Rhetoric Favorite Books?

[Havingfun!]

I will be doing Y4 literature and would like to know which books you and your kids enjoyed and why. I would also like to know if there are any books/poems/dramas you felt where extremely important to cover because of themes etc.

I will be cutting down the literature this year beyond the recommendations and want your input.

I see April in CA and Susan in La have been doing Y4. Can you comment?

Christy S.: I am looking to cut back by half to have a more relaxed yr. My daughter has done Y2 and Y3 lit. She likes fanasty. What would you recommend?

Thanks in advance.
Susan S.

[Marcie in SC]

Definitely don't skip To Kill a Mockingbird!

The Hobbit was also a favorite in our co-op.

Don't have my year plan in front of me or I could recommend some more - but those two are must-reads that are also easier to read in my opinion.

[Susan in La]

Dear Susan,

My boys loved The Chosen because of the setting and character development, To Kill a Mockingbird because of the artistry and themes, and The Hobbit because of the artistry. We also had a good discussion of Fahrenheit 451 and its themes.

As far as cutting, maybe you could choose one play, one week of poetry, and one novel to study each unit.

Blessings,

[cjsomerville]

Hi Susan. :-) I'd recommend you look at the end of Teaching Rhetoric Literature for Y4 (on the Loom)... There's a chart that shows the nine "easiest weeks to cut". The only fantasy that we really do is The Hobbit, but your daughter may also enjoy science fiction, which is related to fantasy. Our science fiction selections are I, Robot and Citizen of the Galaxy.

Hope this helps!
Christy Somerville

[April in CA]

Good Morning!
I just saw this post, so I thought I would chime in and give my thoughts. I have the privilege of being in the same co-op as Marcie, and I had the fun of teaching a good bit of literature this year, including the poetry. After studying literature along with my sons and our co-op buddies, I have come to really appreciate literature - even the poetry!

Here are some works I would recommend to study if you can't do them all:
Poetry:
Read a few of the poems written around WW1 (even if you don't study them in depth) I would highly recommend reading the Teacher's notes/discussion from week 6 (I think that is the week, just going from memory right now) for a great treatment of how to find the big ideas in a poem, various organizing principles for poems, etc
Read some of Robert Frost's poems
Read some of the Post Modern poems (week 34), especially Supernatural Love.
There really are some very interesting poems in the resources TOG/Christy has chosen. I would recommend owning them for your own pleasure, even if you don't do a lot of poetry study this year.

Drama: I would recommend The Glass Menagerie and The Crucible. The Cherry Orchard is interesting, but I think you could skip it without losing too much. Waiting for Godot was the play everyone in our co-op loved to hate! I think you could skip it without too many regrets!

Novels: This is hard!
My older son loved All Quiet on the Western Front, but your daughter might prefer not to read it - it is pretty graphic and a nitty-gritty look at like in WW1.
Loved Great Gatsby, really loved Animal Farm!
Do not miss Fahrenheit 451! Please keep To Kill a Mockingbird! Watch the movie after reading the book - it is excellent
The Hobbit is wonderful. Even if your daughter has read it before, do it again with TOG.
The Chosen is well-worth reading. The Old Man and the Sea turned out to be better than I expected, even though I don't really care for Hemingway.
I you want to add some fun books, your daughter could read All Creatures Great and Small (set in 30's/40's Yorkshire, England) by James Herriot. I also highly recommend P. G. Wodehouse for early 20th century British humor and satire.

Hope this helps you some! Happy reading!
Blessings,
April