Discussions in your homeschool - how to do it?

[northcoast]

I just read this thread titled A wee bit of bragging (and also encouragement to you all!) . It was mentioned that things were discussed as a family. And I've read that before on these boards while lurking around. We are a family of introverts. Using Sonlight for history mainly, we enjoy reading those books together. But it seems difficult to discuss and engage my children. They can certainly answer the IG questions which are mainly "what happened sort of questions. Maybe I don't know how to get discussion going. Maybe I don't know how to ask the right questions. I have "Teaching the Classics" and plan soon to watch it and hopefully apply it to the lit we will start reading for high school for my son. Do you have any other tips/ideas for getting discussions of ideas going? I love the schedule that Sonlight lays out but maybe there is something better for what we need???? Are the IG guides better in the high school grades for discussions?

[Farmgirl70]

Your kids are still young. I do find that my introvert needs a little more time to engage in discussion than my extroverts, too. I found that my kids got better at discussion the more we did it and the older they got. I've used questions from Teaching the Classics and from The Well Educated Mind. Also, sometimes things just come to mind. I am not a naturally good "question maker" myself, so I've worked on that and used ideas for questions from others. Keep at it :001_smile: . Sometimes the discussions are great and sometimes they fall flat. It's all part of the process. "Teaching the Cassics" will give you a good jumping off point, I think.

[northcoast]

Thanks for the encouragment! It's good to hear the TTC is a good tool. I need to remember that I have the high school years to hone the discussion skills.....

 

Any other thoughts are still welcome.

[Jane in NC]

We would often do things like listen to Science Friday to use as a spring board for topical science discussions.

 

Do you drive places together? Listening to some of my son's favorite authors (not necessarily writers in genres I read) also gave us the opportunity to chat. We could analyze plot, talk about characters and their development.

 

I also would have my fourteen year old son talk me through his geometry proofs and explain to me his hypotheses in Conceptual Physics. We spent a lot of time at the dining room table together. Our conversations were often distractions but they could lead to some interesting places.

 

Current events were often discussed over dinner.

 

It is important to me that students make connections between disciplines. Nobody lives in a vacuum.

[JennW in SoCal]

You don't need to be the one asking questions in order to get discussions going. And asking questions somehow implies the other person has to come up with an answer, with the pressure of having the "right" answer. That isn't a discussion! Sometimes the best discussions start from mom simply commenting on a scene or character. Things like, "I really love Mr. Collins. He is so arrogant and clueless!" Or, "I love how the author describes scenery. I can't put my finger on how he does it but it really is evocative." Talk about what YOU think and feel, then compare notes with how your kids think and feel. It may be while you are driving to the grocery store or while setting the table. And it may not be a long conversation if the kids don't engage, but it is a start.

 

You all must, as a family, talk about things even if you are introverts. Food, tv shows, a movie, the weather, the garden -- everyone has opinions. Just talk about books the same casual way -- it doesn't have to be formal all the time.

 

When you want to be formal, don't hesitate to use instructor guides or a list of standard questions you find useful. Those discussions are important, too, but not more important than casual conversations. Some of the best essay topics my kids came up with during high school came from those casual discussions. By making a habit of talking about books outside those formal times you take the pressure off yourself and your kids, and you can guide them towards thinking about why they have their opinions with a simple "oh I think so too!" or "really, I didn't read it that way. Why do you think that?" You can model defending your opinions -- even if you stumble and can't articulate a logical argument!

[regentrude]

We just, uhm, talk? Not as in "this is a discussion for school and I want you to answer these questions" - we simply spend time together and talk about stuff. In the car, on long hikes, on vacation, over dinner. My DS is an introvert, but will happily chew my ear off for four hours straight while we hike through the woods.

[quark]

Jenn, thank you! I just copied and pasted your reply into my planning spreadsheet for daily inspiration!

[northcoast]

Thanks for all the great replies. Keep it coming. The ideas are extremely helpful!

[Lori D.]

Another family of introverts, here -- and boys to boot. ;) We started off with me asking a lot of guided questions from Lit. guides or Teacher Manuals, and DSs answering in monosyllabic answers. (lol) A lot of early discussions were comparisons with things we saw in movies or TV shows (a lot of sci-fi shows tackle questions of ethics, which can prompt some good discussion). Other things you can do:

 

- listen together to a book-on-tape version and throw in comments as you go

- use discussion questions as a springboard on specific topics

- talk about movies and choices people around you make in every day life; that transfers slowly over to discussion in academics

- look over resources such as Deconstructing Penguins, The Well-Educated Mind, Reading Strands, How to Read Like a College Professor, Teaching the Classics, How to Read a Book, and see if something jumps out to aid in discussion

 

 

Here's a recent thread on that same topic:

Socratic discussion problems - introverts

 

And these past threads had some good stuff, too:

TWEM (Nan in Mass and others explain how they implemented The Well-Educated Mind/discussion)

A question about using WEM for high school literature study...

How valuable are Socratic discussions?

