I have two R level students, one 9th and one 10th grade, both boys. They are excellent readers and we have been using TOG for four years.

*I* am struggling with the literature in year two. Since we are finishing week 8, I decided it was time to look at the expectations but I need some help. I have read the R-level literature guide on the Loom. I understand the difference between beginning and continuing students. We have cut and trimmed the amount of reading down.

My problems:
Completing the story analysis information is like pulling teeth. I have actually taken to reading the selections to better help the boys but it is still rough. I feel as if I am spoon-feeding them. Is that normal? How long does it take to get over the "hump" and feel as if this is just an assignment and not torture to the student? How much do I expect at this point from them as far as preparing for our Friday discussions? Instead of feeling as if I am challenging them this year, I almost feel as if they are being overwhelmed.

My boys have yet to even give any of the recitations. Are other families having their children work on this assignment or do you have them read the selections out loud and leave it at that? It isn't that they don't want to memorize and recite, there just seems to not be enough time in their week to do it justice. Any suggestions?

Honestly, once you have a student that is ready for R work, do you assign all the R level literature or do you sometimes just give them a breather and assign an alternative or a D level book instead? Someone please give me some insight on how to handle the literature selections for year two.

So those are the basic concerns. Am I just not stepping up my involvement enough? Do we just keep plowing through? What happens if I feel as if I am squeezing the joy out of reading good literature? I have read and reread part VI of the R-Level Literature Loom document and I hate reading it because it convicts me. I am not "surviving with joy".

Just a note: I never felt this way last year with year one...I can't figure out the difference this year.

Any comments, suggestions, and real life experiences are welcome.

Thanks in advance.
Barb-Harmony Art Mom

Hi Barb! Thank you so much for your humility in asking for help. :-) Year 2 IS a rough year, but I'm happy to tell you that you already ARE over the hump in terms of intensive literary analysis learning. It just doesn't feel that way yet. ;-) Here are some thoughts and suggestions for you:

1. After the first unit, the amount of literary analysis levels off and your students won't have to fill out those big analysis outlines nearly so much. So let that encourage you!

2. You can modify the analysis assignments so that your boys work on just a few categories of the literary analysis outline for a while, until they get stronger. For instance, you could assign just character stuff, experiments in living, and content for all of Unit 2, and skip areas like texture, plot, and artistry altogether until they are up to speed with the first three areas. Then, perhaps in Unit 3, you could turn to focus more on texture and plot, and finally in Unit 4 add artistry.

3. Another option is to do more cutting and trimming until you've gotten rid of 9 full weeks, and then spread out your remaining weeks enough so that you can really focus on just one area of an analysis outline in one week, and another in another. Or you can indeed substitute a D-level book for a "fun times" break. :-) The only thing you should know is that D-level books do not count towards high school credit, so you need to make sure that you are doing at least 3/4 of the assigned R-level readings for the year.

4. It may help you to remember that filling in the analysis outline is meant to be a making-connections exercise, to help students see how an author conveys meaning through form. Since this is the goal, it would be perfectly appropriate for you to turn the analysis outline into a classroom exercise and work along at filling it out with your sons in class rather than requiring them to do it beforehand.... or you could ask them to fill out just ONE section beforehand to see how they are doing on their own, and then review it and do the rest in class.

5. I wouldn't worry too much about over-spoon-feeding them. Analysis takes a lot of hand-holding at first, and by "at first" I mean at least the first unit! As long as you are giving them opportunities and strong encouragement to do as much as they can for themselves (again, as much as they can of whatever you choose to assign them, which may not be the whole outline!), it seems to me that you can then come alongside them to help. If they grow even the tiniest bit and come to understand just a few concepts this unit, you will have succeeded mightily!

