Jennay Posted December 6, 2017 Share Posted December 6, 2017 Can you help me flesh out a 9th grade English credit? My original plans for the year have flopped - SL LA 120. It's just too open-ended and doesn't have enough direction for my son. He is doing the literature reading but composition has fallen by the wayside. I also struggle with grading compositions and being able to provide appropriate feedback. This particular son is very bright/gifted (Scored a 34 English and 33 Reading on the ACT at age 13) but needs a different approach with more interaction. I need to cobble together a true credit's worth of work for this year and he will be doubling up on work for awhile. We both enjoy watching and discussing The Great Courses together. So this is what I am thinking - The Great Courses - Analysis and Critique: How to Engage and Write About Anything 24 half hour lectures with corresponding exercises for each lecture (This will take us approximately 6 weeks to complete - we've already started) The Great Courses - Building Great Sentences: Exploring the Writer's Craft 24 half hour lectures with corresponding exercises for each lecture (This will take us approximately 8 weeks to complete) He will continue with the Literature portion of SL 120 with three or four persuasive essays based upon topics/issues of his choice implementing the"Lost Tools of Writing" style under the direction of a writing tutor. Each essay will take three weeks. He took a full year of writing with this instructor before, so she is familiar with his writing already. Supplementary reading: Woe is I by Patricia O'Connor Words Fail Me: What Everyone Who Writes Should Know About Writing by Patricia O'Connor Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori D. Posted December 7, 2017 Share Posted December 7, 2017 (edited) Your plan certainly sounds like it will work for your needs. You have a local tutor lined up for outsourcing the grading and feedback of the writing, and the Great Courses for thinking through how to that can work, if that provides you with the direction and structure you need. :) My only thoughts are: 1. all of your new resources (including the supplemental books) are Writing-based, and it may be way more than can fit into one semester 2. your lit. seems "light" to me (if all you are going with is a book list from SL120) The Literature in Sonlight 120 is largely at a middle school level (with even a few upper elementary level books in there). There's nothing wrong with doing a few Young Adult books in high school, esp. in 9th grade -- in fact, it's often helpful in transitioning a student into more rigorous classics, for that early discussion and analysis. BUT... For an advanced student with the high test scores in English and Reading that you listed for your DS, and when the young high school student also understands and enjoys The Great Courses, I'd suggest going with a much meatier line up of literature for the spring semester to be a better fit with your DS's very solid high school/advanced high school level of work. :) Since it looks like you're covering American History, you could go with an American Literature program, and use most of the SL Readers/Literature books to supplement your History, or to be "just for fun" solo reads. Getting a program, or going "DIY" with individual guides to go with your book choices, will help provide background info on the author/times and literature topics, plus ideas for discussion questions to help you and your DS springboard into analysis to enhance ideas from your Great Course. Ideas for American Literature: - Excellence in Literature: American Literature A 1-year program with 9 units, covering: autobiography (Ben Franklin); short stories (Washington Irving), poetry (Longfellow), novels (Last of the Mohicans; House of Seven Gables; Moby Dick; Huckleberry Finn; House of Mirth and The Great Gatsby); and a novella (The Old Man). You could pick and choose units of interest to fill your spring semester, and possibly do other units in later years. - Lightning Literature -- each is a 1 semester program, and each covers poetry, short stories, and novels Early to Mid-19th century American Literature -- gr. 9-12 Mid- to Late 19th century American Literature -- gr. 9-12 American Christian Authors -- gr. 11-12 Or, if you prefer, you and DS could choose some classic novels, short stories, poetry, and a play, and cover them with some individual lit. guides to help jump start discussion and analysis. That would allow you to select more contemporary works, or works of high interest to DS. Glencoe Literature Library and Penguin Teacher Guides are FREE online guides of middle school and high school works, and cover a number of classic American works -- including some middle school classics in your SL list, such as Tom Sawyer, Call of the Wild, and A Wrinkle in Time. Or, you could go with more traditional high school reading list for the college-bound student; choices for American Literature would include things like: The Scarlet Letter Huckleberry Finn The Red Badge of Courage The Great Gatsby Their Eyes Were Watching God The Grapes of Wrath something by Hemingway To Kill a Mockingbird The Chosen Fahrenheit 451 The Things They Carried short stories by: Poe, Bierce, London, Henry, and others poetry by: Dickinson, Whitman, Longfellow, Williams, Frost, and others BEST of luck in your mid-year change-over. I think you'll be fine. :) Warmest regards, Lori D. Edited December 7, 2017 by Lori D. 2 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.