What do you do to teach literature??

[shernandez]

Ok, so I have my degree in English Literature and should know what I am doing. However, I feel like we are not doing enough in the field of literature. We have a first grader, pre-kindergartner, toddler, and baby. I am mostly concerned about my first grader. Here is what I do with them, and please give me other suggestions:

 

We read a particular book during literature time. If it is a book like The Little Engine That Could, we read the book each day for one week. If we are doing a chapter book, we read a chapter or two each day until the book is finished. We talk about the book, the characters, etc. I use the Story Sequence chart from PAL (IEW). Sometimes we do a project (like drawing a picture of our bedroom when we read Good Night Moon), but that is rare.

 

We also have a read-aloud each day. These are usually tied to the period of history we are studying and are above their level, but they enjoy them anyway. We are getting ready to start either Tirzah or Mara, Daughter of the Nile.

 

Is this enough???? What do you do???

[jar7709]

That is what I do, so I hope it is enough! :) Public school students sure aren't getting that much literature at these grades...I am really focusing on appreciation at this age. I might pause when I notice a really well-turned phrase in a read-alound to point out why I like it, and at the end of a section or chapter I'll have just a few questions to see how much they understood, but on the whole, analysis can wait! :001_smile: Bravewriter ideas have really helped me trust my gut in this respect.

[robsiew]

Heh, heh... that's more than I do with my young ones! Really... I don't do any "formal" lit. eval with anyone until they are in 6th grade. Before that my kids just read, read, read. When they hit 3-4th grade (depending on maturity) I start giving them a selection of "school" books to read. Before that they can read anything that isn't a comic book or trash book. I make sure they are books worth reading at school time, but for the most part they get to pick them out. On their own time they get to read the comic books.

 

We also do lots of audio stories and read-alouds.

 

This year I am just starting to do some discussion with my ds in 6th grade. He reads a book and I ask him the basic questions in WTM for beginning lit. analysis. He's doing well with that. He's never done a book report and likely won't. Although, we've done narrations all through our schooling.

 

My main goal for the elementary years is to help my children develop a love for reading. If they were made to discuss every book, write book reports, etc. they would HATE to read. Three of the kids enjoy reading on their own and the 4th is just young... he'll get there! Now that my oldest is in 6th I'm finding it worthwhile to do more analysis, but we'll save the heavy analysis for High School. There's plenty of time! :001_smile:

[JenniferLynn]

I am after schooling DD6 and 4YO twins. They have read-alouds at school each day and silent reading in first grade. At best it is Magic Treehouse (which we have at home too). But for read-alouds at home and having DD6 read to me, we go for traditional children's lit and child-friendly adult lit. I'd like them to have exposure and gain appreciation. So far DD6 is loving our slow plod through Journey to the Center of the Earth. We've also read Black Beauty, Little Princess and children's books like that.

[Michele B]

I have an English degree and my husband has two - and yes, I stress about "language arts" more than anything else! :tongue_smilie: Is it because I think the subject is the most important? Is it because I think it will reflect poorly on me if my children don't read and can't write?

 

I thought I needed all sorts of literature programs when I first started. I bought all sorts of things even though I had heard and read what SWB believes about killing the love of literature. :blush: I love Memoria Press, but trying to work through the Hobbit literature study almost killed my love for the story!!:blink:

 

I feel more confident with Charlotte Mason methods than I did in the beginning. I don't think CM and SWB are that far apart on teaching literature - read, read, read.

 

I did enjoy Five in a Row with my girls when they were little. Now I scour book lists, choose the best books for our family, and ask a few of the questions SWB suggests in TWTM.

 

My mom was a high school English teacher (talk about family pressure!:D); she would leave "classics" on my bed for me to find. (very CM). She told me she wanted me to read them "before some teacher ruined them for me." How does a teacher "ruin" a work of literature? Over-analyzing!:svengo:

 

My advice, such as it is, is to go with SWB, CM, and my mommy on this one - read, just read. ;)

Edited September 20, 2012 by Michele B

[Michele B]

BTW, I carpool (dance) a young lady in 6th grade at the local PS. I asked her what literature they are reading for English class. Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul.

