s/o how to work through progressively more challenging works

[lewelma]

Early on, do you discuss the book at all, even casually?  Such as what the child liked or didn't like, who his favorite character was, etc?

For my kids when they were still in primary school, every time I tried to ask questions, they just didn't want to answer them. Seemed too schooly, too much like work. If I had said, you must, then they would have, but then I would done exactly what I did NOT want to do -- make reading literature something you do for school rather than something you do for fun.

The only thing I found that worked was for me to read the book and talk about what *I* liked and disliked. And then the kid could add in or not; it was up to them. This approach made it seem more like *I* wanted to talk about the book, rather than that I needed to quiz them about it. I did not do it often, but sometimes I did - like maybe 4 times a year when I had read the book.

But typically, I just let them read read read. Did they catch every little nuance of plot, or the really cool symbolism, or the amazing characterization? I'm sure that they did not. But my overarching goal was to develop a LOVE of literature. That love now carries my older forward in literary analysis, because he is interested in really understanding the books he reads and because the actual *reading* of the book is not hard.

[Critterfixer]

Alte Veste linked a pretty good list, guys. It has the grade level books, but then below there is the advanced list. That may be useful in doing what Ruth does, in increasing the difficulty over the quarter. So one could do a few books from the grade level, then try for an advanced which may be more in the line of what one would think of as a classic.

I'd read over that list about five years ago. Forgot it was there.

So, thanks!

[justamouse]

Oh, Gawd, reading this thread reminds me of how uneducated I am and how unequipped I am to teach this stuff.

 

Hey, you can totally do this. Start reading. Drink coffee. Read some more. 

[lewelma]

Oh, Gawd, reading this thread reminds me of how uneducated I am and how unequipped I am to teach this stuff.

Did you catch the part where I only read 1 classic before the age of 35? I was uneducated too. I did what justamouse suggested -- got some coffee and started reading how to do this.

[lewelma]

You should have seen me yesterday. DS and I went for a walk along the waterfront for an hour to discuss The Great Gatsby which we had both just finished reading. I brought my smart phone, found a site discussing it, read the essay question outloud, discussed it with ds, felt inadequate, read the answer, felt more inadequate, and luckily did not run into a pole! It was great! and we learned so much.

Baby steps. I do a bit every day.

[Woodland Mist Academy]

I hope the coffee part doesn't scare anyone off. . .

 

Tea and chocolate work just as well--promise! :001_tt2: ;)

 

ETA: Maybe even better. . . :leaving:

[lewelma]

I hope the coffee part doesn't scare anyone off. . .
 
Tea and chocolate work just as well--promise! :001_tt2: ;)
 
ETA: Maybe even better. . . :leaving:

Very good point. I actually only drink tea, and I do eat my weight in chocolate every year (actually, that is probably true :huh: , I should do the calculations)

[Rosie_0801]

Oh, Gawd, reading this thread reminds me of how uneducated I am and how unequipped I am to teach this stuff.

 

When I flunked a linguistics essay at uni, the lecturer wrote me off as a lazy bum. I knew this, but kept showing up to the lectures and tutes and sitting right in front of her, nodding or frowning at what she said. One day she came to sit with me at lunch. I might have sucked at her assignments but I kept my bum on the seat and learned what I could manage and she could see that. Caring and bothering gets a person a long way, lol. During that lunch time I gave her an anecdote to demonstrate I was absorbing and allowing myself to be affected by what she taught to thank her for not considering me a waste of space in her classroom, heh.

[Alte Veste Academy]

When I flunked a linguistics essay at uni, the lecturer wrote me off as a lazy bum. I knew this, but kept showing up to the lectures and tutes and sitting right in front of her, nodding or frowning at what she said. One day she came to sit with me at lunch. I might have sucked at her assignments but I kept my bum on the seat and learned what I could manage and she could see that. Caring and bothering gets a person a long way, lol. During that lunch time I gave her an anecdote to demonstrate I was absorbing and allowing myself to be affected by what she taught to thank her for not considering me a waste of space in her classroom, heh.

Yes! What a great story! Caring and bothering. Caring enough to bother!

I know firsthand about threads that make you hyperventilate. Nothing I have ever done in life has ever revealed my personal deficits like homeschooling. Nothing! I feel humbled by my own ignorance every day. But I figure it is dig in or quit, and for a million and one reasons, I keep choosing to dig in. But it is WORK. Homeschooling is work.

[ScoutTN]

Great thread, thanks!
I have been needing structure to keep dd moving along in literature and this will help.

[stripe]

And I do think ya'll are human, and a much better source of reasonable book suggestions that any internet site I've met yet.

Definitely!

