Literature essays in 8th and up

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posted in Community by brandondyer

I would like to hear how you implement the essay assignments in the literature plans in 8th and up. It appears that when an essay is assigned, it is assigned to be done in one day. From what I can tell, though, the students have not been taught how to write this modern 5 paragraph essay in composition class yet, so I am assuming I need to teach how to write the essay. I can't imagine an 8ht grader completing a nice essay in one day even if they have experience, much less if the have never done one in composition class. With my older student, I skipped the essays and focused on the tests because, with her dyslexia, it was just too much. I would like to incorporate the essays for my rising 8th grader. He will be doing a mish mash of literature this year. I intend to do As You Like It, which has no essays, the new version of The Wind and the Willows, and the American Poetry and Short Stories. I also will be doing the high school middle ages literature with my rising 11th grader (the one who has not done essays in literature before) and I would like to start incorporating essays for her too. So, give me the nitty gritty. Do you tell them to write an essay and hand it in the next day? Do you step them through it, making an outline, writing a rough draft paragraph by paragraph, editing for better content, rewriting, editing for mechanics, final draft? If so, how many days do you take? Do you break from the literature lesson plans to do these essay steps or do you do them in addition to the continued literature assignments? Do you write the extra steps into your lesson plans so they know what to do and don't keep putting it off since it isn't written down (a problem we had when I tried to do essays with my older one). One option I am considering for my 8th grader is to pause Classical Composition when an essay is assigned in literature and step through that essay as part of his composition time, but keep going with the literature. Why, oh, why, can't it just be written like that in the curriculum manual? I REALLY need more in the lesson plans than just, "assign the essay".
If you homeschool using the lesson plans- how do you break up the essay and make sure it gets done? How much do you "teach" essay writing vs just handing them the assignment and letting them figure it out?
If you had a student in (or are a teacher/representative of) an online literature class, a HLS class, or a cottage school class, how did they work through the essay assignments? Was it left to the parent to get them through it, or did the teacher take time to step them through the essay bit by bit?
Debbie- mom of 7, civil engineering grad, married to mechanical engineer
DD, 27, BFA '17 graphic design and illustration
DS, 25, BS '18 mechanical engineering
DS, 23, BS '20 Chemsitry, pursuing phd at Wash U
(DDIL married #3 in 2020, MPOA grad, BA '20 philosophy, pusrsing phd at SLU)
DS, 21, Physics and math major
DD, 18, dyslexic, 12th grade dual enrolled
DS, 14, future engineer/scientist/ world conquerer 9th MPOA diploma student
DD, 8 , 2nd Future astronaut, robot building space artist

1 year, 4 months ago

kassadi - Thanks for the information.

1 year, 4 months ago

harrydavidson701l3 - I also remember that in school I had a lot of trouble with this type of assignment, I was constantly getting bad grades, it only demotivated me. In college, I already started using ready-made services, and it made my life easier. Many of my classmates, including me, used https://www.reddit.com/r/collegehub/comments/wfcbn9/best_essay_writing_service_reddit_20222024/. I don't know if all of those lists are available now, but back then it helped me not to go crazy. So, if your students are having trouble with writing, don't bother and give them a chance to express themselves the way they know how. Not everyone has to be born a gifted writer.

1 year, 4 months ago

harry0 - Generally speaking, a literature review is shorter than a full-length article but longer than a summary. Sophocles' Antigone is a timeless play that still has an impact on viewers today. The drama serves as a potent reminder of the perils of power misuse and the value of personal conscience due to its examination of complicated subjects, engaging characters, and terrible outcomes. It serves as a warning on the value of sticking up for one's morals and convictions. See https://www.mymac.com/conflicts-in-the-play-antigone/ to read Greek literature. The play also asks us to reflect on what we would do if we were in Antigone's shoes and whether we would have the guts to defend our convictions. In the end, the play implies that there is no way to reconcile the conflict between the laws of gods and the laws of man and that people must make their own decisions.

1 year ago