What does your middle grade literature program look like?

[sweetpea3829]

Hi!  So I'm entering new territory here (the Logic Stage and Middle Grades!)...

 

As I plan out our literature approach, I'm finding myself a bit overwhelmed.  I have several novels selected, each chosen for a specific purpose...

 

We are studying modern history this year, and will be doing War Horse as a companion novel.  We were going to read Rilla of Ingleside, but there are very few resources for this particular novel (which is a real shame, as I think it's an excellent novel for WWI), and I think the reading level might be a bit much for my young 5th graders.  

 

 

I chose Cole Family Christmas as a short holiday-themed novel.  

 

 

And we'll spend the second half of the year reading and studying Hobbit.  

 

 

So here's where I'm stuck.  Up until now, I've had them read the novel independently...a chapter at a time (usually 2-3 times a week depending on novel length).  They were to choose 2 vocab words from each chapter, look them up and then present them during our lit circle.  

 

During lit circle, we'd go over the vocab words, discuss various elements of the chapter, etc.  Last year, I started asking them to answer comp questions in writing (short answers...no essay responses or anything).  

 

 

Where do we go from here?  I'd like them to begin enhancing their responses to discussion questions.  I'd like to see them begin to independently assess what they are reading...perhaps with an interactive literature journal, etc.  

 

I'd like to tie literary elements and devices into our discussions.  

 

What does this all look like in your home?  

 

 

 

[Farrar]

To me, what you're doing seems fine. I think the lit circle (we do this at poetry tea) is more essential than the lead up writing, though I tend to think of that stuff, when we do it, as being good for preparing for discussion so that no one comes with the attitude that the book was "good" or "okay" or "whatever." They've had to think about it already.

 

We only do a couple novels a year together. But my kids aren't fast readers and they were choosing their own books. This year, for 7th, I have one ds doing more books - I think there are seven of them - and I put in a couple of shorter classics - Call of the Wild and The Time Machine.

 

I sometimes use some of the activities from the Glencoe Lit Library guides if there is one for the book. I think those are really good overall. Sometimes I give the kids some reflection questions. I tend to like the things that either get them doing active reading (graphic organizers as they read usually) or that ask them to reflect (how did that make you feel, do you think she was right or wrong, etc.) as opposed to comprehension questions after the fact (why did this happen, what happened, who did it, etc.). But sometimes we don't do any of that and just discuss the novel.

 

The other thing we do is poetry teas where we discuss poetry. And we do one short story a month because I think short stories are good for close reading. It's hard to ask kids this age to find textual evidence in a novel but in a short story, it's a lot easier. Ditto asking them to write on the book and find things, but asking them to mark up the short story for something specific (all the foreshadowing, or all the metaphors, or all the rich descriptions or something...) is much more doable. And it's been a way to get them to read more difficult pieces because they're shorter.

[sweetpea3829]

So keep doing the lit circles, where we discuss elements of the story...maybe start mixing more literary elements into that discussion.  

 

Last year, when we did comp questions (for Johnny Tremain), the kids were annoyed by the whole thing.  I think it was a bit of overkill...maybe they were too young.  I only asked 3-4 per chapter, but especially my older one (who has trouble synthesizing her thoughts and then writing them down) really hated it...and the younger one wasn't overjoyed either...lol.

 

But...I do want to slowly start increasing what's expected of them.  The ultimate goal, of course, is that in high school they'll be able to thoroughly answer, in writing, literature analysis questions.  

 

I haven't dived into poetry yet...not sure when we will, but eventually.  We're doing fables (and corresonding bible/character studies) in addition to our novel selections.  Plus, the kids read their own choice of chapter books aside from the one we're actively studying.  

 

I agree with you on short stories.  I've started compiling some selections of holiday-themed short stories and would like to take an upcoming holiday season to just read through those.  I want to include my younger boys in that, so I'll probably wait at least another year or two, so that they'll be old enough.  Maybe I'll do short stories the entire year that particular year, at least for the Bigs.  

[Farrar]

I think demanding more doesn't have to look like comprehension questions though. One of the things I remember SWB saying in a talk (or maybe I read it in a blog post or something?) was that we ask logic stage kids grammar stage questions too often. "What happened?" - which is the gist of most comprehension questions - is more of a grammar stage question, IMHO. And while bringing together the writing piece with the memory piece to synthesize and answer the question is, indeed, a skill kids have to work on and may be a building block for being able to have a deeper discussion, it doesn't go deeper with the book really. It's still rote, it's just pulling on those developing writing skills more. I think the discussion piece when you ask why did you like it or not, what would you do in that situation, do you think that was right or wrong, what other stories did it remind you of, etc. etc. - which many kids are not ready to write about yet, but can talk about - is the demanding more thing that matters the most.

[HollyDay]

I used Drawn into the Heart of Reading.  I liked being able to pick the books and chose the activities

[thowell]

We just started The Reader's Odyssey and I am loving it! Very simple. Also adding in 2 lessons a week of Figuratively Speaking. 

[mom31257]

Here's how lit has looked thus far in middle school.

 

6th: Half of Figuartively Speaking

       1/3 of Poetry for the Grammar Stage from Memoria Press (oral only with TM, no student book)

       CLE Reading

       Book Club: full discussions of literary elements, themes, etc.

       A few books at home with no discussion just to read and enjoy

 

 

7th: Half of Figuartively Speaking

       1/3 of Poetry for the Grammar Stage from MP

       CLE Reading

       Book Club: full discussions of literary elements, themes, etc.

        A few books at home with no discussion just to read and enjoy

 

Here's what 8th will look like:

 

1/3 of Poetry for the Grammar Stage from MP

Short Stories from Silver by Mosdos Press

Book Club: full discussions of literary elements, themes, etc.

Begin writing about literary analysis using picture books and short stories as well as  MP American Literature and Poetry

A few books at home with no discussion just to read and enjoy

 

Edited August 16, 2016 by mom31257