[Critterfixer]

I do think that Rosie really has a great point about caring to bother.

 

I never got a lot of literature study in school, and the few classes I took seemed very focused on teaching the student to come up with the teacher's opinions. I didn't have to have many of these courses, so I didn't take them. I also didn't take any writing courses that I didn't have to. And it wasn't because I hated writing. I love to read. And I loved to write even more...I was afraid that studying either of those things too closely would be like sausage making. I'd see the process and hate the product.

But I found out differently when I started taking on studying some of the elements of fiction writing on my own. It turned out to be great fun, not to dissect a story to get at the "truth", but to see the way it was built so that I could play around with the ideas for myself. I never read any mythology at all until I started playing around with character and archetypes. And I never really appreciated the short story until I saw what a great way it was to look at plot and how to develop something in a very short amount of time. 

It mattered to me, so I decided to start learning about it.

 

So now, this matters enough for me to give it priority and attention. I don't expect the kids to be all that thrilled, but they may be. They sure won't complain about hours of reading time in their day.

[alef]

There was a list on here that someone compiled by grade then subject all the great books recommended by various sites... I may still have it...the only drawback was it included Robinson curriculum and listed every single Bobsey Twin book ever written.

I want a copy of this list!

[quark]

I've found really bizarre suggestions through sites like this. Like, if I put in Charlotte's Web, it suggests Plato's Republic. Okay, not quite, but strangely unrelated. (Okay, just for the heck of it, I tried Charlotte's Web. Sure, there are reasonable suggestions, but also One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish and Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde -- seriously! I'd never have thought those two could have turned up on the same list!)

:lol: Good to know. :lol: Maybe Wilbur isn't really who we think he is? :lol:

 

That link just popped up when I googled. So now I'm intrigued. There *has* to be something out there that does this right? I mean since we humans are increasingly becoming dependent on non-human help and all.

 

So I stumbled upon another one: Library Thing BookSuggester.

I tried Dr Jeckyll and Mr Hyde (in honor of stripe), picked a random edition and got this!

 

There's also TheBookSeer. I keyed in The Master and Margarita by Bulgakov (recently finished and enjoyed) and received some more Russian Lit suggestions.

 

(nothing compared to the powers of The Hive of course...but I do get a kick out of searching for these things).

[ElizabethB]

It also makes it easy to move up to harder books when you can sound out anything!

My quick guide to improving reading grade level to 12th grade for a well taught student:

http://www.thephonicspage.org/On%20Reading/WellTaughtPhonicsStudent.html

I also like the 1879 McGuffey readers for building up reading ability and vocabulary, they are very incremental. Start slightly below where it is a bit difficult to get them hooked on thinking it is a breeze to read through a passage or two a few times a week, you should be able to work through more than a book a year at that rate. They have a mix of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry.

[quark]

Oh, Gawd, reading this thread reminds me of how uneducated I am and how unequipped I am to teach this stuff.

 

Think of it positively. You are not uneducated but unbiased! Your mind is still open! You can form your own opinions and carve your own path instead of following someone else's blindly! (this is how I consoled myself when learning a new language, learning how to cook, learning to be a mom etc and was feeling crippled by perfectionism).

 

A library card and a way to get to the library is all the equipment you need. :thumbup1:

You can do this!
 

[ebunny]

Think of it positively. You are not uneducated but unbiased! Your mind is still open! You can form your own opinions and carve your own path instead of following someone else's blindly! (this is how I consoled myself when learning a new language, learning how to cook, learning to be a mom etc and was feeling crippled by perfectionism).

 

A library card and a way to get to the library is all the equipment you need. :thumbup1:

You can do this!
 

 

:iagree:

[Heidi]

I love this thread!!!

I avoid the library, fill my bookshelves with only classics, and require my kids to read daily. Easy.

[Kathryn]

What a great thread! As a young child, I devoured books like the Babysitter's Club. However, my grandmother always gave me books like The Little House series, the Secret Garden, and Little Women. I'd read them while waiting for the next book in my current series to be released, and did end up enjoying them. However, it was when I was a little older and stumbled upon Dickens that I truly became a reader. I fell in love. I read everything I could get my hands on by Dickens and then read about him so that I could find more books like his. That led to reading about those authors and their influences and who they influenced. Before I knew it, I had a ten-page list of books I wanted to read.

I've found this approach has worked for DS as well. When he loves a book, he wants to read more in the series or more by the same author or more on the same subject. Very early on, his love of the Mouse and the Motorcycle led to reading the other books about Ralph, then other Beverly Cleary books, then other books about mice. Lately, his love of Lord of the Rings (which we listened to last year and he read himself this year) has led to his reading works that influenced Tolkein and Middle Earth. I love when he rereads something we've read together (or even something he's read on his own). He often gets much more out of it the second time around. The first time, he's really listening/reading for plot, but on subsequent read-throughs, he really seems to focus on character development, setting, and other devices that make for great discussions. Granted this might be because he's just eight, or maybe because he's autistic, but I've found that he's much more up for discussing intelligently and having great questions after reading something more than once.

