Windows to the World by IEW

[desertflower]

Hello,

Has anyone here used Windows to the World by IEW?  How is the literary analysis section?  Does it involve deep thinking?  We are looking for something that's more than spotting the literary elements.  Thanks for any input.

[mjbucks1]

I have used WTTW with the Jill Pike syllabus with all of my children.  I think it is excellent.  I would say it is an introductory course, but it does go deeper in looking at themes and symbolism, rather than just looking for a specific literary technique.  For example, the Jill Pike syllabus adds the novel Jane Eyre.  My ds wrote a paper about the importance of home in Jane Eyre looking at the different places Jane lived and which she considered home.  He went deeper to look at how the people in each place she lived added to (or subtracted from) her sense of home.  I have used this curriculum when each of my children was in 7th grade to introduce literary analysis and it really is one of my favorites! 

 

[desertflower]

4 minutes ago, mjbucks1 said:

I have used WTTW with the Jill Pike syllabus with all of my children.  I think it is excellent.  I would say it is an introductory course, but it does go deeper in looking at themes and symbolism, rather than just looking for a specific literary technique.  For example, the Jill Pike syllabus adds the novel Jane Eyre.  My ds wrote a paper about the importance of home in Jane Eyre looking at the different places Jane lived and which she considered home.  He went deeper to look at how the people in each place she lived added to (or subtracted from) her sense of home.  I have used this curriculum when each of my children was in 7th grade to introduce literary analysis and it really is one of my favorites! 

 

Thanks!

[Garga]

I liked that it explained how to carry an idea forward and expound upon it; how to take something that was said in the previous sentence and make more of it. Kids often just state a fact or two and then have no idea how to expound on those facts and then get frustrated because they can’t think of anything else to write. WTTW taught my kids how to expound and explain the statements that they made in their writing.

For a very simple (and poorly written example because I’m answering you quickly), a kid might have to explain that Popeye is a sailor man.

Prompt:Tell me how you know Popeye is a sailor man.  

Student who can’t expound: I don’t know what else to saaaay!  He just IS a sailor man! There’s nothing to say!

Student who expounds by building on the previous sentence:

“Popeye is a sailor man. Before tattoos were socially acceptable, sailors were some of the few people who had tattoos. Popeye had a tattoo. His tattoo was of an anchor. Only sailors use anchors. Since only sailors had tattoos and only sailors use anchors, the conclusion is that Popeye is a sailor man.

Notice how a word from each previous sentence can be found in the next sentence?  Ignore how ridiculously simple this is (and badly written!)! I’m just writing fast and dirty to demonstrate how you can take a word or idea from the previous sentence and say something else about it and then come to a conclusion.

Anyway…that lesson right there was worth using WttW for us.  It was so eye-opening to my kids and frankly to me as well.  I could expound for myself, but didn’t know how to break it down and explain to the kids how to do it.

[desertflower]

4 minutes ago, Garga said:

I liked that it explained how to carry an idea forward and expound upon it; how to take something that was said in the previous sentence and make more of it. Kids often just state a fact or two and then have no idea how to expound on those facts and then get frustrated because they can’t think of anything else to write. WTTW taught my kids how to expound and explain the statements that they made in their writing.

For a very simple (and poorly written example because I’m answering you quickly), a kid might have to explain that Popeye is a sailor man.

Prompt:Tell me how you know Popeye is a sailor man.  

Student who can’t expound: I don’t know what else to saaaay!  He just IS a sailor man! There’s nothing to say!

Student who expounds by building on the previous sentence:

“Popeye is a sailor man. Before tattoos were socially acceptable, sailors were some of the few people who had tattoos. Popeye had a tattoo. His tattoo was of an anchor. Only sailors use anchors. Since only sailors had tattoos and only sailors use anchors, the conclusion is that Popeye is a sailor man.

Notice how a word from each previous sentence can be found in the next sentence?  Ignore how ridiculously simple this is (and badly written!)! I’m just writing fast and dirty to demonstrate how you can take a word or idea from the previous sentence and say something else about it and then come to a conclusion.

Anyway…that lesson right there was worth using WttW for us.  It was so eye-opening to my kids and frankly to me as well.  I could expound for myself, but didn’t know how to break it down and explain to the kids how to do it.

oh gosh!  That does makes sense!  I'm like that. It is difficult for me to expound. 🤣  Now I know the trick.  Thanks for your input!

[Lucy the Valiant]

It's my all-time favorite "English" course to teach. I also used Jill Pike's syllabus, and we usually invite a (very) few friends to join in the adventure. I also teach AP Lit, and WtW has been a fantastic pre-AP course in our (admittedly limited) experience.

It definitely teaches kids HOW to analyze what they're reading. It begins with a very IEW-style tightly-scripted "formula" analysis pattern, and then gradually backs off / has the kids do their own thing so that by the end of the course, the final exam is a short story handed to the kids with a blank sheet of paper and 3 hours to write a complete analysis. I've never had a kid NOT be able to do it, and the fantastic bonus is that the kids feel confident and comfortable with it, too. It's been a favorite course for most of my own kids (though that may partially be due to the friends + incorporated parties, LOL) - if you have specific questions, I'd be happy to gush in more detail. *grin

[desertflower]

27 minutes ago, Lucy the Valiant said:

It's my all-time favorite "English" course to teach. I also used Jill Pike's syllabus, and we usually invite a (very) few friends to join in the adventure. I also teach AP Lit, and WtW has been a fantastic pre-AP course in our (admittedly limited) experience.

It definitely teaches kids HOW to analyze what they're reading. It begins with a very IEW-style tightly-scripted "formula" analysis pattern, and then gradually backs off / has the kids do their own thing so that by the end of the course, the final exam is a short story handed to the kids with a blank sheet of paper and 3 hours to write a complete analysis. I've never had a kid NOT be able to do it, and the fantastic bonus is that the kids feel confident and comfortable with it, too. It's been a favorite course for most of my own kids (though that may partially be due to the friends + incorporated parties, LOL) - if you have specific questions, I'd be happy to gush in more detail. *grin

Thanks for your input. It sounds like a great program!

[Porridge]

@Lucy the Valiant for what grade (s) do you usually use WttW ?

[Lucy the Valiant]

3 minutes ago, WTM said:

@Lucy the Valiant for what grade (s) do you usually use WttW ?

For my own kids 8th/9th ish - for our friends' kids, 9th/10th/11th-ish. I want it earlier for mine so they can get more out of future classes; plus, mine have grown up in heavy-lit home. I do consider it adaptable for a range of ages.

(Edit: I'll have a 7th grader next year, and am considering it for him + some friends; the decision will probably come down to what ELSE we're doing, whether we do WtW next year or the year after.)

Edited February 9, 2022 by Lucy the Valiant