babybryte Posted April 21, 2015 Share Posted April 21, 2015 My rising 9th and 10th graders *really* need help in analyzing literature! I have a 4 1/2 year old "wild child", so it's difficult to find a long stretch of time to sit with them and teach it. I was wondering if there was a DVD course or an online course that teaches how to analyze literature (preferably from a Christian worldview) and teaches the literary elements. I was thinking of BJU DVD's....?? I have some Landry Academy generics, but I believe the lit classes are full. What other options are there?? These are my first high schoolers, so I am not very knowledgable in all of the high school offerings. :) Thank you for your help!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faithr Posted April 21, 2015 Share Posted April 21, 2015 I used Teaching the Classics with my oldest dd. She struggled to read due to dyslexia and then had a really hard time advancing to higher levels of literature. The physical chore of reading made it hard for her to comprehend what she was reading. Teaching the Classics really made a light bulb go off for her. She loved the map graph they use to help get a handle on all the elements of the plot, etc. You might try it out. Here's a link: http://centerforlit.com/ 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie of KY Posted April 21, 2015 Share Posted April 21, 2015 I was also going to suggest Teaching the Classics. The main dvd courses are directed at how to teach literature - I'd do the course with the parent and students together. There are also several dvd course modeling the method. Ultimately you can learn how to do it and go from there. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie of KY Posted April 21, 2015 Share Posted April 21, 2015 oops - double post Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
babybryte Posted April 21, 2015 Author Share Posted April 21, 2015 Is Teaching the Classics something they can do by themselves? Or do I need to teach it every day? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faithr Posted April 21, 2015 Share Posted April 21, 2015 My dd and I watched the dvd together and then discussed it. My memory is fuzzy as this was 9 years ago. But I think your high schoolers could watch it on their own. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie of KY Posted April 21, 2015 Share Posted April 21, 2015 Teaching the Classics is directed at the teacher, but high schoolers could easily do it with you or on their own. It teaches a structure about how to go about analyzing/thinking about literature and gives lots of questions to be asked. I think it is 4 hours of dvd time - I'd recommend doing it together just so you know what it is even if you are not going to discuss literature with them. Teaching the classics is not something you teach daily at all. Windows to the World is a workbook format to teach literary analysis. A motivated student could teach themselves from the teacher guide/sudent guide combo, but I'd recommend doing it with them. This is more like a planned guide through literary analysis. Center for LIt also has online lit classes. I don't remember if next year's books are listed, but my son learned a lot through it. Basically kids read a book a month and then have a monthly discussion online. It is optional if you want to add the writing portion of the class or just discussion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
babybryte Posted April 22, 2015 Author Share Posted April 22, 2015 Thank you so much!! I will look into these! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yvonne Posted April 22, 2015 Share Posted April 22, 2015 My boys did Windows to the World: An Introduction to Literary Analysis with a small co-op group in 8th grade and loved the whole experience. I think it was successful largely because there were others in the class. Lit analysis is one of those things that really requires interaction... with a parent, other students, teacher, etc. They also tried an online Center for Lit course, but it didn't work for us. If you want to cover two bases at the same time (literary analysis and writing,) you could look for a lit-based writing course. My 9th graders are taking Potter's School's English 3: Literature Survey, and it has gone very well. They have made significant strides not only in lit analysis but also in writing. Definitely money well-spent for us. Another source of solid academic, Christian online courses is Wilson Hill Academy. My rising 8th grader will be taking Cindy Lange's lit-based Expository Writing class. You might contact WHA about whether they're offering other lit-based writing classes in the fall. They are very responsive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vida Winter Posted April 22, 2015 Share Posted April 22, 2015 My dc have all done the Center for Lit online classes with Adam and Missy Andrews. They only meet once a month so the class doesn't take up much time at all. The bulk of the time is spent reading the book in preparation for the class; during the class they discuss the book its literary elements. If you want a writing option they offer that too, but we have never done that. The kids love these classes. They