Literature. The bane of my existence. Especially high school literature. I am often overwhelmed when I think of all of the things I need to be teaching this high school son of mine. Then God sees fit to send me a beacon of hope. We serve a great and mighty God, don’t we?
So, my latest beacon of hope has been sent in the form of the Ninth Grade Literature Guide Set from Memoria Press for the boy and I to review. Oh, so sweet! Four books, four teacher’s guides, and four student books – for real!
Ninth Grade Literature Guide Set
This entire set is wonderfully thorough and so in depth! I could not be happier with a literature set for high school. There are four books covered in this ninth grade literature set, so here is a peek into each one.
The books can be bought with the literature set, or you can buy the books yourself (like I did), or you can borrow them from the local library. The four books that are covered in the literature set are:
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, The Canterbury Tales, Henry V, and Beowulf. All incredible books (or plays) that are important to us as a people.
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
A New Year’s Feast at King Arthur’s court is interrupted by the appearance of a gigantic Green Knight, on horseback. He challenges any of Arthur’s men to behead him, provided that if he survives he can return the blow a year later. Sir Gawain accepts the wager and decapitates the knight – but the warrior cheats death and vanishes, taking his head with him.
The following year Sir Gawain sets out to find the knight as he plans to uphold his end of the bargain. What follows is the epic adventure that Sir Gawain undertakes in a wonderfully spun tale that blends the magical element of fairy tales and the heroic sagas with the pageantry, chivalry and courtly love of medieval romance.
Middle English poetry in story form. This is some hard stuff to get through, normally. Once you get started reading it though the words begin to flow easier. I had never heard of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight so this was new to me.
The Teacher’s Guide puts all of the required information for the teacher in the very front go the book in easy to understand step by step directions in the introduction. The basic idea is to guide the student through the book so that they can more readily complete the student guide. All of the answers are in the Teacher’s Guide as well as the quizzes for the book, the final exam of the book, and all of the answers for the previous quizzes and test.
The Student Guide has all of the same introduction information as the Teacher’s Guide, with some added guidance directly written to the student.
Each section of the guide is broken down into four sections, called FITs, that mirror the four sections of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. Making it easier to complete the questions. Of each FIT the guide was broken down into separate areas of learning:
- Pre-Grammar / Preparation
- Grammar / Presentation
- Vocabulary / Definitions
- Comprehension Questions
- Logic / Dialectic
- Rhetoric / Expression (Central One Idea)
- Essay (optional)
This is an incredible amount of information in this guide for Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. So well put together and thorough presentation.
The Canterbury Tales – The General Prologue and Three Tales
Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales – witty, bawdy, zany, satirical, and literary. This is the famous fictional journey to Canterbury somewhere in the 1390’s, to the shire of St. Thomas Becket, who was martyred there in the year 1170. Included is the General Prologue, an opening section in which the poet describes the Pilgrims and their agreement to tell the tales along the road to Canterbury.
The people in the varied group tell an equally varied selection of tales, some of them in verse, some in prose. There are tales solemn and comic, religious and bawdy; romance, moral exemplum, beat fable, parody. “God’s plenty” the poet Dryden called it.
This is the original language word for word, with only the spelling modified, as many of Shakespeare’s works.
The Teacher’s Guide puts all of the required information for the teacher in the very front go the book in easy to understand step by step directions in the introduction. The basic idea is to guide the student through the book so that they can more readily complete the student guide. All of the answers are in the Teacher’s Guide as well as the quizzes for the book, the final exam of the book, and all of the answers for the previous quizzes and test.
The Student Guide has all of the same introduction information as the Teacher’s Guide, with some added guidance directly written to the student.
The guide is broken down into four sections, just like the book, The Canterbury Tales; The General Prologue, The Pardoner’s Tale, The Nun’s Priest’s Tale, and The Franklin’s Tale, each telling tall tales and filled with new words for the student to define. Each sections covers these areas of learning:
- Pre-Grammar / Preparation
- Grammar / Presentation
- Vocabulary / Definitions
- Comprehension Questions
- Logic / Dialectic
- Rhetoric / Expression
- Eassy (optional)
The collection of tales written in this book are as witty and sharp as I expect the teller was. The guide is completely wonderful and is well written, easy to understand for the student.
Henry V
Henry V is the last play in Shakespeare’s second historical tetralogy about the events of English minority from 1398 to 1420. This play is preceded by Richard II, Henry IV Part 1, Henry IV Part 2. Elizabethan theatergoers in Shakespeare’s day would have been familiar with these plays and characters, and some of the characters appear in this play as well.
The Teacher’s Guide puts all of the required information for the teacher in the very front go the book in easy to understand step by step directions in the introduction. The basic idea is to guide the student through the book so that they can more readily complete the student guide. All of the answers are in the Teacher’s Guide as well as the quizzes for the book, the final exam of the book, and all of the answers for the previous quizzes and test.