High school curriculum that is heavy on discussion

Doing TWTM with a high school student who isn't ready for Rhetoric level

Nan in Mass et.al.

Realistic use of WEM for high school?

 

 

And a few more:

Doing Literature with my 9th grader

I don't think we're cut out for the Great Books

 

 

BEST of luck as you and your family find your OWN unique path in discussing! Warmest regards, Lori D.

[northcoast]

What a wealth of resources! Thank you all!

[katilac]

One thing I have just started with dd14 is to sign up for some Meetup.com groups. It will likely be all adults so they have to be okay with that. Doesn't bother dd and the group was fine with it and very welcoming. Of course I wouldn't inflict a sullen or unwilling teen on them lol.

 

We have only done French so far but she is excited to try one of the literary ones, and they also have one for scientific discussion (usually a current topic & they suggest a certain article/book to read ahead of time). Looks like you generally RSVP event by event, so you are not committing to every first Tuesday or whatever,

 

Of course these groups are unlikely to match up with pre planned studies, but the lively discussion & diversity of personality & thought overcomes that IMO.

 

Please forgive rambling & errors, I am on pain meds . . .

 

[Pam L in Mid Tenn]

Asking, "what was your favorite thing?" or "what do you disagree with?" or "What was most interesting?" or "Why do you find this boring?".... those types of questions always seem to open a good discussion here.

 

Asking for an oral narration is a good discussion starter as well.

[Candid]

One reason I switched away from Sonlight was I didn't feel their questions led to discussions. It's been some years since I left maybe things have changed, but you seem to indicate that same feeling I had in this:

They can certainly answer the IG questions which are mainly "what happened sort of questions.

 

I wanted to move beyond that to integrate materials and think analytically. Sonlight just didn't seem to do that.

[Joan in GE]

I haven't used Sonlight, so I can't comment on their questions....

 

I used to have a lot of trouble thinking of questions but using the Progeny Press study guides helped me start thinking of my own questions....Not all their questions are deep but they tend to have a 'Dig Deeper' set of questions...I tended to bypass the simplistic questions - though it can be helpful to ask a few to make sure they've interpreted situations correctly.....

 

As one poster said, your children are younger = but it does depend on the child too, the type of literature they're reading and their own philosophical bent...We actually got started with the Intro to Poetry guide....then Uncle Tom's Cabin had good questions....(for when they're older, if you read even the first chapter of Narrative of the Life of Fredrick Douglass you'll find a lot of things to discuss - definitely older content there though)

 

I don't think it's bad or wrong if they don't have answers for questions....just asking the questions can help them get started thinking about situations, ethics, etc...and maybe in the future after the thoughts have gone around in the subconscious for awhile, insights will pop out. My dd comes up with some amazing perceptions and reflections...

 

You're also teaching a habit of reflection by asking and discussing harder issues....which easily becomes a lost art in mini sound bite cultures....

 

Joan

[northcoast]

I appreciate the continued posts especially some of the questions to get the thinking going.

[PeterPan]

Well my dc is about the same age as yours, but what I'm trying to do for next year is making some lists of questions to go with the reading so her brain is thinking in the directions we might discuss. Some people need more time to process and think through concepts in advance. Then when it's on their mind and they've reread the selection (realizing they didn't get it the first time because they couldn't answer the questions!), THEN they're ready to discuss. I think it's entirely possible to want to rush into discussion before the dc is actually ready to discuss. Some things need to be read multiple times. Sure sometimes you just read something and need to TALK about it (Hunger Games!), but some things really need to be thought a bit first and interacted with.

[lillybell]

We do a lot of discussions on pretty much everything. I am a talker so sometimes I can lead the conversation. Funny though, because I am an introvert when it comes to other people, but with my family, I speak very freely. When I start a discussion, I usually start by asking them about what they thought. Other times, when I think they aren't listening and we are reading something together, I chime in and ask them to tell me what just happened. I try to get them to sort of summarize and then give me their opinion. If it is the way something was handled, I ask them if that is what they would do or would they have handled it differently and why? We tend to do this after movies also. We talk about who our favorite character was and why. What we each thought about the movie. What their favorite part was. How would they handle the situations that caused conflict in the movie. It pretty much comes natural after a movie. My hubby just listens and he doesn't give too much input but us girls really get into the conversation. We even talk about how the movie could have been better and what we would have added to it.

[Kendall]

You might get ideas listening the Andrew Kern's talk "Teaching Literature Without Killing the Book or the Student." It is available free at this site Hang in there at the beginning- he demonstrates how not to teach for the first few minutes.

 

 

http://www.societyforclassicallearning.org/index.php/resources-guest/media-guest

 

I think these questions would help get discussions going in other subjects(and life in general) as well. Thank you for asking the question. It isn't so natural as "just talk" for some of us! Without some thinking/planning about it I tend to end up lecturing rather than discussing. I"m getting better though.

 

Kendall

[northcoast]

Thanks all for the encouragement! I tried a bit to discuss a children't play we attended on Sat. It wasn't the greatest of discussions but it was a start! :)