momtolgd Posted July 13, 2015 Share Posted July 13, 2015 I am working on our lit list for 9th grade. DS is somewhat of a reluctant reader who has only willingly read the Harry Potter series and the Hunger Games series, so our focus this year will be short stories and dystopian novels. We have not done much formal lit analysis, so I am unsure of how to start...what questions to ask, what things to look for, etc. Any help would be appreciated! Also I am not sure of what order to do the following books in and how/when to include short stories. Here is the list as I have it so far...advise on tweaking this would be helpful! The Giver The Time Machine Fahrenheit 451 The Maze Runner series Divergent Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? Ender's Game Short stories: Harrison Bergeron The ones who walk away from Omelas The Most Dangerous Game Gift of the Magi The Monkey's Paw The Lottery The Secret Life of Walter Mitty a Sherlock Holmes short story Having not read many of these myself, I am not sure how to plan this all out. Are there any resources for studying short stories? I also plan to add at least a few guides like Garlic press or Progeny press guides, so those will help some with analysis. I have just been stressing over this, and would feel better if I had a plan in place! Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JennW in SoCal Posted July 14, 2015 Share Posted July 14, 2015 I think it is a great list and you could do them in any order with the novels evenly spaced through the year and the short stories sprinkled in between. You don't need to stress too much about literary analysis, but if you read them at the same time as your ds just start out by just talking about the books together -- talk about what you like or dislike about the writing, the characters, the plot. Don't make it a question and answer period, rather make it about sharing the books. The literary analysis will grow from there. You can also google each title, look for reviews to read after you've both finished the book, then talk about the reviews -- do you agree with them or did the writer have another perspective that you missed. And you can have your ds google the author, get some background on the books. Watching a movie adaptation makes for more good discussions -- what did they get right, what did the miss, why would they make those story decisions. Good reviews of the movies will often compare the books to the movie. We sometimes listened together to audio books, especially while driving to activities. It was a good spring board for discussions -- I'd hit pause and make a comment, or explain something, as in Hound of the Baskervilles when I had to explain what a water mark is in stationery paper! (It's a great intro into Homes, btw.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heartsjoy Posted July 14, 2015 Share Posted July 14, 2015 Were you needing a framework for yourself to know what to ask/ discuss? This teacher training class for home school teachers helped me. https://www.lampstandbookshelf.com/ZC/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=100_101_139&products_id=730 You may also need a resource called Poetics. http://www.lampstandbookshelf.com/ZC/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=99_97_15&products_id=649 You could double check with customer service..Customer Service: 1-800-705-7487 (M-F, 10am to 4pm EST) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pegasus Posted July 14, 2015 Share Posted July 14, 2015 I recommend taking a look at Sparknotes. It is free and online and has some of your novels and shortstories. It covers a nice range of literary analysis elements. Also, you might consider watching the BBC Sherlock in conjunction with reading Sherlock Holmes. My DD had read just a couple of the stories before watching the BBC series and then went back and devoured many more. She loved how the directors of the show compared/contrasted to the original stories. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3andme Posted July 14, 2015 Share Posted July 14, 2015 You might take a look at these two courses to get some ideas or as supplements. Signum University Dystopian Literature - video coursepack Here's the syllabus Shmoop Dystopian Literature course 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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