Summer School - Reading

Hopefully you have taken advantage of the myriad of opportunities to read this summer.  There are summer reading programs at most local libraries, Barnes and Nobles as well as lots of other incentive program.  Then there is just the joy of sitting back, on the beach, or porch, or tree house and getting lost in a story.

But even if your kiddos did do any reading, it is not too late to warm up their brains.  Here is a fun game to play, book bingo.  Take your book bingo printable to the library, use stickers or stamps or just an "x" to mark your bingo sheet as you complete a row up, down, or diagonal.

Here is a free printable for Last Minute Book Bingo:

IEW Teaching the Classics {A Review}

A DVD seminar that teaches parent how to teach literary analysis.

Teaching the Classics 

The Essentials - What you need to know
• Company:  Institute for Excellence in Writing.
• Product:  Teaching the Classics DVD Seminar and Workbook by Adam and Missy Andrews
• Age Range:  This product is for parents of children of any age
• This is a seminar that is on 4 DVDs.  Total length of DVDs is approx 5 1/2 hours.  It comes with a spiral bound workbook with many helpful diagrams, explanations and worksheets.
• Cost: $89

The Review

 Recently I was at an event where the idea of redeeming our, that is a parent's, education was batted around quite a bit.  That is what this video did for me, at least in part.  A lot of what was presented on this DVD seminar was not new information for me. The seminar refreshed what I already knew.  It went beyond just a simple refresher course explaining in an organized way how to use that information to teach my child literary analysis. Because of watching this DVD I feel that I can teach Zippy with confidence.

The DVDs present a recording of a seminar run by Adam Andrews.  He is speaking to an audience of teacher/parents.  At the beginning of the seminar he sets forth his credentials.  He is a historian married to a woman with a degree in literature.  They have children and decided to homeschool. At the behest of a neighbor they began to teach others this particular method of literary analysis.  This is a classical approach.  This is a toolbox that can be applied to literature of all levels.  You can use this method to analyse War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy.  You can also use this method to analyse Curious George or Peter Rabbit.  In fact Adam encouraged the audience to try the method first on children's stories because they are simpler in their design, yet contain many of the literary devices employed by more complex stories. 

The heart of this classical method of literary analysis lies in the Socratic List.  Socrates liked to question his students to see what they believed.  Therefore the method of teaching by asking questions of the topic at hand became known as the Socratic Method.  Adam talked briefly about the difference between this method and the workbook method.  In the Socratic Method each step and each question allows the student to read closer and look more deeply.  In the workbook method students read a story, then fills out a worksheet, a page in the workbook, set up to see if the the child comprehends what he is reading.  

Before he tackled the Socratic list Adam talked at great length about the style and structure of stories. First he talked about the importance of context and authorship.  By knowing just a little bit about the life of the author, the time that they lived in and the time that the story was written, the reader gains some insight into the motives behind the authorship.  Adam said that as a people we struggle with ideas.  Most of us think about them then let them go.  Authors are struck with an idea and then they write their way to understanding. Writing is the author's struggle with one idea or another and we the reader come along on their ride.  Everything that an author does in a story is on purpose.  

Next Adam talked about the structure of story, specifically the five elements of fiction.  Those are conflict, plot, setting, characters and theme.  He also plotted out the story. I was transported back to 11th grade English class.  But again this is not something limited to great literature.  These five elements can be applied to the simplest of children's stories.  Adam charted it out on his white board including all the elements of structure.  The chart is included in the syllabus, both filled in and blank, so that the reader can fill it in for himself.  I really, really liked the chart.  I am a visual learner and it helped me remember where all the pieces go and how they fit together.  

After structure Adam discussed style.  I think this is the fun part of literature.  Style is all the literary devices that authors uses to spice up their story.  They include onomatopoeia, alliteration, imagery, metaphor, symbolism, allusion and a couple others.  One of the things that I especially appreciated about the seminar and the workbook is that everything is set up so the simplest concepts, those concepts even a young child could understand, come first in a list, then as the list progresses the concepts or questions become more complex.  For example, in the section on literary devices onomatopoeia is the first.  Onomatopoeia is when a word says its name like whoosh, bark, or clap.  These are things even a young child could have fun picking out of a story.  Last on the list is symbolism.  This is when an author uses one object to represent something very different.  Light is used as a symbol for truth.  This is a complex concept, requiring the reader some amount of sophisticated thought. 

