sixtimemomma Posted June 16, 2012 Share Posted June 16, 2012 Hello All Just wondering how many literature books you assign for the year? I'm looking at my list and it looks like there may be too many. Just wondering what everyone else does. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jane in NC Posted June 16, 2012 Share Posted June 16, 2012 I don't think that it is possible to come up with the magic number given that some books are dense, others move quickly. We have read some things (Aeneid, Inferno) more slowly while watching Teaching Company lectures. Will there be conversational analysis or a paper? Are some of your selections plays? I think these are easier to read than philosophical treatises. My suggestion is to come up with what appears to be a reasonable list and then be prepared for rabbit trails. Also, have something in the wings in case there is a selection that just does not work for your kid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Candid Posted June 16, 2012 Share Posted June 16, 2012 I'm with Jane and will add it depends on the book(s). Many college survey of lit books assign only one book (usually a Norton anthology). So judge by level of the works read. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jenny in Florida Posted June 16, 2012 Share Posted June 16, 2012 (edited) It absolutely depends on many, many factors. In TWTM, I believe the standard is that eight books is minimal, 12 is better and 18 is "stellar." I tend to use those numbers as a rough rule of thumb. This year, my 9th grader focused on Greek mythology and drama. He read six full works that could be considered "Great Books," and excerpts of two more, along with eight more retellings and adaptations, for a total of 14 books and a few excerpts. Next year, he'll be delving into dystopian literature. The currently planned reading list includes eight works that probably qualify as "Great Books," plus another six more contemporary Very Good Books, four books of his choice, six short stories and excerpts of another few classics, for a total of 18 full works and some shorter stuff. Keep in mind, too, that how many books you can comfortably cover in a year depends in part on how much you really dig into each one. Edited June 16, 2012 by Jenny in Florida Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
love2read Posted June 16, 2012 Share Posted June 16, 2012 The only constant for us has been four classics that are used for writing a literary analysis essay. Those who read good books for fun are only assigned another four classics for literature and would normally read good lit. for history too. Our children who didn't like to read were assigned a book every two weeks and they alternated between age level classics, lower level "good books" like The Iron Ring, and historical fiction. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lewelma Posted June 16, 2012 Share Posted June 16, 2012 Like everyone else said, it depends. But my general guide is 8 classics to discuss/analyze and 8 additional classics to just read for enjoyment. Ruth in NZ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M&M Posted June 17, 2012 Share Posted June 17, 2012 Would you share your list? We are probably going to do something similar. I have never studied dystopian lit, and am planning to study this summer to prep for the fall. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jenny in Florida Posted June 17, 2012 Share Posted June 17, 2012 Would you share your list? We are probably going to do something similar. I have never studied dystopian lit, and am planning to study this summer to prep for the fall. Sure. Here's the current list (with years of publication): 1516 – Utopia 1726 - Gulliver’s Travels, Part 4 1854 – Walden (excerpts) 1895 - The Time Machine 1932 - Brave New World 1938 - Anthem 1945 - Animal Farm 1947 - Short Story: The Machine Stops 1948 – Short Story: The Lottery 1949 - 1984 1953 - Fahrenheit 451 1954 - Lord of the Flies 1954 - Short Story: All Summer in a Day 1961 - Short Story: Harrison Bergeron 1968 - Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? 1971 - The Lathe of Heaven 1973 - Short Story: The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas 2002 - Feed 2010 - Hunger Games trilogy I also have four places in my plans where he will be allowed to choose a book to read, as long as it has a dystopian theme. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted June 17, 2012 Share Posted June 17, 2012 Looking at Smarr's list might help. Notice that it isn't just a specific number of novels, but rather a variety of genres. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kathy G Posted June 17, 2012 Share Posted June 17, 2012 We do about 16. Some are more in depth and some we just write a quick essay. Here is the list for this year We use Excellence in Literature for the base and expand from there 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne Around the World in Eighty Days Verne A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court Twain Jane Eyre Bronte The Prince and the Pauper Shirley or Villette by Charlotte Brontë --maybe not sure yet Murder in the Cathedral by T.S. Eliot Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson 1984 by George Orwell The Tempest Shakespeare Animal Farm Orwell Treasure Island Robert Louis Stevenson Pygmalion Shaw A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare Gullivers Travels Jonathon Swift The Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan Fahrenheit 451 Ray Bradbury Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EKS Posted June 17, 2012 Share Posted June 17, 2012 (edited) For 9th grade American lit my son read: 8 novels 3 plays 19 short stories MCT's Jefferson's Truths, Lincoln's Ten Sentences, and Free at Last and a bunch of poems Contrast this with what many of the online schools require: 1-2 novels and some short stories and poems. Even my son's supposedly "rigorous" private school only required 4 longer works and essentially *no* shorter works. Grrr. Edited June 17, 2012 by EKS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobbeym Posted June 20, 2012 Share Posted June 20, 2012 DD14 is starting 9th grade this fall. I didn't feel like he had a strong basis for writing, grammar, and vocab so we're focusing on those with a more general background of lit analysis this year. We're reading: 10 short stories 1 play 3 novels (2 historical classics and 1 epic) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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