Eilonwy
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Posts posted by Eilonwy
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10 hours ago, Pam in CT said:
in addition to general statements of intent I also picked out concrete measurable weekly or monthly sub-goals for those two areas.
This seems really helpful! I’m going to try to find some too. It was hard to figure out goals this year.
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In the iOS app, if I tap on the Section heading, it will show me a list of all of them.
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8 hours ago, Ausmumof3 said:
I think the more unusual languages like Welsh etc are much more poorly resourced. Languages like Italian, Spanish, French have a lot more detail. Spanish especially is huge and has a massive number of lessons.
Yes, that is also true. Ukrainian has 2 sections of lessons, Welsh/Scottish Gaelic has 3, German has 5 and French has 7. They might not all be the same length, but the more popular languages do have more lessons and resources like Stories.
I think the more unusual languages are developed by volunteers, so it’s great they have as much as they do.
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2 hours ago, Ausmumof3 said:
I think it’s great for getting you to a point you can use books and podcasts to go further and I think it’s really easy to do consistently even on busy days.
It is easy to use the app consistently but I haven’t found that it gets me to the point where I can jump to other resources. However, that could be because I didn’t just focus on one language, so that breaks up my Welsh consistency even though I’m using Duo consistently. I started a new language impulsively a few times, and this is very likely not the best way to make progress in one…Duo has more languages available than most other programs and I find that very appealing.
I have the paid version because the ads were really annoying me. I use the review features regularly.
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52 minutes ago, jen3kids said:
How well does it work? How fluent are you in your chosen language of study? And after how much study? I realize that everyone will be different, so just your personal experiences and any caveats
It works for learning vocab and grammar but only up to a point, at least in the languages with medium amounts of lessons. The two languages I could actually have a basic conversation in or read Harry Potter in I didn’t learn on Duolingo.
I’ve probably been doing Welsh for 5 years now and finished all lessons and I tried to read Harry Potter and couldn’t. So somehow it seems to reach a lower level than I need to take the next steps with other resources. But, there are no Welsh speakers or readily available resources in my area, and I don’t have time for a Gaelic night class, so it’s way better than nothing but doesn’t replace learning by talking with people.-
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1 hour ago, Miss Tick said:
So you have any tips for studying multiple languages on Duolingo and keeping them straight? My brain starts to cross language boundaries when I study more than one language using the same platform (generally Duolingo).
What I do to reduce confusion is to not try to do all of them in each session. Usually I’ll choose 1 per session. I could do 2 sessions a day, morning and evening, and do two languages a day, but not switching between them in the same session. It probably helps that none of my languages are very similar, and I don’t have a opportunity to speak any of these, so I don’t have to struggle with under-pressure recall in a conversation.
This is more of a problem for German and French, both of which I can speak to some extent with actual people. I tend to inadvertently substitute German words in a French conversation, which confuses everybody!-
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I use Duolingo daily for Welsh, Scottish Gaelic, and Ukrainian, though not each of them every day. It would be easier to focus on fewer languages! I read twitter posts in each of these as described by @Ausmumof3, by reading it as best I can and then using the translate feature.
I am reading a children’s book in German and then translating it with my 10 year old, so that gives me some practice for German. I also listen to the Duolingo French podcasts sometimes. They are very well done and have interesting topics. I wish they had them for more languages.-
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My least shelved book is The Two-headed Whale by Sandy Winterbottom (shelved 134 times). It was a follow up to Moby Dick, and showed how much more destructive whaling in the Antarctic became in the 20th century as technology improved. I thought it was really interesting, but there were a lot of different threads to follow, which sometimes made it jumpy.
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On 9/5/2023 at 4:51 PM, Lori D. said:
Benjamin Bagby performs Beowulf in the original Anglo-Saxon
I had a look at this today and it is really impressive! Thanks for sharing.
On 9/5/2023 at 5:50 PM, SilverMoon said:Ancestor Approved is a collection of Indigenous short stories and it's own voices.
Our library has this, but I'm not sure if it will seem too young. On the other hand, the adult Indigenous short stories that I found so far don't seem like they would be the right age range either. I'll have a look at it, thanks for suggesting.
On 9/5/2023 at 4:43 PM, ScoutTN said:7.5 hrs. Yes, totally accessible. She is teaching mostly homeschool moms and some high school and college students.
Thanks! that is quite a commitment in time, but explains the cost of the course.
