Any spring semester literature classes available?

[teachermom2834]

I know about the WTMA Socratic discussion course. I'm considering that but wondered what other online literature classes might be out there that my 9th grader could pick up for the spring.

 

I am looking primarily for reading and discussion. Some written work is fine but really I am looking for some accountablility just in reading a few good books. My ds likes to read but truth is with all the other demands on time, working through a list on our own just falls down to the lowest priority.

 

Thanks.

[Arcadia]

My oldest is signed up for Roy Speed’s Hamlet class which is 10 sessions of 90 mins each. Then he’ll continue with the Macbeth class. He did Romeo & Juliet last year. Shakespeare and plays in general doesn’t get done in our house as my husband would discuss mostly novels and some poetry.

http://hscollegebound.com/courses.htm

[lisabees]

Arcadia - can you tell me more about that class?  Is it secular?  Amount of work per week? 

 

DD is really enjoying the WTMA Socratic class.  She is a ninth grader.

 

ETA: Maybe Bravewriter?

Edited November 2, 2017 by lisabees

[Arcadia]

Arcadia - can you tell me more about that class? Is it secular? Amount of work per week?

 

DD is really enjoying the WTMA Socratic class. She is a ninth grader.

Roy Speed class is secular. My husband insists on secular only. The workload is light. Close reading and annotation. My oldest spent one to two hours per week, reading for the next class, rereading what the teacher has gone over, and annotating. Sometimes there are videos to watch as homework. He can still remember lines from Romeo and Juliet so I would say retention is good for this kid.

 

My oldest is in WTMA Socratic Rhetoric as well. He likes longer works though and has already read Old Man and the Sea a few times, just not annotate it.

[mirabillis]

We are currently in (and finishing up) Romeo & Juliet. It's a great class. We would like to continue with Macbeth & Hamlet, but we're already in Center for Lit (which I am unfortunately finding to be underwhelming so far, as it does not require enough accountability for my particular ds - only meeting 1x a month/1 book per month. So in future, I think we'd go with WaskoLit - 1x/wk discussions with weekly keep-me-accountable quizzes. But no refunds for CfL, so I digress.)

 

(But both those are likely available as Lit classes you may be able to jump into for spring semester and maybe pay prorated amount. You could ask. CfL discussions are good, we're just finding monthly isn't quite enough accountability)

 

I highly recommend Roy Speed. It is really great! I understand though that Macbeth is a bit step-up from R&J and he does recommend going through R&J first before so you may want to check...

Edited November 2, 2017 by mirabillis

[madteaparty]

Online G3. I don't know if it's high school level but DS â¤ï¸ their classes.

[madteaparty]

My oldest is signed up for Roy Speed’s Hamlet class which is 10 sessions of 90 mins each. Then he’ll continue with the Macbeth class. He did Romeo & Juliet last year. Shakespeare and plays in general doesn’t get done in our house as my husband would discuss mostly novels and some poetry.

http://hscollegebound.com/courses.htm

Is the class live? We'd be travelling then so I'm wondering re schedule...

[mirabillis]

It is live, Wed at 8:30am PST/11:30am EST. But recordings are readily available for all sessions, and live meeting time is not required. They did do one meeting where they recited some Shakespeare lines, which was fun. But otherwise, you get a lot out of just listening to recorded sessions.

[RootAnn]

DD#1 did Macbeth as her first Roy Speed class - in 7th or 8th grade. No issue with it being the first Shakespeare/Roy Speed class. Workload is very light and there is 0 output required. It took maybe an hour for DD to read the week's lesson ahead of time.

 

As far as Center for Lit, it was perfect her needs the year she did it. Once per month, two hour lit class with in depth discussion and 0 output (we did the old no discussion board post version) and only once per month. If you are looking for more meetings or output, it is obviously not the best choice. DD's writing was completely separate that year. 

 

Both of these are expensive and have pretty much zero output. (Roy Speed gives you a test you can administer at the end if you like. It is not required.) My DD has found both of them valuable when she needed a teacher who knows their stuff & is excited about it but had lots going on in other areas & didn't want huge output requirements. When DD did Roy Speed, the average apparent age in the class was 7th-8th grade. So, keep that in mind.

 

OnlineG3 just opened their Spring registration yesterday & has some one semester classes. DD is doing the Shakespeare Comedies one this semester. If Roy Speed had comedies, she would have gone with his class instead. She's enjoying the OnlineG3 one, just not learning as much. She's also not as "invested" in OnlineG3. Kids in class also seem to be pretty young. Keep in mind that several of these options don't give grades.

