teaching literature without reading the books

[airforcefamily]

I know how awful this question sounds but I need advice on teaching literature without reading the books myself. I've always been a slow reader (I've tried to improve but I'm still slow) and I often need to reread sections to truly understand them. While I enjoy reading so far I've been selecting books I read as a child so I only have to brush up on them. This plus a literature guide and I can get by.

 

Now I'm not only running out of books I remember well enough to teach but I'd also like to use books I haven't read. The problem is that with eight kids (including an infant), a husband who works long hours, and no family nearby I just plain don't have enough time to read the books without sacrificing in other areas. We're not really a big read aloud family so what read aloud time we have isn't enough. I generally fall asleep when I try to read after everyone goes to bed plus that's the only kid free hour or two of the day to talk and go online and write emails and set things up for the following day and I can't give up all that time to reading. I'm not someone who can pick up a book for a few minutes at a time and be able to remember any of what I read.

 

So my question is how to pull this off. I'm hoping someone knows of lit guides that not only offer comprehension questions but also a synopsis of each chapter or section. Maybe a teaching guide for books? I'm not sure. The older kids are at an average to advanced middle school level and the younger ones are at an average middle elementary level.

Edited June 17, 2017 by tablefor10

[SoCal_Bear]

maybe reading the spark notes may help you paired with a literature guide?

http://www.sparknotes.com

[happypamama]

I don't know, but could you listen to audio books at all?  I'm not normally a big audio book person, but since several of my rising tenth grader's books are things I've never read, and I really need to be able to discuss them with her, I have been using audio books when I'm in the car alone or when I'm doing things like folding laundry or cooking dinner.  It's time that otherwise wouldn't be productive.

[HomeAgain]

I would outsource as the kids get older.  Seriously. There is so much that needs to be taught at the high school level that if you aren't even keeping up with the books let alone the literary elements then the kids deserve something better. 

 

For middle/late elementary school, you can probably get by with Litwits or Moving Beyond the Page (paper guides, not the online version). MBTP offers two different levels of exercises in one guide so you can group kids and listen to the audio book to keep up if need be, but the teacher pages with the answers to each chapter will help you keep up and be comfortable with the expectations in comprehension for each level.  We pick and choose individual guides from Rainbow Resource so we don't have to buy whole packages and only get the books that I know my kids will like.  Litwits allows you to group in large spans as well, but also offers online links to go deeper into stories.  It's more crafty, so you'd need time for that, but they're fun.

[Farrar]

A few suggestions...

 

I don't think most elementary school age students need much for literature beyond reading and enjoying books. I think it's better when you can discuss some with them, but the people who try to read everything their kids read? Ignore them. If your kids are reading some decent books and you're reading some aloud, it's fine.

 

Poetry is part of literature and I think the best thing you can do for it in elementary and middle school is have poetry teatimes. Sit down with some poetry books and some fancy treats once a week (or once a month!) and everyone read a poem aloud. Everyone appreciate it. Hey, that rhymes. Hey, that has a beat. Hey, I spied a metaphor. That one was funny! That one was sad. Yum, muffins and tea. And that's poetry all done.

 

Once kids get to fifth or sixth grade, I think the best thing you can do for literary analysis is actually short stories, not novels. And, hey, they're short! What's great about them is that you can really pick them apart because of their length. When you're looking for the metaphors or the foreshadowing examples in a novel, it's hard to find quotes and really get to the nitty gritty level. But everything in a short story is condensed.

 

Once kids are in fifth or sixth grade, Spark Notes and other sources for book summaries are probably plenty to get you through, but I still wouldn't do more than a couple of books a year as serious studies. You're not a fast reader, so let them just read books they're interested in and have a "family" read a couple of times a year that you all discuss.

 

Once they get to high school, I think you should try to outsource literature.

[mamaraby]

In addition to what's already been menioned, audiobooks. As a family. Individually. During mealtime. As you draw together at the table. In the car on the way somewhere, twenty minutes here, twenty minutes there.

