I have come up with the plan for Rhetoric Lit. for our group of 9th & 10th graders. They are all new to Rhetoric level literature, so we are following the suggestions for Cutting. This has altered the weeks when we are reading certain assignments. So I have a question about what to do with the Loom readings in particular. Do we follow the Loom readings as given in the chart online, or do we read the ones that go along with the week of the particular book we are reading? Does that make any sense???

Beth in NC

www.nclighthousekeeper.blogspot.com
www.togsetup.blogspot.com

Hi Beth! This question is just starting to come up, so you're in good company. :-) It seems like what we all want to avoid is the situation where you skip the literature assignment, which is great, but you also skip that week's foundational information about characters, for example, which is crummy for later studies.

As I was explaining it to a lady on the phone the other day, if I had to rate these "background and handbook" readings in terms of importance, this would be my priority list for a cutting week:

1. If you can't do anything else, try to do the defining terms and any Analysis Docs/Poetics readings on the Loom that you may have assigned that week. This means maybe 10 pages of reading tops, and usually just 5-10 terms, which should be highly doable in most cases, and this reading constitutes all the "handbook" stuff for that week, so it should cover everything essential.

2. Next, I'd say, comes the Frameworks reading. We take the historical study of literature very seriously and want to make sure that your students are learning the connections between historical cultures/worldviews and literature (which also makes the literature itself far more understandable and meaningful!). So, though I would say that this is DEFINITELY a cuttable priority, you may decide to include it, especially because it is also usually just a few pages of reading.

3. Words of Delight and A Poetry Handbook come last in importance, though they are delightful. :-) If you have first printing Y2, I would bump Words of Delight up to the second priority level, because you have Analysis docs rather than Poetics, which rely more heavily on WoD readings. For those who have Poetics (Y3 and second printing Y2 users) I would make WoD and PH a third priority, mostly because the essential information from them should be more or less summed up in Poetics.

As I've been starting to try to help teachers process the cutting chart, that's been the priority list that has developed so far. I reserve the right to change it if one of you wonderful ladies shows me something I haven't seen yet. :-) However, I think that if you follow this priority list you definitely won't miss anything essential for your later class discussions, which is the goal. If de-stressing to the max is what you need, just go for the #1 priority and forget the rest, or chop it altogether! Be released!

In closing, I want to stress that this is YOUR school year and YOUR children. You may arrange these readings in a different priority structure or cut them all! As they say in Pride and Prejudice, "Lady Catherine will never know." ;-)

HTH!
Christy Somerville
Staff Author
Director for Rhetoric Literature Studies
Lampstand Press

Thanks for the reply, Christy. Now, to see if I understand you...

In Wk 4 we are skipping "Chanson de Roland" and going right to "Beowulf", which is Wk 5, and spreading that over weeks 4 & 5. So, would your suggestion be to go ahead and read the Loom Readings for Wk 4 the first week ( Medieval Frameworks parts V & VI, and Poetry Analysis Appendix A, as possible the Words of Delight assignment) the Week 5 handbook stuff that goes along with Beowulf ( Words of Delight and Poetry Handbook) in week 5 ( our 2nd week on Beowulf )?

Then in Week 6 & 7, we are skipping Dante and reading Chaucer...in Week 8 & 9 we are jumping to weeks 10 & 11 ( Sir Gawain & sonnets), and then in week 10 we'll be in Week 14.... do you see why our heads our spinning? I know this will all work, but I'm struggling with lining up all the background material.

So I guess one question I still have is this... if we just read the Loom assignments as they are given in the chart on the Loom, without worrying about which literature selection we are actually reading at the time, will we be totally messed up when it comes to discussion time?

Beth in NC
taking a deep breath and trying to relax :-)

I highly commend the deep breathing. ;-) Thank you also for your good humor as we try to iron out all these small issues associated with launching a year's studies---it certainly isn't an easy task!

It looks like you are working with Year 2, first printing. Here are some special, detailed instructions to help you get through this first unit easily. :-) If you follow these, I think I can pretty much guarantee that you won't be tripped up in later studies.

First, please note that there are no Loom readings assigned in Weeks 4, 6-7, or 9, so you don't have to worry about that!

I'm going to give you the explanation for each of the weeks you are skipping first, and then the short list of what to actually assign:

1. Week 4: The only really important thing about Week 4 is that it introduces the concept of the epic poem. Since Beowulf is also an epic, and since our primary reading on the epic is in Ryken, it will work nicely for you to have your students read that one Ryken selection on epic from Words of Delight (I believe it's p. 127-129) in Week 4, while they are reading Beowulf. I'd also try to have your students do the Defining Terms section from Week 4 (which is 8 terms total).

2. Weeks 6-7: Again, I would try to have your students do the Defining Terms, because those include words like symbol and allegory that he will need later for his study of Pilgrim's Progress. Other than that, however, the only important thing is the discussion of imagery, metaphor, and simile (Words of Delight p. 161-162, 165, and 166-169). If you also personally wish to read the lecture on imagery, metaphor, and simile from the Teacher's Notes, you can find them in Week 7, p. 47-49.

3. In Week 9, the students learn about satire. You will need this concept later on for your study of Gulliver's Travels in Unit 4, so it is good to have your students read about this topic in Words of Delight (p. 329-331) if possible. The other importance concept taught this week is personification, which they will need for their study of Pilgrim's Progress (Words of Delight p. 178).

That was the "why" explanation, but here's the short version that you can print off and assign. Your total extra work in order to make sure that you got the essentials in Weeks 4, 6-7, and 9 is:

Week 4: Words of Delight p. 127-129, and the 8 terms in the Defining Terms section of Week 4 SAP's.
Weeks 6-7: Words of Delight p. 161-162, 165, and 166-169, and the 4 terms in the Defining Terms section of Week 6 SAP's.
Week 9: Words of Delight p. 178 and 329-331, and the 4 terms in the Defining Terms section of Week 9 SAP's.

That comes to a grand total of 14 pages of reading and 16 terms for four missed weeks, which, I think you'll agree with me, isn't bad at all. :-) If your students do these readings and terms (and review them as needed), they should be in great shape!

I hope that this will help you to relax and enjoy your school preparation more! Thank you so much for being a faithful mom and teacher, and a patient customer. :-) When I grow up, I want to be just like you!

Christy Somerville
Lampstand Press

You are awesome! And on a Saturday too! Thank you for your patient and thorough explanation. I may be back again later, but I think this will get us started.

Beth