elegantlion Posted October 7, 2012 Share Posted October 7, 2012 Are there any reviews on this? How many lessons or how long do they recommend this study take? I'd like to have ds read through the entire trilogy, but not without some heavy support for both of us.* *yes, I'm already looking ahead to next year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MicheleinMN Posted October 7, 2012 Share Posted October 7, 2012 I don't have a review for you, but I keep wondering if the guide would be good for ME to use for myself. :D I hope someone chimes in with an opinion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hsm Posted October 7, 2012 Share Posted October 7, 2012 we haven't started it yet, but the guide suggests 11 weeks each, for a total of 34(exam). It comes out to about 2 lessons per week, the guide figures 3hours/ 2 classes. To me, the 3 hour/2 class thing assumes you are presenting it the way it would be done in a classroom, and the guide is suggesting that the 2 cantos per lesson are read aloud with time at beginning of class for drill questions, etc and then time to work out comprehesion questions, with the teacher giving intro and background lectures each lesson. There are quizes, tests, optional essays, etc. I wanted a guide, too. I was thinking of either this or Peter Liethart's, but i hadn't seen anything too helpful from either sample. So I just went with this one because I was familiar with MP's layout. Some people on this board suggested Teaching Company and Kolbe. I wanted a book ,and Kolbe used a different translation (already owned one). I can't imagine the background notes/teacher guide NOT being enough, and it's really more analysis than I was intending. However, as with all MP, it's very orderly and broken down neatly. My student looked at it and said that it very doable. take this all with a grain of salt, since we have yet to start :). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elegantlion Posted October 7, 2012 Author Share Posted October 7, 2012 we haven't started it yet, but the guide suggests 11 weeks each, for a total of 34(exam). It comes out to about 2 lessons per week, the guide figures 3hours/ 2 classes. To me, the 3 hour/2 class thing assumes you are presenting it the way it would be done in a classroom, and the guide is suggesting that the 2 cantos per lesson are read aloud with time at beginning of class for drill questions, etc and then time to work out comprehesion questions, with the teacher giving intro and background lectures each lesson. There are quizes, tests, optional essays, etc. I wanted a guide, too. I was thinking of either this or Peter Liethart's, but i hadn't seen anything too helpful from either sample. So I just went with this one because I was familiar with MP's layout. Some people on this board suggested Teaching Company and Kolbe. I wanted a book ,and Kolbe used a different translation (already owned one). I can't imagine the background notes/teacher guide NOT being enough, and it's really more analysis than I was intending. However, as with all MP, it's very orderly and broken down neatly. My student looked at it and said that it very doable. take this all with a grain of salt, since we have yet to start :). Thank you, that gives me an idea. I also would like a book, although I may consider the teaching companies videos too. There were no samples of Kolbe one and I have not used their material. 34 weeks is more time than I wanted to spend on it, but I'm good a tweaking. I'd rather have more material than necessary and edit down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thebacabunch Posted October 8, 2012 Share Posted October 8, 2012 I would be interested to know. I loved the divine comedy. i actually thought it was really funny! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laughing lioness Posted October 8, 2012 Share Posted October 8, 2012 (edited) I am using it this year with ds 18. You are supposed to read 2 cantos a week, memorize a section, answer questions, be familiar with characters. It is set up just like all of the other MP study guides, which are cut and dried, get er done. No jazz playing in the background but good, solid stuff. There is an intro that gives a good overview about the set-up and what to expect from the book. Each week has several paragraphs of explanation about the upcoming cantos. Ds is LOVING it. It follows the C. guys translation but we got Sayers just because it was readily avaible. Ds is learning a TON and it's all I can do to keep him from reading several cantos a week. GREAT stuff. Simple, straightforward and thorough. We are loving the discussions and interactions we are having around the study guide questions. DS isn't doing the memorization (because he has another big memory project) but he is basically memorizing the people/places as he goes. TM has quizzes, tests, and study ?'s Re: price. I got both the TM and SM. We aren't even using the SM- ds wants to do it all orally, but it's made for more fun exchanges between us. We did get GC for Shakespeare, he's already done of yr of Medieval hx, along with performing a couple of Shakespeare plays, and has a solid understanding of the Medieval mind at this point so rather than being intimidated by the language or theology it makes sense to him given the context of other hx/lit studies he's done. Edited October 8, 2012 by laughing lioness Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elegantlion Posted October 8, 2012 Author Share