 

I have found that my kids picked up on a lot of foreshadowing and developed an ability to compare characters between two books - "I think x character is like Y character when..." - just by a steady diet of audiobooks in the car. Sometimes we pause the book just so we can discuss something. On the way to the library a couple of days ago, I paused the audiobook and asked the kids "Do you think Ellington Feint might be...because of this and that thing in the story." One kid thought it might be possible, "but remember in the last book where...? If Ellington is that then how do you explain this?" My oldest that it was abit of a stretch. My youngest remained unconvinced. Well, what about this character? Do you think...

 

It didn't require a whole bunch of deep thought on my part beforehand - just required I was in the car with them and listening. Sometimes I'm not even the one who brings comparisons or story elements up. My rising second grader will pipe up from the back of the car with her observations, but she's been listening along because of her older siblings for years now, well before she was school age so she's had plenty of practice.

 

I made a conscious decision four years ago to add audiobooks to our already existing habit of read alouds. Some years we have plowed through great numbers of books between both. As the kids have gotten older and I find our days lengthening, sometimes we don't get to the read aloud as often as we used to, but the audiobooks continue on. It's the one thing that keeps going.

[Farrar]

Oh, one more thought - Figuratively Speaking is a workbook that teaches literary elements. Its says grades 5-8, but I think it's probably more like 6-9. It's simple but very well done. It might be right for your older kids and a way to cover aspects of literature without doing it through reading full books - and then they could apply it later on in their studies.

[MerryAtHope]

You might take a look at Essentials in Literature, to see if that might fit your needs. It focuses mainly on short stories and one novel per year, and has video instruction.

 

I'm with Farrar on just doing a poetry Tea Time weekly or monthly.

 

Also, you say you aren't big on read-alouds, but what does that mean? It's not like you need to analyze tons of books each year. A few is fine. (And it's not like analysis needs to be formal at all at this stage--read and appreciate and discuss what interests you. If you read a great description, beautiful language, foreshadowing, an interesting character, an intriguing plot, a great cliff-hanger, a title with a deeper meaning--just discuss that.)

 

For most books, ask your children to tell you about what they are reading. As they describe it, ask a question here and there--you won't need comprehension busy-work, and they'll get used to noticing interesting things and retelling about them. I used to play up wanting to know what happened next so that they could have the joy of leaving me hanging and making me have to wait--and that covertly encouraged them to improve their narration skills too. Sometimes we had great discussions about what interested them, and sometimes our discussions were really short--not every book needs to be discussed in length. Look for what they enjoy and what intrigues them as you discuss.

[airforcefamily]

I would outsource as the kids get older. Seriously. There is so much that needs to be taught at the high school level that if you aren't even keeping up with the books let alone the literary elements then the kids deserve something better.

.

There's a lot I want to write in response to this but I won't since I can't be sure you intended it to come off so rude and nasty. My kids *are* getting something better. They were in the local schools and read virtually nothing. Even if we did three books a year they would be coming out ahead. They excel at reading and I want to feed their appetite for new books but I need a way to do it that doesn't mean the other kids (or the housework) will be consistently neglected.

 

In no way, shape, or form can I 'not even keep up with the books' as you imply. It's that's it's very time consuming to do so and with eight kids I'm looking for ways to keep up my personal education standards while maintaining a healthy life balance.

 

Outsourcing is easy to say but isn't something that is realistic for everyone. We live where classes would be upwards of an hour drive each way. Online classes have to be monitored and I would need to know something about the books anyway. Then there's the expense involved. Reading something here to the effect of 'your kids deserve better than what you can do' is like asking a question on a car seat forum and being helpfully told that what the kids deserve is for us to purchase a new vehicle and drop $1500 on new car seats.

Edited June 17, 2017 by tablefor10

[airforcefamily]

Short stories is an awesome idea, thank you!

