Smarr into. Lit. Vs. Teaching the classics by IEW

[carol]

Can someone please copare these two?

Could you use them together?

Which is easier to implement? Could one be used in

9th and the other in 10th? If so which order?

Imput from anyone whose used either of these literature

programs would be greatly appreciated.

 

Carol

[Mad Jenny Flint]

It is a program that, like IEW, is more for instruction of the teacher, and can be used with any literature you choose. It is similar to TWEM (the Well-Educated Mind) in the way it has you go about literature analysis.

 

Smarr actually has two different programs. One is more of a mainstream (I think) program, and they have another program which goes along with the 4 year history cycle. My niece and nephew have used the more mainstream one and it seemed like a lot of vocabulary, short comprehension questions, and some busywork. However, not having used it, I cannot be trusted:blink:

 

I am sure a more seasoned Smarr user can give you better input on that program.

 

I will use TTC and WEM because they are flexible and you can devise your own writing assignments, review, and literature analysis based on these, with whatever books you choose.

[Rhondabee]

I found Teaching the Classics very theoretical - and NOT easy to implement. I've much prefered using WEM, even though my oldest has just completed 7th grade.

 

TtC has *so* many questions to choose from, it was overwhelming. WEM has less focused questions, but you can read through them ALL for each piece you read. Some questions may not apply, but then, that also tells you something about the writing as well. The questions in WEM are a true socratic discussion between you and SWB - she doesn't answer any of the questions for you, but they lead you to a place of self-discovered insights. (It really does give me chill bumps every time I answer the last question- LOL!)

 

TtC, otoh, really requires you as the teacher to just *know* what's important, and then to choose questions that are heavily weighted to lead the discussion toward what you want the student to "discover". You couldn't just give your student ALL the questions.

 

Admittedly, now that I've used WEM for a year, I *can* more easily sift through the TtC questions and see which ones would apply. (But WEM is just so much easier.)

 

I do often use the plot-triangle from TtC, but I don't think that's unique to their program since I saw it in a BJU 7th grade Lit book. I did enjoy watching the DVD's - it was a good intro and helped give me the boost I needed to dig into WEM.

 

:001_smile:

Rhonda