[Woodland Mist Academy]

I've said it before, I LOVE it when my kids reread!  I love it when they reread things I've read aloud, and then ask for the sequels.  I love it when they reread the same books over and over, getting more immersed in the world and picking up more from them each time.  I think it's fantastic.

 

My 2nd grader - the one who has in the past resisted having "good" books read to her - loved The Trumpet of the Swan this year.  I was shocked, I didn't think it was her kinda book at all, but she wanted to read it after doing a WWE narration on it.  So we did, and she loved it.  Then I read her The Cricket in Times Square - again, totally thinking she'd dis it because it was a "good" book I wanted to read to her.  But no, she adored it, and she read it again by herself - two or three times - after I had read it to her.  She then proceeded to read to herself the whole set of George Selden Cricket books.  And she hasn't looked back since then!  

 

My 6th grader is currently re-reading the Harry Potter series . . . for the 5th time.  :leaving: I read them aloud to her when she was younger (as the movies were coming out), but this year, when she was 11, she just clicked with them in the most intense way.  Emma Watson/Hermione is her role model, idol, whatever, and she adores this series with a passion.  Now, if this were all she was reading, I might be a little  :glare:  but given she's read more than 120 other books this school year, I'm ok with it!  

 

She has also re-read Sherlock Holmes, Huck Finn (done first as read-alouds), Tom Sawyer,  and a bunch of other things like that this year.  I think it's great that she's taking these things we've shared and making them her own.

 

Ditto!

 

A whole lot of rereading going on here! There always has been--thus the conflict yesterday. She had been rereading parts over and over and not finishing the book. :001_huh:  
She has now taken to occasionally hiding to do her rereading--even of the classics! :lol:

 

Similar to Rose's daughters, Lily reads so many books that I usually don't mind the rereading. I just need to check the urge to calculate how many different titles she would have been through if she didn't reread. Sometimes I think of The Cider House Rules (not a classic :svengo: ) and how the older orphans had internalized the one or two classics they were exposed to. (The one or two books were reread many times.)  It pops into my mind when I want to tear one classic out of her hand and replace it with the next. (Well, OK, yesterday it didn't come to mind until after my tirade, but sometimes I remember before it's too late... :tongue_smilie: )

 

Harry Potter...dear Harry Potter....the books were in such bad shape by the time she had finished her rereading and rereading and rereading...one had even been dropped into the tub and wasn't entirely salvageable. She eventually stopped rereading Harry Potter once I hid the books for a bit, but for the first few times through I didn't mind. It was when she stopped all other reading that I did. But.but.but, those books are still mentioned during our school days, and she sometimes still writes Hermione on her work if she knows she's nailed it. I am therefore always a little nervous when I see other names. . . :scared: :thumbdown: :sneaky2:

 

;)

[Kathryn]

Ditto!

A whole lot of rereading going on here! There always has been--thus the conflict yesterday. She had been rereading parts over and over and not finishing the book. :001_huh:
She has now taken to occasionally hiding to do her rereading--even of the classics! :lol:

Similar to Rose's daughters, Lily reads so many books that I usually don't mind the rereading. I just need to check the urge to calculate how many different titles she would have been through if she didn't reread. Sometimes I think of The Cider House Rules (not a classic :svengo: ) and how the older orphans had internalized the one or two classics they were exposed to because of frequent rereading. It pops into my mind when I want to tear one classic out of her hand and replace it with the next. (Well, OK, yesterday it didn't come to mind until after my tirade, but sometimes I remember before it's too late... :tongue_smilie: )

Harry Potter...dear Harry Potter....the books were in such bad shape by the time she had finished her rereading and rereading and rereading...one had even been dropped into the tub and wasn't entirely salvageable. She eventually stopped rereading Harry Potter once I hid the books for a bit, but for the first few times through I didn't mind. It was when she stopped all other reading that I did. But.but.but, those books are still mentioned during our school days and she sometimes still writes Hermione on her work if she knows she's nailed it. I am therefore always a little nervous when I see other names. . . :scared: :thumbdown: :sneaky2:

;)

LOL over here. I have the same Harry Potter problem here. Our poor copies look awful and he will proudly tell anyone who will listen that he's read the whole series seven times. I, too, have resorted to hiding them and lamenting how much shorter his list of literature read this year will be.

