MamaSprout Posted March 4, 2019 Share Posted March 4, 2019 We need lightweight reading/ comprehension checks for literature next year. We're using this https://ocw.mit.edu/courses/literature/21l-001-foundations-of-western-culture-homer-to-dante-fall-2008/readings/ Dd likes the books and I like the writing assignments and will use them, but dd needs something to keep her focused while she's reading. I need either a process or a set of lightweight "fact-checky-without-being-stupidly-detailed" questions. I can discuss these books, but I've taught most of them before and know things will go better with a reading scaffold of some sort. I've looked at a lot of the usual suspects, and I really don't want to spend $20/ book for full-fledged literature guides. I really just need questions to keep dd's reading on task. I've thought about a commonplace book, but don't want it to be busywork. Anyone have any suggestions? Teacher's files they've come across? Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori D. Posted March 4, 2019 Share Posted March 4, 2019 (edited) So this is your reading list? Iliad (Homer) Odyssey. (Homer) Aeneid (Virgil) Inferno (Dante) Agamemnon (Aeschylus) Libation Bearers (Aeschylus) Eumenides (Aeschylus) Njala's Saga (Jules) Beowulf (Anon.) Lais (Marie de France) These are all free online resources:chapter summaries Sparknotes (and others) have chapter summaries that are helpful for catching key points and keeping the student on track -- or for you to keep abreast of the story if you're not able to fully read alongside so you can still discuss with your student. Of your list: - Sparknotes has: Iliad; Odyssey; Aeneid; Inferno; Agamemnon; Libation Bearers; Beowulf - good, very succinct summary guides: Illiad; Odyssey; Aeneid - Schmoop has: Eumenides - Saga Notes has extremely *brief* summaries of key plot points for Njal's Saga - Dr. Fidel Fajardo-Acosta has brief summaries for Lais study or comprehension questions - Illiad -- auto download document -- also, Illiad -- discussion questions - Odyssey -- reading comprehension questions -- also, Odyssey -- comprehension questions - Aeneid -- free guide with section-by-section questions - Inferno -- free guide with section-by-section questions - Agamemnon -- auto download document of comprehension & critical thinking questions when you google search "Comprehension Questions for Agamemnon" and the first search result that starts with: www.mpsaz.org/mtnview/staff - Libation Bearers -- auto download document of comprehension & critical thinking questions when you google search "Comprehension Questions for Libation Bearers" and the first search result that starts with: https://d2ct263enury6r.cloudfront.net/ - Eumenides -- K-12 guide of summaries and comprehension questions - Beowulf -- download document - Lais -- Dr. Fidel Fajardo-Acosta's brief summaries and questions Edited March 4, 2019 by Lori D. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MamaSprout Posted March 4, 2019 Author Share Posted March 4, 2019 4 hours ago, Lori D. said: So this is your reading list? Iliad (Homer) Odyssey. (Homer) Aeneid (Virgil) Inferno (Dante) Agamemnon (Aeschylus) Libation Bearers (Aeschylus) Eumenides (Aeschylus) Njala's Saga (Jules) Beowulf (Anon.) Lais (Marie de France) These are all free online resources:chapter summaries Sparknotes (and others) have chapter summaries that are helpful for catching key points and keeping the student on track -- or for you to keep abreast of the story if you're not able to fully read alongside so you can still discuss with your student. Of your list: - Sparknotes has: Iliad; Odyssey; Aeneid; Inferno; Agamemnon; Libation Bearers; Beowulf - good, very succinct summary guides: Illiad; Odyssey; Aeneid - Schmoop has: Eumenides - Saga Notes has extremely *brief* summaries of key plot points for Njal's Saga - Dr. Fidel Fajardo-Acosta has brief summaries for Lais study or comprehension questions - Illiad -- auto download document -- also, Illiad -- discussion questions - Odyssey -- reading comprehension questions -- also, Odyssey -- comprehension questions - Aeneid -- free guide with section-by-section questions - Inferno -- free guide with section-by-section questions - Agamemnon -- auto download document of comprehension & critical thinking questions when you google search "Comprehension Questions for Agamemnon" and the first search result that starts with: www.mpsaz.org/mtnview/staff - Libation Bearers -- auto download document of comprehension & critical thinking questions when you google search "Comprehension Questions for Libation Bearers" and the first search result that starts with: https://d2ct263enury6r.cloudfront.net/ - Eumenides -- K-12 guide of summaries and comprehension questions - Beowulf -- download document - Lais -- Dr. Fidel Fajardo-Acosta's brief summaries and questions Thanks Lori. The comprehension questions look very useful... I'm using GoDuckGo for my search engine, and while I like that I'm not tracked, I definitely did not turn these up even using the terms you gave me. I might need to rethink using it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori D. Posted March 4, 2019 Share Posted March 4, 2019 29 minutes ago, MamaSprout said: Thanks Lori. The comprehension questions look very useful... I'm using GoDuckGo for my search engine, and while I like that I'm not tracked, I definitely did not turn these up even using the terms you gave me. I might need to rethink using it. