TheAutumnOak Posted April 16, 2013 Share Posted April 16, 2013 Has anyone done (or is planning to do) "The Iliad" and "The Odyssey" in the 7th grade?...Memoria Press has it in their new 7th grade package, and I am wondering if that is a good time, or just too early...I am thinking through my plans for the boys, and am struggling with what to study when...I would think that "The Iliad" and "The Odyssey" would be great for freshmen year, but wonder if anyone has any pros or cons to studying them before high school?...I am trying to make a plan from the top down, but it is difficult because there are so many things I would like to cover, and not enough time to cover them all...Coming up with a general scope and sequence is proving to be more difficult than I thought! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted April 16, 2013 Share Posted April 16, 2013 It all depends on the level. My kids read prose retellings of the Odyssey and the Iliad early in Middle school and enjoyed it very much. they also read tons of Greek mythology. In 9th grade, we then did a more in depth study, reading a verse translation and listening to college lectures about the cultural background. It definitely helped that DD was already familiar with the story and had a solid background in mythology; this enabled us to go deeper in analysis. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laughing lioness Posted April 16, 2013 Share Posted April 16, 2013 My boys both did the MP version's in 7th gr. Ds 18 was a beta tester for their study guide and ds 13 took off this year. I was going to do the study guide WITH him but he cruised through it all in a couple of days and can tel me about it in living color. The MP study guides are great. LOVE them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cleopatra Posted April 17, 2013 Share Posted April 17, 2013 Having studied The Iliad and Odyssey myself last year, I would recommend waiting to study the verse translations later, perhaps grade 9 or 10 at the earliest, depending on the child. You really need to have a background in certain aspects of Ancient Greek history to understand the society and the motivation of the characters, to get a deep understanding. You could attempt it, of course, but what might be alot of work now, would certainly be easier with two years more maturity. The Teaching Company (the Great Courses) has courses that can help: http://www.thegreatc...aspx?cid=3000�� Otherwise, an exposure to these classics would certainly be helpful now, with a plan to read them later in full. Like Laughing Lioness mentioned, Memoria Press has a program, or you can get these to read and later discuss: http://www.amazon.co... boys and girls and http://www.amazon.co...s and girls.��I I believe these books can be found free online and Librivox has a free audiobook of the first one (The Iliad for Boys and Girls) The Children's Homer is also a good read ---- if I remember correctly it covers the Odyssey. By reading the "books for children", you aren't going to necessarily understand all the deeper themes of the stories, but it would give you a good base to start from. Best wishes! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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