[Critterfixer]

So, now to some action, right?

 

I want to know more about how to cycle through genre, and also how one links things like fantasy and science fiction to a history outline. I've never been a historical fiction person, but linking classic works of literature to a history framework sounds like something I might be interested in. Does one simply look at topic covered, or time period when the author lived, or what?

[Chrysalis Academy]

Ditto!

 

A whole lot of rereading going on here! There always has been--thus the conflict yesterday. She had been rereading parts over and over and not finishing the book. :001_huh:  
She has now taken to occasionally hiding to do her rereading--even of the classics! :lol:

 

Similar to Rose's daughters, Lily reads so many books that I usually don't mind the rereading. I just need to check the urge to calculate how many different titles she would have been through if she didn't reread. Sometimes I think of The Cider House Rules (not a classic :svengo: ) and how the older orphans had internalized the one or two classics they were exposed to. (The one or two books were reread many times.)  It pops into my mind when I want to tear one classic out of her hand and replace it with the next. (Well, OK, yesterday it didn't come to mind until after my tirade, but sometimes I remember before it's too late... :tongue_smilie: )

 

Harry Potter...dear Harry Potter....the books were in such bad shape by the time she had finished her rereading and rereading and rereading...one had even been dropped into the tub and wasn't entirely salvageable. She eventually stopped rereading Harry Potter once I hid the books for a bit, but for the first few times through I didn't mind. It was when she stopped all other reading that I did. But.but.but, those books are still mentioned during our school days, and she sometimes still writes Hermione on her work if she knows she's nailed it. I am therefore always a little nervous when I see other names. . . :scared: :thumbdown: :sneaky2:

 

;)

 

:lol:  Thanks for the morning giggle!   Shannon sometimes signs her work "Calpurnia" in honor of The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate, another book we read together first and she has re-read several times.

 

I have to admit, now that she's on the 5th runthrough of HP, I am less . . . . flexible about the whole "just read" thing.  Yesterday, I was like, "Come on, put down The Prisoner of Azkaban! We have some Norse Myths to read!!!!"   :lol:

[Soror]

I'm glad to read these stories about re-reading. Ds has reread HP a few times, Percy Jackson and various other things. I remember last year trying to get him to stop reading the Norse Myths (again) as we had moved past studying that, sigh. It seems hard at times to find the line between respecting their particular tastes and nudging them outside their comfort zone for growth and learning.

[Critterfixer]

Another thing I would like some advice on: dealing with the non-fiction predilection. My hfA son is one that will not touch a non-fiction book unless he is bribed. It's not that he can't handle it, because he will read out loud to me if requested and do pretty well. He can narrate when he's done, even write about it or give me some details. But he simply finds the whole thing ridiculous, because "It isn't real."

Never mind that his complaint is truly ridiculous, because there is nothing, and I mean NOTHING more fantastic than the stories he writes for fun. By fantastic I mean the elements, not the quality. The quality shows his lacking of fiction skills. They are travel stories, where the details are what the cats had for dinner or what they found on an island, or where they sailed in their ship with their pet dragon. So the pot really is calling the kettle black!

I'm thinking about what Ruth said, adapting the non-fiction approach to fiction especially for this child. What do you think?

[Woodland Mist Academy]

I I remember last year trying to get him to stop reading the Norse Myths (again) as we had moved past studying that, sigh. It seems hard at times to find the line between respecting their particular tastes and nudging them outside their comfort zone for growth and learning.

 

We have a serious problem with myths and legends here. They are scattered e.v.e.r.y.w.h.e.r.e in the house, all.the.time.

 

She can't seem to get with the program about what time period and culture we are currently studying. ;)

 

You raise an interesting point. I've been thinking about it while reading this thread. Why do we prize certain types of reading over others? Still thinking. . .

 

Classics are great and we love them here, but I'm not certain they are the holy grail for everyone.

[Woodland Mist Academy]

Heidi, I can't believe that avoiding the library is a solution. Libraries are such magical places for kids. They are filled with secret delights that are unlocked by simply opening a book.

 

That probably depends on the library and librarians. A library where we lived previously was in the process of discarding classics and adding lots of children's books that I wouldn't allow into my home. The librarian thought they were the most wonderful books ever. It was distressing. Other libraries have been a bit unsafe.

 

On the other hand, there are many treasured libraries in my memories.

 

It's not a sure bet, though.

 

ETA: One can surf the internet for a wider selection of books than are found in many/most libraries. We previously lived in an area with a small library system that couldn't even get the books we needed through inter-library loan.

[Critterfixer]

My library has a tendency to stock what kids are reading, not what maybe they should be aspiring to read. And that's fine, because that is what they must do. Better kids read than not, I guess.