get my highest recommendation. http://www.centerforlit.com/Academy/home.aspx 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dina in Oklahoma Posted April 23, 2015 Share Posted April 23, 2015 Couldn't agree more! :thumbup: My dc have all done the Center for Lit online classes with Adam and Missy Andrews. They only meet once a month so the class doesn't take up much time at all. The bulk of the time is spent reading the book in preparation for the class; during the class they discuss the book its literary elements. If you want a writing option they offer that too, but we have never done that. The kids love these classes. They get my highest recommendation. http://www.centerforlit.com/Academy/home.aspx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom-ninja. Posted April 23, 2015 Share Posted April 23, 2015 I listened to an excerpt of an online class with the Andrews. Can anyone give me a feel for how Christian it typically is? We are not Christian. I do want my kids familiar with Christian world view and symbolism, but i don't want Christian doctrine spoken of as absolute truth and all others are wrong. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beth in Mint Hill Posted April 25, 2015 Share Posted April 25, 2015 I remember checking out the "Teaching the Classics" and thinking it a really great basic intro to "literary analysis." Well done! Don't know if it is OK for me to point this out, but I and two other great tutors, Angelina Stanford and Grace Kosloski, offer Great Books and literature as live online courses, described here: http://www.harveycenter.org/humanities/ The other two ladies (Angelina and Grace) are really great tutors! I try to become more like them every day. :) Beth 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joan in GE Posted April 25, 2015 Share Posted April 25, 2015 I can't speak about the DVD's for Teaching the Classics - but I have referred to the book itself over the years. I find it's an interesting addition to lit studies but that I appreciated it more after having years of exposure so that his comments are read in a context that is more developed....For example, his comments about French authors....after we studied some of the French authors in for dd's French courses, we touched on them again in World Lit. And by then she had more exposure in World History so could understand the context better eg the Enlightenment. So I wouldn't just use his book as a stand-alone source for studying world lit - I think a lot of the content would go over the students' heads. Now, if you would pick out certain books - eg for British Lit and use other resources in addition, then it could work as he has useful points that you won't necessarily see elsewhere. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie of KY Posted April 25, 2015 Share Posted April 25, 2015 I listened to an excerpt of an online class with the Andrews. Can anyone give me a feel for how Christian it typically is? We are not Christian. I do want my kids familiar with Christian world view and symbolism, but i don't want Christian doctrine spoken of as absolute truth and all others are wrong. I've listened to a few of the Andrews talks. It is obvious that they are Christians, but it's barely discussed with many books. If it is an author or book that it is a Christian worldview then it plays more prominently in the discussion. I don't find them "pushy" at all about their faith. I think if is 1) a book you don't mind your kids reading and 2) you don't mind them hearing some references to the Christian faith then I don't think you'd mind their teaching at all. If you want a sample of how a class is run by Adam Andrews, then you could buy one of the dvd courses and sample it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom-ninja. Posted April 25, 2015 Share Posted April 25, 2015 Thanks Julie, buying a DVD is a good idea. I am not opposed to Christianity being talked about. It is after all the major worldview for the majority of Western literature. I want my kids very familiar and comfortable with it. I just don't want want the attitude of something like "all heathens are immoral" being taught as fact like in some other books I have seen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beth in Mint Hill Posted April 26, 2015 Share Posted April 26, 2015 Thanks Julie, buying a DVD is a good idea. I am not opposed to Christianity being talked about. It is after all the major worldview for the majority of Western literature. I want my kids very familiar and comfortable with it. I just don't want want the attitude of something like "all heathens are immoral" being taught as fact like in some other books I have seen. And here is a sample of Teaching the Classics, of Andrews doing some teaching. There are many of these clips on youtube. Just do a search including these 3 words: Adam Andrews Literary 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kareng Posted July 27, 2015 Share Posted July 27, 2015 Has anyone done the "Worldview Detective" DVD with their children? Just curious. It seems really neat so I was wondering ... :mellow: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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