 

For those who use audio books how do you handle babies and toddlers who make noise? We've tried audio books in the past but no one could keep up because of the chatter and playing of the little ones. I don't feel right putting on headphones when I need to be interacting with the kids.

[airforcefamily]

You might take a look at Essentials in Literature, to see if that might fit your needs. It focuses mainly on short stories and one novel per year, and has video instruction.

 

I'm with Farrar on just doing a poetry Tea Time weekly or monthly.

 

Also, you say you aren't big on read-alouds, but what does that mean? It's not like you need to analyze tons of books each year. A few is fine. (And it's not like analysis needs to be formal at all at this stage--read and appreciate and discuss what interests you. If you read a great description, beautiful language, foreshadowing, an interesting character, an intriguing plot, a great cliff-hanger, a title with a deeper meaning--just discuss that.)

 

For most books, ask your children to tell you about what they are reading. As they describe it, ask a question here and there--you won't need comprehension busy-work, and they'll get used to noticing interesting things and retelling about them. I used to play up wanting to know what happened next so that they could have the joy of leaving me hanging and making me have to wait--and that covertly encouraged them to improve their narration skills too. Sometimes we had great discussions about what interested them, and sometimes our discussions were really short--not every book needs to be discussed in length. Look for what they enjoy and what intrigues them as you discuss.

We do lots of picture book type read alouds but chapter book read alouds aren't something any of us enjoy. The little ones get bored after awhile just because of their age and become a disruption. We've been working on staying quiet but the baby especially is nowhere near there yet. I need nap time for housework so there isn't a ton of time for it and what time there is isn't enjoyable.

[mamaraby]

We do lots of picture book type read alouds but chapter book read alouds aren't something any of us enjoy. The little ones get bored after awhile just because of their age and become a disruption. We've been working on staying quiet but the baby especially is nowhere near there yet. I need nap time for housework so there isn't a ton of time for it and what time there is isn't enjoyable.

That comes with practice. Start with small periods of time and work up from there, another thing that helps is to gice them something to do - Legos, coloring books, dolls, etc - while the reading is happening. Some kids can pay attention better of their hands are engaged.

 

And it's another benefit of audiobooks in the car. Everyone is strapped in and a captive audience. Also, if you don't enjoy reading aloud, there are many, many talented actors who do the reading for you. I can get lots of audiobooks from my library, but there are some actors who drive me batty. I preview by listening to the samples on Amazon first before checking it out.

[HomeAgain]

There's a lot I want to write in response to this but I won't since I can't be sure you intended it to come off so rude and nasty. My kids *are* getting something better. They were in the local schools and read virtually nothing. Even if we did three books a year they would be coming out ahead. They excel at reading and I want to feed their appetite for new books but I need a way to do it that doesn't mean the other kids (or the housework) will be consistently neglected.

 

In no way, shape, or form can I 'not even keep up with the books' as you imply. It's that's it's very time consuming to do so and with eight kids I'm looking for ways to keep up my personal education standards while maintaining a healthy life balance.

 

Outsourcing is easy to say but isn't something that is realistic for everyone. We live where classes would be upwards of an hour drive each way. Online classes have to be monitored and I would need to know something about the books anyway. Then there's the expense involved. Reading something here to the effect of 'your kids deserve better than what you can do' is like asking a question on a car seat forum and being helpfully told that what the kids deserve is for us to purchase a new vehicle and drop $1500 on new car seats.

 

It wasn't meant to be mean or rude.  It was meant to be blunt and coming from personal experience.  High school is a new ball game, and to keep up at a college level kids have to have a background in literature to be comfortable going forward.  I read your post for what it was: a mom pulled in 8 different directions, slow reader, not a fan of reading aloud, and feeling like she was drowning.  If I got any of it wrong, forgive me.  Outsourcing doesn't have to mean driving an hour or expensive online classes.  It can mean skyping with a family friend who was an English major, talking to the library about setting up a book club for teens or something else in your community.

