Can't Decide on Literature for next year...

[Momto4inSoCal]

I have a 5th and 6th grader next year and I'm torn on what to do. We will be studying middle ages for history but I don't know if I really want to align up our literature with history.

 

I'm considering:

 

a study of Grimm's fairy tales

Lord of the Rings Trilogy

Anne of Green Gables books

C.S Lewis Narnia Series

 

Any tips, opinions? Has anyone done a literature unit study using these books? Favorites of your kids? We are considering Omnibus by Veritas Press or Tapestry of Grace for 7th grade so this may be my last year to combine my girls and do just a fun study with literature. 

 

 

[Bluegoat]

My feeling about lining up lit and history is - don't push it.

 

If you can find a great lit choice, something that is good in itself and will be a good fit for your student, that does line up, use it.  I find I can pretty much always find one that fits the bill.  I think it can help spark their imagination and give a sense of place in a great way.  But there is a caveat to that - plenty of historical novels are really just modern attitudes and ideas set in a historical setting that may or may not be that accurate.  I wonder if books like that aren't actually worse than using no literature accompaniments.

 

Now, the other option is using literature that is actually from the period, and I think this is also a great thing to do, if it is a good time for the student to read that book.  In many ways it gives a better sense of the ambience than a historical novel.

 

But I don't think I would base all my literature studies around historical period, especially for that age.  I think it would be overwhelming, and also, it would be a shame to miss out of choices that don't line up historically but would be a great fit for the student.

[Bluegoat]

Oh - we did the medieval period in grade 4 and used a book called Redcap Runs Away by Rhoda Power.  It was actually a last moment replacement for a book that I bought on reccomendation but I didn't like.  I just found it at the used book store, but it was a big hit and I think very good for a kids historical novel.

 

We also looked at some poetry, Cedamon's Hymn, and some bits from Beowulf (and read a story version) and some other things along those lines.  Some kids might enjoy the Song of Roland, or parts of the Canterbury Tales.  Dd also had a book of meditations taken from Julian of Norwich's writings that she really liked.

[Verity]

I love how programs like Pandia Press's History Odyssey combines history, literature and writing. It's very clear set up to make my life easier and I will probably be using it again next year.

The middle ages level two for ages 5th grade through middle school suggests these books:

 

One Thousand and One Arabian Nights retold by Geraldine McCaughrean

The Door in the Wall by Marguerite de Angeli 

Tales from Shakespeare by Charles and Mary Lamb 

A Shakespeare Coloring Book from Bellerophon Books ** 

Beowulf, A New Telling by Robert Nye 

The Story of King Arthur and His Knights by Howard Pyle

The Adventures of Robin Hood by Roger Lancelyn Green

Castle by David Macaulay

Adam of the Road by Elizabeth Janet Gray

The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer, retold by Geraldine McCaughrean

Tales from Japan retold by Helen & William McAlpine

The Trumpeter of Krakow by Eric P. Kelly

 

I like how you can combine geography literature and history. Reading historical fiction set in the period that you are studying is a great way to bring the times to life to the reader IMO.

I love the books you have listed and would assign those (especially Narnia) for reading to themselves. LotR might be a little more advanced depending on your children's reading levels.

[Momto4inSoCal]

My feeling about lining up lit and history is - don't push it.

 

If you can find a great lit choice, something that is good in itself and will be a good fit for your student, that does line up, use it.  I find I can pretty much always find one that fits the bill.  I think it can help spark their imagination and give a sense of place in a great way.  But there is a caveat to that - plenty of historical novels are really just modern attitudes and ideas set in a historical setting that may or may not be that accurate.  I wonder if books like that aren't actually worse than using no literature accompaniments.

 

Now, the other option is using literature that is actually from the period, and I think this is also a great thing to do, if it is a good time for the student to read that book.  In many ways it gives a better sense of the ambience than a historical novel.

 

But I don't think I would base all my literature studies around historical period, especially for that age.  I think it would be overwhelming, and also, it would be a shame to miss out of choices that don't line up historically but would be a great fit for the student.

