Question about Firguratively Speaking..

[Stayseeliz]

I just got this in a mail today and it looks pretty cool! I'm thinking about working through one lesson a week with my oldest kids. What else do I need to add to make a full literature curriculum for the year? Reading lists? Any other resources? Thanks!

[Lori D.]

I just got this in a mail today and it looks pretty cool! I'm thinking about working through one lesson a week with my oldest kids. What else do I need to add to make a full literature curriculum for the year? Reading lists? Any other resources? Thanks!

 

 

 

What age(s)/grade(s) are you planning to use this with?

 

If this is for students at or below 7th/8th grades, just enjoy Figuratively Speaking, and start looking for the literary elements you've covered in whatever your students happen to be reading.

 

Consider slowly adding in questions from SWB's What is Literary Analysis and When to Teach It handout with whatever you are already reading. If you need a book list to choose from consider looking through some of these (by grade or age-range) for ideas:

 

- SWB book ideas from Academic Excellence grades 5-8 handout, and from TWTM

- 1000 Good Books (look through both elementary (gr. 4-6) and junior (gr. 7-9) lists)

- Ambleside Online booklists (these are rigorous, and tend to run 1-2 grades above average, IMO)

- Sonlight Curriculum (cores G, H, W and 100 especially)

 

 

If this is for students in grades 8 and abovel, then you'll want to slowly start introducing discussion, analysis, and writing about the literature. The book Deconstructing Penguins can give you a feel for what guided discussion with your students could look like. Resources such as Reading Strands, Teaching the Classics, and How to Read a Bookcan help guide you.

 

For types of questions to aid in discussion and analysis, use Socratic Method questions. Also, literature guides for specific books can be very helpful, with comprehension questions, discussion questions, background info on the author/times, and writing assignment ideas. Glencoe Literature Library guides are free; The Garlic Press publishers' Discovering Literature series, Portals to Literature, Progeny Press, and others for a fee. Specifically for Shakespeare, look at the Parallel Shakespeare materials.

 

For analysis and background information on individual works and authors, try Wikipedia, Sparknotes, Cliffs' Notes, and Pink Monkey for free online resources. And, of course, a google search on a specific author/work often turns up helpful resources.

 

For older students, you may prefer a more structured program, such as Lightning Literature & Composition (gr. 7 and gr. 8); Literary Lessons from the Lord of the Rings (gr. 7-10); Excellence in Literature series (grades 8-12); or Windows to the World (gr. 9-12).

 

 

BEST of luck in your Literature adventures! Warmest regards, Lori D.

[HollyDay]

We used and liked Figuratively Speaking along with Walch Poetry and Prose Toolbox:

http://www.amazon.com/Walch-Toolbook-Series-Prose-Poetry/dp/0825138027/ref=sr_1_sc_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1364425772&sr=1-1-spell&keywords=walche+prose+and+poetry+toolbox

 

I think we enjoyed Walch even more than Figuratively Speaking. Together, it was a great study.

[Stayseeliz]

Thanks for the responses! It's actually for a 6th grader with a 4th grader sitting in for fun. I ended up buying LLATL yesterday too so we'll go slowly and combine the two. I can't wait!