Has anyone used teaching the classics with two different aged kids simultaneously?

[LisaD]

For example- I'm considering using the teaching the classics with my first grader and third grader next year in the same lesson time, perhaps using the 2nd grade book list. I've done the beginning with both of them (dd in k and ds in 1st and 2nd) but didn't stick with it for various reasons. They both know characters, and setting for sure.

 

I can't seem to fit it all in. But I find literary analysis to be an essential part of language arts. So tonight I thought what if I do it with them together and just use a grade level between them for the book list? (My soon to be third grader reads at 5/6th gr level and my soon to be first grader is reading I can read books and just about ready for the beginner chapter books.)

 

Any thoughts from those of you with more experience? Next year will be the first year to have both kids doing all the subjects and so I'm trying to streamline where I can. They already do science, history and Spanish together, but my dd will also be adding her own piano lessons to the mix.

 

TIA

[fyonaf]

We do this and LOVE Teaching the Classics. I have two third graders and one fourth, but the reading levels look more like this: one reading at the third level, one reading as high as 5th, and one reading as high as 6th (depends on the book). We started the year with the picture books--I picked four total from the 3rd/4th grade lists from Reading Roadmaps. Then, we do about a book a month. I choose them by looking through the themes and conflicts (which Reading Roadmaps lists). I pick a pair from the 3rd grade list and a pair from the 4th grade list that have significant theme/conflict overlap. Then, I try my best to have two people each reading a book (this includes me). The reason I pick a "pair" from each list is that sometimes a given title isn't available in our library or just doesn't appeal to us. For instance, at the beginning of the year, my lower reader and I read Mr. Popper's Penguins and my upper two readers read The Jungle Book. Having at least two people read the same book (even if one of those people if yourself) helps more discussion happen. I now offer them a choice of which books, but still try to make sure that there is overlap. One month, I read a book aloud that we also used for TLC (Snow Treasure). You could do this pretty easily by doing the picture book for your younger one each week and having your older one read a novel that you discuss in parts each week. I would use a picture book that had a similar theme or whatever element you were hoping to discuss. (DON'T skip the picture book part--it is so helpful to the kids. They will be better able to deconstruct a book that is firmly at or even slightly below their recreational reading level, especially when they are new to this.)

 

We do our discussions weekly, over tea  :laugh: . So everyone looks forward to "lit" class. We do a plot chart with each book that they do in a composition book. I haven't had them do the summative writing assignment for each book, but I am hoping to work that in this coming year. I do ask them to "defend" their answers to the socratic questions with "evidence" from the book (and I just note in pencil which questions I've asked as we go along so I don't repeat myself--we focus on one-two major elements, like setting, each week). It's been pretty informal this year, but all three can tell me lots about the setting/characters/plot of a book and are fairly conversant with theme and conflict. As a former high school English teacher, I can say that if only my former students had been this conversant when they entered my classroom every year, we could have had a lot more fun! 

 

If you're not a "literary" person, then you might also check out Deconstructing Penguins. It has a nice, user-friendly, "layperson" approach to figuring out themes and other literary devices (just for your own background info).

[fairy4tmama]

I use Teaching the Classics (the workbook/dvd) with all of my school age kids for our read alouds and just ask questions of varying depth based on each child's ability and it has worked beautifully. I have no experience with their other guides as we haven't used them.

[LisaD]

Thank you! Your answers were helpful and gave me some food for thought! 😊