Literature for a 6th grader?

[bowenks]

I have been using Rod and Staff 6th grade reader. Is this enough? Besides letting her pick her own books?

Do I need to do Literature studies like Total language plus or Abeka so she will understand literary understanding of these works?

Can I use christian books or magazines like: Voice of the martyrs, God's smuggler, George Mueller, Stories for the heart, Trials and triumps, In his steps instead or
Do I ever need to add in Shakespeare, or the common literature studies in higher grades?

[dragons in the flower bed]

I have been using Rod and Staff 6th grade reader. Is this enough? Besides letting her pick her own books?

At sixth grade and above, I'd want my kids to be discussing literature, or at least analysing it on paper. Just reading it wouldn't cut it in our house. Does the Rod and Staff program have comprehension and analysis questions to go with it's readers?

Do I need to do Literature studies like Total language plus or Abeka so she will understand literary understanding of these works?

Not necessarily, but if you can't lead a conversation about literary elements, then yes, I would say so.

Can I use christian books or magazines like: Voice of the martyrs, God's smuggler, George Mueller, Stories for the heart, Trials and triumps, In his steps instead or
Do I ever need to add in Shakespeare, or the common literature studies in higher grades?

It's up to you. What are your goals for your child? Parents and teachers who assign their kids these works do so in order to develop cultural literacy and critical thinking skills. But some parents do choose to forego non-Christian works.

[texascamps]

I was going to post a request today for a list of books, especially historical fiction/non fiction books suited for a 6th grader.

I have not seen the Rod and Staff lit books for older grades.

What kind of stuff is in them?

[Kfamily]

for my dd in 6th:

Children of the New Forest
The Secret Garden
Anne of Green Gables
Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry
Number the Stars

Geography
Seabird
Book of Marvels

Biography
Franklin D. Roosevelt
4 Great Americans (Franklin, Washington, Webster and Lincoln)
Double Life of Pocahontas

Short Story
Rip Van Winkle
Legend of Sleep Hollow

Poetry
The Courtship of Miles Standish (Longfellow)
Paul Revere's Ride (Longfellow)
O Captain, My Captain (Whitman)
Charge of the Light Brigade (Tennyson)
some of Lady of Shalot (Tennyson)

Shakespeare
Midsummer Night's Dream

This list has changed many times!:D Some others we considered were Hans Brinker, Robinson Crusoe and Puck of Pook's Hill.

[Lori D.]

I'd suggest picking about 6 books to "go deep" with over the course of a year by using a literature guide. Then pick another 9-12 books for reading/discussing at a less deep level. Then have a list handy for great literature for either solo reading enjoyment or family read alouds.


For literature guide suggestions, I highly recommend:
- Garlic Press publisher guides (also at www.rainbowresource.com)
http://garlicpress.com/cgi-bin/shop_gp.cgi?product=LITERATURE

Also good are:
- Progeny Press lit. guides (also at www.rainbowresource.com)
http://www.progenypress.com/

- Glencoe guides (free online/downloadable/printable)
http://www.glencoe.com/sec/literature/litlibrary/


And if you want to tackle Shakespeare, the Parallel Text Shakespeare series is terrific. It comes with the text (side by side, original Shakespeare with a translation); student workbook; teacher version of the workbook; and a teacher guide with additional questions, info, activities and resources. Available through www.rainbowresource.com and www.amazon.com. Of the guides in the series, I'd suggest either Macbeth or Midsummer Night’s Dream as most accessible for a 6th grader.



A handy resource for beginning literary analysis is "Figuratively Speaking", an overview of 40 literary terms, each with a description, examples from classic lit. and a few exercises for practicing/finding that literary element. Another gentle intro into literary analysis is the "Story Elements" workbooks by grade level; your 6th grader could easily do both the gr. 5-6 and the gr. 7-8 ones in one semester. Story Elements series and Figuratively Speaking are available through www.amazon.com and www.rainbowresource.com



Another option: if your 6th grader is a strong reader, consider the year-long introductory literature program "Lightning Literature and Composition" for grade 7. (You can always slow it down for a 6th grader and take more than a year with it if needed.) And another wonderful year-long, gentle intro into literary analysis is Literary Lessons from the Lord of the Rings, geared for grades 7-12.

- Lightning Literature: http://www.hewitthomeschooling.com/book/blight.asp
- Literary Lessons from the Lord of the Rings: http://www.homescholar.org/



For an "all in one" year-long literature program, several people here recommend the Christian Light Education Reading program. This is the only item I've listed in this post that I have not used, so if interested, you'll have to post a question on it to gather more information and get a website address. : )



Below are some ideas of books for a 6th grader. More ideas for good book lists:

- Sonlight Curriculum (by grade level): www.sonlight.com
- Ambleside Online Curriculum (by grade level): www.amblesideonline.org
- 1000 Good Books (by age-range): http://www.classical-homeschooling.org/celoop/1000.html



BEST of luck -- and enjoy your literature adventures together! Warmest regards, Lori D.



OLDER CLASSICS

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (Twain)
Call of the Wild (London)
The Hobbit (Tolkien)
Just So Stories (Kipling)
King of the Wind (Henry)
Around the World in Eighty Days (Verne)
Tales from Shakespeare (Lamb)
Alice's Adventures In Wonderland (Carroll)
The Story of King Arthur and His Knights (Pyle)
Oliver Twist (Dickens)
A Christmas Carol (Dickens)
Little Women (Alcott)
Treasure Island (Stevenson)
Ivanhoe (Scott)



"DON'T MISS" BOOKS

Across Five Aprils (Hunt)
Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry (Taylor)
Number the Stars (Lowry)
Sounder (Armstrong)
Island of the Blue Dolphins (O'Dell)
Sing Down the Moon (O'Dell)
The Great and Terrible Quest (Lovett)
Johnny Tremain (Forbes)



MORE GREAT BOOKS

Secret of NIMH
From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler (Konigsburg)
Indian Captive
Maniac Magee (Spinnelli)
My Side of the Mountain (George)
The Master Puppeteer (Paterson)
The Wolves of Willoughby Chase (Aiken)
The Horse and His Boy (Lewis)
Call it Courage (Armstrong)
The Big Wave (Buck)
Paddle to the Sea (Holling)
Seabird (Holling)
The Great Wheel (Lawson)
In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson (Lord)
Bridge to Terabithia (Paterson)
Black Ships before Troy (Sutcliff)
The Westing Game (Raskin)

[melissaL]

have you thought of the literature reading list in WTM?