 

You could attempt a trickle down effect.  Put a ton of effort into the top two kids this year.  Read everything you give them and get knee deep in guides to help you along.  The next year, you have two years under your belt so you can put your effort into kid 1 again and read with kid 3, with kid 2 doing what kid 1 did last year.

 

The hard line is there is no magic solution.  You can't look at every solution and think up ways that it won't work for you.  Read alouds are not good. Audio books are not good. Outsourcing is not good. Well, find good.  Do good. Find a solution and work toward it, because you need to. 

 

[happypamama]

I wanted to add: I get where you are. I have five kids from fifteen down to three. We had an extremely hard year this past year, and there's a strong possibility of a high risk pregnancy next year. It IS hard. At some point, sheer lack of time is a big obstacle.

 

I purchased a couple of the Excellence in Literature guides to use this upcoming year, and I think they will work well. They seem great for the context and such. I haven't read most of the books yet, but between the EIL guides and googling for spark notes and "essay question title" and "themes title," I found a lot of really good (free) stuff that helped me to have some idea of the books while I was planning out my year.

 

Any chance your oldest two (I'm on my phone and can't see your sig) could be in the same literature and could discuss it with each other?

 

Does your dh have a long commute, and if so, could he listen to their books while he commutes so that then he could spend a little time discussing books with the kids?

[fralala]

 just plain don't have enough time to read the books without sacrificing in other areas.

 

I read this part and laughed (ruefully) in a you said it kind of way, because this is pretty much...all of us. It's pretty obvious when you come to my home (especially at a pb & j or box mac and cheese mealtime) in what areas I've sacrificed. And I like having a neat and tidy house and healthy, veggie-rich foods on the table. But, like you said...reading takes time. Just know that you are not alone.

 

But (conveniently), having your kids see you occasionally sitting down and reading is one of the most valuable things you can do for their academic success. (There's a study somewhere that says so. Really.) I know: when I'm doing housework, my kids can occupy themselves pretty well, but as soon as I sit down there are two kids climbing into my lap (one of them trying to tug off my shirt to nurse), grabbing their own books, asking me questions, and so forth, but...I do think this is something we should attempt to make even 10 minutes in the day to model, don't you? Because I, like you, have trouble recollecting what I read 5 minutes ago (let alone 5 weeks, months, or years), I would rather read briefly and then try to close the book and write down a brief summary of what I've read in my notebook. If I do this with a book I'm planning to use to teach literature, that means I essentially create my own Cliff's Notes, but it is also a great memory technique and so much more effective than rereading or highlighting. (This is also something I can do at the end of the day if I tell myself, "Just two pages.")

 

I know-- you don't have time for this, but I love the idea of choosing short stories, and of only trying to tackle the bare minimum, and then sending your kids off to read and just having everybody talk about what they're reading over the dinner table (among all the other great story telling practices that are a benefit of having a large family-- seriously, you are at a big advantage here in my opinion and one of the things I would do, if you don't have time to read aloud together or listen to audio books, is to make sure you're enforcing rules about interrupting and listening and asking each other questions to make sure each kid gets a chance to develop the art of storytelling and listening this way). Really, some of the greatest storytellers (and writers) did not grow up listening to hours of stories read aloud to them and audio books during every waking moment, but rather living and listening and practicing holding the attention of others.

 

This turned out longer than I planned, and I apologize-- you don't have time to read!-- but I really hate scripted comprehension questions about things I clearly haven't read (and my kids do, too), so I wanted to encourage you that there might be other paths!

[Farrar]

I want to say - outsourcing for high school doesn't have to be expensive and difficult. Especially since you're saying that your kids like to read, then they're going to potentially have the ability to get more out of cheaper "outsourcing" options like MOOC's or The Great Courses. There are some wonderful Great Courses for literature, actually. And maybe there's a way to find someone nearby who can talk literature with them in exchange for something. I know when my kids were little I would have swapped an afternoon a month doing a classic book with bright teens for having someone mind them. Or maybe all they'll need is a book club and all you have to do is open up your table and give them some lemonade and cookies.

