Roxy Roller Posted May 6, 2014 Share Posted May 6, 2014 I have looked at book lists until I am going cross-eyed. Please tell me what your three top picks would be for each time period - Ancient, Medieval, Renaissance/Reformation, Early Modern and Modern Times, in the order of importance, and/or interest for middle school boys, from first to last. Or if you know of a prior thread that would tell me this, please link it. In the back of my head I think Hunter or someone else asked a question like this some years ago. Thank you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murrayshire Posted May 7, 2014 Share Posted May 7, 2014 This sounds like a "Lori D." thread...... Maybe she'll chime in soon! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HollyDay Posted May 7, 2014 Share Posted May 7, 2014 What have you looked at? BF? MFW? Veritas Press? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kfamily Posted May 7, 2014 Share Posted May 7, 2014 I'll give it a try.. AncientsBlack Ships Before Troy by Rosemary Sutcliff or The Trojan War by Olivia CoolidgeThe Wanderings of Odysseus by Rosemary SutcliffIn Search of a Homeland by Penelope LivelyMedievalKing Arthur and His Knights of the Round Table by Roger Lancelyn GreenCanterbury Tales Retold by Geraldine McCaughreanBeowulf by Burton RaffelRobin Hood by Roger L. GreenNordic Gods and Heroes by Padraic ColumRenaissance and ReformationTales From Shakespeare by Charles and Mary Lamb or a complete play by ShakespearePoetry for Young People: Shakespeare edited by KastenEarly ModernRobinson Crusoe by Daniel DefoeModernTreasure Island by Robert L. StevensonCaptains Courageous by Rudyard KiplingThe Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark TwainA Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
julie4 Posted May 8, 2014 Share Posted May 8, 2014 Following Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aurelia Posted May 8, 2014 Share Posted May 8, 2014 Kfamily listed pretty much all my picks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrysalis Academy Posted May 8, 2014 Share Posted May 8, 2014 Ancients: a retelling of Gilgamesh Black Ships Before Troy Julius Caesar Medieval: D'Aulaire's book of Norse Myths King Arthur - maybe Green's version? Robin Hood - Green Early Modern: Treasure Island Around the World in 80 Days Tom Sawyer Modern: The Adventures of Sherlock Homes or Hound of the Baskervilles Animal Farm The Giver ETA: I just realized I divided my time periods differently than the OP requested, but I'll leave it, b/c I like Kfamily's version for the other division of historical periods. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom2myboys Posted May 8, 2014 Share Posted May 8, 2014 Following as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelly1730 Posted May 8, 2014 Share Posted May 8, 2014 Great suggestion, ladies! Keep 'em coming:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roxy Roller Posted May 8, 2014 Author Share Posted May 8, 2014 I'll give it a try.. Ancients Black Ships Before Troy by Rosemary Sutcliff - this was on my short list The Trojan War by Olivia Coolidge The Wanderings of Odysseus by Rosemary Sutcliff In Search of a Homeland by Penelope Lively Medieval King Arthur and His Knights of the Round Table by Roger Lancelyn Green - this was on my short list Canterbury Tales Retold by Geraldine McCaughrean Beowulf by Burton Raffel Robin Hood by Roger L. Green - this was on my short list Nordic Gods and Heroes by Padraic Colum Renaissance and Reformation Tales From Shakespeare by Charles and Mary Lamb or a complete play by Shakespeare Poetry for Young People: Shakespeare edited by Kasten Early Modern Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe - we did this as a family audiobook on our last big trip - everyone loved it, but I wouldn't do it again Modern Treasure Island by Robert L. Stevenson - this is on my short list Captains Courageous by Rudyard Kipling The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain - this is on my short list A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens I have made notes in the quote, as to which books I already have on my short list. Thank you for some more ideas to consider. