What is included in your English/Lit classes?

[ProudGrandma]

I feel like i am not doing enough for English/Literature.

 

My dd16 (sophomore) is doing EIW and EIL (Essentials in Literature) however, not to the fullness.  I am letting her do it on her own and I haven't really discussed anything with her.  The time to do that simply isn't there.  

 

Would it be ok if I just keep putting pieces of good literature in her hands to read and not do any sort of analyzing of it?  

 

What else should I be doing? 

 

and what do I do for a child (son) who dislikes most every book I put before him?  How am I going to give him 4 English credits for HS?

 

thanks.

[regentrude]

Literature and composition. Reading books, thinking about them, talking/writing about them.

In 9th/10th grade, we combined English with history, used a lot of GC lectures that were literature related, divided the hours for one credit in history and one in English.

In 11th, DD unschooled English, chose herself what books to read, discussed books in various online forums and blogs, participated in a Great Books club run by English faculty at our university (great experience - she was the only student!). No involvement from me. For validation, she took the SAT subject test in English and aced it. She had an extensive reading list.

 

We did not do any writing program, studied no grammar, and kept output to high quality but low quantity. We hate busywork. She became an excellent writer, and her college profs in 12th grade praised her writing skills.

 

What kinds of books would your DS like? Is there any genre? Will he be more cooperative if he gets input in the literature selection? My DS enjoyed his study of Dystopian literature.

If he dislikes ANY reading, too bad - he'll have to read. 

Edited March 14, 2017 by regentrude

[Liza Q]

My older children read everything, but my third daughter is not much of a reader. I used a few Literature textbooks for her. She read a variety of short stories, essays, poems, and short excerpts. She didn't like any of them...well, a few poems and stories went over well...but she read them. I kept the TM in my room and discussed about 1/2 of the selections I assigned  with her and she never knew which ones I would choose, which discouraged any possible "faking it", iykwim.

 

What kinds of books would your DS like? Is there any genre? Will he be more cooperative if he gets input in the literature selection? My DS enjoyed his study of Dystopian literature.

If he dislikes ANY reading, too bad - he'll have to read. 

 

My son will read the books I give him but he rarely likes any of them as he prefers non-fiction to most fiction. So I have cut the amount of fiction I would like to assign by about half and I have added several biographies and non-fiction titles each year. I only have him read the poems I think are most important and we read very few plays. This compromise works well. And he has chosen all of his fiction for next (senior) year from a list I gave him, since I try to give him more input every year

 

So, I recommend trying either shorter selections - something he can read in a day or 2 - or letting him choose from a list of acceptable books.

 

As for your daughter - would it be possible for you to have her do an online or co-op class? That way she can discuss books with someone else and have that someone else critique her writing. I am figuring that you have many children or maybe a part-time job or something else which really eats up your time so it makes sense to outsource, if possible. Also. One benefit of the Literature textbooks is that they have all sorts of background information and some analysis for the student to read. They weren't my first choice, but they worked well for that particular child. So you may want to consider something like that. Or. A books like Miniatures and Morals  that discusses Jane Austen's books might work. Your daughter could read the commentary after she read the book and it would broaden her reading experience.

 

https://www.amazon.com/Miniatures-Morals-Christian-Novels-Austen/dp/159128015X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1489535558&sr=8-1&keywords=miniatures+and+morals

 

No, you don't have to discuss every book...but she ought to be analyzing some of them, even if it is not with you.

 

 

 

 

Edited March 14, 2017 by Liza Q

[Lori D.]

I feel like i am not doing enough for English/Literature.

... dd16... is doing EIW and EIL (Essentials in Literature)... on her own and I haven't really discussed anything with her...

 

The English credit is typically 1/2 Writing, 1/2 Lit.

 

Writing tends to include instruction in and practice of:

- the writing process (brainstorming, structuring, rough draft, revision, proof-editing, formatting, final draft)

- writing in the four areas of writing (descriptive, narrative, expository, persuasive)

- exposure to basic public speaking (prep, visual support (slide-show or other), presentation)

- writing different types of writing (reader response papers, research paper with citations, comparison essay, analysis essay, process essay, argumentative essay...)

- real life writing (resume, cover letter, college application essay, business writing, etc.)