Posted October 8, 2012 I am using it this year with ds 18. You are supposed to read 2 cantos a week, memorize a section, answer questions, be familiar with characters. It is set up just like all of the other MP study guides, which are cut and dried, get er done. No jazz playing in the background but good, solid stuff. There is an intro that gives a good overview about the set-up and what to expect from the book. Each week has several paragraphs of explanation about the upcoming cantos. Ds is LOVING it. It follows the C. guys translation but we got Sayers just because it was readily avaible. Ds is learning a TON and it's all I can do to keep him from reading several cantos a week. GREAT stuff. Simple, straightforward and thorough. We are loving the discussions and interactions we are having around the study guide questions. DS isn't doing the memorization (because he has another big memory project) but he is basically memorizing the people/places as he goes. TM has quizzes, tests, and study ?'s Re: price. I got both the TM and SM. We aren't even using the SM- ds wants to do it all orally, but it's made for more fun exchanges between us. We did get GC for Shakespeare, he's already done of yr of Medieval hx, along with performing a couple of Shakespeare plays, and has a solid understanding of the Medieval mind at this point so rather than being intimidated by the language or theology it makes sense to him given the context of other hx/lit studies he's done. Thanks. I love to tweak, and we could a lot orally too. So using another translation hasn't been difficult? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laughing lioness Posted October 8, 2012 Share Posted October 8, 2012 EL- the study guide actually addresses some of the diff's between Sayers and Ciardi- but it's also obvious from some of the questions because they hit some points diff. Did you read the big thread about the diff translations (One of those threads that make me crawl in a hole and weep about my intellectual deficiencies)? B & N had Sayers. I ordered Ciardi but it took 2 weeks to get here and because ds is traveling for 4 wks this school year we needed to get started. I didn't even buy the Ciardi once it got here. So, we're missing some stuff with the Sayers translation, but so it goes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elegantlion Posted October 8, 2012 Author Share Posted October 8, 2012 EL- the study guide actually addresses some of the diff's between Sayers and Ciardi- but it's also obvious from some of the questions because they hit some points diff. Did you read the big thread about the diff translations (One of those threads that make me crawl in a hole and weep about my intellectual deficiencies)? B & N had Sayers. I ordered Ciardi but it took 2 weeks to get here and because ds is traveling for 4 wks this school year we needed to get started. I didn't even buy the Ciardi once it got here. So, we're missing some stuff with the Sayers translation, but so it goes. Yes, I have some scribbled notes from that thread. It made my head hurt too. I may end up ordering the TM and see if I can make it work with what I have. I have a few versions of Inferno, but not an entire set. We read Dante's Divine Comedy as told for young people last year and ds enjoyed it. He wants to read the whole trilogy. He's funny, he doesn't like to read that much, but he never wants an abridged version. I like the above book, it's not really for young children, imo. I know we missed some of the intent of the book because we didn't dig into the political background of the time as we needed. So, if we're going to read the whole thing, I want to make sure we understand it properly. Sounds like Memoria will work for what we need. Thank you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Candid Posted October 8, 2012 Share Posted October 8, 2012 I may consider the teaching companies videos too. I just finished listening to the Dante lectures from Teaching Company. They were good and solid. Nice stuff at the end about getting more out of the Comedia on later readings. They do a standard 24 lectures with two guys instead of just one. I'd also put in a plug for going audio only. If you wait until it is on sale, you can get a great price on a download and in the super cheater method that I use, you can set an ipod device to think these recordings are podcasts and listen to them at twice the regular speed. At that speed they are still clear and easy to understand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elegantlion Posted October 9, 2012 Author Share Posted October 9, 2012 I just finished listening to the Dante lectures from Teaching Company. They were good and solid. Nice stuff at the end about getting more out of the Comedia on later readings. They do a standard 24 lectures with two guys instead of just one. I'd also put in a plug for going audio only. If you wait until it is on sale, you can get a great price on a download and in the super cheater method that I use, you can set an ipod device to think these recordings are podcasts and listen to them at twice the regular speed. At that speed they are still clear and easy to understand. I will probably add them if I can catch a good sale. Oh, I love the idea of speeding them up. I did that with some DVD teachings and it felt very efficient. :D I hadn't thought of doing that with audio. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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