 

Feel better?:001_rolleyes:

Edited September 20, 2012 by Michele B

[shernandez]

Thank you all!!!! I feel much better!!! And Michele B., we sound very familiar. My mom also teaches English at a high school and always encouraged me to read. I remember her giving me The Scarlet Letter when I was in 8th grade because she was teaching it in her class. Everyday, should would talk to me about what I had read so far...

 

I LOVE reading and reading aloud, and my children (even our 6 month old) love being read to. I appreciate all of the input, and now I can relax about our literature "program."

[morosophe]

Just because nobody has brought it up, I thought I'd mention Teaching the Classics, here. Its basic approach seems pretty sound, and it seems pretty in line with what you're already doing.

 

That said, I've not actually purchased the curriculum myself. <rant>It's one of those really annoying videotaped seminars with workbooks (like IEW), so so far I've refused to buy it on principle. Why can't they just make BOOKS? It's obvious that these programs are meant for people who are literate!</rant> On the other hand, it's cheaper than IEW at $90.00 for the DVD/syllabus set.

[shernandez]

Just because nobody has brought it up, I thought I'd mention Teaching the Classics, here. Its basic approach seems pretty sound, and it seems pretty in line with what you're already doing.

 

That said, I've not actually purchased the curriculum myself. <rant>It's one of those really annoying videotaped seminars with workbooks (like IEW), so so far I've refused to buy it on principle. Why can't they just make BOOKS? It's obvious that these programs are meant for people who are literate!</rant> On the other hand, it's cheaper than IEW at $90.00 for the DVD/syllabus set.

 

LOL. I actually have this program but have not had time to watch it:( Between grad school, teacher certification, 4 kids, homeschooling, and husband, I just don't have the time. Did I mention I am a Girl Scout Leader, too?! My plate is full, and I agree that a book would come in handy. It is much easier for me to read a book in bed at night than watch a movie (no TV in our bedroom, plus more relaxing). I really should try to find time for it...

[Michele B]

It's me again.....It is I.

 

Anyway....use Librivox.org. Get them in the habit of listening to audio books - books slightly above their level. My girls listened to everything under the sun - dd8 goes to bed every night listening to either Heidi, Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm, Narnia (not on Librivox, but on Ancient Faith Radio's "Readings from under the Grapevine" podcast) or one of the Five Little Peppers books.

 

Yes, they were both reluctant to actually pick up a book and read it. "Everyone" told me it was because they were lazy from listening to too many audio books. "Everyone" was wrong. :chillpill: No book in the house is safe from either girl now! :thumbup1: They were exposed to vocabulary and sentence structure far beyond their years, and it showed in their everyday speech. Boy, did it!

Edited September 20, 2012 by Michele B

[Michele B]

I remember her giving me The Scarlet Letter when I was in 8th grade because she was teaching it in her class. Everyday, should would talk to me about what I had read so far...

 

 

Yep, I remember brazenly reading my Tess of D'Urbervilles in English class while the rest of the class was reading who-knows-what. The teacher glanced at my book and smiled, and chose to ignore my inattention.:001_smile:

[Harriet Vane]

I have a degree in English as well, with a double major in Rhetoric.

 

Up until around fifth grade, all we do is read great literature and chat informally about it. It starts with read-alouds, and then when the child is reading proficiently, we add in required reading time. Sometimes the required reading are books assigned by me, but often the kids read whatever they want (within reason).

 

My dd is very strong with Language Arts, so I started her on formal literature analysis in seventh grade. I taught a group of high school teens Medieval Lit, and my daughter joined that class. She did just fine, though her writing assignments were obviously less mature than those of my older students. From that point on she has done literature analysis and read from a Great Books style list. One year I used Lightning Literature; other years I have just put together the list and writing assignments myself.