Lastly Adam talked about the Socratic Method and the Socratic List.  Simply put the Socratic method is the practice of asking questions within the discussion of literature.  The Socratic List is just a list of questions that the student can employ as they look at the story.  The list is included in the appendix of the workbook.  It contains 21 questions with 5 or 6 subquestions that flesh out the answer to the question.  All in all there are over 100 things that could be asked about any given story.  Adam made clear that all the questions may not need to be asked about any given story, but rather it is the job of the parent/teacher to discern which questions would be best. 

The rest of the seminar Andrew used the tools of the chart and the list to shine a light on each one of the five elements of fiction. In each section there was a excerpt from a piece of literature that Andrew used to practice this method on.  At the end of the whole five hours there was a short practicum where the audience was encouraged to try their hand at literary analysis with a piece of literature on their own, using the tools provided. 

I read or listen to fiction almost every day.  I now find myself thinking about the theme, the setting, the characters of the books that I indulge in for pleasure.  By using these new found tools of literary analysis, even the simple act of reading for pleasure has taken on a greater depth.  Of course I took these tools into our homeschool.  I invited Zippy to watch the videos with me but after about 30 seconds she said she was out of there.  I persevered through all the DVDs and after viewing I sat down and explained the method using the diagram, then we read some short stories, and  using the questions we discussed the stories.  The questions are really the linchpin to understanding and comprehension.  Zippy learns best if she can work through something.  She prefers to work through things orally, through discussion.  The questions gave us a platform on which to build the discussion.  I've struggled this past year with getting her to comprehend and to read closely.  This method equipped me to know how to teach literature and it equipped her to have a deeper understanding of how to read and think critically.

I do have one small confession to make.  I only sat down and watched about the first fifteen minutes of the first video.  When it became obvious that it was basically a lecture I got up and picked up the living room, folded the clothes, did the dishes.  I did listen to the entire 5 plus hours. When it was necessary I picked up the book and followed along on the exercises filling in the chart or looking at the questions.  In my humble opinion the visuals are not necessary for understanding.  The only thing that would make this product perfect is if it came in a CD format that I could listen to.  I am completely pleased with IEW's Teaching the Classics.

Meet 10 Mighty Girls

1. Anne Shirley - this high spirited orphan is the main character in Anne of Green Gables (and all the other books) by L.M. Montgomery.  
2. Anne Frank - The brave Jewish girl who went into hiding with her family during World War II.  She wrote a diary during her time in hiding.  You can visit the Anne Frank house in Holland. Read about her life in hiding in Anne Frank's diary.  
3. Susan and Lucy Pevensie - The sisters, who with their brothers Peter and Edumud visit the land of Narnia and have great adventures in the Chronicles of Narnia  by C. S. Lewis.
4. Pipi Longstocking - Now I have not personally read Pipi's story, but it was on every single list of "books for girls" that I consulted, so I thought I would include it.  Pipi Longstocking was written by Astrid Lindgrin.
5. Mary Lennox - The lonely orphan girl sent from India, where her parents died, to a big mansion in Yorkshire, England.  She befriends the inhabitants and brings love to the sad and lonely Secret Garden. Find her story in The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett. Find the free e-book on the Gutenberg Project. 
6. Trixie Beldon - This young sleuth solves mysteries with her good friends around her home, Crabapple Farm, in upstate New York.  There are 39 books in the Trixie Belden series.    
7.  Laura Ingalls Wilder - The author of the Little House series of books based on her childhood, growing up in frontier America.  Many, many people adore this girl, there are websites, a biography, the TV series, and a documentary in addition to the fabulous book series that started it all. 
8. Heidi - The heroine of the book by the same name written by Johanna Spyri, Heidi makes the best of an uncomfortable family situation.  Dumped at her grandfather's doorstep by an Aunt who can't care for her because of a job, then whisked away again several years later to be a companion to an invalid girl in the city.  Through it all Heidi warms hearts and offers love and friendship.
9. Sara Crewe - A little princess who has it all taken away, yet maintains a royal attitude of humility.  Her story is told in the book A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett. 
10. Christy Huddlestone - More of a young woman than a girl.  At nineteen years old Christy sets off to teach children in the Smoky Mountains.  A story of faith and love, Christy by Catherine Marshall. 

Letter H Books

Here are five books that feature words that start with the letter H.  They are all picture books, great for reading aloud or early readers.

No Roses for Harry by Gene Zion - Harry gets a sweater with roses.  Harry doesn't like roses and tries very hard to get rid of the sweater.  

The Little House  by Virginia Lee Burton - The story of a house over years as the city overtakes her. 