I do end up getting most of my books from our library system, however. But I stock my shelves differently, because I've got a great used bookstore in town with an owner who has a passion for good fiction and especially good children's fiction. And she has a trade system, so that if we read something and it isn't really resonating, I can take it back, and get trade in for other books. I'm very lucky there.

[Chrysalis Academy]

Re-reading score:  This morning, Morgan (7) announced that she was going to re-read the Little House series.  :party:  I'm thinking about just letting that be school today!

[Just Another Jen]

There is a great book list included in volume 10 of journeys through bookland- as well as the contents of the set themselves. I just started a series of posts on them over on my neglected blog.

 

http://recreationalscholar.wordpress.com/2014/04/02/journeys-through-bookland/

[Critterfixer]

We are starting Treasure Island as a read aloud tonight. Getting into pirate mode. 

[ktgrok]

I've been thinking about how to start with older kids, and I wonder if you couldn't use the classification above.  Have your kid read 10 children's classics and 10 easier adult classics, before hitting the difficult adult classics.  Just a thought.

 

I'm thinking the same thing. My DS is the typical nerdy, Aspie kid in some ways....getting him to read "harder" books is a challenge. I just sent him a list from the harder kids/easier adult books she listed. Told him to pick one and read something of literary value for the love of all that is holy, lol. (he's at his Dad's this week, and was supposed to pack a book from the shelf I made for him, but I'm srue he "forgot" so I told him to buy one on his kindle or have his Dad take him to the library or bookstore.)

[Heidi]

Heidi, I can't believe that avoiding the library is a solution. Libraries are such magical places for kids. They are filled with secret delights that are unlocked by simply opening a book. Even in the WTM they recommend taking kids to the library and picking a book from several different areas (science, biographies, etc.). I think the key is to teach children to be discerning, to look past the cover of a book or outside their comfort zone. We need to teach them to seek beauty and virtue (and I write this while staring at a copy of Fly Guy) and not settle for the comfortable and mundane. At this point I'm writing this more for myself as I try to plan out our next trip (trips, this certainly won't be a one trip fix) to the library that won't end up with 3 copies of Star Wars easy readers, My Little Pony, and nothing else of merit. :)

It is working very well here. If my babes read all the awesome classics I've collected for them here or on their kindles, and I run out of money to buy more, I might consider the library. But as it is, my daughters are happily reading classics. Plus, it isn't a very magical experience to bring six little kids to a library. :)

[amsunshine]

There is a great book list included in volume 10 of journeys through bookland- as well as the contents of the set themselves. I just started a series of posts on them over on my neglected blog.

http://recreationalscholar.wordpress.com/2014/04/02/journeys-through-bookland/

Are you teasing us??? Would love to know what that book list is! 😜

[Critterfixer]

I think, and I may be wrong, that you can get the text of the Volume 10 of Journey's through Bookland at Gutenberg. I think.

I don't have a Kindle yet. Maybe that goes on my birthday list for this year.

[mamamin]

Does anyone know how chopped up the versions are for those "Great Illustrated Classics" versions? my 8 yr old DD read Little Women and liked it because the font was large (she has some slight vision/tracking issues) But I hesitate to encourage those versions if they are really dumbed down. Anyone familiar with them?

[Miss Tick]

This I the list I was talking about. I don't recall who was originally posted it or did all the work assembling the list.

Thanks Jaderbee!

Lewelma has set me up with an approach here and in her non-fiction thread, but I need a list if options for the year I'm order to make it happen and you just have me a great leg up.

[quark]

Are you teasing us??? Would love to know what that book list is! 😜

 

I think, and I may be wrong, that you can get the text of the Volume 10 of Journey's through Bookland at Gutenberg. I think.

I don't have a Kindle yet. Maybe that goes on my birthday list for this year.

 

This, I think. (Gutenberg html version link)

For epub, kindle etc.

[lewelma]

I want to know more about how to cycle through genre, and also how one links things like fantasy and science fiction to a history outline. I've never been a historical fiction person, but linking classic works of literature to a history framework sounds like something I might be interested in. Does one simply look at topic covered, or time period when the author lived, or what?

 

Another thing I would like some advice on: dealing with the non-fiction predilection. My hfA son is one that will not touch a non-fiction book unless he is bribed. It's not that he can't handle it, because he will read out loud to me if requested and do pretty well. He can narrate when he's done, even write about it or give me some details. But he simply finds the whole thing ridiculous, because "It isn't real."

 

I assume you meant that he will not touch *fiction* unless he is bribed? 

 

 

 

For my older these 2 ideas are linked.  He learned to read on non-fiction and that is what he really loved, so one of the ways I got him into fiction was having him read historical fiction and then as soon as he could handle it, classics written in or about the era.

