Murrayshire Posted January 13, 2016 Posted January 13, 2016 (edited) I know I read somewhere that WttW can be used for a semester of 18wks, and I'm aware of the one year syllabus, but do you think I'd be pushing it to complete WttW in 15 weeks?! I don't have the books or schedule to see for myself yet. What do you think? Will I have to skip topics? Combine a lot of topics? Edited January 13, 2016 by Murrayshire Quote
freesia Posted January 13, 2016 Posted January 13, 2016 I know I read somewhere that WttW can be used for a semester of 18wks, and I'm aware of the one year syllabus, but do you think I'd be pushing it do complete WttW in 15 weeks?! I don't have the books or schedule to see for myself yet. What do you think? Will a have to skip topics? Combine a lot of topics? I think that you could do it, particularly if it's for your student and not a co-op (ie you could meet a couple of times in one week). Some lessons take longer than other. I interspersed novels with our study. It's a great study, though, so any part you can do is good. Some folks have spread it over a couple of years, interspersing different novels. Quote
Murrayshire Posted January 13, 2016 Author Posted January 13, 2016 It would be for a co-op. I'll need to look more into it.....possibly using the Jill Pike syllabus, but taking out the Teaching the Classics because we are doing it this year. Hmmm. Something to think about. Thank you for your help! Quote
TCB Posted January 14, 2016 Posted January 14, 2016 We used WttW last year. It is a really good study. For some reason my dd, who does well at English, complained a bit while we were doing it, but has since admitted that she learned a great deal from it. I just looked in my teacher's manual and she does have a schedule there for doing the course in 18 weeks. You should be able to cover all the topics but only spend a week on most. This would mean your students would only get 1 opportunity to practice the different techniques and you would probably not be able to fit in many of the extras. Still a very worthwhile study anyway in my opinion. 1 Quote
Lori D. Posted January 14, 2016 Posted January 14, 2016 (edited) It would be for a co-op. I'll need to look more into it.....possibly using the Jill Pike syllabus, but taking out the Teaching the Classics because we are doing it this year... Having used WttW with DSs here at home, and having taught several Lit. & Comp. co-op classes with our homeschool group, I'd say, rather than skipping/combining to make WttW fit in 15 weeks, it would be MUCH better to spread WttW out over 2 semesters of co-op, and take 30 weeks. That would give you the opportunity to also possibly use some of the Jill Pike syllabus material. My experience is that families at co-ops, even if you tell them up front that your class will require several hours a week of at-home work outside of class, do NOT like to schedule that time for their students. So anything that would normally be covered/finished in 1 week at home with DSs, seems to take 2-3 weeks of time at co-op class. Part of that is the turn-around time on exercises and writing assignments really slows down when you only meet once a week, but part of it is just getting families to give their students time at home to do the assignments. And part of it is that the program/style of teaching writing and analysis will be brand new to many of the students, so it's just going to take them longer to absorb and really "get" the material, esp. if they are not also seeing it daily at home during the rest of the week to keep getting reinforcement (like if a science co-op class does the labs for the science textbook everyone is using all week at home). Also, there's a lot of material in WttW, and it is really worth it to take your time and do it slowly, or. esp. for a co-op class, to have the extra time to bring in extra materials to supplement. I'm thinking of the recent thread ("Windows to the World??" -- posts #5 and #9) in which texasmama talked about having to add a lot of additional exercises and activities to make WttW more gentle/incremental to give her co-op class students more time to absorb the ideas and implement them. BEST of luck in teaching your co-op class! :) Warmest regards, Lori D. Edited January 14, 2016 by Lori D. Quote
Murrayshire Posted January 15, 2016 Author Posted January 15, 2016 (edited) Thank you Lori D for chiming in! Looks like I found an English Major Mom to lead teach leaving me to assist! Shew! I will print this discussion out for her and talk to her about WttW as a full year instead of a semester. I know she is Big on lots of literature..... Can anyone tell me what the poetry, short stories, and novels are used in WttW, pretty please? I'm going to order it today but might not get it in time for our meeting. Would WttW year long syllabus be enough or prepare the teens well for English 10? Most of the teens are grade 10. Thanks again to you all for your expertise! Edited January 15, 2016 by Murrayshire Quote
Lori D. Posted January 15, 2016 Posted January 15, 2016 (edited) Looks like I found an English Major Mom to lead teach leaving me to assist! Shew! I will print this discussion out for her and talk to her about WttW as a full year instead of a semester. I Nice! :) Can anyone tell me what the poetry, short stories, and novels are used in WttW, pretty please? I'm going to order it today but might not get it in time for our meeting. WttW (all included): NO novels, plays, or essays short stories: Gift of the Magi (Henry) The Most Dangerous Game (Connell) The Necklace (de Maupassant) Fight with a Cannon (Hugo) A Jury of Her Peers (Jewett) The Open Window (Saki) poems: Marginalia (Collins) The Donkey (Chesterton) The Lamb (Blake) The Convergence of the Twain (Hardy) Meeting at Night (Browning) Jill Pike syllabus novels: Jane Eyre, To Kill a Mockingbird play: Hamlet (or other choice of Shakespeare play) Would WttW year long syllabus be enough or prepare the teens well for English 10? Most of the teens are grade 10. Yes, I think so. My thought would be to do 1-2 novels each semester as part of your co-op and along with WttW, or as a way of putting into practice things learned in WttW. And, just me, but instead of Jane Eyre in the Jill Pike syllabus, I'd choose some other gender-neutral classic (something by Charles Dickens perhaps). Or choose a distinctly boy-friendly work. Or choose some works that are a bit more current and of interest to teens to spark lots of discussion. ;) A few books that also have good guides to help you with discussion questions/background info: - The Book Thief -- a good, in-depth teacher-made guide -- 34 pages; starts with vocabulary, then starting at page 12 you get good discussion questions for every chapter; ends with several good writing assignment ideas - The Giver -- Garlic Press Discovering Lit. guide - The Hunger Games -- Garlic Press Discovering Lit. guide; Progeny Press guide - Animal Farm -- Glencoe Lit. Library guide - Fahrenheit 451 -- Progeny Press guide - Frankenstein, and compare/contrast with The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde: Frankenstein: Glencoe Lit. Library guide; Progeny Press guide Jekyll & Hyde: Glencoe Lit Library guide; Progeny Press guide For more poetry, you might look at: - Progeny Press lit. guide: Intro to Poetry, Forms and Elements - Classical Academic Press: Art of Poetry Edited January 15, 2016 by Lori D. 3 Quote
Murrayshire Posted January 16, 2016 Author Posted January 16, 2016 Wow! As always, thank you LoriD! Quote
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