Windows to the World

[My3girls]

Does WttW actually teach how to write a literary analysis or does it just teach literary terms?  Dd14 has done WWS 1 and Figuratively Speaking.  Will WttW be redundant or something new?  Thanks!

[Lori D.]

You'll probably get more responses if you post this on the high school board rather than the K-8 board since WttW is a high school program. ;)

 

Yes, WttW does actually teach how to write a literary analysis essay. It has the clearest, most specific and direct step-by-step instruction in how to write a literary analysis essay that I've seen anywhere. It was a fantastic fit for our 2 DSs who dislike Writing, and I've used a lot of the material in that section of WttW (along with other materials) to teach writing a literary analysis essay to my Lit. & Comp. co-op classes. :)

 

WttW covers:

units 2 & 4 = annotation/practicing annotation

unit 5 = how to write the literary analysis essay (using your annotations as support in the essay)

units 3 & 7-14 = most common literary devices -- how they are used in Lit., and how they are used as your support in a literary analysis essay (allusion, plot, suspense, parallelism, euphemism, simile, characterization, symbolism, theme, setting, imagery, point of view, tone, irony)

 

WttW is a grade 9-12 program -- gr. 8 for a strong reader/writer. The focus is on 6 short stories. There are exercises and longer writing assignments in each unit. It is designed to take 1 semester (good to spread in out over 1 year for an 8th grader or high schooler new to literary analysis and formal Literature). You can also get the separate syllabus by Jill Pike which adds a schedule for doing WttW and Teaching the Classics, but also enough instruction for a second semester of coursework to cover these 3 works: Jane Eyre, To Kill a Mockingbird, and Hamlet (or other Shakespeare play).

 

For more thoughts from WttW users:

"Teaching the Classics, Windows to the World, or other?"

"Windows to the World AND Teaching the Classics???"

"Windows to the World Question"

"Windows to the World"

 

WttW is from a Christian perspective, but can be used secularly. For more thoughts on this topic:  Windows to the World: how much religious content?

 

 

As far as whether or not WttW would be redundant to Figuratively Speaking (FS) and WWS 1… First, I'd check out the table of contents and sample pages of WttW:   table of contents and sample pages -- or, if you can see a friend's copy in person, even better.

 

No personal familiarity with how WWS 1 teaches the literary analysis essay, so I can't comment there.

 

We did Figuratively Speaking (FS) prior to WttW, and WttW definitely goes much more in-depth on literary elements. I definitely did not think there was too much overlap, as they have such different goals: FS is a great intro/overview of literary elements (definition and examples), while WttW is an in-depth program in which working with literary elements is just one part of the whole program. As far as literary elements, WttW covers what they look like in literature, how they are working and how they support "bigger" devices such as characterization, motif, and theme, and help an author develop his/her style and ideas. There are also some very helpful analysis-based exercises for practicing seeing/analyzing how the literary element being coveed is working in the piece of literature being covered. 

 

Hope that helps, and hope others with experience with WWS and WttW can chime in! Warmest regards, Lori D.

Edited January 14, 2016 by Lori D.

[My3girls]

Thank you thank you thank you!!!