CW upper level users: Q on Literature

[Kathie in VA]

From Maxim level and up, it looks like CW has a selection of literature that they suggest. These are picked because they relate to the topic covered in the CW levels. I was going to do literature with our history again but this seems like a very good idea. So are any of you using these choices as your literature or part of your literature? Are you still doing a separate literature program? (do tell?) Or are you adding other books to this list to complete a literature course? Is anyone using Teaching The Classics with CW?

 

If you are using these in your literature, what are you doing for history? Is history a separate subject with additional literature or without literature (just a spine or text)?

 

Thanks,

Kathie (trying to figure out next year for my rising 8th and 9th grader [ack! high school!! :eek:] who should be starting Maxim in the Fall... maybe the Maxim/Creia if the tutorial is offered).

[Jackie in AR]

I'm glad you raised this topic, Kathie. It is something I have begun to think about for next year when my boys will be 9th graders.

 

My boys use TOG for history and literature (both at the D level), and they complete the literature reading as scheduled in CW (they're working through Maxim and Chreia this year in the online class). Currently, they aren't doing any more analysis on the CW reading than what is required in the A & I lessons. They do the full literature program as written in TOG.

 

Next year, they'll be at the Rhetoric level of lit (and history) in TOG, and will likely begin Herodotus in CW. The TOG R level is a huge jump from the D level, both for history and literature. So that curriculum alone will be a full plate. The CW website states that completion of the full Herodotus program could count as two semesters of lit and writing at the high school level. So, something will have to give, I just haven't figured out what it will be.

 

I think it would be easy if we were ready for ancient history again next year since the lit selections in Herodotus are classical literature; I would likely ditch the TOG lit and just go with CW. But we'll be moving into the 4th year of our 4-year rotation and will be studying modern times in history, and I would like for them to read at least some of the modern lit to go along with that. Maybe I should wait for 10th grade for Herodotus when we'll be back to the ancients for history, but that wouldn't leave us enough time for Plutarch and Demosthenes. (I'm not sure we'll go all the way through those, but I don't want a decision in 9th grade to determine that, kwim?)

 

It has been a good exercise for me just to type all this out this morning. :lol:

 

I'll be :bigear: reading the responses to your thread.

[Kfamily]

I posted recently on the K-8 board about how I figured out how to incorporate all the CW literature with our history and literature years left through high school. My dd is just beginning Homer in 6th so we won't get to this until 8th but I wanted to balance our literature selections correctly. Here is what I came up with:

 

Ambleside year 4-grade 6

5-grade 7

6-grade 8

7-grade 9

8-gade 10

9-grade 11

10,11-grade 12

+ each year starting with grade 9 we will add 3-4 books which cover ancient history (grade 8 is an ancient history year). Charlotte Mason covered ancient history in a similiar way in the PNEU samples. Many of our ancient history books will be the CW choices but I will also add to this to cover the ancients more thoroughly. I think this will work well for us too because it will allow us to read the ancients a few at a time. Also, we will be doing Ambleside heavily adapted and a lighter version of each year. I also plan on adding the poetry and Shakespeare books from CW so this will add even more books to our list. I am still working on this so I may have to adapt as we go.

 

Thanks for bringing this up-I will enjoy reading all the responses!

 

HTH

Edited January 14, 2009 by Kfamily

[Beth in SW WA]

We'll stick to our own lit program, most likely.

[Kathie in VA]

Thanks to all those who responded. It is very interesting to hear how others are choosing to utilize the CW program.

 

Anyone else? I really thought there were more upper level CW users here.

 

I'll add a question just for fun: What about writing assignments for other subjects like history or literature? Do you do them or alter them so they align with what has been taught in CW? {In our case some history writing assignments are essays yet we haven't reached Maxim where essays are taught.... so I tend to skip history writing assignments or change them to some sort of narration.}

[Beth in SW WA]

 

Anyone else? I really thought there were more upper level CW users here.

 

 

Kathie,

The program is so new. I think Jackie's dc are probably the oldest students using the program that I know of. The author's son is the beta-tester for Herodotus this year.

[Kathie in VA]

Thanks Beth, that's true it is still being written. The extra literature suggestions begin (I believe) in Maxium. So I guess I'm looking for Maxium, Chrea, and Herodotus users. Oh well, maybe not so many of us after all!