Literature course (HS/11th grade)

[sbgrace]

I'm looking for ideas for the literature component of English for 11th grade. We already completed Windows to the World and Oak Meadow Hero's Journey. Both went well. I just don't know where to go from here.  I have plans for all of our English next year except the Literature. 

I have a teen who is a voracious reader, including classics. He is often talking to me about what he loves about the techniques or the writing of an author of a book he's reading. He is a quick reader and has no issue tackling huge books. 

I'm thinking he would enjoy a literature program that is deeper. I don't necessarily want time consuming--more rich in content or complete/solid. 

His brother strongly prefers non-fiction. He can't handle the huge books or books that take a lot of effort like his brother. If it were just him, I would probably pick something that was as painless (maybe as quick) as possible. 

I'm not set against doing two different programs, but then they would need to be more self teaching. Ideally, I could find something that would be rich enough to engage and even stretch kid 1, but not overwhelming to kid 2. 

 

Edited July 24, 2020 by sbgrace

[8filltheheart]

A short story study?  There is a lot to dig into in short stories.

A movie/book study?  One of my favorite lit classes I've taught was a 1/2 cr study designed around the movie Inception.  We explored the ideas/allusions in Inception in literature.  For example, the character in the movie who designed the labyrinth was Ariadne. That was no accident.  In Greek mythology, Ariadne helped Theseus defeat the Minotaur by giving him a ball of string so that he could follow it out of the labyrinth.  We read Flatland (perception), Allegory of the Cave (perception/reasoning), The Labyrinth of Reasoning (logical paradoxes), Through the Looking Glass, Fahrenheit 451(perception).  I can't remember what else we read (other than I bought the screen play for them to read as we went through the study).  Instead of a typical lit writing papers, this semester they designed their own "perception project." 

Lewis's Space Trilogy?  If you are Christian, there is a lot in there to discuss and analyze.  My ds did a huge project comparing the Green Lady to Eve.

A study focused on Dracula, Frankenstein, Dr. Jekyll and Mr Hyde

 

[Lori D.]

You are wise to see that your voracious-reading DS may need something "meatier" and with more works in it to fill his love of reading and discussing, and that your nonfiction-reading DS would do better with something more streamlined and "get 'er done" so as to not be overwhelmed.

For the voracious-reading son who loves to discuss books -- sounds like he would love a "do-it-yourself" (DIY) study of books of high interest to him. Perhaps together come up with a booklist, get some individual literature guides to go with each book, and have at it. 😄 The non-fiction lover could join in on the "DIY" study for just some of the books, so he wouldn't be overwhelmed.

Or, since voracious-reading son loves to discuss, he might really enjoy an online Literature course with live discussion, so that he can enjoy being surrounded by a richness of ideas and the sharing of insights on books. In that case, non-fiction reading son could do a less intense Lit. program at home.

Like 8FillTheHeart (above post), we made our own Literature, so that tends to be my first suggest as well -- and when you have a literature-lover, that is an awesome way to both challenge and bring joy to that student. However, if creating a "DIY" Literature is not a possibility for you, then let us know and we can suggest some ideas that might fit each student. 😄 BEST of luck in your planning! Warmest regards, Lori D.

 

[shelleysboys]

I have a 12th grade boy that I need literature for too....

I like the idea of A study focused on Dracula, Frankenstein, Dr. Jekyll and Mr Hyde.   Short and shocking.

Googled that quickly and found 3 scholarly papers comparing those! 

http://www.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:422482/fulltext01

https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/3bce/9cfa65c1a667539d1660f4af977954d6ea4a.pdf

https://www.summit.org/resources/reflect/frankenstein-dracula-dr-jekyll-mr-hyde/

 

I would love him to read others writing work to catch and idea of what  more advanced writing looks like.  Very interesting!

 

 

 

[shelleysboys]

I tried to PM you SB Grace but it would not go through.

I know this might be a little odd but you never know if if might work.

I replied to your post about literature.  I have a 12th grade boy that I too think I have a writing plan but need a literature plan.  I would love a little group of kids that would read and then discuss.  Discussing with him Mother probably is not going to go to well - and accountability outside the house is huge too!  Let me know if you would be interested in considering a little cohort of boys!  Is there anybody else in this predicament!!?

[8filltheheart]

Here is a description of a course from Coursera.   I thought about this course today after posting about Dracula, etc.  Maybe this will give you an idea of how you can pull something together that can be a lot of fun. https://www.classcentral.com/course/fantasysf-352

Quote

This course comprises ten units. Each will include a significant reading, typically a novel or a selection of shorter works. I will offer video discussions of each of the readings and also of more general topics in art and psychology that those readings help illuminate. Each unit will include online quizzes and ask you to write a brief essay offering your own insights into the reading. In order, the units are:

1. Grimm — Children's and Household Tales
2. Carroll — Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass
3. Stoker — Dracula
4. Shelley — Frankenstein
5. Hawthorne & Poe — Stories and Poems
6. Wells — The Island of Dr. Moreau, The Invisible Man, "The Country of the Blind," "The Star"
7. Burroughs & Gilman — A Princess of Mars & Herland
8. Bradbury — The Martian Chronicles
9. LeGuin — The Left Hand of Darkness
10. Doctorow — Little Brother

In Unit I, the specific stories are the ones in the Lucy Crane translation (1886) which was published by Dover and is available online through Project Gutenberg. In Unit V, the specific readings are: Hawthorne's "The Birthmark," "Rappaccini's Daughter," "Dr. Heidegger's Experiment," and "The Artist of the Beautiful"; Poe's "The Fall of the House of Usher," "The Tell-Tale Heart," "The Black Cat," "The Oval Portrait," "The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar," "The Bells," "The Raven," "Annabel Lee." All the readings except Ray Bradbury's The Martian Chronicles and Ursula K. LeGuin's The Left Hand of Darkness will be available online at no charge.