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19 hours ago, ScoutTN said:
I just did the Beowulf course, for fun. It is very good. She does go down some rabbit trails on literary theory at various points. Relevant, but tangent.
She referred to JRRT’s notes a lot, but teaches from the Burton Raffel translation. She also referenced the brand-new Tom Shippey translation/book on Beowulf.
How many hours was the Beowulf course that you did? And would you say it's accessible for someone who has read the poem but doesn't have a lot of other background?
Thanks!
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Just now, cintinative said:
I'd seriously consider buying the course from House of Humane Letters. Angelina does a fantastic job with Beowulf. Her degree is in medieval lit.
Thanks, I was looking at that yesterday, but wondering whether I was interested enough to pay that much. I enjoy her podcast. Have you seen her course on Beowulf, a comparable book, and thought it was worthwhile?
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I've been pre-reading some of my list for this year.
Beowulf was really enjoyable, and I think that will work well. There are a number of places where more historical and literary context would be interesting. Do any of you know a good study guide for this poem?
I also read The Hate U Give, and it has a lot of swearing in it, which I am not all that comfortable with reading aloud, though it sounds like how I would expect the characters to talk. Did anyone change the way they covered some books on account of this? A friend who has a current university student who was home-schooled throughout says there were some books that worked better not done as read-alouds, and he thought this was one of them.
Other possibilities are reading it anyway (though others could overhear, and this is not language that I feel comfortable using, I think it has more shock value that way compared to reading it silently and then discussing), or substituting "frig", etc., or portraying it a la Jane Austen in Northanger Abbey: That d--- horse! We could watch the film version only, apparently it has less swearing, but possibly is more graphic? I am leaning toward both of us reading it silently and then discussing, but I'd be interested in how others have handled this.
Romeo and Juliet is already finished (thanks, @Rosie_0801 for the Veer Zaara recommendation, this was a hit).
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Thanks, @Lori D., I had heard those ones were well done.
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17 hours ago, Lori D. said:
UK = The Daughter of Time (Tey) = mystery by one of the "4 queens of the golden age of British detective fiction"
I read this one last year and sent me right down a Richard III rabbit hole for about a month. It was really well done.
I think she would like Wodehouse, and probably also I, Robot. It’s a good point about seeing the mindset and culture in sci-fi.
17 hours ago, Lori D. said:A lot of the first half of the novel is clearly childish pranks and thinking, and then it builds into the "hard" things that happen to the characters, which works well as stepping stones for the reader to see that this is a coming of age story, and to see the clear progression in thinking and in maturing in Scout and Jem.
That’s great that it worked well. It could still have a lot to do with the background preparation you did, but good to know that it can be clear enough and be effective.
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On 8/9/2023 at 11:11 AM, kokotg said:
To Kill a Mockingbird...I personally wouldn't assign it much later than 10th grade; it's a nice, gentle introduction to metaphor, and it's commonly assigned in 8th or 9th grade (there's an infamous Flannery O' Connor quote about it: "For a child’s book it does all right. It’s interesting that all the folks that are buying it don’t know they’re reading a child’s book. Somebody ought to say what it is." I'm not a big TKAM fan, and my kids haven't read it at all, but I feel guilty about that sometimes since it's one of the very few "everyone's read it" books we have).
I think it's fine to not be a fan, and not to get your kids to read it - I strongly dislike Lord of the Flies, and that one is also near the top of the "10 Must-read books" for high school, which I am not going to cover.
The point about TKAM being a child's book (she sounds a touch snippy), that should be covered not too late is interesting. For me it seems important that the reader to recognize that Scout is seeing a child's view of the world, that she doesn't have a complete adult view of things. I don't know that most Gr. 8s would be able to understand that very well. I'm not sure my daughter would either, at 15. If you cover the background of the author, and her real-life inspiration in her father, it also becomes clear that although he was doing some good things, and better than many of his era, he also held strongly racist views at the same time. That also seems like a set of ideas that are not that easy to understand in Gr. 8 or 9. I think someone else on this board listed it as one not to rush on, so I was wondering.
21 hours ago, Rosie_0801 said:Miss Pettigrew is just *nice* and while the teen years are a good time to get into some harder themes, I have become convinced that *nice* (but not twee) is kind of radical.