6. Also, because this year uniquely is CHRISTIAN literature, one way that you may be able to help them enjoy it more is by pointing out to them over and over again how God is glorified in the way these artists used their gifts to embody biblical truths in beautiful language. For instance, you are coming up on Week 10 (Sir Gawain and the Green Knight), which is to me a very beautiful story because it highlights humility, courtesy, faithfulness, and fleeing temptation. Your students won't get to read literature that celebrates and displays the beauty of such virtues in other years (especially Year 4), so enjoy it while you have it! Year 2 is dense and tough because it's way back in history and we're trying to cover 1300 years of literature in one year, but it is also the treasure-trove of our Christian literary heritage, and focusing on that is a good way, I think, to increase enjoyment. :-)

7. No, I wouldn't bother about recitations if your sons are already struggling. But please do keep reading aloud! I always found as a student that reading passages aloud was one of the most enjoyable parts of class, and it sounds like you are looking for ways to help them enjoy. :-)

In any case, we DON'T want you or your sons to lose the joy of literature! On the other hand, literary studies is a DISCIPLINE, and no discipline "at the time" (at least, at the time you're working your head off to learn it!) seems pleasant. However, I've really loved to watch students gain confidence in analysis as they put in the hard work. It's like watching a person practice, practice, practice the piano, and then all at once one day you turn around and my how they can PLAY! That's the goal.

Please also be encouraged by the realization that once you are past Week 3, you're basically done in terms of learning lots of new analysis information. For the rest of the year you will mostly just be applying it. Also---this is my favorite part!---the basic analysis tools that you learn this year aren't going to change hardly at all in Year 3 and beyond. So whatever your sons really get this year is something they can use next year, and if they don't get everything this year, that's okay---they'll have an opportunity to practice it next year too, or even re-learn it if necessary. :-)

I hope this helps! If you need more specific suggestions, please just let me know.

Christy Somerville
Staff Author (Rhetoric Literature)
Lampstand Press

Hi Christy,

Thanks for the thorough reply to my plea for help.

I love your idea to just focus on one or two aspects at a time. I had a deep discussion today with the boys as we went over Chaucer. They are really giving it their best shot and after thinking about what you wrote, they are getting certain aspects of the analysis, just not all of it at once. I will be encouraged and press on.

My daughter, who is a literature major in college, helped me to put some pieces together yesterday as well. She is actually taking a class right now that is paralleling the boys' literature so she was a lot of help. She told me that the joy in literature analysis for her is seeing the development of certain themes in the literature and how they fit into the historical time period. She had just come from a discussion comparing Beowulf and Sir Gawain and she shared some ways that I could maybe help the boys make some connections by doing this sort of thing as we go along.

I think that ties in with your feelings about Christian literature. The boys actually today made a connection between the Arabian nights reading from a few weeks ago with the Canterbury Tales we read this week....non-Christian values vs. Christian values. I was *so* encouraged by that!

We decided that they will choose one recitation, probably shortened, for them to focus on each unit and they will recite it at our family's unit celebration. One son decided on a Beowulf selection and one picked a short section of the prologue from the Canterbury Tales. We will still do the selections assigned out loud each week but the memorization will be limited to the one selection per unit.

I still have one question for you Christy. If I do decide to have them read an "alternate" from the R level, does that still count towards the 3/4 of the assigned reading? For instance, if we had decided to read The Scottish Chiefs instead of the Canterbury Tales selection this week, would that still be counted in the 3/4? Just curious for future weeks.

I am feeling a bit better about the whole situation. I must say that I am glad that the Loom contains the R Level Literature document for me to read and read again. It has helped me a lot with the nitty-gritty of teaching the boys so far this year. I would love to be in a co-op but that is just not a reality for us right now. We will keep on going with our heads held high.

Thanks again for your help,
Barb-Harmony Art Mom

Oh, thank you for writing back and letting me know! I can't tell you how delighted I am to "hear" the rising note of hope and enjoyment in your post. :-) That all sounds so good!

As to alternates.. although "Scottish Chiefs" for example is a worthy book, it is not on the high school or college lists of Great Books, and so I'm pretty sure you could not count it towards a credit in "Classics of World Literature" or "English Literature I" or any similar course title. So, no, I wouldn't count it as part of that 3/4 for that reason. Sorry. :-/ However, it is certainly a good piece of historical fiction and you can certainly substitute it for one of the nine weeks you may be cutting. :-)

Barb and Christy,
this is such a great thread. I thought I should give it a thumbs up and move up so other moms can read it.

Bring on more like this!
Thx

I'm glad it encouraged you! :-)