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Online Great Books Discussion Classes for 4th+ grade?


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I am looking into getting my ds involved in some sort of online discussion group/class of the great books and have a few questions...

 

1. Could you please link me to some?:o

 

2. Which ones have you been involved with? What was your experience like? Did you feel it was worth the money?

 

FWIW...He is reading and comprehending at a high school level.

 

Thank you for your suggestions! :001_smile:

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Well this isn't online, but I keep hoping someday I can see Touchstones or Touchpebbles in person. It's a great selections discussion course with materials at a variety of levels. I think it may be catholic, but I figure it probably would work for evangelicals too. In reading about it online, I was interested in their goal of teaching the leader, through their materials, HOW to discuss.

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Well this isn't online, but I keep hoping someday I can see Touchstones or Touchpebbles in person. It's a great selections discussion course with materials at a variety of levels. I think it may be catholic, but I figure it probably would work for evangelicals too. In reading about it online, I was interested in their goal of teaching the leader, through their materials, HOW to discuss.

 

I just saw these and noticed that greatbooksacademy.org uses them for their online socratic discussion courses (which I was able to find through googling, but would love other's input to other courses!) I wasn't able to view the actual books (Touchstones/Touchpebbles) but did notice the 4th grade book list:

Fourth Grade (17 Books)

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

Little Men by Louisa May Alcott

Eight Cousins by Louisa May Alcott

Captain’s Courageous by Rudyard Kipling

The Adventures of Robin Hood by Howard Pyle

Otto of the Silver Hand by Howard Pyle

Around the World in80 Days by Jules Verne

The Boy Knight by G. A. Henty

Kidnapped by Robert Lois Stevenson

The John Carter Mars Collection (CD ROM) by Edgar Rice Burroughs

The Knight of the White Cross by G. A. Henty

Story of a Bad Boy by Thomas Bailey Aldrich

The Cat of Bubastes by G. A. Henty

The Prince and the Pauper by Mark Twain

A Tale of the Western Plains by G. A. Henty

Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe

Call of the Wild by Jack London

 

I am wondering if the Touch books have questions designed specifically for these titles or if it is more general questions that can be used with any books like Teaching the Classics?

 

Thanks for your reply! :001_smile:

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The Literature class and the Socratic Discussions class are two separate things at Great Books Academy. The 4th grade books listed above are part of the literature program. Here is the site for the Touchstones/Touchpebbles books used in Socratic Discussion.

 

http://www.touchstones.org/SearchResults.asp?Cat=1

Edited by Melissa B
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Well I actually know somebody who uses it, so maybe she'll bring her stuff for me to look at. Far as I can tell though, Touchstones/pebbles uses selections, not the whole books, and I think it may go back to ancients/GB type stuff too (Homer, etc.). I don't know. It was the thought process they endorsed that seemed so interesting to me. The person I was talking to is using it with her two dc and having success. Some of the other GB discussion formats like Omnibus seem to flop when you don't have as many people. I figure any skills we develop now on how to discuss GB, even if it's just with selections, could carry over into later years with Omnibus and more thorough GB.

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The Literature class and the Socratic Discussions class are two separate things at Great Books Academy. The 4th grade books listed above are part of the literature program. Here is the site for the Touchstones/Touchpebbles books used in Socratic Discussion.

 

http://www.touchstones.org/SearchResults.asp?Cat=1

 

Thank you for clearing this up for me!:001_smile:

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  • 1 year later...

So funny this thread was resurrected! I was just looking at the online classes for the Great Books Academy again yesterday! This past year my son was able to be tutored by a Classics major who was homeschooled but it didn't work out this year. :thumbdown: He desperately needs something but it may have to wait until next school year.

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  • 2 weeks later...
Can I ask where you found the price list for this? My son might be interested in doing Grade 5. Thank you.

 

Here you go ...

 

http://www.academybookstore.org/GBAStore/Categories.bok?category=ONLINE+DISCUSSION+CLASSES\%3A+GRADES+3-8

 

Sorry about the delay

 

Oh, you do not need the Parent/Teacher Lesson Plan

 

If your son does the 5th grade class next year he will be in the same class as my dd.

Edited by CatMomof3
added more info
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