x\post Figuratively Speaking - alone as an intro or as supplement to a lit program

[5LittleMonkeys]

I posted this on the K-8 board but then realized I probably should have it on this board.

 

We haven't done any formal lit analysis yet (we will be starting with LL7 in July) and my thought was to go ahead now and get them familiar with literary terms. I had planned to just spend the next 18 weeks going through Section III. - Literary Techniques (lessons 19 - 40) and then work the other two sections (Figurative Language and Poetic Language) in during next year while doing LL7.

 

However, now I'm having second thoughts. Is it better to tie lessons from FS to lit analysis work that you are already doing? We will be doing LL7 and LL8 and then LLfLOTR...should I just use FS as a supplement to those or go ahead and follow my first plan?

[PeterPan]

Well it's only my plan, not what I've done yet, but I have FS and plan to have dd alternate it two days a week with prompt writing. My theory is she does the FS workbook pages on a device one day and then applies it to her writing the next. I thought when I counted it out that it seemed we could finish in one semester if we keep a move on it.

[5LittleMonkeys]

Well it's only my plan, not what I've done yet, but I have FS and plan to have dd alternate it two days a week with prompt writing. My theory is she does the FS workbook pages on a device one day and then applies it to her writing the next. I thought when I counted it out that it seemed we could finish in one semester if we keep a move on it.

 

That's actually a really great idea. I don't know how much additional writing my dd will do since we are starting Classical Writing in Jan. Perhaps I could tie some of FS into the writing for CW though. Hmmm....something to think about.

[PeterPan]

Which CW book are you going to do? If it's Aesop or Homer level, yes, you could carry it over. But the pace would be off. There's already writing application in the FS workbook itself. Have you had a chance to look at it yet? I didn't even see it till I looked more closely. I had already planned the prompt writing, so this was just bonus.

[HappyGrace]

OhE-great minds :) In Jan we're starting FS 2x/wk; hoping it will give us fodder for discussion as the elements come up in our lit reading. Also having her begin to try to incorporate the elements in her writing as appropriate (informally).

[PeterPan]

Sounds great Happy! I think now we just need little tags that say "I'm a LoriD fan" hehehe. :)

[HappyGrace]

"I'm a LoriD fan"

 

:D

[Lori D.]

We used Figuratively Speaking as an intro to lit. terms the year before doing LL with older DS, and at the same time as LL with other DS -- worked fine both ways. We did it 2x/week aloud together, taking about 10 minutes per day to go over a literary element, and so we finished the book in 20 weeks (as there are 40 literary terms covered in the book), spread out over the 36 week school year. In answer to your question about tying FS terms in to LL7 -- LL7 goes in depth on one literary concept per unit, so there really wouldn't be a lot to tie in...

 

We did the exercises aloud together, too, but did not do the extra writing assignment idea(s) at the end of each lesson, as we had plenty of writing that year; however you could easily add or substitute one of the FS ideas once a week or whenever.

 

One last thing we did with FS: as we learned the literary element, we practiced looking for it for the next couple of weeks in whatever reading we were doing.

 

We really enjoyed FS, and how you will too. Enjoy your literature journey (we also LOVED LL7, LL8, and LLftLotR)! :) Warmest regards, Lori D.

[*~Tina~*]

We used Figuratively Speaking as an intro to lit. terms the year before doing LL with older DS, Lori D.

 

 

Thanks for the link! I was just about to ask :)

[Sunshine State Sue]

We used LL7 in 7th, LL8 in 8th, and now LLfLOTR for 9th grade. We used FS as a supplement in 8th grade. FWIW, I wish I had used it in 7th grade only because there is less work in LL7 than in LL8, so it would have been easier to squeeze it in. It didn't matter that much, though, because we probably spent about 30min/wk on FS.

[swimmermom3]

I have use LL LOTR, LL7 and LL8 along with FS in various configurations. My favorite way to use it is in conjunction with copywork/dictation. This is an idea as far as the copywork/dictation that I borrowed from Julie Bogart at Brave Writer.

 

For example, when we read A Wrinkle in Time, we used one short paragraph per week to first copy and then dictate. These paragraphs always had interesting punctuation to study and included some literary element. Perhaps the paragraph utilized foreshadowing. WE would then pull out FS and do the lesson on foreshadowing. This is one of my favorite exercises for early logic stage (5th and 6th grade). You are tying basic literary analysis to works the student is currently reading and hopefully enjoying. They are working on punctuation, handwriting, and grammar as well. The lessons are short, sweet, and effective. You will find FS to be a flexible, easy-to-use tool.

