High School Literature questions

[Grace]

I am looking at my options for High School Literature.

 

Does this program exist? I would like some thing that:

 

Assigns the book and maybe even a reading schedule

 

Gives you discussion questions (and the possible answers! ;)) Like "did you see the authors use of symbolism in this chapter?

 

Assigns writing assignments but also contains instructions on how to write that kind of paper. For example, if it assigns an biography of the author or a character anaylasis, there is also writing instruction for that specific type of paper.

or is there an seperate resource that teaches each kind of literature-type papers. (Thinking Jensens Format Writing but for Literature writing....)

 

I am presently doing LL7 and will move to 8, but the worksheets and writing assignments seem to be "busy work". We discuss the comprehension questions but they are more content and not analysis. Is the high school LL different?

 

I feel like I need some real hand holding with this one. Thanks for any suggestions you all may have.

 

Grace

[abbeyej]

I am presently doing LL7 and will move to 8, but the worksheets and writing assignments seem to be "busy work". We discuss the comprehension questions but they are more content and not analysis. Is the high school LL different?

 

No. We're using LL Early-Mid 19th Cent British right now, and I don't like it *nearly* as much as I liked LL7 and 8. The readings are much more challenging in the high school LL we have, but the discussions are no deeper, the writing assignments are almost identical (no discussion at all of how to write literary analysis or do academic writing), there's little or no support for the more challenging readings (just dump a kid in with a Carlyle essay?!? really?!?), no vocabulary support... I've been very disappointed. We already have LL (Early-Mid 19th Cent American) for the spring semester, and we'll make it work, but I don't foresee using LL again.

[Blueridge]

Besides the literature lists from TWTM, dd used Tapestry of Grace, Worldviews of the Western World, and Sonlight, which all have the types of things you are looking for. You might also look at MFW high school, but we've not used that level.

[Jennifer in MI]

I have not found this program yet. So, I made up my own. I picked books from WTM. I read through Sparknotes or Cliffnotes to help my own understanding. Discuss with son. Cliffnotes has good questions at the end that we turn in to papers. They have "answers" for me and that helps. (Is it horrible to use Cliffnotes/Sparknotes?)

 

But, writing is my weakness. So, we've used a writing coach from WriteatHome.com. Ds took a class with them and we loved his coach. He learned how to write a literary analysis paper as well as a response paper to a quote. He also wrote a persuasive paper with her. So now we're using her to help us with the high school lit papers. I will be hiring by the paper instead of the classes from now on.

 

I think it's working. My ds has written a couple of really good papers. I also require he write a couple 1 − 2 page papers/week on other topics - art history, history, etc.

[dkholland]

My ds is using Smarr publishers English program this year for the Ancient Time period. It schedules the books and writing assignments as well as grammar lessons throughout so that it nor forgotten. There are comprehension ques. as well as vocabulary. This program is not for everyone but it has been working very well for us. I liked the list of books for this time period and it was all laid out for me...all I had to do was print it. Just what I needed this year.

 

Ds, 10th gr., likes it also.:)

[Ruth in NC]

For those who have used it, does Excellence in Literature fit this description?

http://everyday-education.com/literature/eng1.shtml

 

I was also looking for a program like you described and this is one I have bookmarked.

 

Ruth in NC

[Grace]

No. We're using LL Early-Mid 19th Cent British right now, and I don't like it *nearly* as much as I liked LL7 and 8. The readings are much more challenging in the high school LL we have, but the discussions are no deeper, the writing assignments are almost identical (no discussion at all of how to write literary analysis or do academic writing), there's little or no support for the more challenging readings (just dump a kid in with a Carlyle essay?!? really?!?), no vocabulary support... I've been very disappointed. We already have LL (Early-Mid 19th Cent American) for the spring semester, and we'll make it work, but I don't foresee using LL again.

 

I sure was hoping LL would be more challenging at the High School level since that was one program I had some experience with. :confused: Thanks for the response.

[Grace]

I have not found this program yet. So, I made up my own. I picked books from WTM. I read through Sparknotes or Cliffnotes to help my own understanding. Discuss with son. Cliffnotes has good questions at the end that we turn in to papers. They have "answers" for me and that helps. (Is it horrible to use Cliffnotes/Sparknotes?)