 

Literature tends to include:

- reading / discussing / analyzing / writing about works of literature

- reading/researching background info on the work, the author, and the author's times and influences

- learning about  literary terms & devices  (ex: character, theme, conflict, mood, symbolism, imagery, etc)

- learning about topics in literature

 

The reading of Literature tends to include:

- reading a variety of types of works (novels, novellas, short stories, poetry, plays, essay, autobiography)

- reading a variety of time periods/locations (Ancients, Medieval, American/British/World Lit from 19th-20th centuries)

- reading of a variety of genres (epics, realistic, coming-of-age, humorous, sci-fi, fantasy, mystery, etc.)

 

If you are getting these areas addressed in some way, then you have well-covered your English credit. :) I personally do not think independently doing a writing program and a literature program with no guidance or discussion or feedback is going to give you the best results in getting as much out of the writing and literature as possible, and esp. runs the risk of short-changing your student for being prepared for the discussion and analysis that will happen in required college Writing 101 and 102 courses.

 

 

...Would it be ok if I just keep putting pieces of good literature in her hands to read and not do any sort of analyzing of it? 

 

No, you don't have to discuss every book...but she ought to be analyzing some of them, even if it is not with you.

 

Totally agree.

 

Can you carve out at least 1 hour a week?

 

1. 30 minutes/week -- solo, at a time that works for you, skim for familiarity of the work of Literature -- read the Spark Notes or Cliff's Notes summaries of the chapters, or the teacher guide to your EiL program, to have the jist of what is happening in the work, and what the major themes are

 

2. 30 minutes/week -- together, discuss with your student -- maybe over lunch, or even while doing chores together, or in the car on the way to somewhere else...

 

Another option might be "creative scheduling" -- spread out several of your subjects to take 10-11 months (rather than the traditional 9 months of a school year), and do a lighter load during the week to create more time in the day to fit in things like discussion/analysis, or time for questions/mentoring...

 

 

...and what do I do for a child (son) who dislikes most every book I put before him?  How am I going to give him 4 English credits for HS?

 

#1 choice = outsource to a local homeschool co-op (or a local high school class)

#2 choice = outsource to an online class (check out: Online G3; Brave Writer Boomerang Book Club ...)

#3 choice = hire a tutor 2x/week to oversee the English credit with DS

 

Or, if you need to keep the English credit at home, I like regentrude's and Liza Q's suggestions above. Or, you might also shoot for doing a program that has works that would be most apt to connect with DS, or to create a course of study around works that are of interest to him in 9th grade, and slowly start incorporating other "must read" works as you go.

 

Check out:

Movies as Literature -- Cathy Duffy review; see table of contents/sample pages

Literary Lessons from the Lord of the Rings -- the program, table of contents, sample pages

 

JMO, but I think getting a reluctant reader or a picky reader through high school Literature requires either finding a way to do it WITH other students, or completely outsourcing, if you are not going to have the time to walk through it together with a lot of out-loud together reading and discussion to make it a bit more engaging... So that's why my first 3 suggestions for you involve outsourcing. ;)

 

 

... I haven't really discussed anything with her.  The time to do that simply isn't there.  

 

In no way trying to be flippant or snarky or mean here, but if there is no time to do the overseeing and one-on-one that really needs to happen as part of homeschooling, perhaps homeschooling is not the best choice in serving your students' educational needs and preparing them for the future...?

 

I would be very concerned about letting a student just run solo with no interactions with a  with English, Math, Science, and Foreign Language.

 

Having life circumstances that don't allow you to do all that is needed for homeschooling might be a signal to look into having your students in a brick-and-mortar high school to make sure they're getting some teacher instruction, class interactions, and feedback on assignments.

 

Or, what about outsourcing a few key subjects to live, interactive online classes/teachers?

Or, what about a university model school?

Or, is hiring a tutor an option?

What about a "retired" homeschooling mom who could pop in 2 afternoons a week to help out with discussions and some oversight?

Can you "buddy up" with another local homeschooler -- she oversees the English for both her student and yours, and you oversee something that involves both your student and hers?

Edited March 15, 2017 by Lori D.

[lmrich]

Another idea is to look at teacher lectures on youtube. My dd still talks about the lady who did the lecture on the Tell Tale Heart. It really made her think more about the story. 

[ProudGrandma]

thank you for all of these ideas.  I know this is my short coming.  I do not have time to read every book my 3 kids read...outsourcing would be wonderful if we could find an outside option and afford it

 

My daughter does belong to a small book club, but they only meet once a month and the discussion isn't very deep.  

 

But the you tube idea would be doable for sure.  Maybe I can even find a lady in our town who would read a book with my dd and discuss it afterward...I actually, as I am thinking about it, might know just the person.

 

hmmm...thanks so much for the great ideas.