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kfamily Posted May 8, 2014 Share Posted May 8, 2014 ETA: You might prefer the Seamus Heaney translation for Beowulf...I used the Raffel translation because a guide I had recommended it, but I also have the Heaney translation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roxy Roller Posted May 8, 2014 Author Share Posted May 8, 2014 Ancients: a retelling of Gilgamesh Black Ships Before Troy - on my short list already Julius Caesar Medieval: D'Aulaire's book of Norse Myths King Arthur - maybe Green's version? - on my short list already Robin Hood - Green - on my short list already Early Modern: Treasure Island - already on my short list Around the World in 80 Days - I think we are doing this as a family audiobook this summer, because we just finished a few months of intense geography. Tom Sawyer - already on my short list Modern: The Adventures of Sherlock Homes or Hound of the Baskervilles - I like the idea of Sherlock Holmes. Animal Farm - This is usually on high school lists, is it accessible to middle schoolers? The Giver ETA: I just realized I divided my time periods differently than the OP requested, but I'll leave it, b/c I like Kfamily's version for the other division of historical periods. Thanks for your ideas. I have made my notes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roxy Roller Posted May 8, 2014 Author Share Posted May 8, 2014 What have you looked at? BF? MFW? Veritas Press? I have looked at Sonlight, BF, MFW, VP, TQ and BP. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roxy Roller Posted May 8, 2014 Author Share Posted May 8, 2014 Keep the ideas coming, ladies! This is helping to solidify some of my ideas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrysalis Academy Posted May 8, 2014 Share Posted May 8, 2014 My dd and I did Animal Farm this year in 6th grade. It was definitely accessible, it's not a hard read, and as an allegory it is much more appropriate for middle schoolers than, say 1984. But I would say that it's important to have the historical context - definitely discuss the Russian Revolution and Stalin before you read the book. The discussions we had of Animal Farm and The Giver this year absolutely blew me away. That's why I include The Giver - not that it's classic literature or anything, but the quality of the discussion we had about that book was phenomenal. We read (together) the short stories The Lottery and The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas at the same time, and it was incredibly thought-provoking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ali in OR Posted May 8, 2014 Share Posted May 8, 2014 We've had a really good year of read-alouds this year for year 4, Modern History. I've got the challenge now of choosing read-alouds for studying Ancients with youngest only next year, so I'll keep following this thread. This is way more than 3, but it has been a great list. All were read-alouds so we could discuss as we went along, and they were done with girls instead of boys ages 13 and 10/11, 8th and 5th grader. Red Badge of Courage My Antonia Huckleberry Finn All Quiet on the Western Front The Hound of the Baskervilles Murder on the Orient Express The Hiding Place Animal Farm To Kill a Mockingbird If we could have only done 3 of those, I would choose Huck Finn, Animal Farm, and To Kill a Mockingbird. But I wouldn't assign any of those particular 3 for middle schoolers to read on their own. Too much to explain (like dialects), too many important ideas to just hope they notice. Boys might have more interest in the war themes (I can tell you girls tire of them!); All Quiet on the Western Front was our favorite of those. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roxy Roller Posted May 8, 2014 Author Share Posted May 8, 2014 My dd and I did Animal Farm this year in 6th grade. It was definitely accessible, it's not a hard read, and as an allegory it is much more appropriate for middle schoolers than, say 1984. But I would say that it's important to have the historical context - definitely discuss the Russian Revolution and Stalin before you read the book. The discussions we had of Animal Farm and The Giver this year absolutely blew me away. That's why I include The Giver - not that it's classic literature or anything, but the quality of the discussion we had about that book was phenomenal. We read (together) the short stories The Lottery and The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas at the same time, and it was incredibly thought-provoking. Thank you for your explanations. I will have to put these on my own reading list to peruse. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roxy Roller Posted May 8, 2014 Author Share Posted May 8, 2014 We've had a really good year of read-alouds this year for year 4, Modern History. I've got the challenge now of choosing read-alouds for studying Ancients with youngest only next year, so I'll keep following this thread. This is way more than 3, but it has been a great list. All were read-alouds so we could discuss as we went along, and they were done with girls instead of boys ages 13 and 10/11, 8th and 5th grader. Red Badge of Courage My Antonia Huckleberry Finn All Quiet on the Western Front The Hound of the Baskervilles Murder on the Orient Express The Hiding Place Animal Farm To Kill a Mockingbird If we could have only done 3 of those, I would choose Huck Finn, Animal Farm, and To Kill a Mockingbird. But I wouldn't assign any of those particular 3 for middle schoolers to read on their own. Too much to explain (like dialects), too many important ideas to just hope they notice. Boys might have more interest in the war themes (I can tell you girls tire of them!); All Quiet on the Western Front was our favorite of those. I had thought about Red Badge of Courage and Huck Finn. I will add the others to my lists to consider. I am planning on doing all of these as read-alouds so that we can discuss them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scott777 Posted May 10, 2014 Share Posted May 10, 2014 Here is Mr. Travers' European History book list for his Literature class below. Check out this link to his open hours where he covers the American History books he will use next year. My 5th and 7th grade kids love studying Literature, Art, and Poetry with this guy. He really bring the Literature and the Art to life. Junior High Literature, Book List European-History Related King Arthur and His Knights of the Round Table, by Roger Lancelyn Green Beowulf: A New Telling, by Robert Nye Anna of Byzantium, by Tracy Barrett The Hunchback of Notre Dame, by Victor Hugo Cyrano de Bergerac, by Edmond Rostand The Cid, by Pierre Corneille A Doll’s House, by Henrik Ibsen The Scarlet Pimpernel, by Baroness Orczy Ninety-Three, by Victor Hugo Othello, by William Shakespeare Romeo and Juliet, by William Shakespeare Les Misérables, by Victor Hugo Examples of Poetry “The Lady of Shalottâ€, by Alfred Tennyson “The Highwaymanâ€, by Alfred Noyes “To Lucastaâ€, by Richard Lovelace “Sonnet 116â€, by William Shakespeare Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdventuresinHomeschooling Posted May 12, 2014 Share Posted May 12, 2014 I'd add Swiss Family Robinson and Pilgrim's Progress and maybe Grapes of Wrath for 8th grade. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reefgazer Posted May 12, 2014 Share Posted May 12, 2014 Ancients: Epic of Gilgamesh Black Ships Before Troy The Wanderings of Odysseus Middle Ages: King Arthur and Knights of The Round Table Robin Hood D'Aulaires Norse Mythology Early Modern: Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin Tom Sawyer The Raven (I'd say Pride and Prejudice here, but I absolutely hated that book, so I substituted something of Poe's) Modern: Animal Farm To Kill A Mockingbird The Grapes of Wrath Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roxy Roller Posted May 12, 2014 Author Share Posted May 12, 2014 Here is Mr. Travers' European History book list for his Literature class below. Check out this link to his open hours where he covers the American History books he will use next year. My 5th and 7th grade kids love studying Literature, Art, and Poetry with this guy. He really bring the Literature and the Art to life. Junior High Literature, Book List European-History Related King Arthur and His Knights of the Round Table, by Roger Lancelyn Green Beowulf: A New Telling, by Robert Nye Anna of Byzantium, by Tracy Barrett The Hunchback of Notre Dame, by Victor Hugo Cyrano de Bergerac, by Edmond Rostand The Cid, by Pierre Corneille A Doll’s House, by Henrik Ibsen The Scarlet Pimpernel, by Baroness Orczy Ninety-Three, by Victor Hugo Othello, by William Shakespeare Romeo and Juliet, by William Shakespeare Les Misérables, by Victor Hugo Examples of Poetry “The Lady of Shalottâ€, by Alfred Tennyson “The Highwaymanâ€, by Alfred Noyes “To Lucastaâ€, by Richard Lovelace “Sonnet 116â€, by William Shakespeare Great list! Thank you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roxy Roller Posted May 12, 2014 Author Share Posted May 12, 2014 I'd add Swiss Family Robinson and Pilgrim's Progress and maybe Grapes of Wrath for 8th grade. We have just finished SFR as a family audiobook, so I won't cover that again, but I do think I need to add in Pilgrim's Progress. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roxy Roller Posted May 12, 2014 Author Share Posted May 12, 2014 Ancients: Epic of Gilgamesh Black Ships Before Troy The Wanderings of Odysseus Middle Ages: King Arthur and Knights of The Round Table Robin Hood D'Aulaires Norse Mythology Early Modern: Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin Tom Sawyer The Raven (I'd say Pride and Prejudice here, but I absolutely hated that book, so I substituted something of Poe's) Modern: Animal Farm To Kill A Mockingbird The Grapes of Wrath Thanks for a great, precise list! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mukmuk Posted May 13, 2014 Share Posted May 13, 2014 Posting to keep track. Fabulous recs! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted May 14, 2014 Share Posted May 14, 2014 Here is Mr. Travers' European History book list for his Literature class below. Check out this link to his open hours where he covers the American History books he will use next year. My 5th and 7th grade kids love studying Literature, Art, and Poetry with this guy. He really bring the Literature and the Art to life. Junior High Literature, Book List European-History Related King Arthur and His Knights of the Round Table, by Roger Lancelyn Green Beowulf: A New Telling, by Robert Nye Anna of Byzantium, by Tracy Barrett The Hunchback of Notre Dame, by Victor Hugo Cyrano de Bergerac, by Edmond Rostand The Cid, by Pierre Corneille A Doll’s House, by Henrik Ibsen The Scarlet Pimpernel, by Baroness Orczy Ninety-Three, by Victor Hugo Othello, by William Shakespeare Romeo and Juliet, by William Shakespeare Les Misérables, by Victor Hugo Examples of Poetry “The Lady of Shalottâ€, by Alfred Tennyson “The Highwaymanâ€, by Alfred Noyes “To Lucastaâ€, by Richard Lovelace “Sonnet 116â€, by William Shakespeare I think I missed the link. Would you mind reposting it? GREAT LIST! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scott777 Posted May 14, 2014 Share Posted May 14, 2014 Paradox5, you should be able to click on the YouTube video to play the open house. tell me if that works for you or not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aludlam Posted May 15, 2014 Share Posted May 15, 2014 Hijack: Literature at Our House looks interesting, but I can't find any threads about it. Am I doing a bad search job, or is this something not discussed much? thanks for the reply and sorry for the hijack Angela Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scott777 Posted May 15, 2014 Share Posted May 15, 2014 Hi Angela, yeah, there is not much out there regarding Literature at Our House because this was the first year that Mr. Travers conducted this online class. He originally taught at the VanDamme Academy in California for many years. We used it with our two sons this year and absolutely loved it from day 1. Mr. Travers conducts it like a real class with around 10-15 kids per class. He has an Upper Elementary class (4-6th grade) and a Jr. High class (7-9). At times, the kids in the class read aloud from the books and from poetry together. Every class, Mr. Travers poses challenge questions about what the children read the night before for an assignment. He really gets them thinking about the characters and plot in ways they wouldn't be with reading it on their own in my opinion. He also assigns writing assignments for each book. There is the option of subscribing to the live class 3 times per week, 1 time per week, or to only do the recordings. Of course, each option is a different course. He is going to be offering a 1 day a week writing workshop next year to go along with the Literature class. He is a very nice guy and he will even offer you the opportunity to have your kid sit in on the online class a few times for free to feel it our. You can contact him through his Facebook page or home page below. I'm sure he would be happy to answer any of your questions. http://www.luctravers.com https://www.facebook.com/literatureatourhouse?ref=br_tf Our favorite aspect is that every so often he brings a work of art into the class and examines it in a way that even interests me! Here is an example of how he does that. I normally didn't think about Art like this, now I do :) Let me know if I can answer any other questions you may have All the Best - Scott Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aludlam Posted May 15, 2014 Share Posted May 15, 2014 There is the option of subscribing to the live class 3 times per week, 1 time per week, or to only do the recordings. Of course, each option is a different course. Would you please clarify/explain this for me? Is the one time per week a longer class - or just one of the 3 classes that week? (I don't believe that I could have phrased that in a more confusing way. lol) My dd12 did watch most of the open house video (I haven't seen all of it yet). She really liked what she saw. thank you for your time Angela Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EndOfOrdinary Posted May 15, 2014 Share Posted May 15, 2014 Fahrenheit 451 is one of those books that middle schoolers often love, especially boys. If you had great discussions with Animal Farm and The Giver, I would add it in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scott777 Posted May 15, 2014 Share Posted May 15, 2014 