 

[royspeed]

20 hours ago, sbgrace said:

I'm thinking he would enjoy a literature program that is deeper. I don't necessarily want time consuming--more rich in content or complete/solid. 

sbgrace:

Sounds to me like one or more of my online Shakespeare "intensives" might fit the bill.

I teach courses on close reading of Shakespeare:

• Romeo & Juliet — 10 weeks, beginning September 2;
• Hamlet — 10 weeks, beginning December 2; 
• Macbeth — 7 weeks, beginning March 10.

If your son has already read a great deal of Shakespeare — and is ready for something even more heavy-duty — he might consider my year-long course History & Literature of the Middle Ages.

Good luck with your search, sbgrace.

—Roy Speed

[sbgrace]

Thank you all! 

I really, really love the ideas of the pulled together by mom courses you describe. 8-fillheart your coop movie based course sounds so cool. I wish I could design something on my own like you all have mentioned. I will look into what's available and see if I can. I don't think I'm capable, though. I'm overwhelmed with special needs stuff in one that is intense right now, and, outside of that, I'm not at all confident in my own literature background. Window to the World was perfect in that regard--I learned as much as they did. I think I could take existing material and adapt to fit my kids and needs. So I will do some exploring today. 

**i think, ideally, I would have a rich lit units to sprinkle into our other language arts periodically--something with substance, but not overwhelming to kid #2--with more independent material for kid #1 to explore on his own.  If that exists. And writing that makes me feel a little sad. I am not doing what's best for kid #1 in this area.** 

Shellysboys, I cleared my inbox, and I will pm you. 

I think he would absolutely thrive with a discussion based lit course. I'm sure he would.  (So, yes, Roy Speed..something like that would probably fit the bill). COVID  brought a lot of uncertainty in our household financial picture, however. Because we don't know where the bottom will be, I am trying to be careful in my homeschool spending for this next year. I've decided not to to outsource anything--though I may end up caving for pre-calc for one if what i currently have planned doesn't work. 

 I want to give them so much, so I am telling myself that I will do "all the things" their senior year. For kid 1, I hope that will include a great lit outsourced course. 

Edited July 26, 2020 by sbgrace

[8filltheheart]

You don't have to have all the answers.  All you need to do is pick the books you want them to read.  Then find free online resources to help you guide discussions.  There are tons of resources available.  For example a 2 min google search for Dracula brings up the following:

https://www.sparknotes.com/lit/dracula/

https://www.cliffsnotes.com/literature/d/dracula/summary-and-analysis/chapter-1

http://web.stanford.edu/class/ihum51/pp/Dracula

http://www.ucs.mun.ca/~emiller/links.html

http://www.pitt.edu/~slavic/courses/vampires/images/vlad/vlad.html

https://time.com/5411826/bram-stoker-dracula-history/

And that was just a google search vs a google scholar search.  In google scholar I put in the terms Dracula analysis brom stoker novel vs movies and this is the result:

https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&as_sdt=0%2C1&q=dracula+analysis+bram+stoker+novel+vs+movie&btnG=

Lit can be as simple as them reading the novel and asking questions for them to think about and reflect on and then their giving their sharing their reflections.  I can be as complex as a comparative analysis study with research into influences, historical backgrounds, and comparing/contrasting, etc.  You do not need to make it complex for them to benefit from it.  Reading the books with a few thoughtful questions can lead to all sorts of pretty amazing discussions.

I hope you find something that works for you without costing too much.  Best wishes!

 

[Lori D.]

1 hour ago, 8FillTheHeart said:

You don't have to have all the answers.  All you need to do is pick the books you want them to read.  Then find free online resources to help you guide discussions.  There are tons of resources available....

...Lit can be as simple as them reading the novel and asking questions for them to think about and reflect on and then their giving their sharing their reflections.  I can be as complex as a comparative analysis study with research into influences, historical backgrounds, and comparing/contrasting, etc.  You do not need to make it complex for them to benefit from it.  Reading the books with a few thoughtful questions can lead to all sorts of pretty amazing discussions.

I hope you find something that works for you without costing too much.  Best wishes!

Exactly! 😄 

Original Poster -- and if it helps, if you post your booklist, I'll help you look for some free resources. And if any of the books are ones I've done with my classes, I'll be happy to email those to you to use. Homeschoolers need to pull together in these strange and trying times! 😉 

[sbgrace]

You two made that seem doable. I had no idea material was so available. Thank you!