The Student Guide has all of the same introduction information as the Teacher’s Guide, with some added guidance directly written to the student.
The guide is broken down into five sections, just like the play, Act 1, Act 2, Act 3, Act 4, and Act 5. Each sections covers these areas of learning:
- Pre-Grammar / Preparation
- Grammar / Presentation
- Vocabulary / Definitions
- Comprehension Questions
- Logic / Dialectic
- Rhetoric / Expression
- Eassy (optional)
I have never had the pleasure of reading this play by Shakespeare, I am looking forward to getting into this one with Isaiah.
Beowulf The Warrior
Beowulf The Warrior is an outstanding modern version of the oldest epic in the English language. The hero Beowulf and his three memorable exploits – first, his rescuing of Hrothgar the Dane from the raves of Grendel; next, his victory over Grendel’s strange and horrible mother; finally, in Beowulf’s old age, his saving of his own people, the Geats, fin the horrors of a dragon at the cost of his life.
This is a story like no other, one of heroism and bravery. Every one should read or either listen to this fascinating story at least once in their lifetime.
The Teacher’s Guide puts all of the required information for the teacher in the very front go the book in easy to understand step by step directions in the introduction. The basic idea is to guide the student through the book so that they can more readily complete the student guide. All of the answers are in the Teacher’s Guide as well as the quizzes for the book, the final exam of the book, and all of the answers for the previous quizzes and test.
The Student Guide has all of the same introduction information as the Teacher’s Guide, with some added guidance directly written to the student.
The guide is broken down into three sections, just like the story, Part I – Grendel, Part II – Grendel’s Mother, and Part III – The Fire Dragon. Each sections covers these areas of learning:
- Pre-Grammar / Preparation
- Grammar / Presentation
- Vocabulary / Definitions
- Comprehension Questions
- Logic / Dialectic
- Rhetoric / Expression
- Eassy (optional)
There is none quite like the story of Beowulf. I am so grateful that this was one I get to share with Isaiah.
How This Worked for Us
This was a fairly enjoyable course set that we received. After some heavy reading of the how to’s and the way things needed to be completed, it was a simply course to follow for both Isaiah and me. I did the introduction reading with Sir Gawain and the Green Knight because I had never even heard of the story, let alone read it. It was a tad hard to get into the Old English that the verse was write-in but it did not take long before it felt like the words flowed easier. An awesome poem to get started with in this new literature course.
The four stages to the Central One Idea is a wonderful way to work. By following this thought process Isaiah (and I) was able to really get into what the work was truly talking about.
I liked the Pre-Grammar stage because it begins the thought processes based on any prior knowledge that the student may already know, yet not quite realize. Therefore it is laying the foundation so that the planting of the seed though may begin. This is usually the shortest section to complete as it jump starts the thinking areas of the brain.
The second stage is the Grammar stage which introduces key features in the story or poem. Numerous facts are given as well as any vocabulary words that might be new to the student. This section also provides comprehension questions, giving the student ample time to thoroughly digest the newest information that the written work is offering.
The third stage is the Logic stage which allows the student to get into the nitty gritty of the story and find the reasoning behind it. This is encouraged in the students as they are indeed searching for the Central One Idea of the entire work. It pushes the student to dig deep and stretch and potentially grow from this experience.
The final stage, the Rhetoric stage is the section that allows the student to express what they believe to be the Central One Idea. By talking about the plot summary, the student should be able to distinguish it from the Central One Idea. Then can the student clearly express the Central One Idea in one full and complete sentence? If so, then they were able to see/hear the heart of the story. The third area of the rhetoric stage is allowing the student to express key points about the work that they just read. The eassy section is best used for the final wrap up of the Central One Idea as well as increases the student’s writing skills.
Once Isaiah and I were well versed on the four stages it was easier to allow Isaiah to work at his own pace. He would read the section in the book, then he would complete the correlating pages in his student guide. After he was finished, I would check over his work, helping him correct his answers if need be. At this point is was always time to rehash the section that he had just read. Allowing both he and I extra time to absorb each other’s ideas as well as cement each of our own ideas.
We have made it through 2/4 of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight at this point. It has been a deep read for both of us, one that we have enjoyed discussing and learning more about. We anticipate to finish up the rest of this book within the next 2 weeks.
This is a year long course and Isaiah and I are looking forward to carrying this literature course into next year. I have learned so much more than I thought was possible and I believe that the added literature is incredible for provoking excellent rhetoric around around our house.
Our Ninth Grade Literature Guide Set from Memoria Press is just a small sampling of the literature courses that the Crew reviewed. See who the other courses look and how they worked at my fellow crew members houses:
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I hope you enjoyed this review and that you visit again soon to see what the kids and I have to share about.
In His Grace.
Callie
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