Saturday, May 9, 2009

Teaching the Classics

Okay, part IV of my literature stuff.  This is the last company, but I will be doing more for Lightning Lit.  Hopefully later today.

Teaching the Classics - which you can also read about at IEW, is primarily meant to teach you how to teach literature.  Adam Andrews has a 4-DVD seminar, along with a syllabus, for $89.  He has also produced a Worldview Supplement, which includes 2 DVDs, and lots more questions in the syllabus.  This costs $49.  He also has created a number of literature analysis products for specific books.  You can get his guide for The Bronze Bow for free on his website.

Disclaimer:  I have taken a seminar for Teaching the Classics and own the syllabus, which I have used with my kids.  I have only read about the other products, though I have downloaded the free one and looked that over pretty thoroughly.  I will be using that with Connor when we get to the book in Sonlight this year.

What I am seriously considering for Connor, instead of a full-blown literature program in addition to what Sonlight does, is something like this:

6th/7th grade: we’d work through the Teaching the Classics material.  The seminar is meant for parents, but lots of parents do actually sit down and work through the DVDs with their kids.  We’d also use the TTC guides for The Hobbit and The Bronze Bow when we get to them in Sonlight..

8th grade: work through the Worldview Supplement, plus maybe a lit guide for a non-Sonlight book, like At the Back of the North Wind.  Use TTC questions for a book or two that we are already studying.  Use some of the SL writing assignments.

9th grade: use an Institute for Excellence in Writing product, Windows to the World, which is pretty much all literary criticism.  Also, go back to the main course and review the Tom Sawyer material when we do that in Sonlight.  Possibly use some of the SL writing assignments.

10th: Use some SL writing assignments, and use TTC questions on some of the books we are reading.  Probably get the Treasure Island lit guide.

11th and 12th: I’m not entirely sure.  If we are still using Sonlight, maybe we’d “just” use TTC questions and Sonlight writing assignments.  Maybe this would be the point to do one of the literature programs I’ve decided not to start now.  And there are certainly more Lit guides available to use:  Hamlet, Julius Caesar, The Great Divorce, A Tale of Two Cities, and The Yearling.  And I’m sure there will be more available by the time we get there!  

2 comments:

Hidden Jewel said...

Oops! I didn't read far enough to see that you are already aware of Windows to the World. Sorry about that.

Debra said...

LOL, well, this series wasn't exactly cohesive and organized! It's just all the stuff I was poking through. I'm surprised anyone could follow it!

I appreciate hearing other people have been looking at Window on the World. Makes me feel a bit more comfortable about my tentative plan ;)