High School Literature Discussions

[Reefgazer]

DD is going into ninth grade and I would like to make literature discussion a major part of her English credit. I plan to read all works she reads in order to discuss them with her. If you read and discussed literature with your high schooler, which method below did you use:

A). Each of you read the entire book silently to yourselves and then got together to discuss it after the entire book was finished.

B). You took turns reading the work together aloud (perhaps taking turns by chapters), finished it, and then did a discussion after you finish the entire book.

C). Each of you read a small subsection of the book silently to yourselves and then got together to discuss each section after each section was finished.

D). You each read a small subsection of the book, taking turns by chapters, and then had a discussion after each small section.

Whichever method you chose, did you think it was a good way to have a literature discussion, or would you change your methods up a bit if you had to do it over again?

Edited February 20, 2016 by reefgazer

[myfunnybunch]

We each silently read the book separately. I either read first, or we read at the same time.

 

Ds keeps a lit journal, in which he practices note-taking, does chapter or volume summaries, keeps character lists, and completes short writing assignments. We discuss the journal weekly. I also meet with him in order to facilitate teaching and discussion of supplementary reading/context materials.

 

I've found that, while the planned discussions are valuable, we get a lot out of informal discussions in the car.

 

We're in the middle of, so I can't say whether we'd do anything differently, but my concrete thinker who has typically struggled with articulating his thoughts is learning how to think about, discuss, and write about literature, and is enjoying it. Sometimes he surprises me with his insights. :)

[SunshineMom]

We each read a section from our own books and then discussed it.  In addition, I've used portions of study guides for more formal discussions on literary terms/devices, major themes and historic references.  My dd also writes chapter summaries, detailed character lists, small writing assignments and essays.  The mix of informal and formal discussions lends itself well to homeschooling. I think the depth of our discussions would have been limited, if I hadn't read the books.

[SilverMoon]

None of the above. I read through the books I wanted to discuss closely the summer before the school year and made notes for myself. Assuming I haven't already read them fairly recently. Then the kid reads it at whatever pace they read it at and we discuss as the holes develop in our school day.

 

If I had to read it as we go through the school year it would not go well, and a kid's daily schedule would get jacked up because of it. My days are so full of teaching that I need them to run smoothly. (The little holes I have between lessons are lucky to get a few rows of knitting put into them...lol.)

Edited February 20, 2016 by SilverMoon

[Chrysalis Academy]

Good question. I've tried it different ways, and found different things work for different kinds of books.

 

For novels, I pre-read the book to make sure it's a good fit. This might happen several months before it is assigned, I'm always "reading ahead" for the upcoming months/year. Once we get to that book, if I need a refresher, we read separately and come together to discuss at the end, unless she brings something up while she's reading. I've tried discussing throughout, but she doesn't like that, she likes to read the whole book before we start discussing.  

 

The exception to this general rule is Shakespeare (or other plays), which we buddy read together (after watching a film version), and poetry, which tends to be read-alouds. We've just finished Shakespeare's sonnets and are planning to read Paradise Lost next.

 

Next year we'll be doing several epics, which we may listen to together, and use Vandiver's GC lectures. I'm trying to figure out whether to listen to the epic first, then the lecture, or vice versa.  When I search for advice on the topic, I see people have recommended it both ways. So we'll just have to figure out what works for us, I guess.

Edited February 20, 2016 by Chrysalis Academy

[regentrude]

A

 

None of my kids would have any interest in reading aloud, taking turns or any such shenanigans. They prefer to be left alone to read. As do I.

I also dislike chopping a book into pieces. The book has been written to be read in its entirety, not in small portions.

 

We talk about the book after both have finished it.

ETA: We did not make these discussions "schoolish". We discuss whenever it comes up, whatever the kinds found interesting. Both have been quite able of getting literary devices etc without those being pointed out explicitly. I do not make mine write summaries or any such busy work; this, to me, would have been the surest way to kill a love of reading.

Edited February 21, 2016 by regentrude

[MerryAtHope]

We discussed many books, but not all; some were read just for enjoyment, education, and fun. I continue to read aloud to my students throughout high school, and we discussed those books as we went. We also discussed books they read on their own, as they were working through the book. Usually we discuss literature about twice a week. Sometimes we used literature guides and did more involved discussions, and sometimes we simply discussed things that interested us. 

[SunshineMom]

My dd also enjoys library run teen book clubs for more informal discussions of books. She reads a ton of books on her own but we only select some to study and use for writing purposes.

[regentrude]

My dd also enjoys library run teen book clubs for more informal discussions of books.

 

Oh yes, book club!

During high school, my DD participated in  Great Books club run by the university's English department. The club was open to all students and community members, but there did not seem to be much response from those quarters, so she ended up being mostly the only student among English and history professors. It was a great experience she really enjoyed.

 

[SunshineMom]

What a great opportunity for your dd!

[ondreeuh]

My ds is only in 8th this year, but I don't foresee things changing. We do your option "C" with the help of literature guides. If I read too far in advance I forget the details, so I read each day and we discuss each day. With the story fresh in our minds, we have wonderful discussions. It does take up a chunk of time so I do my best to read the night before. I like the free Penguin and Glencoe guides but the quality varies. Some are broken down into manageable chunks with great questions, and others are too concise or vague. Portals to Literature has a small number of titles, but they are good ones for high school and the units are THOROUGH. Novel Units are pretty good too.

 

ETA: he did the middle school Battle of the Books this year and plans to do the high school list next year. There will be 10 titles of a variety of genres. Kids meet weekly to study the books and then compete against other schools in Feb.