 

This is what I'm really torn on. This year we combined reading, writing and history and I think it was helpful for ancient history since there is so much to cover but I feel like we are missing out on some fun reading. I love Anne of Green Gables and would love to do a study around those books but I've also wanted to do Lord of the Rings and Narnia with a unit study type approach. My problem with Anne of Green Gables is I want to make sure my girls are at the age they can really enjoy the books and it's not just me pushing it on them. It was my favorite series growing up, a series I read over and over till the spines were falling off and I'm thinking it would be more suited for a 6th/7th grade study vs 5th/6th grade. Even if we did some history inspired literature I think I can still fit in some fun books though and middle ages really has some good books like Arthur, Robin Hood. I was all set to base my books on middle ages but then I started thinking about all these cool unit studies we could do if we ditched the history books and just did our own thing with literature. 

[Aurelia]

We loosely based literature around Further Up and Further In for DD's 5th grade year. It feels sort of medieval-ish, but not strictly adhering to the time period. I think the only books for the medieval time period that we used were Good Masters, Sweet Ladies! (on audio, for all the different voices), Castle Diary and a relatively short audio version of King Arthur (Naxos recording written by Benedict Flynn). Everything else was either related to FUFI or just what I thought was good to read, like Momo, The Giver, Coraline, Gone-Away Lake, Howl's Moving Castle (you can watch the movie after reading the book) and The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate. (We like books with strong girl protagonists, can you tell?)

 

I would wait a year on Anne. It's really better later on. If you're dying to read some of L.M. Montgomery's work, try Emily of New Moon. It's just as good as Anne, IMO, and if you just read the first book (it's a trilogy, but I didn't really care for the second and third books), Emily is 11-12 for most of it. 

Edited April 20, 2016 by Aurelia

[Lori D.]

I'll help you whittle down your list: 

Save Anne of Green Gables series for early/late middle school, and save Lord of the Rings for late middle school/early high school. You'll get the most out of those books in a few years.

A fairy tale study can be done at any time. The older the student, the deeper you can go, so that can be an interesting high school Literature study if you want. I'd probably only do it right now if your students LOVE fairytales and that would absolutely make their year to do a focused study around fairy tales. Otherwise, just sprinkle a nice helping of fairytales into every year of Literature. ?

If your family would really love doing a unit study, then that 5th/6th grade age is great for doing the Further Up and Further In (FUFI) unit study of the Chronicles of Narnia. Even though the program is rated for grades 4-8, I thought it was way too light for 7th/8th graders, so if you want to do that particular study, this is the time.

I'll further suggest doing 2 tracks of Lit., one of which is a list of "don't miss" great Lit for 5th/6th grades. The other track could be a more tied to your Medieval History, or, if you go with FUFI, then the other track would be the Chronicles of Narnia.

A few "don't miss" titles to get you started:

5th grade:
From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler (Konigsberg)
Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH (O'Brien)
My Side of the Mountain (George)
Phantom Tollbooth (Juster)
The Incredible Journey (Burnford)
The Black Stallion (Farley)
The Wolves of Willoughby Chase (Aiken)
The School Story (Clements)
Caddie Woodlawn (Brink)
Call It Courage (Armstrong)
The Great Turkey Walk (Karr)
The Cay (Taylor)

6th grade
Island of the Blue Dolphins  (O'Dell)
The Hobbit (Tolkien)
A Wrinkle in Time (L'Engle)
Enchantress from the Stars (Engdahl)
Tuck Everlasting (Babbitt)
Sounder (Armstrong)
Knight's Castle (Eager)
Just So Stories (Kipling)
Where the Red Fern Grows (Rawls)
The Master Puppeteer (Paterson)
Adam of the Road (Gray)
Holes (Sachar)

 

Edited October 7, 2018 by Lori D.

[Momto4inSoCal]

 

I'll help you whittle down your list:

Save Anne of Green Gables series for early/late middle school, and save Lord of the Rings for late middle school/early high school. You'll get the most out of those books in a few years.

