Formal Logic with a 6th grader?

[Kendall]

Have any of you done formal logic with a 6th grader?  Discovery of deduction or Traditional Logic?  I know I can't do it as written, but am thinking of using one of these books (or both) as a source of lecture/discussion material.  I'll do this with a 10th(who struggles) 8th(middle of the road kid) and the 6th(who is on the bright end of things).  I know I can just try it and drop the youngest, but if any of you have tried it and have tips or an experience to share, I would love to hear it.

 

Thanks,

Kendall 

[Classical Katharine]

Since you haven't gotten any answers, I'll venture my (relevant-but-not-quite-what-you-asked-since-I-haven't-done-it) answer.

 

I think you are on the right track by recognizing that you may not be able to do the book as written with a sixth-grader, but that you may still be able to do it. But definitely only with a very bright one. The reason I think this is that one woman who has taught my husband's logic book to both seventh graders and eighth graders said that the material wasn't any harder for the seventh graders to learn, but that the text was harder for them, and she had to unpack it more. Once she did that, they were fine. If your sixth grader could hold his own with many seventh graders, it just might work for you--if you're enthusiastic about being the "unpacker"!

 

But I think it's safe to say that that will take a special sixth grader (which of course yours is). For Norman's book we recommend grade 8 for most and grade 7 only for the very well prepared, and I would think you'd find something similar holds true for other presentations of formal logic. It wouldn't be a discredit to either you or your son if it didn't work out.

 

But the fact that your tenth struggles and your eighth is middle of the road is important. That really does pull them all quite close together. If your plan doesn't work for this year, I think it'll definitely work next year, and you can do all three together.

 

 

 

 

[Kendall]

Thanks for the input.  I hadn't even thought about delaying a year.  I think I will see how it goes with my 10th grader while keeping the thought of waiting a year in the back of my mind.  Unpacking is what I have realized has to happen(though I didn't have a word for it!). The fact that unpacking is teacher intensive is the motivation to teach 3 of them at once.    My older 3 did Traditional Logic on their own in 7th and 8th and I have had to adjust my expectations with my rising 10th.  

[Classical Katharine]

You're very welcome! Hope it's a great year for you all--this year or next. Unpacking will only get easier with another year, yet you may find that everyone is already ready. Happy finding out!