[Capt_Uhura]

Great idea Swimmermom!!!

[PeterPan]

Swimmer, that's interesting, because you're turning it the opposite way. Hmmm, thanks for sharing!

[swimmermom3]

Swimmer, that's interesting, because you're turning it the opposite way. Hmmm, thanks for sharing!

 

Well, yes. It wouldn't be the first time someone has told me I am backwards, upside down or sideways.:tongue_smilie:

[PeterPan]

Well, yes. It wouldn't be the first time someone has told me I am backwards, upside down or sideways.:tongue_smilie:

 

No, it's not so much that as that I've been having a hard time finding lit to suit her. She reads prolificly (which I can't even spell, lol), but we've just been having a lot of busts with lit *I* try to pick for her. So if I could find some hits, then that would by all means be terrific. It just sort of renewed my enthusiasm to keep trying. Right now I'm looking at ideas in Honey for a Teen's Heart, since my other sources (VP, etc.) are running dry.

[5LittleMonkeys]

Thank you all for your suggestions.

 

Okay, I just got my book yesterday and after reading through it and taking into account all of your suggestions I think we are going to work just work through the book in order doing 1 to 2 lessons per week. I thought about trying to tie the lessons in with Homer but with us being new to CW and starting a new Latin (Latin Prep) and dealing with a 2yo...yeah like I need more stress. I like the idea of trying to find examples of the FS lessons in the reading we are already doing though and I thought that I might be able to get my dc to start a literary terms journal. They could write the literary term and definition down and then as they come across an example they could copy that passage. What do you think?

[swimmermom3]

No, it's not so much that as that I've been having a hard time finding lit to suit her. She reads prolificly (which I can't even spell, lol), but we've just been having a lot of busts with lit *I* try to pick for her. So if I could find some hits, then that would by all means be terrific. It just sort of renewed my enthusiasm to keep trying. Right now I'm looking at ideas in Honey for a Teen's Heart, since my other sources (VP, etc.) are running dry.

 

OhElizabeth, I have routinely written about my struggles to find "satisfactory" literature for Swimmer Dude who is the "non-reader in a house full of books." Unlike your dd, in his off-time he doesn't read anything but comics like Calvin and Hobbs. Yet when he takes to a book, it tends to have strong literary merits. I have no idea exactly how this is accomplished. Quirky seems to suit his nature; does that work for your dd? Shawna in Texas had a great thread on this a while back. Have you tried books like Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Un Lun Dun by China Mieville, or poetry by Edward Lear? The more playful and subtle the language, the more captivating. Or you could try the strategy I hit on with his history books. If the board loves it, the Dude will loathe it. If the board loathes it , the Dude will insist upon reading it. Sheer crazy-making.:tongue_smilie:

 

One of the reasons I am so fond of FS is that it is completely adaptable for a reader like my ds. We can blow with the whim and still cover literary terms in a solid fashion.

[PeterPan]

Swimmer, just as an off-the-wall idea, have you had his eyes checked? My dd was a serious (as in only if she had her way) comic reader for years, and it turns out she had eye problems. Two months of vision therapy and she totally changed, going on a LotR reading binge. http://www.covd.org is where you look for a developmental optometrist. They do a more thorough exam than a regular optometrist who only screens for the problems.

[swimmermom3]

Swimmer, just as an off-the-wall idea, have you had his eyes checked? My dd was a serious (as in only if she had her way) comic reader for years, and it turns out she had eye problems. Two months of vision therapy and she totally changed, going on a LotR reading binge. www.covd.org is where you look for a developmental optometrist. They do a more thorough exam than a regular optometrist who only screens for the problems.

 

:001_huh: My oldest did get her glasses in second grade. Hmmm. Elizabeth, I think I will check on this. It has been a while since he had an eye exam. Thank you.

[TechWife]

You are tying basic literary analysis to works the student is currently reading and hopefully enjoying. They are working on punctuation, handwriting, and grammar as well. The lessons are short, sweet, and effective. You will find FS to be a flexible, easy-to-use tool.

 

This is awesome. I love FS. I haven't implemented it at all.

 

However, if I have to coordinate the use of multiple resources in yet another subject, I just may scream. It's another thread subject entirely!

[elegantlion]

We are using FS more like Swimmermom3. I went through the book and jotted down at least one of the authors mentioned in each lesson. Since we are covering many of them in our literature this year and next we opted to do the lesson while reading from that author. The others we will fit in as independent lessons.