 

But, writing is my weakness. So, we've used a writing coach from WriteatHome.com. Ds took a class with them and we loved his coach. He learned how to write a literary analysis paper as well as a response paper to a quote. He also wrote a persuasive paper with her. So now we're using her to help us with the high school lit papers. I will be hiring by the paper instead of the classes from now on.

 

I think it's working. My ds has written a couple of really good papers. I also require he write a couple 1 − 2 page papers/week on other topics - art history, history, etc.

 

Jennifer,

I am impressed how you designed your own lit program. I will have to get Cliff Notes for myself to see if I could do this.

 

Still hoping my perfect program is out there! Love the idea of a writing coach!

 

Thanks,

Grace

[MamaT]

I have never found a lit course that I could be happy with. Like Jennifer, I have always designed my own. I have found enotes.com to be a valuable help. I feel pretty confident to teach the writing myself. My two oldest are both published authors (one poetry and one sci-fi), so I guess I did something right!

[Grace]

This program is not for everyone but it has been working very well for us.

 

Hi Karen,

Can you tell me what you mean by "it is not for everyone"? Is it the workload, or the book selection, or the content?

 

Just curious. Thanks.

Grace

[dkholland]

Hi Karen,

Can you tell me what you mean by "it is not for everyone"? Is it the workload, or the book selection, or the content?

 

Just curious. Thanks.

Grace

 

I have read on this forum that it is not "meaty" enough for some. My older son would have been bored with the program because he was born a deep thinker and hated comp. questions. My #2 ds needs to be lead into deep thinking, so the comp questions really help him get what he needs out of the readings. I think the book list is excellent for this son - for ds #1 it would've been light. I would rate the program as good as any high school course at the honors level, but it might not be enough for a highly academic student. My oldest son did Omnibus for his ancients study and I knew that would be difficult for #2 ds and take all the fun out of his studying...KWIM?

 

#2ds is keeping up with the writing and really needs the constant grammar review, so its a perfect fit for us this year.

 

HTH:)

[Amy in CO]

Excellence in Literature

For those who have used it, does Excellence in Literature fit this description?

http://everyday-education.com/literature/eng1.shtml

 

I was also looking for a program like you described and this is one I have bookmarked.

 

Ruth in NC

 

For Excellence in Literature, I have used book 1, part of 3, and now we are using 2, but I own all 5 guides.

 

The books are assigned, one focus texts per 4 weeks, or nine a year. There are also suggestions for honors texts. Sometimes these are written by the same author, other times they are just on the same topic or time period. Sometimes there are multiple honors texts to choose from.

 

There is no reading schedule. You are given a loose 4 week schedule for each unit with what should be accomplished each week. But it is left for the student to manage their time and figure out how many pages need to be read a day to finish on time.

 

You are given context websites and book suggestions. They cover art, music, and poetry from the time period, info about the author and historical events from the time, etc.

 

There are no discussion questions. At the beginning of each unit's context section, there is a focus, an introduction, a "something to think about...", and a "be sure to notice..." part. These bring out some ideas and literary devices to look for. But they are for the whole book, not chapter by chapter.

 

For the writing assignments, for most units you write an author profile at the beginning, and then answer an essay question at the end. Sometimes there is another writing assignment as well, but usually it is just the two. In the back of each guide, there is a writing guide for each type of paper you are asked to write, and there is a sample paper for you to see it in practice as well.

 

We have really enjoyed these books. My dd struggled in the beginning because we jumped in at book 3 and there was some assumption of knowledge that wasn't there yet. If you had time and an earlier book you could change some of the assignments to fit the ability of your child. We choose to just go back to book 1 and start with that. I have used Cliff Notes, Spark Notes, and a few other internet guides to discuss the books with my dd, usually once she is finished with the book.

[Ruth in NC]

For Excellence in Literature, I have used book 1, part of 3, and now we are using 2, but I own all 5 guides.

 

Thanks, Amy, for the info. I'll keep it marked for next year.

 

Ruth

[Grace]

Ruth and Amy,

 

Thanks for the information on Excellence in Literature. Seems like it may be the closest fit to what I am asking for.

 

Tammy,

 

Congrats on having 2 pulished authors in your family!! Wow!! Impressive!!

 

Grace