No problem Angela. The 3 classes are all the same length and he conducts them all with live students. You can choose to have your child sit in the live class for all 3 classes, for just 1 of the classes (you choose the day), or for none of the live classes. http://www.literatureatourhouse.com If you took the option for 1 live class, then you would access to the other 2 as recordings. The recorded classes are usually available soon after the live class has taken place. He runs it all through the WizIQ website. If you opted for no live classes, like we currently do, then you would access the recordings. Regardless of which option you choose, you always have access to the recorded classes. So if live participants miss a class they surely can watch the recorded class at a later time. So, basically you choose one of those option and purchase it through the website with PayPal as a monthly option. You get billed for a monthly cost through PayPal based on the option you pick. When your first register and set up the PayPal, then you get a link to the WizIQ website. That is where you access the course contents. The contents consist of PDFs of class notes, pictures, poems. The main content is the video of each class. I hope that makes sense. Let me know if you need more clarification. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aludlam Posted May 15, 2014 Share Posted May 15, 2014 No problem Angela. The 3 classes are all the same length and he conducts them all with live students. You can choose to have your child sit in the live class for all 3 classes, for just 1 of the classes (you choose the day), or for none of the live classes. http://www.literatureatourhouse.com If you took the option for 1 live class, then you would access to the other 2 as recordings. The recorded classes are usually available soon after the live class has taken place. He runs it all through the WizIQ website. If you opted for no live classes, like we currently do, then you would access the recordings. Regardless of which option you choose, you always have access to the recorded classes. So if live participants miss a class they surely can watch the recorded class at a later time. So, basically you choose one of those option and purchase it through the website with PayPal as a monthly option. You get billed for a monthly cost through PayPal based on the option you pick. When your first register and set up the PayPal, then you get a link to the WizIQ website. That is where you access the course contents. The contents consist of PDFs of class notes, pictures, poems. The main content is the video of each class. I hope that makes sense. Let me know if you need more clarification. It makes perfect sense. Thank you so much for clarifying. I did email Luc earlier and he is gathering info for us and answering questions. Thanks so much for the info on this!!! Angela Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrysalis Academy Posted May 15, 2014 Share Posted May 15, 2014 Fahrenheit 451 is one of those books that middle schoolers often love, especially boys. If you had great discussions with Animal Farm and The Giver, I would add it in. That was me. I didn't think my middle schooler (girl) would like it all that much, honestly. I think we might read it in high school, but at the risk of dodging tomatoes, it's not my favorite dystopia - and I love dystopias. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Momof3 Posted May 15, 2014 Share Posted May 15, 2014 Johnny Tremain Treasure Island Not sure if these have been mentioned yet... They are must-reads for my boys! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Momof3 Posted May 15, 2014 Share Posted May 15, 2014 I like The Bronze Bow for ancients, too. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scott777 Posted May 15, 2014 Share Posted May 15, 2014 Angela, you're welcome. you can message me if you have any further questions down the line. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roxy Roller Posted May 16, 2014 Author Share Posted May 16, 2014 Fahrenheit 451 is one of those books that middle schoolers often love, especially boys. If you had great discussions with Animal Farm and The Giver, I would add it in. I did Fahrenheit 451 in high school and I didn't love it, but my boys might. Johnny Tremain Treasure Island Not sure if these have been mentioned yet... They are must-reads for my boys! :) We have not done Johnny Tremain or Treasure Island. I think I may consider them. I like The Bronze Bow for ancients, too. :) We have listened to The Bronze Bow as a family on audiobook, my kids loved it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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