Looking at the booklist as a whole, I'm leaning towards more levity in the 30s-50s book. I expect that Things Fall Apart, Beowulf, and The Hate U Give are all going to be on the heavier side, and R&J is a mix of very tragic and the Nurse. Northanger and Chinese cat poems will be lighter, so the last novel should be lighter too.
I was looking at what I could get for Indigenous short stories at the library today, and came up with Moccasin Square Gardens by Richard van Camp, Glorious Frazzled Beings by Angelique Lalonde, and Buffalo is the New Buffalo, by Chelsea Vowel. I have not read any of these yet, but will over the next few days.
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25 minutes ago, Rosie_0801 said:
Miss Pettigrew is just *nice* and while the teen years are a good time to get into some harder themes, I have become convinced that *nice* (but not twee) is kind of radical.
I do need a couple of nice books to balance out the harder things, thanks!
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@Lori D. and @kokotg, thanks so much for the short story recommendations and the thoughts on Mockingbird and Their Eyes Were Watching God. That one wasn’t one I was thinking of, but I’ll have a look at it (perhaps for next year, since it doesn’t look like it’s set in the 30s to 50s).
22 minutes ago, Farrar said:Does she want something set in the 30's-50's or written then? I think a lot of books written then won't feel set then, you know?
Set then, so it doesn’t need to be written then. I’m not familiar with I Capture the Castle, that sounds interesting. Fahrenheit 451 would be very timely for now, but not set in the 50s. I’m doubting I’m authentic enough to pull off Catcher…
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23 hours ago, Rosie_0801 said:
Bollywood's 'Veer-Zaara' is the best adaption of Romeo and Juliet everrrrr. I think everyone needs to know this
Thanks! Our library has this, and she would rather see this than a Hollywood film version (though maybe both). I’ll look up Miss Pettigrew too.
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For Gr.10 English for my daughter I’m planning Romeo and Juliet (read-through, live theatre, probably a film version), Beowulf (Seamus Heaney version), maybe Mulan legend poem and medieval Chinese cat poems, Northanger Abbey (read and film), Things Fall Apart (maybe with Bravewriter lit guide), The Hate U Give (read and film), and then maybe The Prize Winner of Defiance Ohio or something else.
My daughter requested a number of categories including something set in the 30s to the 50s but not in wartime. I thought about To Kill a Mockingbird as well, but I’ve heard that one is better understood at a higher grade. Any thoughts on this or recommendations for something else (like short stories set in that era, perhaps, that is a genre I’m missing, partly due to low personal interest/tolerance)?ETA: I enjoy some short stories but didn’t like the ones we did in school at all. Indigenous or Eastern European short stories would be of interest if there are any recommendations, and don’t need to be set in the 30s to 50s.
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On 6/30/2023 at 11:21 PM, ScoutTN said:
The Greek Myths book has an excellent audio version with lots of famous actors reading each reading a chapter/story
We loved this!
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I do the same, in that I read aloud the books I want them to hear, and don’t assign other books, though sometimes my partner might assign something. I read at bedtime, starting with about 15 min. of the story for the youngest, then she goes to bed. Then I read 15 min. of the story for the next oldest, and he goes to bed, and finally something more complex for the oldest. The older two can listen to the ones for kids younger than they are.
Most of the time it’s me actually reading, but occasionally we’ll listen to audiobooks. -
Agreed that picking one park/region might make more sense to avoid a lot of driving. Annapolis Royal and Wolfville have the best gardens in the province, I think, but Cape Breton has more wildlife (as well as lots of local music, etc.) and more dramatic scenery.
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If you are looking for these things, I would consider Annapolis Royal and Kejimkujik National Park. Halifax is great but it’s a small city so not much wildlife. There are some good hikes in the Halifax area, though, and the Public Gardens are nice.
Another good possibility for September is the Cape Breton Highlands National Park. There are lots of good trails there too.
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On 3/30/2023 at 6:42 PM, Ting Tang said:
I’m anxious to read Anne myself, but I’m not sure my sons will enjoy it? But I will wait!
I asked my son (11) if he liked Anne of Green Gables, and he said yes but he liked Wind in the Willows better because there was more adventure. Somewhere around 9 or 10 worked well for us for that book.
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Giving books at a baby shower - ideas please
in The Chat Board
Posted
We loved Sandra Boynton, but we also spent a lot of time reading Jill Barklem’s Brambly Hedge series, Winnie the Pooh, and Beatrix Potter stories.