Edited February 21, 2016 by ondreeuh

[Holly]

I haven't done this yet, but we'll be doing option C.  I found a free literature guide for one book that divides the book into thirds, so we'll discuss it when we get to those points, using the questions in the guide.  For The Hobbit/LOTR, I'll be buying a discussion guide that goes by chapter.  I thought about reading it aloud to all my DC or possibly just The Hobbit, but DD and I may just read it on our own, then discuss together (at the end of each chapter).  The rest of her readings will be short (either short stories or novellas), so we'll just discus at the end of the reading.  I'm hoping to read through most of her books over the summer, although I'll be reading the Tolkien books along with her...I've already read LOTR, but it's been a few years.

 

[Reefgazer]

Thanks so much for your feedback!  I wasn't sure which option would facilitate discussion/feedback, but it seems reading aloud isn't the best option, at any rate.

[Chrysalis Academy]

Thanks so much for your feedback!  I wasn't sure which option would facilitate discussion/feedback, but it seems reading aloud isn't the best option, at any rate.

 

Well, I'd agree with this caveat: you asked about literature. I do find that reading aloud nonfiction- books that are a little over her head, but that are related to what she is studying - can lead to many rich and meaty discussions. OT, I know, but FWIW this has been true for us. 

[Holly]

Thanks so much for your feedback!  I wasn't sure which option would facilitate discussion/feedback, but it seems reading aloud isn't the best option, at any rate.

 

My DD would enjoy me reading aloud to her, but she doesn't like reading aloud.  I do have her read aloud, but not an entire chapter at a time.  Usually she just reads a Bible passage or poem.  If I had her read large portions of a literature book aloud, she wouldn't be a happy camper.  

[SunshineMom]

Well, I'd agree with this caveat: you asked about literature. I do find that reading aloud nonfiction- books that are a little over her head, but that are related to what she is studying - can lead to many rich and meaty discussions. OT, I know, but FWIW this has been true for us. 

 

I agree, especially (for us) more technical science passages.

[6packofun]

We do C most of the time, but mainly because it's MY preference.  I need to discuss as we go because my retention is not great due to all the directions (and books) taking up brain time.  LOL  Sometimes we do a little bit of reading aloud, taking turns, as well, if there is difficult vocab or concepts we want to clarify as we go.  (At this point there aren't a ton of lit selections that I *haven't* already read, but if so, I will skim or look at a study guide quickly before we start so I'm a bit ahead of the game and know which method will work best.)

[Reefgazer]

Oh-oh, now I'm confused again, LOL!  I thought reading the Great Books was supposed to be slightly a stretch above.  That is why I asked about reading aloud bit by bit.  Neither DD nor myself likes read alouds unless they are bedtime-relaxation things that the kids and I all participate in.  But I was asking about difficult literature that was a stretch for DD.  Do you think that has value as a read-aloud?

Well, I'd agree with this caveat: you asked about literature. I do find that reading aloud nonfiction- books that are a little over her head, but that are related to what she is studying - can lead to many rich and meaty discussions. OT, I know, but FWIW this has been true for us. 

 

[Matryoshka]

Well, we've ended up with option E)  :lol:

 

Dd absolutely refuses to read anything.  If left to read on her own (both at home and when she was briefly in ps), she actually reads summaries online and in Sparknotes or something and fudges it.  :glare:   She can fudge well.

 

But I really want her exposed to the actual text and language in the books.  So what we've ended up doing is audiobooks.  And I've signed her up for Center for Lit for the official discussions, although I've found if we listen to the audiobooks in the car, sometimes she'll want to discuss something then, and I can discuss because I've been listening too.

 

I tried to get her to read Shakespeare out loud with us taking turns, but that only lasted a couple of scenes.  We're now listening to the play on an annotated CD that has a narrator going over what's happening in the scene (since you can't see it and there's no description in a play), and summarizes a bit and explains some of the language play and archaic words.  Then we're going to watch either a movie or stage version of the play.

[8filltheheart]

Thanks so much for your feedback! I wasn't sure which option would facilitate discussion/feedback, but it seems reading aloud isn't the best option, at any rate.

Our approach is similar to Rose's.

 

If you are talking about your typical novel, we do different thing for different books...discuss between chpts, after the whole book, or anything in between.

 

For complex works like Divine Comedy, Shakespeare's plays, Paradise Lost, etc, we listen to audiobooks while reading along, stopping to discuss along the way. (ETA: We are diehard Anton Lesser fans. His recording of Paradise Lost is fabulous.)

 

Poetry, some short stories, essays, speeches, etc we often read out loud together. It really just depends. But, yes, we enjoy reading and discussing lots of things together, especially things that we want to share our thoughts as we go along.

Edited February 22, 2016 by 8FillTheHeart

[frogger]

At some point in time we have done all the above but the only time we did C or D was actually with the same book. For ancient lit we did Job in sections because Job though interesting (until it seemed repetitive) was tough. The most common method is A.

[Chrysalis Academy]

Oh-oh, now I'm confused again, LOL!  I thought reading the Great Books was supposed to be slightly a stretch above.  That is why I asked about reading aloud bit by bit.  Neither DD nor myself likes read alouds unless they are bedtime-relaxation things that the kids and I all participate in.  But I was asking about difficult literature that was a stretch for DD.  Do you think that has value as a read-aloud?

 

For us, the literature that falls into that category is the really challenging stuff - Shakespeare, poetry, the epics.  Yes, I absolutely think that can have value, but if you don't like read alouds, try audio versions, maybe?  For novels, we enjoy reading aloud, but what we don't like is breaking up the story to have discussions after every chapter or two. Our novel read alouds tend to be fun books that we don't discuss formally (although of course we talk about them!) For assigned lit reading, it works better to finish the book before we discuss it.  Dd hated it when we tried to do LLLoTR, she didn't like having to stop and talk after every chapter.