TOG Y2 - is literature really hard this year?

[Susan in TN]

I'm struggling to know if 15ds (9th) is having such a hard time getting his literature (and writing) done this year because it's very demanding, or because he's still having organization/study issues. I'd say he's an average reader and writer. I've cut back on the assignments, sometimes down to 1/2 or 1/3, and we've maed changes to his study environment a little, but he still has a hard time getting it in. Last year he did TOG ancients and it was challenging, but not like this.

 

He does have additional work this year that takes up more time - 2 tutorial classes and homeschool concert band. I'm trying to figure out how much cutting back is acceptable so that he isn't spending his days and nights and weekends doing schoolwork, but is still "completing" his course.

[Karenciavo]

Year 2 is very difficult. My ds 17 who is a very strong reader and writer struggled at times. It's not only the work load, some of the language is difficult to understand, never mind the analysis. Is there any way you could work on his next book ahead of him to get a better idea of what he is struggling with?

Edited February 22, 2011 by Karenciavo

[M&M]

Yes, it is hard. Honestly sometimes the Poetics and Frameworks make MY head spin! We are also cutting and lightening up some things. I think for a 9th grader R level literature in Y2 is really hard and really more than most freshmen are doing. DD wants to do the R lit, so sometimes she just reads and enjoys the book. She decided to read all of Beowulf, and listened to all of The Divine Comedy on audio book. She watched TC videos on both books and we called it a day.

 

I want her to continue to enjoy reading challenging books, so we will take it slowly by picking an choosing which analysis we do.

 

Since Dd is also doing R history, she requested I get Western Civ in place of some of the books in the core and in-depth list. This helps us to cover the period and still give her time to read the lit. We are still trying to get a rhythm in the writing department.

 

I keep trying to remember that we need to continue to build skills and work our way into TOG R level. We chose the challenge of doing R level work instead of D level work this year, so I am hoping that we are on track for the future.

[ChemMommy]

It was tough and my son was in 10th and is a strong reader. It is FAR more than even a good high school program in lit, IMHO. You might try reading ONE poem rather than the recommended list. You might try alternating the D level lit version with the R level the next week, to lighten the load.

 

By the end of the year, my son seemed to settle into the pace and Year 3 hasn't been bad at all. But, he did comment several times last year about how much there was to read. I'm guilty of "assigning it all" but on round #2 through TOG 2, I'll be cutting.

 

You might have your son write down his time all day long. I found my son was wasting a LOT of time as he transitioned from subject to subject. I also found that HE thought 15 minutes of study was sufficient work for a 15 minute break. We had a few "come to Jesus" meetings on THAT subject! LOL

[M&M]

We had a few "come to Jesus" meetings on THAT subject! LOL

 

 

:lol::lol:

[ChemMommy]

Can you tell I grew up in Georgia?? LOL

[Susan in TN]

We had a few "come to Jesus" meetings on THAT subject! LOL

 

:Angel_anim: Oh, the teenage boy years (not MY sweet angel, of course! ;)) I guess since he's my oldest he's the guinnea pig to all my inexperience.

 

It does help to know that it's probably more "rigorous" than a typical course. Not a bad thing, but... I wonder if my library carries any of the TC videos. We also have the Western Civ. book and I haven't utilized it at all so far - I'll go through the last unit and see where we can use it for history.