 

So, for dd, K-6th grades were reading and discussion with me. 7th-12th were/are/will be formal lit study. At present I am teaching a Mod Lit course to her and several other teens.

 

My ds struggles more with Language Arts and needs more coaching in lit discussions. For K-5th grade he did just reading and chatting with me. This year he is doing Lightning Lit 7 (taught by me to a small group of 6-8th graders), which gives a gentle introduction to some of the lit analysis vocab and process. Ds seems to need the structure LL provides. My plan is to do LL8 with him next year, and then possibly LL American Lit. For high school, I plan to do as I have done with dd, formulating a list and doing formal analysis together.

 

For the younger grades, I don't think much is required other than saturation in good literature and discussions to make sure comprehension is there. My kids (and many kids I have taught in my group classes) have done just fine jumping into analytical skills in junior high or even high school.

 

Both kids

[Crimson Wife]

Have you read Deconstructing Penguins? That book has a lot of good ideas for informally teaching literature in the primary & early elementary grades.

 

When the child gets to be at about a middle school level in LA, I add in Figuratively Speaking. After FS, I do Walch Poetry and Prose Toolbook. With both FS and P&PT, I do one lesson per week.

[Jaz]

I think Five in a Row is a great introduction to literature. We use a lot of audiobooks too.

[laughing lioness]

Read out loud excessively. Require them to read. Talk about it. What did we like, dislike, main ideas, what it reminded us of, how it relates to other things...

[ChicoryChick]

In the early years I just read books and discuss the story. I am using FIAR informally for that this year (if I don't have the book then I sub w/ something else) with my K'er. I also recently purchased "Teaching the Classics" (used for a really good deal). Adam Andrews suggests using children's picture books for introducing lit elements so as I was reading "Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel" to my K'er, I had this idea of making my other children listen in and discuss the story elements with them. I do like TTC but not sure I would have been happy if I had paid full price for it.

Edited September 20, 2012 by kayinpa

[lea1]

Oh how timely this thread is for me. I had been thinking that I needed to get some kind of lit study for 2nd grade, which we will start around January. I was preparing to purchase something from MP but now I will save my money. Instead, I will purchase Deconstructing Penguins and make the time to listen to the Teaching the Classics DVDs. Thanks everyone!!

[SFM]

I have an English degree and my husband has two - and yes, I stress about "language arts" more than anything else! :tongue_smilie: Is it because I think the subject is the most important? Is it because I think it will reflect poorly on me if my children don't read and can't write?

 

I thought I needed all sorts of literature programs when I first started. I bought all sorts of things even though I had heard and read what SWB believes about killing the love of literature. :blush: I love Memoria Press, but trying to work through the Hobbit literature study almost killed my love for the story!!:blink:

 

I feel more confident with Charlotte Mason methods than I did in the beginning. I don't think CM and SWB are that far apart on teaching literature - read, read, read.

 

I did enjoy Five in a Row with my girls when they were little. Now I scour book lists, choose the best books for our family, and ask a few of the questions SWB suggests in TWTM.

 

My mom was a high school English teacher (talk about family pressure!:D); she would leave "classics" on my bed for me to find. (very CM). She told me she wanted me to read them "before some teacher ruined them for me." How does a teacher "ruin" a work of literature? Over-analyzing!:svengo:

 

My advice, such as it is, is to go with SWB, CM, and my mommy on this one - read, just read. ;)

:iagree:

 

Thank you for the reassurance. At times I have wondered if reading and just reading is enough. Then I read the Read Aloud Handbook and my mind was changed. I have decided that we will have literature read in this home always, with no expectations, but to enjoy a great piece of literature.