 

We do the 4 year history rotation, which makes it very easy for me to research my book lists.  1) It helps me find books because I have a limiting factor (for example: it needs to be on the great depression, not 'it can be on anything'), 2) it encourages me to look further afield into books I have not heard of (I discovered Iron Heel by Jack London last year and boy is it good!), and 3) this research approach returns books of a number of genres, so when looking for WW2 I have found Wodehouse (humor), Catch 22 (satire), Slaughterhouse 5 (historical/ sci fi/ satire), Anne Frank (biography).

 

By reading classics set in the time period we are studying, the kids will naturally notice more about the book.  When my older was reading the Great Gatsby last week, my dh had already read a book on Prohibition, so ds could actually understand the implications of Gatsby being a bootlegger.  In addition, he found it absolutely *shocking* that To Kill a Mocking Bird is set 7 years LATER.  Then with these fiction books we could have a looooong discussion on society at the time, the affect of the stock market crash, the differences in wealth by race and region. etc.  These two fiction books became a learning tool for history.  And a great one at that. It has worked very very well for my nonfiction lover.

 

He just told me last night, "can I read a book about the dust bowl next?"  Well, I had not put this topic on my book list that I make at the beginning of the year, but the research is easy.  Google 'classic literature about the dust bowl' and up pops Grapes of Wrath.  Hum.  Obviously heard of it, but never read it.  Now I have to see if it is appropriate.  For a younger kid I am looking to see if he can actually read the words and comprehend.  So I just get it on Gutenberg and check.  But then you have to also consider, 1) does my kid have the life experience to understand this?  Pride and Prejudice comes to mind as something a 13 year old boy would struggle to understand.  2) Is the content appropriate, as in not too sexy or scary?  Obviously this depends on the child.  Older loved Sherlock Holmes at 10ish, young found it very scary.  And sometimes I get it wrong, when I had my 12 year old read Brave New World!  oops. 3) Is the emotional content too overwhelming?  This is why older ds and I agreed together that he should not read any books about WW1 because all the classics are overwhelmingly depressing. 

 

So how to you judge these things?  Well, just jump on Wikipedia and read the summaries, or go to amazon and read the reader reviews.  Takes some time, but then at least you have all these books in mind for when they get older.  It is getting much easier now, because I had a lot of rejects earlier that now are appropriate.

 

Now, it is much harder to do this for the ancients and  modern era because a elementary and logic aged kid will not be reading classics written in the era (typically).  So the books are SET in the era but written in the modern time.  But once again, making it not about the story, we discuss how the era of the author affects the characters.  So we make it into nonfiction in a way.  We don't discuss the literary nature of the writing, but the historical accuracy.  It becomes like a little fact checking hunt.  It also teaches them to read more critically.

 

As for science fiction, I put it in the era that it was written.  What is great about science fiction for a nonfiction lover is that it is a commentary on society, so that it gives the nonfiction lover something to really think about that is *real* not just a story.  I think you can draw him into it by reminding him what was going on in society when the book was written, and ask him to think about what the author was trying to say about the issues of the day.  Make it real. Distopians are very similar to sci fi and can be read using the same techniques. As for fantasy, I stuck a lot of it into the middle ages, but really it does not matter.  There are not actually a lot of fantasy classics.

 

HTH,

 

Ruth in NZ

[lewelma]

You raise an interesting point. I've been thinking about it while reading this thread. Why do we prize certain types of reading over others? Still thinking. . .

 

Classics are great and we love them here, but I'm not certain they are the holy grail for everyone.

 

My older ds and I just read the Luminaries by Catton which won the Man Booker Prize this year.  Wow!  was it great!  I'm thinking that picking a modern award winning adult book every year might be a very nice addition to our studies.

 

I definitely prefer novels over poetry, plays, histories, and biographies.  I think it is because novels are the easiest and I am a novice reader still.  My older is starting to get interested in reading the histories listed in the WEM, so I might start the next step of this endeavour pretty soon.
 

[ElizabethB]

My older ds and I just read the Luminaries by Catton which won the Man Booker Prize this year.  Wow!  was it great!  I'm thinking that picking a modern award winning adult book every year might be a very nice addition to our studies.

 

I definitely prefer novels over poetry, plays, histories, and biographies.  I think it is because novels are the easiest and I am a novice reader still.  My older is starting to get interested in reading the histories listed in the WEM, so I might start the next step of this endeavour pretty soon.
 

 

I have a fun history book to get you started on history...it is big picture, novelized history!

 

Seeds of Change: Six Plants That Transformed Mankind.  I am pretty sure you will find this interesting.

