Questions About Excellence In Literature from a Co-op Leader

Posted on December 9, 2008 
Filed Under Teaching Literature, Teaching Writing

I received an e-mail this morning from a co-op leader, inquiring about the Excellence in Literature (EIL) curriculum. When I receive detailed questions like these, I know that others are probably wondering some of the same of the same things, so I’ll share the questions and answers here.

Q- How easy is this program to adapt to a co-op setting?

A- I designed it to be easily adaptable to a co-op or school. I taught an earlier version of it online for a few years in order to test it, and that helped me tweak it so that it was easy to use. One thing you don’t need is something that requires a lot of prep time, so there are week-by-week lesson plans for each unit, with carefully crafted assignments.

To use in a co-op, the leader would need to scan the context materials and be familiar with the focus work. The Introduction, Something to think about…, and Be sure to notice… sections, as well as the assignments themselves, will provide starting points for discussions. The Resources section in the back offers additional suggestions for books you may use to learn more about each author or work.

For co-ops or schools that order 10 copies or more of the book in one shipment, I offer free shipping. For orders of 25 or more, there is a discount.

Q- Does it include vocabulary work or will that need to be added in?

A- There are two ways to approach vocabulary with EIL. The first thing I recommend is that students create a list of unfamiliar words as they read each book, then look them up and write the definition, which will provide them a vocabulary list to study. Since they’ve encountered these words in context (something that I feel is very important), they’ll be more easily remembered. If you feel that additional vocabulary work is needed, I recommend Vocabulary from Classical Roots.

Q- Will all of the courses be available in the fall?

A- Three levels (Introduction, American, British) are complete now, and my plan (Lord willing) is to finish the other two (Literature and Composition, World) early in 2009 so that they will be available by May or June.

Q- Do I have this correct: the focus work are the complete novels?  Are the context readings included in the package?

A- The focus works are, in most cases, the complete novel, play, or epic poem. There are a few units in which a portion of a long work is read. One example of this is the Spenser/Gawain unit that is organized around the Arthurian legend. Students read the entire story of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, but only one of the six books of The Faerie Queene. There simply isn’t time to read the entire FQ, which is a very challenging work.

Context materials are listed with each unit. I tried to choose reading, listening, and viewing materials that would be widely available through libraries, the internet, or in older anthologies so that students would become acquainted with the kind of resources they’ll use in college or real-life research. This can also help to keep costs low.

Q- What other books are required to complete the courses?

A- I recommend owning the focus texts if at all possible, so that students can underline and write in the margins as needed. Used books are perfectly acceptable, but I strongly recommend looking for quality trade paperbacks with scholarly introductions from such publishers as Modern Library Press, Oxford, Norton, or Penguin.

Low quality mass-market paperbacks or hardbacks,such as the 2-for-$1 classics that used to be sold at Walmart, are often fuzzily printed on low-quality paper, with small print and little or no margin space for notes. This may seem like a small thing, but an unfriendly book that looks hard to read and is hard to hold open can spoil the reading experience, especially for students who aren’t accustomed to challenging reading. I do not recommend these unless there is no other option.

Beyond the focus texts, it’s helpful to have Norton Anthologies for American, British, and World literature while studying those levels. These can easily be found as used books online (www.Amazon.com, www.half.com, and others), and older editions are excellent. They contain an authoritative selection of context material, and are very helpful.

Q- Can you recommend a junior-high literature course to prepare students for your courses?

A- There are three resources I’d recommend:

First, I’d like to see all students go through Adam Andrew’s Teaching the Classics DVD course with Worldview Supplement. This is a user-friendly foundational course that will be helpful at any level. Your students may even benefit from watching the DVDs at the start of each year from grades 7-12 or so.

Concurrently with that, or following shortly after, the Windows to the World literature course by Lesha Myers is a good junior high literature course. Each of these resources uses short literature to introduce literary analysis, and they are compatible with EIL.

The final resource I’d recommend would be Lesha Myers’ The Elegant Essay Writing Lessons. It’s a wonderful, concise introduction to the building blocks of the essay, and it’s structured so that students can work straight through it, or use it as a reference when they need specific help with a portion of the essay, such as transitions or conclusions.

If students go through these three items, they’ll be amply prepared for EIL. I’d suggest Windows to the World for 7th grade, with the other two items used as foundational curriculum in whatever level they are needed. They can be used concurrently with EIL, because they explain HOW to analyze and write, while EIL provides the WHAT –a selection of classics, context works, and assignments with which students can prepare for college or life while practicing writing and analysis.

Announcements

This week’s blog carnival is hosted by Amanda Dixon’s The Daily Planet, and it has an anniversary theme. There are some excellent posts, so be sure to visit. I found the article on words dropped from the Oxford Junior Dictionary to be especially interesting, though appalling as well. Don’t miss the edible Viking ship or the writing offices– they’ll be sure to spark your creativity!

If you’d like to teach your children a bit about finance, geography, and how the rest of the world lives, visit Kiva.org, a micro-lending site. You can read about real people in developing nations seeking micro-loans for various entrepreneurial endeavors, and you can choose someone you’d like to loan money to. You can loan as little as $25, and together with loans from others, you may help a widow purchase a buffalo or pig, or provide a weaver with money to buy more raw materials. It’s very interesting to read individual stories and see people come together to help others.

Comments

One Response to “Questions About Excellence In Literature from a Co-op Leader”

  1. Kathleen Wagner on August 28th, 2009 7:56 pm

    I am seeking a Norton’s anthology for English Lit. I am very confused regarding Vol, 1, 2 etc. Is there an older version (which you seem to favor) that is complete or is sold in volumes? If so, which volumes do I need?

    Thank you for your reply,

    KW

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