9th Grade Great Books Exercise

[swimmermom3]

For those of you who have utilized TWTM 9th grade book list, could you please do me a favor and sort the list by the numbers 1-4. 1 would signify that your student thought the work was relatively and grade appropriate. 4 would signify the most demanding level, perhaps you held off on tackling it until the student was older.

 

Hopefully, if you decide to do it, you can just cut and paste. I don't care if you even make up your own criteria for each level as long as I have four levels moving from easiest to most difficult. I am working on a project for two homeschooling friends. I think I should probably learn to put a lid on some of my "big" ideas. :tongue_smilie: Thanks so much.

 

Ninth grade, BC 5000-400 AD

The Bible: Genesis, Job

Epic of Gilgamesh (c. 2500 BC)

The Iliad and The Odyssey, Homer (c. 850 BC)

Sophocles, Oedipus Rex (c. 490 BC)

Agamemnon, Aeschylus (c. 458 BC)

The Histories, Herodotus (c. 441 BC)

Medea, Euripides (c. 431 BC)

The Birds, Aristophanes (400 BC)

The History of the Peloponnesian War , Thucydides (c. 400BC)

Republic, Symposium, Plato (c. 387 BC)

On Poetics, Aristotle (384-322 BC)

Rhetoric, Plato (350 BC)

The Bible: The Book of Daniel (c. 165 BC)

Odes, Horace (c. 65 BC)

On the Nature of Things, Lucretius (c. 60 BC)

De republica, Cicero (54 BC)

The Aeneid by Virgil (c. 30 BC)

Metamorphoses by Ovid (c. 5)

The Bible: Paul, 1 & 2 Letters to the Corinthians (c. 58 AD)

The Wars of the Jews by Josephus (c. 68)

The Lives of the Noble Grecians and Roman, Plutarch (c.100)

The Annals of Tacitus (c. 117)

On the Incarnation by Athanasius (c. 300)

 

Edited: I didn't realize the list I pulled from the PHP site was an older one. I have updated with the third edition. Hopefully that is okay.

[Melissa B]

We only did ancient Greece, but here are our thoughts.

 

Ninth grade, BC 5000-400 AD

The Bible: Genesis, Job 1

Epic of Gilgamesh (c. 2500 BC) 1

The Iliad and The Odyssey, Homer (c. 850 BC) 1

History of the Persian Wars by Herodotus (485-424 BC) 2

The History of the Peloponnesian War by Thucydides (460-395 BC) 4

Sophocles, Oedipus Rex (c. 440 BC) 1

Medea, Euripides (c. 431 BC) 1

The Frogs, Aristophanes (405 BC) 2

Republic, Symposium, Plato (c. 387 BC) 3

On Poetics, Ethics, Aristotle (384-322 BC) 3

The Lives of the Noble Grecians and Roman, Plutarch (c.100) 3

[swimmermom3]

Melissa, thank you so much for taking the time to respond. That is most helpful.

[Candid]

I'll try to help, but I have not used all these.

 

The Bible: Genesis, Job

Epic of Gilgamesh (c. 2500 BC)

The Iliad and The Odyssey, Homer (c. 850 BC)

Sophocles, Oedipus Rex (c. 490 BC)

Agamemnon, Aeschylus (c. 458 BC)

The Histories, Herodotus (c. 441 BC)

Medea, Euripides (c. 431 BC)

The Birds, Aristophanes (400 BC)

The History of the Peloponnesian War , Thucydides (c. 400BC)

Republic, Symposium, Plato (c. 387 BC)

On Poetics, Aristotle (384-322 BC)

Rhetoric, Plato (350 BC)

The Bible: The Book of Daniel (c. 165 BC)

Odes, Horace (c. 65 BC)

On the Nature of Things, Lucretius (c. 60 BC)

De republica, Cicero (54 BC)

The Aeneid by Virgil (c. 30 BC)

Metamorphoses by Ovid (c. 5)

The Bible: Paul, 1 & 2 Letters to the Corinthians (c. 58 AD)

The Wars of the Jews by Josephus (c. 68)

The Lives of the Noble Grecians and Roman, Plutarch (c.100)

The Annals of Tacitus (c. 117)

On the Incarnation by Athanasius (c. 300

 

My code is pretty basic, green means that my ninth graders did well with these text. They had to work, but no real complaints or struggles,

 

Orange materials are more difficult, require some thought. I as an adult have to chew over these a bit.

 

Finally red can be worthwhile but ninth graders may be rebel.

 

Black I have not used and can't comment on.

 

For what it is worth, I have occasional struggles with one of my other two moms in the co-op I am in over some works and the amount of work etc. It is a delicate balance in a group situation when not all the parents are totally on board.

[Chrysalis Academy]

Well, I'm taking you at your word and coming up with my own criteria - I'm sorting these by the ones *I've* read, according to how smoothly it all went. My oldest is 10, so I am not good at judging what older kids are ready for, but I thought a reasonably intelligent adult's experience might be useful. The ones I have read, I've read within the last 3 years.

 

Read, and found reasonably accessible and/or enjoyable:

 

The Bible: Genesis, Job

Epic of Gilgamesh (c. 2500 BC)

The Iliad and The Odyssey, Homer (c. 850 BC)

Sophocles, Oedipus Rex (c. 490 BC)

Agamemnon, Aeschylus (c. 458 BC)

The Histories, Herodotus (c. 441 BC)

Medea, Euripides (c. 431 BC)

The Birds, Aristophanes (400 BC)

The Bible: The Book of Daniel (c. 165 BC)

Odes, Horace (c. 65 BC)

The Aeneid by Virgil (c. 30 BC)

Metamorphoses by Ovid (c. 5)

The Bible: Paul, 1 & 2 Letters to the Corinthians (c. 58 AD)

 

Read, but found extremely challenging/had to make myself finish

On Poetics, Aristotle (384-322 BC)

The Lives of the Noble Grecians and Roman, Plutarch (c.100)

Symposium, Plato

 

Started to read, and gave up after slogging through for awhile

The History of the Peloponnesian War , Thucydides (c. 400BC)

Republic, Plato (c. 387 BC)

On the Nature of Things, Lucretius (c. 60 BC)

 

Not attempted

Rhetoric, Plato (350 BC)

De republica, Cicero (54 BC)

The Wars of the Jews by Josephus (c. 68)

The Annals of Tacitus (c. 117)

On the Incarnation by Athanasius (c. 300)

 

 

That was fun!