Esse Quam Videri Posted February 26, 2016 Share Posted February 26, 2016 Yes, this is for the year after next but we're already dreaming about it :-). We're thinking of breaking away from our norm for 7th/8th and really allowing her to pursue interests. She's VERY eager to read Austen, Gaskell, Bronte, etc. I've wanted to hold off because of the romantic focus... We've tried to give her the time and space to find herself apart from romantic aspirations, and she has. I feel like she'll have the maturity and sense to enjoy them without getting caught up in hyper-fantasizing/romanticizing her own life. Thoughts? She's done Ambleside mostly, is very well read, and definitely capable of high school work. She's read quite a bit of Shakespeare and Dickens, and is overall relatively familiar with British history. Should we do an overview of all of British History for the year? Or should we focus on the Romantic/Victorian Eras only? I really want it to be more comprehensive and inclusive than we will have the space for in later years. The rest of her plate is relatively light these next couple of years so we feel like it's perfect time. Has anyone done something similar and have a schedule/book list to share? Anyone have fun ideas or don't miss authors/poets? I have my Romantic/Victorian lit schedules from college and I'm thinking I could essentially just use those as a starting point. But I wanted to ask here and hear your thoughts. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paula in MS Posted February 26, 2016 Share Posted February 26, 2016 My daughter has enjoyed reading Lacey's Great Tales in English History this year with her Great Conversations class (8th grade) at Wilson Hill. The stories are short and entertaining. You can probably find samples of the text at amazon. I seem to remember that Sonlight has/used to have a year of British Literature. You might check that out for ideas as well. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dmmetler Posted February 26, 2016 Share Posted February 26, 2016 We used the Galore Park History for Common Entrance this year. The three books cover from 1066 to the 1940s or so. If you are selective about the assignments, it's very doable to do all three in one year, even though it's officially a 3 year course. We did this along with LLoLoTR, several versions of Arthurian legends, Robin Hood, and similar stuff for a kid who adores fantasy. She's also, now, reading Mercedes Lackey's fantasy series that basically is "What if there were Elves supporting the British monarchy". It's been a fun year :) 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
basketcase Posted February 26, 2016 Share Posted February 26, 2016 It might be fun to group some pieces together. A couple of examples: Gaskell's North and South and Dickens' Hard Times give you the opening to discuss industrialization, changing views on class distinctions, and women in the period. You'd review the history of those two novels together. You could study the key points in a Gothic novel. Then use Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights and Northanger Abbey to discuss how the Gothic elements were used (and made fun of, in Austen's case). Just a thought. Sounds so fun :) 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilverMoon Posted February 27, 2016 Share Posted February 27, 2016 Sounds fun! You might look at The Young Oxford History of Britain and Ireland for a spine to build around. It goes from ancients to the 21st century. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loesje22000 Posted February 27, 2016 Share Posted February 27, 2016 http://www.bookdepository.com/What-Jane-Austen-Ate-and-Charles-Dickens-Knew-Daniel-Pool/9780671882365?ref=grid-view Is a book I like myself. The film 'Young Victoria' could be an option. And otherwise following the thread, just for personal interest: I love these books.... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quark Posted February 27, 2016 Share Posted February 27, 2016 Our home-based lit is very unschooly. I wanted to plan a much more thorough British Lit study with history and poetry but we ended up following kiddo's lead and focusing on three periods: Shakespeare, 19th Century and 20th Century. Our analysis used the following Great Courses as jumping off points. How to Read and Understand Shakespeare presented by Prof. Marc Conner, PhD Writing Great Fiction: Storytelling Tips and Techniques presented by Prof. James Hynes Heroes and Legends: The Most Influential Characters of Literature presented by Prof. Thomas Shippey, PhD We also used movies and BBC productions after I felt that we had sufficiently covered textual analysis. We didn't try to analyze the movies very much (with the exception of Hamlet). Those were just fun additions for family movie nights. HTH! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Esse Quam Videri Posted March 3, 2016 Author Share Posted March 3, 2016 Great suggestions-- our booklist is growing fast! How many novels would you all suggest? I always plan too much. DD is a crazy avid reader, so I'm thinking maybe 8-12 assigned and discussed, and then a long list of free reads? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KarenNC Posted March 3, 2016 Share Posted March 3, 2016 If you plan to include Beowulf, let her watch some of Benjamin Bagby's performance in the original Anglo-Saxon http://www.bagbybeowulf.com/video/index.html (there are more clips on Youtube). 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loesje22000 Posted March 5, 2016 Share Posted March 5, 2016 Great suggestions-- our booklist is growing fast! How many novels would you all suggest? I always plan too much. DD is a crazy avid reader, so I'm thinking maybe 8-12 assigned and discussed, and then a long list of free reads? This is what I do: a book per month + assignments. This is for our mothertongue 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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