Harold and the Purple Crayon by Crockett Johnson - Harold takes his purple crayon and draws an adventure. 

Old Hat New Hat by Stan and Jan Berenstain 

Handmade Alphabet by Laura Rankin.

Here is a bonus book:  Holly and Ivy by Rumer Godden.  A personal favorite of mine, for obvious reasons.  The story of a little orphan girl, a doll and Christmas wishes come true.  This book is a little longer than a picture book, but would still make a nice read aloud, it does have pictures. 

 

{Linking up} with the fabulous Marcy over at Ben and Me with blogging through the alphabet. 

*There are affiliate links in this post. 

Progeny Press Eagle of the Ninth Study Guide {A Review}

Study guides for literature from a Christian perspective.

Study Guide for Eagle of the Ninth 

The Essentials - What you need to know

• Company: Progeny Press 
•   Study Guide for the book Eagle of the Ninth by Rosemary Stucliff
• Age Range: grades 5-8
• This product is only the study guide for the book.  The book is not included.  This product is available in three forms:
• Printed booklet - $18.99
• CD - $16.99
• Instant Download (pdf file) - $16.99

The Review

In the note to Instructor the Progeny Press Study Guides are "designed to help students better understand and enjoy literature by getting them to notice and understand how authors craft their stories and to show them who to think through themes and ideas introduces in the stories." The guide followed through on that promise.  It took a wonderfully written story and unpacked the writing, themes and ideas.

After the introduction, a brief synopsis  and a note on the author there are some pre-reading ideas to put the student in the time and space of when the story takes place, in this case Roman Briton in AD 119. The study guide is organized into sections of 3 chapters each.  They employ an inductive study to the book, suggesting that students read the whole novel over the course of a week to get the scope of the whole story.  Then students work on one study guide page per day using the book for close reading and reference   

Each section begins with a vocabulary activity. Each section approached vocabulary words in a slightly different way.  Then there are questions that work from surface reading comprehension, through to thinking deeply about the story.  First reading comprehension questions that simply ask the what, where, when questions about the events of the story. Then there is a section called thinking about the story.  This is where the student is asked the why questions.  It also introduces different

 writing devices and asks the student to explore how the author uses them.   Next there is a section called dig deeper. The students are asked to apply ideas and concepts to their own lives.  The study carefully leads the student to think about ideas in a profound way.  Students are asked to look up scripture verses to help them think about the words, actions of the people in the story.  Last in each section of the study is an invitation to go even further either through class discussion or optional activities.  

At the end of the whole study there is an overview, which could be used as a final assessment  and a list of additional resources, including non-fiction books, additional fiction books of a similar time period and movies. 

We reviewed the digital downloaded product, a pdf file.  The pdf file was equipped with the ability to type and save data in the file, which I really like as it saves on paper.  This book is a new one for me, I had not read it prior to this study guide.   The story, just at face value was an engrossing tale for both myself and Zippy.

Doing the study as we read the story was beneficial to Zippy.  I knew that she could not read this whole novel by herself in a week.   I do understand how having a global understanding of the story would be useful especially when it comes to studying the writing itself.  Going over the story twice would lead to a greater comprehension.  I did a mixture of  Zippy reading to herself, I reading aloud, answering orally, discussions, and writing.  In the end we found a combination of reading, writing and discussion was the best. We still ended up doing a section a week.  The first day Zippy wrote out the vocabulary.  The second day I  read aloud all three chapters, at one sitting if I could, while she drew pictures, illustrating the story.  This helped her focus and remember more.  Then on the third and fourth days we discussed and she wrote answers to the questions.  The only thing I would change about this study is to break it up chapter by chapter, rather than three chapter chunks.  

I really liked that everything was laid out and the study guide really did not require any preparation on my part as I read through the book with Zippy and had the answer key for the questions.  I would recommend these to homeschool students and parents.  It would also be useful in a classroom setting.  

Classic Academic Press The Art of Poetry {A Review}

Classic Academic Press, The Art of Poetry is a complete Poetry course for Middle School and High School students.