 

http://www.amazon.com/Seeds-Change-Plants-Transformed-Mankind/dp/1593760493/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1396478523&sr=8-2&keywords=6+plants+changed+the+world

 

I have several other in this category I have liked, I think they mainly U.S. centric, though, I will have to look on my shelves and see.  I didn't really care for history much until I started reading big picture history books.

[lewelma]

Not exactly a classic, but DS and I have started reading Collapse by the same guy who wrote Guns, Germs, and Steel.

 

But the books I am actually talking about tackling strike fear into my heart: Herodotus, Thucydides, Plato, Plutarch, etc

 

These are straight from the WEM, and given that next year for us is the ancients, I might just be reading them with my older.  YIKES!

[justamouse]

I know, but I am just afraid that as I learn I will be cheating them out of an education that could be provided to them by someone who was an English major and knows how to cover this stuff!  Sigh.

You eat the elephant one bite at a time. I didn't read many classics before I started homeschooling. I was a *reader*, I read voraciously. Just never classics. 

So you start one book ahead, and keep it up. The more you read the better of a reader you'll become and this will get a LOT easier for you. Then, you'll be ahead just because you're an adult and you'll see how you can help her. And don't stop reading. 

[Kalmia]

I want to talk about poetry!  Shannon is loving poetry right now and it's what she really, really wants to do for literature.  She's in A Midsummer Night's Dream, so she's immersed in that language and loving it, and she's loving the poems we've read and discussed, and she wants to read and talk about more, and write some of her own . . . . and I feel more lost with this than with other stuff.  I mean, I really like to read poetry.  I read a lot, and I read aloud to the girls a lot.  But I don't really know what else to do with it.  I know what I like, but I also know I don't always "understand" the poems that I like, and I'm not sure what to say about them, how to "teach" them.  

 

And I swear I have looked at every single poetry book, poetry curriculum, etc. that's out there and I can't figure out what we want . . . she wants to study MORE POETRY and is counting on me to point her in the right direction, and I"m literally paralyzed by all the choices out there!  I would really love to find an annotated poetry book kind of like The Annotated Alice or Annotated Hobbit, i think.

 

I know this is kind of off topic, but I'm tying it in to several of the comments that y'all have made - that reading poetry increases overall reading level.  What are you actually doing with the poetry you read? 

 

Ruth, i can start another thread if you think that's better, it's just I want to hear from you guys about this!  In the context of ramping up reading level and challenge in literature studies.

 

This is one we've enjoyed for poetry, Story in Verse. Good explanations. Different selections than your typical poetry book. 

 

http://www.amazon.com/Stories-Verse-Max-T-Hohn/dp/0672732343/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1396491094&sr=1-1&keywords=stories+in+verse

[Critterfixer]

That is one bright spot in our literature this year. Two years ago we picked up Linguistic Pursuits in Poetry and we are in year 2 now. Even my hFA, fiction hating, history loathing, give me science or die child memorizes the poetry and even has some fun with it now and then. On top of that we memorized every selection from FLL 3 to add to it. He doesn't like it, but he doesn't whine about it.

 

I did ask him if there were any books we read this year that he thought were OK, and he said 3 out of 4 were not horrible--21 Balloons he hated, he said; but at least he hasn't totally refused yet. But I did have to reward him for his work. And I did mean to say I had to bribe him for fiction reading. Obviously I didn't have quite enough tea and chocolate when I was working on my post! Non-fiction books on building things he loves. And he loves to build things on his own. He's quite clever that way.

 

And he put in a request that the next book be about windmills, so anyone who has a book detailing children who live in windmills, or fiction that involves a windmill in some way..besides Don Quixote which is already on my list. 

 

As far as poetry goes, top on the list this year was part of The Bells by Poe. Both boys loved the rhythmic feel and sound of it. We checked out a book of his poems and read through them together over tea for about a week, which was fun. I look forward to introducing them to some of his short stories this year.

[8filltheheart]

That is one bright spot in our literature this year. Two years ago we picked up Linguistic Pursuits in Poetry and we are in year 2 now. Even my hFA, fiction hating, history loathing, give me science or die child memorizes the poetry and even has some fun with it now and then. On top of that we memorized every selection from FLL 3 to add to it. He doesn't like it, but he doesn't whine about it.

I did ask him if there were any books we read this year that he thought were OK, and he said 3 out of 4 were not horrible--21 Balloons he hated, he said; but at least he hasn't totally refused yet. But I did have to reward him for his work. And I did mean to say I had to bribe him for fiction reading. Obviously I didn't have quite enough tea and chocolate when I was working on my post! Non-fiction books on building things he loves. And he loves to build things on his own. He's quite clever that way.

