Memoria Press Lit Guides-Heidi- Questions

[MotherGoose]

I have been using the Memoria Press guide for Heidi for my 3rd grader. She's an advanced reader, and has no trouble reading the book, understanding it, etc. She does well on the comprehension exercises. I do them orally with her. I am thinking I'll go to narrating though--doing it chapter by chapter is tedious and sometimes she drags with reading and sometimes she reads several chapters. I want to continue to challenge her with vocabulary though. The words in the literature guide are certainly challenging; we've had to get out a "real" dictionary to find the words. Many of them are obscure too. She knows how to look up words in a dictionary, but I know that assigning her many of the words to look up will be too much for her. I've talked with her about the words, but they don't seem to sink in. Some of them are archaic (we're reading the unabridged version) but some are just sort of beyond her 8 year old frame of reference, even if she can pronounce them perfectly. So my question is, what do you do with these guides? Are there better alternatives for vocabulary building? If I went with Wordly Wise or something like that , would you go for 4th or 5th grade (she's reading on about an 8th grade level).

[SevenDaisies]

If you want other suggestions for vocabulary you may want to re-name your post so it is not so specific to the Heidi lit guide. I don't really have any suggestions here, as we tried Wordly Wise briefly and left it to learn vocabulary in context.

 

We did just use the Heidi lit guide although my dd was 9. Do you have the teachers guide? I must admit that I did not have dd look up the words. We discussed them from the definitions in the teachers guide and then she wrote the definition in her book. I also made flash cards and put them on a ring for her. The teachers guide also has tests and quizzes, and even if you don't use them as such, they would work well as practice.

[momee]

I would stick with what you have and pick two/three to cement during the week.  I think you'll find MP lit guides are sufficient, just my opinion after only one full year of usage though.

 

We are doing the 7th grade MP core and you wouldn't believe the words we are assigned :)  I'm not stressing it however.  I have my student define the words using the internet and she marks those definitions in her workbook.  As we read (right now we are doing Legend of Sleepy Hollow) I point out those words as I can.

 

We stop often through the reading to be sure she understands the context.  MP choices are advanced or at least challenging, in my opinion, so it makes sense they are going to encounter tons of new words.  

 

We had to stop altogether yesterday because I couldn't figure out this statement..."The cognomen of Crane was not inapplicable to his character."

 

We had fun figuring out together cognomen had something to do with name and read the context again and again and realized the name "Crane" fit his physical features perfectly.  I have repeated the words/statement often during our literature time and will try to do so again today.  It's just familiarity at this point.  I don't think their goal is mastery of every word.  I would venture to say with the methods of defining, understanding in context, and daily/regular usage those words would be mastered and become a part of her vocabulary.  I bet the way Highlands Latin School would go over it, mastery would happen because of usage over time.  That's what I'm hoping will happen in our hs.  

 

I realized I have to use the words though, or they'll just turn out to be a rote exercise in vocabulary, no matter what curricula.