My3girls Posted June 26, 2014 Share Posted June 26, 2014 Is it worth the cost? Necessary for using the readers, road maps, or Exellence in Literature for high school? Please, discuss away... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonnia Posted June 28, 2014 Share Posted June 28, 2014 I purchased a copy of just the book from IEW not long ago and have found it to be more than enough for me. (I tend to avoid DVD-based training; I'd much rather read.) All of the information is there, but without the hand-holding of implementing. For me, that is sufficient as I'm pretty comfortable with literature and with this approach. My son is only in middle school, so I have not looked at the high school materials. That being said, the roadmaps look like a very useful resource. I'm considering trying one of those out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arcara Posted June 28, 2014 Share Posted June 28, 2014 I love TTC! I'm so glad I got it! I finally learned how to teach literature in a deep, yet enjoyable way. I was used to comprehension questions growing up and in high school I was expected to just know how to analyze literature without being taught how. I would just go with the videos for now and see if you want any of the extras later. There's a good chance that you'll find the videos enough for now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie of KY Posted June 28, 2014 Share Posted June 28, 2014 I love the method of Teaching the Classics. I think you probably just need the dvds/teacher notebook. Later if you want, you can get more stuff. My son has done an online class with Adam Andrews this year and has learned a lot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tonia Posted June 28, 2014 Share Posted June 28, 2014 I really like having both. I could probably have gotten by from just the book but the it was great to see things in action on the DVD. Not sure if it's necessary before using any other materials though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunshine State Sue Posted June 29, 2014 Share Posted June 29, 2014 I found TtC beneficial. I don't know your background, so YMMV. I have a degree in math and needed all the help I could get in order to discuss literature with a monosyllabic teenage boy. I'll copy and paste from some old threads: Adam Andrews talks about context, structure, and style. I'm even starting to understand what he means. Context is the background information on the author and time period. The structure of the story is nicely written on the story chart (plot, conflict, character, setting, theme). Style are things like alliteration, similies, foreshadowing, etc. Then, Adam has the Socratic List of questions to ask in order to pull all the above information out of the students. Piece of cake. :001_rolleyes: I have a degree in math. It's about my only strength. I am probably so-so when it comes to reading literature and understanding the deeper meaning in stories. My 15yo son is a bright, but unmotivated student. He wants to discuss literature with me about as much as he'd like me to give him a bath. He is quite the monosyllabic young man. We are using TtC this year to discuss literature related to the American history he is learning. I watched the videos maybe a year ago. We watched them together and worked through the workbook in a week over the summer. TtC has helped us to discuss literature. Using the story chart has helped us to at least get the big picture of the book, determine some of the themes, recognize the that there can be multiple threads. The Socratic questions have helped us to have more to say about the books than we might otherwise say. But, I find that I'm asking the same questions over and over again. And, ds can answer all of them with about a sentence. You may want to try searching for "Teaching the Classics" in the title only on the K-8 board. There are a good number of threads... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
My3girls Posted June 29, 2014 Author Share Posted June 29, 2014 We're secular so Windows to the World wouldn't work for us. Teaching the classics is just for me, right? I was thinking of using Figuratively Speaking with dd12 this year before starting Excellence in Literature the next. I think I'll get the book and see how it goes. I can always get the DVDs after the fact if needed. Thanks ladies! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shanvan Posted June 30, 2014 Share Posted June 30, 2014 We're secular so Windows to the World wouldn't work for us. Teaching the classics is just for me, right? I was thinking of using Figuratively Speaking with dd12 this year before starting Excellence in Literature the next. I think I'll get the book and see how it goes. I can always get the DVDs after the fact if needed. Thanks ladies! I'm not sure why you think WttW won't work. We've used it and I can't remember it being in your face with Christianity, but I might not have noticed too much since I didn't use it as written. Generally, the progression that is advised is TTC and Figuratively Speaking, followed by WttW at or close to high school age. I used Teaching the Classics with Ds years ago and I found the book to be enough, but analyzing literature is a strength for me and not something I have to work at. Math, otoh, that is *work* to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cascadia Posted June 30, 2014 Share Posted June 30, 2014 I purchased a copy of just the book from IEW not long ago and have found it to be more than enough for me. (I tend to avoid DVD-based training; I'd much rather read.) All of the information is there, but without the hand-holding of implementing. For me, that is sufficient as I'm pretty comfortable with literature and with this approach. My son is only in middle school, so I have not looked at the high school materials. That being said, the roadmaps look like a very useful resource. I'm considering trying one of those out. By "just the book", do you mean the seminar workbook for Teaching the Classics? I'm like you, I'd rather read than sit down to watch videos. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonnia Posted July 2, 2014 Share Posted July 2, 2014 By "just the book", do you mean the seminar workbook for Teaching the Classics? I'm like you, I'd rather read than sit down to watch videos. Thanks! I am pretty sure that is what I have. It reads like a workshop for teachers and includes readings for working through the process yourself in order to understand it better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
texasmama Posted July 2, 2014 Share Posted July 2, 2014 I have the workbook and the DVD for TtC. I think that the workbook alone would have been sufficient. I like Figuratively Speaking as a basic middle school intro to literary terms which gives the student a vocabulary for discussing literature. I think that is empowering and helps to break down the process into manageable chunks. Deconstructing Penguins and TtC are good guides for a teacher/parent to guide the discussions. I use DP pretty loosely because I take a broader view of lit analysis than DP, but I think it is a helpful and approachable way for a parent teacher to guide lit discussions. I am the opposite of Sue in St. Pete, and I wish she lived next door. We would be a fantastic pair. :D My albatross is math and always has been. It is a clear weakness for me. My strength is language arts. Lit analysis comes very naturally to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cascadia Posted July 3, 2014 Share Posted July 3, 2014 Thanks for the information about the workbook! :thumbup1: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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