And he put in a request that the next book be about windmills, so anyone who has a book detailing children who live in windmills, or fiction that involves a windmill in some way..besides Don Quixote which is already on my list.

As far as poetry goes, top on the list this year was part of The Bells by Poe. Both boys loved the rhythmic feel and sound of it. We checked out a book of his poems and read through them together over tea for about a week, which was fun. I look forward to introducing them to some of his short stories this year.

Fwiw, my Aspie preferred non-fiction, too.

The only book with windmills I can think of off the top of my head is The Winged Watchman. (Historical fiction. ;) my boys have all loved this book.). http://www.amazon.com/Winged-Watchman-Living-History-Library/dp/1883937078

[idnib]

A library card and a way to get to the library is all the equipment you need. :thumbup1:

You can do this!
 

 

Excuse me, but I was led to believe I would also need a coffee pot, a mug, a grinder, and one thousand kilos of coffee beans.  :cool:

 

 

On a more serious note, once in awhile I see a thread and say to myself, "Self, if you click on this link, you're going to have to up your game. You know that, right?"

 

This is one of those threads.

 

So thank you.

[ktgrok]

Thank you so much for the step by step list of incremental books. That's hugely helpful!  That said....I'll be honest and say I can't imagine a world without Trixie Belden books and Nora Roberts romance novels. I learned SO much from Trixie Belden books....they traveled and I learned about caves, blind cave fish, day of the dead rituals, gardening, all sorts of things. And Nora Roberts has, in the last few months, taught me about fire jumping, swamps, and more. 

 

So it will be a balance for us. That's how I grew up....I was reading Shakespeare on my own at age 10, but also reading every Trixie Belden, Bobbsey Twin, and Happy Hollister book I could find. Highschool was a mix as well...think Jane Eyre followed by random romance followed by Stranger in a Strange Land. 

 

I also think I really didn't get as much out of the classics at a young age as I did later. I didn't have the maturity and life experience...not saying I shouldn't have read any, just a thought as I mull over this. That said, we HAVE missed too  many "good books" to read historical pieces. Plus, we started late, in 5th grade, with a fairly reluctant reader. Now he goes in phases. Typically he hates the first chapter of a book, then loves it, then gets bored 2/3rds through and wants to drop it. Drives me bonkers.

[8filltheheart]

Thank you so much for the step by step list of incremental books. That's hugely helpful!  That said....I'll be honest and say I can't imagine a world without Trixie Belden books and Nora Roberts romance novels. I learned SO much from Trixie Belden books....they traveled and I learned about caves, blind cave fish, day of the dead rituals, gardening, all sorts of things. And Nora Roberts has, in the last few months, taught me about fire jumping, swamps, and more. 

 

So it will be a balance for us. That's how I grew up....I was reading Shakespeare on my own at age 10, but also reading every Trixie Belden, Bobbsey Twin, and Happy Hollister book I could find. Highschool was a mix as well...think Jane Eyre followed by random romance followed by Stranger in a Strange Land. 

 

I also think I really didn't get as much out of the classics at a young age as I did later. I didn't have the maturity and life experience...not saying I shouldn't have read any, just a thought as I mull over this. That said, we HAVE missed too  many "good books" to read historical pieces. Plus, we started late, in 5th grade, with a fairly reluctant reader. Now he goes in phases. Typically he hates the first chapter of a book, then loves it, then gets bored 2/3rds through and wants to drop it. Drives me bonkers.

 

I agree about books like Trixie Belden (Happy Hollisters, Bobbsey Twins, Nancy Drew, Mysterious Benedict Society, Imaginarium Geographica,  Percy Jackson....... or any other fun kids books) for them to read for pure enjoyment.   (not a Nora Roberts fan, though!  ;) )   It is why I explicitly stated I do not control at all what they read during their own personal free-time.   We do have a distinction between school requirements and their own time.    
 

[Critterfixer]

Thanks for the recommendation of The Winged Watchman. I showed it to the boy and he was interested. 

 

I really do need to up my game as well. So this thread has been inspiring, if scary.

 

I think my biggest take away has been that I have to read the books. Don't get me wrong, I have read the books I gave the boys to read, and most of them more than once. But I didn't read to think them through with the boys. Just to make sure the level and content was about right, and I relied on literature guides to do my thinking for me. I can't do that and expect the outcome to be any more than being able to answer a few questions.

That goes for non-fiction as well. Both boys read non-fiction for fun, but they struggle with non-fiction in narrative format. Especially the hfA child, so I'll be working on the non-fiction reading skills too.

He got next to nothing out of history this year, using SOTW. I should have picked up much earlier that the story format was giving him fits.