[rachelpants]

Pardon me while I hijack a little ;)

 

A few months ago read a book on Dialogic Reading called, “The Power of Repeated Reading in Small-Group Instruction: Strategies for Repeated Reading to Build Vocabulary & Comprehension."

http://www.amazon.com/Power-Repeated-Reading-Small-Group-Instruction/dp/0545012090#_

 

Has anyone else read this? When I read the book it made me wonder if I was doing enough to help DS with comprehension of the stories we read. I never feel like I’m asking the right questions when I read to him. This thread makes me think that maybe I shouldn’t worry about it…which is a good thing. :) Any thoughts? If anyone is interested, you can look at the sample on Amazon (the 7th page in the sample "Handout 1" shows the different goals for each time you read the book). Here is a sample dialog from the book:

 

For example, while reading Maurice Sendak’s classic, Where the Wild Things Are (1963), a teacher wonders if the children understand the last line of the story about Max’s supper still being hot. She knows the children love Max’s adventures, the monsters, and his rumpus, but does the final line make sense? Here’s an example of how she used dialogic reading to gauge their understanding.

Teacher: How could Max’s supper be hot?

Connor: His mom just made it for him.

Teacher: You think his mom just made it for him so it was still warm?

Booker: I think he came back a little too early. That’s why it was still hot?

Teacher: Oh, you think he came back too early or just at the right time?

Booker: Too early.

Teacher: Oh, you think it should have been a little cooler. Rosa, how about you?

How could Max’s supper be hot?

Rosa: I think he’s not even so hungry, when he was with the wild things, and he was sailing so much and then she gave him his supper.

Teacher: Hmm . . . If he was sailing so much, how could his supper stay hot? [turning back to the beginning of the story] Remember, Max was sent to bed without anything to eat because he was making mischief. But, then at the end of the story, his supper is in his room, and it’s warm. If you wait a long time, what happens to hot soup?

D’Anna: It gets cold.

Teacher: Yes, if you wait a long time to eat hot food, it gets cold. When Max was having all of his adventures in the forest and on a boat, it felt like he had been gone a long, long time.

Suki: He was dreaming.

Teacher: Suki, you think he was dreaming. That he was dreaming about all of those exciting adventures. They felt like a long, long time in his dream, but it really wasn’t very long. His mother brought him his warm supper while he was dreaming or imagining his adventures, and by the time Max found it, it was still warm.

(Transcription from Webster, 2007 classroom reading)

 

In this exchange, the teacher affirmed children’s verbal expression by repeating the child’s responses and probing a bit further with a related question. (Rosa: . . . when he was with the wild things and he was sailing so much . . . Teacher: If he was sailing so much, how could his supper stay hot?) She continued weaving the children’s responses with the questions she was posing to build the case for the understanding she was seeking from the students. (Teacher: What happens to hot soup if you wait a long time? D’Anna: It gets cold. Teacher: Yes, if you wait a long time to eat hot food it gets cold.) Furthermore, the teacher draws the children’s attention back to the beginning of the story to refocus their attention on the detail of the hot supper. (Teacher: Remember, Max was sent to bed without anything to eat because he was making mischief.) The dynamic interchange allows both the teacher and children to benefit more than they would by a straight reading of the text without pausing for discussion. The teacher understands more about what the children comprehend from the text, and the children understand the story better.

[mom31257]

Have you read Deconstructing Penguins? That book has a lot of good ideas for informally teaching literature in the primary & early elementary grades.

 

 

:iagree: I read it two summers ago along with going through Teaching the Classics.

 

I've used Bob Jones Reading program since 1st grade and love all that it teaches. I feel that it covers things thoroughly for standardized testing as well as things I probably wouldn't think to do on my own. I pick and choose what I want to do out of the book and worktext. It includes fiction, historical fiction, poetry, non-fiction, and plays (my ds' favorite aspect).

 

I have ds reading real books for a book club I started. I am choosing children's novels that have been made into movies. The children read the book at home. In our club, I lead a discussion of the book choosing different literary aspects to highlight each time, depending on the book. We watch the movie and discuss the differences.