A question about using WEM for high school literature study...

[Amy in TX]

Am I understanding correctly that WEM suggests reading each work three times (grammar, logic, and rhetoric stage reading)?

 

If this is what is meant, how would I schedule the reading and discussing for me and dd (grade 9) if I want to spend, say, a week on Sir Gawain and the Green Knight?

 

Can anyone clarify this for me, or tell me specifically how you and your high-schooler do this?

 

Thanks!

[JennW in SoCal]

You don't necessarily read it word for word three times, instead you tackle it on three different levels -- grammar logic and rhetoric.

 

The way I understand it, and apply it, is that the first reading is to just read the material. Take notes in a reading journal about what happens in each chapter and who the characters are. Underline favorite sentences, dog ear pages. Once you are finished you start considering the "grammar" and "logic" stage questions, by going back, based on the notes in your reading journal, and re-reading sections. Same thing for the rhetoric questions. So you aren't necessarily reading the work three times, but you are revisiting targetd sections on progressively deeper levels. You may find that you do re-read a work to as you get deeper into analysis, but you don't need to go that deep on each and every book you read!

 

Also, you may not be ready to tackle those rhetoric questions in a meaningful way when you first start analyzing works, but that is o.k. You are working your way up to those.

 

Be sure to read the section about the genre you are tackling. Sir Gawain is in verse, so read through the section on poetry to learn how you go about analyzing verse rather than prose.

 

Hope that helps...

[Amy in TX]

Yes, thanks Jennifer, that is helpful. I imagined something like this. It doesn't seem like we could do all the levels of discussing on top of just reading Gawain in one week, though. I'll have to rethink that.

 

Believe it or not, I was an English major, and I'm finding that the hardest thing to homeschool. I never really liked literary analysis--I just wanted to read, read, read, and enjoy on my own terms. The analysis always seemed like a chore--forced and arbitrary. I think dd & I need to more or less feel our way, and grow into this.

 

:)

[LoriM]

Am I understanding correctly that WEM suggests reading each work three times (grammar, logic, and rhetoric stage reading)?

 

If this is what is meant, how would I schedule the reading and discussing for me and dd (grade 9) if I want to spend, say, a week on Sir Gawain and the Green Knight?

 

Can anyone clarify this for me, or tell me specifically how you and your high-schooler do this?

 

Thanks!

 

We were not able to do this with every work, particularly for courses that we'd scheduled "a week and a half" to finish our experience with a piece of literature or a timespan in history.

 

I found it more meaningful to use the WEM method for two powerful works to go "deep" with my daughters each year. For my younger daughter, one of these was Shakespeare--we spent nearly 3 months on Hamlet, for example, but not at the expense of our "timelined" courses. We continued general literature and history while Hamlet was part of a seminar course we discussed. We read Hamlet at least 5 times, and she wrote a dozen or more papers of various lengths, and edited her pieces repeatedly. She's a Hamlet fiend. :)

 

On the other hand, I did use the questions from WEM to prompt discussion on nearly every piece of literature we read (or another helpful device like Cliff's Notes).

 

I think it's important to have a distinction between the breadth of high school work that we must cover in order to have the "pegs" of knowledge to hang our lives on...general ancient history, medieval history, key pieces of literature and legends of the past, modern history and well-known pieces of modern literature...and then the "depth" of high school, those areas that a student loves, carries to a point of passion, and makes a part of her life's work. I cannot imagine the exhaustion of requiring a passion for everything one studies in high school! GRIN.

 

So, be reasonable and honest about your expectations for your child. General knowledge, comprehension, and meaningful evaluation of literature and history reading for the time available to dedicate to those studies (whether that is selected readings, with one or two "levels" of evaluation), and not in a vacuum--you must be available to read, think and learn alongside your child--that is not something you can do deeply with every work. Better that she get a good understanding of the characters, plot, purpose and main theme of each work she reads, and have a breadth of knowledge that allows her to continue to read, think and learn throughout her life.

 

Also, please remember that your child's experience will be nothing like mine. Honestly, my two daughters' experiences were nothing like each others!!! The power of hsing high school is ensuring the breadth of general knowledge (and even that varies depending on what foundations are key for the direction of each person's life), but also allowing for the passions she wants to pursue. My older daughter doggedly plowed through academics while using all the breadth she could consume to enhance her art and writing. My younger daughter flitted from topic to topic in an almost random, no nonsense approach to learning, while tying everything to her music and relationships.

 

Ultimately, I think the work of high school is easier than we make it sound here. Happy, healthy, curious, young adults who are beginning to understand the vast complexity of human history and their place in the timeline, seeking a way to contribute meaningfully with their own lives and interests, able to communicate effectively in writing, in speech, and able to form a logical argument (whether in language or number), with a plan and purpose for their lives...that's the product. All the rest is just means to an end. :)

 

LoriM

[Nan in Mass]

http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=21336&highlight=TWEM

 

We read through the book once, and then just flip back to answer the questions. Reading the books three times through isn't practical for us because even one read-through is slow.

 

HTH

-Nan

[Amy in TX]

All this input is so helpful to me.

 

I had also considered going deeper into the levels of discussion for some books than for others, and continuing to discuss a book on deeper levels after we finish reading it and start reading a new one.

 

One thing strikes me after reading your two posts: bringing my younger dd (12) into these discussions. She is a strong reader (working her way through Shakespeare and Austen on her own, unprompted by me!), but somehow the lightbulb never went on in my head re: including her. It may spur my 9th grader to exert herself more in discussions (which now seem to consist of a lot of "I dunnos"), having her kid sister reading the same stuff and contributing.

 

:)

[Capt_Uhura]

Nan in Mass - thank you for linking to that most wonderful post of yours regarding TWEM!!! It's very similar to Teaching the Classics which I've just started with my 9yr old and 6yr old. I was shocked as to how well it went and how much they understand and can get out of discussion like this!

 

Capt_Uhura

[Nan in Mass]

Discussions go much better with three people. I've recruited my mother now that the older son is in college, so we won't be back to that dreadful two number. Sometimes two is ok, but most of the time we shorthand too much:

That's interesting.

Yah, I never thought of that.

Instead of:

That's interesting.

Yup.

Third person, who was thinking about some other aspect of it, "What? Why? I thought such and such because of such and such."

-Nan