 

Just to say - there are options other than driving an hour away or paying thousands.

[Garga]

I want to say - outsourcing for high school doesn't have to be expensive and difficult. Especially since you're saying that your kids like to read, then they're going to potentially have the ability to get more out of cheaper "outsourcing" options like MOOC's or The Great Courses. There are some wonderful Great Courses for literature, actually. And maybe there's a way to find someone nearby who can talk literature with them in exchange for something. I know when my kids were little I would have swapped an afternoon a month doing a classic book with bright teens for having someone mind them. Or maybe all they'll need is a book club and all you have to do is open up your table and give them some lemonade and cookies.

 

Just to say - there are options other than driving an hour away or paying thousands.

 

OP: if you haven't heard of The Great Courses and look them up, you'll be shocked at the prices of each course. Hundreds and hundreds. But I don't know anyone who pays full price. :). They have sales from 75% to 85% off All The Time. They don't have everything off all at once though. The sales cycle through.

 

So, perhaps now, take a look at what literature courses they have, get on their email list, and when that course goes on sale for 75% off or more, jump on it.

[Farrar]

OP: if you haven't heard of The Great Courses and look them up, you'll be shocked at the prices of each course. Hundreds and hundreds. But I don't know anyone who pays full price. :). They have sales from 75% to 85% off All The Time. They don't have everything off all at once though. The sales cycle through.

 

So, perhaps now, take a look at what literature courses they have, get on their email list, and when that course goes on sale for 75% off or more, jump on it.

 

Oh, yes. And some libraries have access to them. And with multiple kids, you might could subscribe to their streaming service and use that, which is only about the cost of one course at full price for a year.

[rose]

I didn't read the replies yet but I was struck by how similar our situations are. My 14yos read probably four times faster than I do. I even have 8 dc if you count the one the way. I simply don't have time to read everything that they're reading. What I do is use goodreads.com and amazon reviews plus a wikipedia page or cliffnotes to help me pre-appove books (we're quite picky) and then I just hand them the books and hope that they enjoy them. I then ask them questions about what they read on the fly. I don't know the fruit of this method yet but I really don't know how else to do it. I suspect that this only has a chance of working because they love reading and will read heaps of books, classic or otherwise. I have a strong suspicion that if I asked them to answer questions in written form or write essays that their love of reading would evaporate pretty quickly.

[mamaraby]

Oh, yes. And some libraries have access to them. And with multiple kids, you might could subscribe to their streaming service and use that, which is only about the cost of one course at full price for a year.

My library has Hoopla and there are many Great Courses on there. I don't know that OverDrive has them, but the advantage of Hoopla is there's no waiting list. You are limited to six checkouts a month, however.

[Hobbes]

Oh, yes. And some libraries have access to them. And with multiple kids, you might could subscribe to their streaming service and use that, which is only about the cost of one course at full price for a year.

And Audible has a lot of the Great Courses for one credit each, which means they would be about $15 apiece.

[newhsmom]

Have you looked Teaching the Classics?  I just ordered it, but I know at convention I heard Adam Andrews talk about deciding how many books a year that you could read and discuss with your children.  He said that might be a small number like three and with those titles you would go through his socratic questioning technique and really give full attention to those books.  Then they would read lots of other books on their own.  He even recommends using picture books to teach his strategies.  It might be something worth looking into.

 

[happypamama]

Definitely check your library for great courses! Ours have several, and one of our systems has a very generous policy about renewing; if nobody else requests an item, we are allowed to renew enough times to have an item for a semester or longer. I've noticed that ours don't always list them consistently, though, so some might be listed under the lecturer, some under Teaching Company, and some under Great Courses. I've had the best success when I look for the title of the course.