come up with more than one sentence to write about each. I believe SWB says in the lecture to start with 5 sentences/about half a page. So, more discussion!

 

 

Where can I find these lectures? I would really like to listen as well.

[Lori D.]

Where can I find these lectures? I would really like to listen as well.

 

The Peace Hill Press bookstore; these are available as CDs or audio files for download. :)

[VANURSEPRAC]

^^^^^^^^^^

 

Thank you very much!