The Art of Poetry

Essentially - What you need to know:

• Publisher: Classic Academic Press - find out more at classicalacademicpress.com
• The Art of Poetry
• Grades 6-12
• The bundle includes a softbound student text, a softbound teacher's edition, and a DVD set.
• $99.95 for the complete bundle, 69.95 for the DVD {as of April 1, 2013}

The student text is divided up into 3 parts, "Elements of Poetry", "Formal History of Poetry" and "Application".  "The Elements of Poetry" address such things as images, metaphor, words, rhythm and other technical parts that make up the poem.  "The Formal History of Poetry" goes over the different movements and forms of poetry as they appear in history.  The Third section, "Application", which is really just one chapter, is dedicated to fostering the interest of the student as they take poetry out of the classroom.  It outlines different ways that the student can continue to read and write poetry.  There are also three appendices at the end of the book.  Appendix A is a  nice collection of short biographies of Poets throughout history.  Appendix B is how to find the Art of Poetry online.  Appendix C is a plan for using this text in the classroom.  There is also a glossary, bibliography and index.

Each chapter is well organized.  It begins with a few pages dedicated to the topic of the chapter with vocabulary works in black.   Then there is a section on learning to read closely.  Close reading is an integral part of this course. In short, it is the discipline of paying attention to the poem.  Then there are several poems with questions to help the students understand the poems. Then there are a number of writing activities for the students to do, to cement the topic of the chapter.  Last there is a one-page mini-glossery with the vocabulary words defined.

The Teacher's edition is a softbound book that is the same size as the the student text.  The text is the same as the student text with explanations and answers to the poems at the end of each chapter. There is an introduction to the teacher at the beginning of book and a timeline and quizzes with answer key in the back of the book.

The DVD is a true companion to the book.  For each chapter there is a summery of the first section of each chapter with images to support the reading like a short movie.  Then it transitions to the author Christine Perrin and a group of students as they read, study and discuss the poems in the anthology section of the chapter.

How We Used The Art of Poetry

The Art of Poetry was Zippy's main reading and writing text for the duration of this review. This book can be used in several different ways and different time frames.  This is outlined in the introduction of the book as well as on the Classical Academic website under free resources.  It can be used as an intensive month long unit, or spread out over a whole year or several years.

We broke the chapter up a little differently than suggested.  We did one chapter per week, interspersing the activities from the end of the chapter throughout the week.  If we continue in this way we will finish in half a school year.  We did nearly everything orally, reading the text and poetry, discussing the questions at the end of the poems. Zippy wrote out the end of the chapter actives.

What We Thought of it

I was very pleased with The Art of Poetry. It is a very flexible course with a ton of meat in it.  I thought it might  be a challenge for Zippy because she still struggles with reading. We decided to do it together, reading it aloud, mostly.  This proved to be a good decision for us.  It is written at a middle school/high school level and some words were difficult for her, but by tackling the information together she learned a lot.

I was especially delighted with the emphasis on close reading. This is the section where the author camps out on a poem, unpacking it bit by bit, practicing paying attention.  Attention is something that Zippy struggles with a lot.  By intentionally reading, looking at all the different aspects of the poem I think she is becoming a more attentive reader.

The teachers edition was easy to use.  I liked that it was essentially another copy of the student book, with explanations and answers at the end of each chapter on well marked pages.  Because I chose to tackle this orally, the teacher's edition provided a second copy for me to read/follow with Zippy. I also was thankful for those explanations.  I am a literal kind of person and sometimes reading deeply, figuring out what the poet was talking about, eludes me. Those explanations allowed me to teach with confidence.

I found the DVD to be less helpful than the book.  Zippy liked the beginning portion where the topic was explained, because there was pictures to illustrate.  I liked hearing the poems read by different people, because each person reads just a little differently, bringing out the nuances of the poem.  Listening to other people talk about the poem, without being able to participate, was a little dull for Zippy, however I can see how that would be beneficial for someone who is an auditory or visual learner.  

Reading Books

I am a {library} card carrying bibliophile. So when I saw the Fall in to Reading challenge on Pinterest yesterday, and was so excited!  Then I went {big sigh}, oh I'm not sure I can do one. more. thing.

 Who has time to read?

So I went to bed and realized I do have the time to read because I do read, almost. every. day.  My reading habit looks a little like this:

falling exhausted into bed,

 staring at the ceiling,

 tossing, 

turning, 

get tired of listening to my brain talk to itself, 

get up, 

grab a book, 

sit down 

and 

read 

for 10 min, a hour whatever it takes to get my brain to shut up.  Then I go back to bed and sleep.

My reading choices are not particularly well thought out, whatever is on the bookshelf.  So maybe a little intentional reading would be nice. I went over to Goodreads and browsed through their selection of popular books,  Surprise, surprise, I've read a lot, and I marked several more for future reading.  So viola, I have list, yay.  I am pleased and exited to participate in this fantastic challenge.  You can participate too, check out all the information by clicking on the Fall into Reading graphic.