 

ETA: Added link to OnlineG3 course list for spring. Looked like there were a least three or four Lit options.

Edited November 2, 2017 by RootAnn

[OneStepAtATime]

Maybe something from Open Tent Academy would work.  Scroll down.  Lit courses are scattered throughout the writing courses for their Winter semester (starts in January).

 

http://www.opententacademy.com/courses/?cat=writing

[mirabillis]

As far as Center for Lit, it was perfect her needs the year she did it. Once per month, two hour lit class with in depth discussion and 0 output (we did the old no discussion board post version) and only once per month. If you are looking for more meetings or output, it is obviously not the best choice. DD's writing was completely separate that year. 

 

My son likes the meetings, no doubt. I just know -for him- with 0 weekly accountability to read (he reads Shakespeare for Roy Speed b/c there's a class each week), CfL is a hard one for us to make work... so far. Maybe it will get better. It's too easy to slough off until last minute (like Mom classes), and then he doesn't have time to finish the reading. And then, I, as mom, am annoyed we're wasting money. LOL! I might try WaskoLit on for size in the future, as I know it's also very similar and well-regarded in its own right. I think in hindsight, I'm liking the idea of 4x monthly meetings for about 4 sessions per book, as opposed to 1 2-hour session per book. We'll see for future siblings... :-)

[madteaparty]

I wanted to add that CLRC classes are also organized in semesters

Edited November 3, 2017 by madteaparty

[Targhee]

Online G3 has a few

[teachermom2834]

Thank you for all the suggestions. Will check them out!

[Another Lynn]

I know about the WTMA Socratic discussion course. I'm considering that but wondered what other online literature classes might be out there that my 9th grader could pick up for the spring.

 

I am looking primarily for reading and discussion. Some written work is fine but really I am looking for some accountablility just in reading a few good books. My ds likes to read but truth is with all the other demands on time, working through a list on our own just falls down to the lowest priority.

 

Thanks.

 

Is this still around?  I don't see it on the WTMA website.  

[Arcadia]

Is this still around? I don't see it on the WTMA website.

My kids are in the Socratic Seminar Discussion class for fall semester. The spring semester registration is not available yet.

[LAR]

I'll give another plug for Open Tent Academy. 

[lisabees]

My kids are in the Socratic Seminar Discussion class for fall semester. The spring semester registration is not available yet.

 

When oh when is WTMA beginning their spring registration? 

[crazyforlatin]

Roy Speed class is secular. My husband insists on secular only. The workload is light. Close reading and annotation. My oldest spent one to two hours per week, reading for the next class, rereading what the teacher has gone over, and annotating. Sometimes there are videos to watch as homework. He can still remember lines from Romeo and Juliet so I would say retention is good for this kid.

 

My oldest is in WTMA Socratic Rhetoric as well. He likes longer works though and has already read Old Man and the Sea a few times, just not annotate it.

What is the workload like for Socratic class? I'm not sure I want to add more to the semester, but if it's just reading and class discussion I may consider it.

[Arcadia]

What is the workload like for Socratic class? I'm not sure I want to add more to the semester, but if it's just reading and class discussion I may consider it.

That’s basically it. My oldest spend more time because he is such a perfectionist and thinks his answers are incomplete or not good enough.

[Arcadia]

When oh when is WTMA beginning their spring registration?

Last year it was opened on November 16th. Maybe send Steve Otto (headmaster, http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/user/78817-steve-otto-headmaster/) an email or PM to ask.

[eternalsummer]

Can you sign up for just spring semester of a CLRC class though?

[lisabees]

Workload for Socratic tends to take 9th grade dd between 2-3 hours a week, excluding the live class. She is NOT a perfectionist! It is only reading, annotating, and attending the 1x week class.

 

DD loves the class and we will be signing up for the spring session.

Edited November 20, 2017 by lisabees

[Another Lynn]

Bump

[Another Lynn]

My kids are in the Socratic Seminar Discussion class for fall semester. The spring semester registration is not available yet.

 

Unfortunately, Socratic Discussion class doesn't appear to be available this spring, as I feared.  

[chiguirre]

Bravewriter has a couple of month long  classes that focus on one work and include writing. Trinqueta did the Macbeth class last summer and really liked it. It included a reasonable amount of writing for a lit-focused class and had some interesting assignments. The teacher gave detailed feedback on the writing because it's Bravewriter after all.

[rjand6more]

Big River has at least one as I remember.  

[crazyforlatin]

Unfortunately, Socratic Discussion class doesn't appear to be available this spring, as I feared.

So I was really not seeing things. That's too bad, wonder why it's not offered in spring.