HSMWB Posted May 30, 2019 Share Posted May 30, 2019 If you knew that the reading list for 9th grade English co-op class included: A Pioneer’s Search for an Ideal Home -Judson Oedipud the King - Sophocles Through The Gates of Splendor- Elliot Lord of the Flies - Golding Life of St Francis - Bonaventure Julius Caesar - Shakespeare Great Expectations - Dickens and Lights in the Northwest by Hannula and that this is the first English Classroom type experience your child will have had, what do you think might be a couple of good books to read/listen to this summer to ‘get ready’? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori D. Posted May 30, 2019 Share Posted May 30, 2019 (edited) I would consider, together with the student, watching a good film version of several of the works so you'll have the opportunity to practice a little advance discussion together, but especially for your student to gain familiarity of characters/story/themes in advance of reading/discussing for the class. (Or, listen to audiobook together and discuss as you go. For Oedipus, a play, consider doing it as family "readers theater" and each of you take several parts to read aloud and let out you "inner thespian", lol.) Julius Caesar Royal Shakespeare Theater video version and/or Shakespeare Animated Tales (25 min, abridged, but using all original language)Lord of the Flies (1963)Great Expectations (1946) If wanting *other* books as prep, you might look at reading some things to help get used to the older/elevated language, or background of the times. Examples: - greek myths: Wonder Book + Tanglewood Tales (Hawthorne) or Bulfinch's Mythology --> Oedipus, as prep for background gods/world/tragic hero, and older language/sentence structure - House of Stairs (Sleator) --> Lord of the Flies, as prep for themes of dystopia and children's choices to go down a dark path - Bill Bryson Shakespeare --> Julius Caesar, as prep for background of the times/world of Shakespeare - A Christmas Carol (Dickens) --> Great Expectations as prep for Dickens' language/sentence structure via a shorter, lighter, more familiar story - End of the Spear, either the book or the movie --> Through Gates of Splendor, as further background of another perspective on the events and life choices Otherwise, you might go with some high-interest fast reads that also have high discussion-ability, and have fun with dinner table discussions about the themes/ideas raised in the books. Just a few ideas to get you rolling: - The Giver (Lowry) - Tuck Everlasting (Babbit) - Below the Root (Snyder) - All American Boys (Reynolds & Kiely) - The Day They Came to Arrest the Book (Hentoff) - Uglies (Westerfeld) - The Wave (Strasser) - Twisted (Anderson) Edited May 30, 2019 by Lori D. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori D. Posted May 30, 2019 Share Posted May 30, 2019 (edited) Another option might be to browse ideas in these past threads:"Top 5 must-read books before high school""Which 20 books help prepare for reading the Great Books?""Where do you start w/ h.s. boy who has never read classic lit?""Getting a teen to read/understand thicker books""Preparing our DC to read the Great Books?" Edited May 30, 2019 by Lori D. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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