 

Here's the list I made, the number is the lesson number. It does not include all authors/works mentioned in a lesson.

 

1. Longfellow

2. Twain/Johnny Appleseed

3. Phantom Tollbooth

4. Treasure Island

5. Sandburg/Dickinson

6. Shakespeare/Milton

7. Shakespeare

8. Frost

9. Kipling/Poe

10. Poe

11. Haiku/cinquain

12. Poe

13. Kipling

14. Poe

15. Eugene Field

16. Kipling

17. Longfellow/Carroll

18. Mother Goose

19. Twain

20. Treasure Island

21. Twain

22. Twain

23. Holmes

24. Twain

25. Dickens

26. Twain/Hobbit

27. O. Henry

28. Willa Cather

29. Chekov

30. Aesop

31. Poe

32. Most Dangerous Game

33. Shakespeare/Whitman

34. Phantom Tollbooth

35. Sojourner Truth

36. Austen

37. Twain

38. James Joyce

39. O Henry

40. The Monkey's Paw

[Matryoshka]

OhElizabeth, I have routinely written about my struggles to find "satisfactory" literature for Swimmer Dude who is the "non-reader in a house full of books." Unlike your dd, in his off-time he doesn't read anything but comics like Calvin and Hobbs. Yet when he takes to a book, it tends to have strong literary merits. I have no idea exactly how this is accomplished. Quirky seems to suit his nature; does that work for your dd? Shawna in Texas had a great thread on this a while back. Have you tried books like Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Un Lun Dun by China Mieville, or poetry by Edward Lear? The more playful and subtle the language, the more captivating. Or you could try the strategy I hit on with his history books. If the board loves it, the Dude will loathe it. If the board loathes it , the Dude will insist upon reading it. Sheer crazy-making.:tongue_smilie:

 

This sounds like my youngest - I have to assign almost anything to get her to read it. She will read comics and fairy tales when I'm not looking. But for some reason she picked up and read Alice in Wonderland all by herself. :confused: When I saw she liked it, I ran out and got her Through the Looking Glass, which since I "wanted" her to read it, she didn't want to. She does like quirky. She's liked some Roald Dahl (though The Witches was too scary).

 

I have had her checked yearly by a devlopmental optometrist (both my other two have glasses and one has gone through a full round of vision therapy). Seems her problem is sheer obstinacy. :glare:

 

My older two - the ones with the glasses and documented convergence issues - are total bookworms.

[PeterPan]

Paula you're beautiful! I was just telling myself I needed to do that, and you saved me the hassle. :)

[elegantlion]

Paula you're beautiful! I was just telling myself I needed to do that, and you saved me the hassle. :)

 

You're welcome. I'm glad it can helpful to someone else.

[swimmermom3]

I have use LL LOTR, LL7 and LL8 along with FS in various configurations. My favorite way to use it is in conjunction with copywork/dictation. This is an idea as far as the copywork/dictation that I borrowed from Julie Bogart at Brave Writer.

 

For example, when we read A Wrinkle in Time, we used one short paragraph per week to first copy and then dictate. These paragraphs always had interesting punctuation to study and included some literary element. Perhaps the paragraph utilized foreshadowing. WE would then pull out FS and do the lesson on foreshadowing. This is one of my favorite exercises for early logic stage (5th and 6th grade). You are tying basic literary analysis to works the student is currently reading and hopefully enjoying. They are working on punctuation, handwriting, and grammar as well. The lessons are short, sweet, and effective. You will find FS to be a flexible, easy-to-use tool.

 

Julie Bogart has added a link for a sample of the August 2010 issue of the Boomerang, which is available by subscription only. The featured work is Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None. This gives you a bit of an idea of how it works though I wish she had included the literary analysis part so you all could see it. You can pick and choose individual units for around $10 each, so they are not cheap. You can make up you own work once you get the hang of it.

 

ETA: Here is a complete sample from Tom Sawyer.

Edited January 3, 2011 by swimmermom3

[elegantlion]

ETA: Here is a complete sample from Tom Sawyer.

 

What impeccable timing! We are staring Tom Sawyer tomorrow. Those notes will come in most handy. Thank you.

[Ruth in NC]

For my non-reader, I am working on creating a course using Figuratively Speaking and using a mix of picture books, short stories, novels and movies to use as supplements and sources of writing assignments.

 

I looked at the Boomerang samples and I am wondering, is there literary analysis in each issue?

 

Thanks, Ruth in NC