 

A fairy tale study can be done at any time. The older the student, the deeper you can go, so that can be an interesting high school Literature study if you want. I'd probably only do it right now if your students LOVE fairytales and that would absolutely make their year to do a focused study around fairy tales. Otherwise, just sprinkle a nice helping of fairytales into every year of Literature. :)

 

If your family would really love doing a unit study, then that 5th/6th grade age is great for doing the Further Up and Further In (FUFI) unit study of the Chronicles of Narnia. Even though the program is rated for grades 4-8, I thought it was way too light for 7th/8th graders, so if you want to do that particular study, this is the time.

 

 

I'll further suggest doing 2 tracks of Lit., one of which is a list of "don't miss" great Lit for 5th/6th grades. The other track could be a more tied to your Medieval History, or, if you go with FUFI, then the other track would be the Chronicles of Narnia.

 

A few "don't miss" titles to get you started:

 

5th grade

- From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler (Konigsberg)

- Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH (O'Brien)

- My Side of the Mountain (George)

- Phantom Tollbooth (Juster)

- The Incredible Journey (Burnford)

- The Black Stallion (Farley)

- The Wolves of Willoughby Chase (Aiken)

- The School Story (Clements)

- Caddie Woodlawn (Brink)

- Call It Courage (Armstrong)

- The Great Turkey Walk (Karr)

- The Cay (Taylor)

 

 

6th grade

- Island of the Blue Dolphins (O'Dell)

- The Hobbit (Tolkien)

- A Wrinkle in Time (L'Engle)

- Enchantress from the Stars (Engdahl)

- Tuck Everlasting (Babbitt)

- Sounder (Armstrong)

- Knight's Castle (Eager)

- Just So Stories (Kipling)

- Where the Red Fern Grows (Rawls)

- The Master Puppeteer (Paterson)

- Adam of the Road (Gray)

- Holes (Sachar)

Thank you for this! You really helped me sort out my idea's. I think I will look up further up a d further in. I've heard of it but I've never looked into it. I love the idea of 2 tracks also, I don't know why I get stuck in an all or nothing mindset.

[Bluegoat]

This is what I'm really torn on. This year we combined reading, writing and history and I think it was helpful for ancient history since there is so much to cover but I feel like we are missing out on some fun reading. I love Anne of Green Gables and would love to do a study around those books but I've also wanted to do Lord of the Rings and Narnia with a unit study type approach. My problem with Anne of Green Gables is I want to make sure my girls are at the age they can really enjoy the books and it's not just me pushing it on them. It was my favorite series growing up, a series I read over and over till the spines were falling off and I'm thinking it would be more suited for a 6th/7th grade study vs 5th/6th grade. Even if we did some history inspired literature I think I can still fit in some fun books though and middle ages really has some good books like Arthur, Robin Hood. I was all set to base my books on middle ages but then I started thinking about all these cool unit studies we could do if we ditched the history books and just did our own thing with literature. 

 

I think I would go for age/reading level appropriate over matching up the history.

 

That being said - I would consider LOTR a higher reading level than Anne.  My daughter who is 11, in grade 5, read Anne this year and then asked to read the second one.  But I think she might struggle a little with LOTR.

[SilverMoon]

On 4/20/2016 at 7:26 AM, Bluegoat said:

 

 

Edited February 11 by SilverMoon

[SilverMoon]

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Edited February 11 by SilverMoon

[Meriwether]

My kids have always had long reading lists for history, but they also always had age appropriate literature going. Sometimes it was just a chapter/day. Sometimes (usually) it was several hours/day. Sometimes the categories for history and literature overlap, but usually they don't.

[AdventuresinHomeschooling]

I think Anne would be ok for this age, but I might have been a teensy bit older when I devoured them. Even then, there were some parts that droned on for me when I was younger. Anne sometimes went into a four page description of the trees, for example.

 

I think Narnia would be good for this age AND fit in with some of the medieval stuff even though it is set in WWI. My boys love Narnia. My oldest has read several times, and they are currently listening to the audiobooks at bedtime. I vote for that one over LOTR, which can easily be saved even for high school.

 

There are lots of literature guides for Narnia. I know Classical Academic Press, for example, has several. If you go this route, I can ask my husband for some ideas. I think he has read most anything Narnia related.