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colleen in NS Posted March 5, 2019 Share Posted March 5, 2019 14 hours ago, MamaSprout said: I need either a process ... The Well-Educated Mind by our forum hostess: https://welltrainedmind.com/p/the-well-educated-expanded-edition/#product-description 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MamaSprout Posted March 5, 2019 Author Share Posted March 5, 2019 1 minute ago, Colleen in NS said: The Well-Educated Mind by our forum hostess: https://welltrainedmind.com/p/the-well-educated-expanded-edition/#product-description I've read it. I remember being hung up on Don Quixote when I tried to apply it to myself. Maybe I'll look at the newer edition. I had a set of WTM-based questions for elementary that applied to any book. Maybe I'll revisit that idea for high school. I really want to keep things simple. I get a case of "add-one-more-thing" when I dive into the WTM, but may just one section will be okay. 🙂 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colleen in NS Posted March 5, 2019 Share Posted March 5, 2019 2 minutes ago, MamaSprout said: I've read it. I remember being hung up on Don Quixote when I tried to apply it to myself. Maybe I'll look at the newer edition. I had a set of WTM-based questions for elementary that applied to any book. Maybe I'll revisit that idea for high school. I really want to keep things simple. I get a case of "add-one-more-thing" when I dive into the WTM, but may just one section will be okay. 🙂 Ha, I think anyone would get hung up on Don Quixote when trying to learn the process! I get that it's the first book on the novel list, but I gave up on it and tried the process with some shorter books. I was better able to learn the process and then apply it to longer books after some practice. There are also the WTM book logic stage lit. analysis questions you could use, too. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2_girls_mommy Posted March 5, 2019 Share Posted March 5, 2019 We roughly follow WTM and WEM, very roughly, lol. More WTM than WEM. I use Cliff's notes for summaries and discussion questions and occasionally look for online things like above. Process: Kids do a context paper ala WTM. We have the timelines book it suggests and they start there and use and encyclopedia to research what was happening around the publication and to learn about the author and his life and times. From there they read the book, take notes as they go (working on this. My junior is averse to this, and it has been a process to get her to be diligent,) and then after finishing it, discussing it with me, they write a final paper. We use different ideas for this like the WTM and a list of narration prompts from a CM curriculum I have. They have a lot of freedom here. If they have an idea for a theme, like going off of the central idea of the book then they go for it. Often it takes some guidance from me for ideas which they then expand upon. To round out the Great Books course, dd16 reads the SWB History of ... series, takes notes from her daily readings (which she doesn't mind from this book, lol,) and writes a paper a semester of her choosing. DD14 is in her first of high school and we are still doing WTM logic stage history for her- reading the Kingfisher encyclopedia, doing a timeline, outlining the KHE, and writing occasional history papers of her choice with further research. I am easing her into the above process. She has written one context paper this year, and next year, she will be doing more. We also do some read alouds and on those, we don't do the above papers. I just add those books to their having read list. We see some plays and don't do extra work on those- generally Shakespeare as there is always some place to see Shakespeare inexpensively around here. We also do not get to 8-12 books a year like WTM suggests. But I have noticed that I have made my dd read some books in full that WTM has "selections from" noted on, which is probably why we don't get through as many. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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