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JuliaT
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| Posted: May 02 2011 at 9:13pm | IP Logged
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I am planning on doing a Great Books study with my oldest for her highschool years. I thought it would be a good thing to introduce her to the Great Ideas for her Gr.7 & 8 years as a stepping stone. I wanted to use chapter books, movies and any other resources I could think of to discuss these ideas with her. My problem is that the book ideas are not flowing as freely as I had hoped.
I was hoping that some of you could help me come up wiht some book suggestions. The books that I come up with are either too old for a 12 yr. old or we have already read them.
Here are the Ideas that I am wanting to discuss:
Beauty: The only book I can think of is Tuck Everlasting because of the beautiful writing but we read this last year.
Goodness: "Three Cups of Tea" has come to mind and it could also be used for Truth as recent allegations over the authenticity of Mortenson's story has come to light.
Truth: I am stumped with this one, as well.
Equality: 'The Boy in Striped Pyjamas' by John Boyne, also 'The Prince and the Pauper'.
Liberty:
Justice: "Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry. Also, "The 39 Steps' by John Buchan comes to mind but I have never read it (only watched the PBS movie) so I don't know if it would fit this category or not.
I would really appreciate it if someone could help 'un-stump' me with suggestions. I look forward to any help you could give me.
Thanks.
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Julia
mom of 3(14,13 & 11 yrs.old)
MusingsofaPrairieGirl
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CrunchyMom
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| Posted: May 03 2011 at 6:50am | IP Logged
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I think that given the nature of these ideas, I might suggest finding books to study and then exploring all five ideas in each book. It is an interesting idea, it just seems that most of the books I think of for each topic also deal with the others, which is natural if it is a good book. You could still use some of the books and ideas you've come up with, but you wouldn't have to categorize them and limit them so much.
Shakespeare would definitely afford a lot of discussion on all these fronts.
The Wind in the Willows seems another book where many of these ideas could be explored.
The Hobbit
The Princess and the Goblin
Robert Louis Stevenson (Kidnapped or Treasure Island)
The Scarlet Pimpernell
I think that I would look at the literature recommendations from Mater Amabilis, Ambleside, etc... for ideas. Even in looking for books in categories, looking at the books recommended for the grade would probably give you some ideas.
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Lindsay
Five Boys(6/04) (6/06) (9/08)(3/11),(7/13), and 1 girl (5/16)
My Symphony
[URL=http://mysymphonygarden.blogspot.com/]Lost in the Cosmos[/UR
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JodieLyn
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One book that really goes into the idea of beauty being a trend or a fad (like super thin is beautiful) and how beauty may or may not reflect what's on the inside. Is Fairest by Gail Carson Levine a sort of retelling of Snow White.
Also you might consider the original Grimm Fairy Tales. Those stories are all about beauty and truth and justice...
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All men who have turned out worth anything have had the chief hand in their own education.
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JuliaT
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| Posted: May 03 2011 at 7:51pm | IP Logged
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Lindsay, I know that many books have all or most of the Ideas in them but I really just want to focus on one at a time to make it easier for my dd. Thanks for the book suggestions.
Jodie, I never thought of fairy tales. What a wonderful suggestion! This would make life lots easier if we used fairy tales for most of the Ideas. Thank you!
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Blessings,
Julia
mom of 3(14,13 & 11 yrs.old)
MusingsofaPrairieGirl
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Dove
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Beauty: CS Lewis, Lion Witch and Wardrobe There are several "beauties" in the book and not all hide goodness. Makes for a good opportunity to discuss what is true beauty vs something that may be appearance alone.
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Dove
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Truth: Pride and Prejudice Elizabeth learns a lot about appearances and realities as she comes to understand the truth about Mr Wickham and Mr Darcy. Then there are the truths, lies, and hiding of truth in the situation with Elizabeth's sister--lies by the sisters, truth hidden by Mr Darcy, truth about a love returned... once truth comes fully to light the couples can find one another.
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Dove
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Equality: Huckleberry Finn -- deals with various friendships in a time when equality was not common, the friendships cross color but they are only sometimes equal due to the cultural situation. Great opportunities to discuss what it means to be equal and the wrongness of culturally accepted inequalities.
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guitarnan
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Liberty: Red Scarf Girl (you should pre-read this; there's nothing graphic in this account of Maoist China but my ds found it profoundly upsetting); Johnny Tremain; Give Me Liberty (Ann Rinaldi - excellent book about Patrick Henry, but includes discussions of his wife's mental illness, so you should pre-read); Number the Stars (a simpler read, but so very profound)
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lapazfarm
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Justice: To Kill a Mockingbird
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guitarnan
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Absolutely, Theresa! (And watching the film after reading the book is wonderful, too!)
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Nancy in MD. Mom of ds (24) & dd (18); 31-year Navy wife, move coordinator and keeper of home fires. Writer and dance mom.
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JuliaT
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Ooohh! Thank you all so much for these suggestions. This is exactly what I am looking for.
Theresa, would To Kill a Mockingbird be an okay read for a 12 year old. This book popped into mind when I was initially thinking about this but I had always heard that you should keep this book for highschool. What do you or anyone else think?
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Blessings,
Julia
mom of 3(14,13 & 11 yrs.old)
MusingsofaPrairieGirl
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SeaStar
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Another one for justice could be The Caine Mutiny
I shied away from it for years because I thought from the title it would be gritty or gory. Far from it- the author has a great sense of humor, and it is a delight to read as well as interesting and suspenseful. There is a hilarious scene about Captain Queeg trying to back his boat out of a busy Pearl Harbor and get underway on his first assignment- things you never think of about the war. And the courtroom scene is one you can't put down.
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CrunchyMom
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lapazfarm wrote:
| Justice: To Kill a Mockingbird |
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Or equality
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Lindsay
Five Boys(6/04) (6/06) (9/08)(3/11),(7/13), and 1 girl (5/16)
My Symphony
[URL=http://mysymphonygarden.blogspot.com/]Lost in the Cosmos[/UR
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Maryan
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JuliaT wrote:
Ooohh! Thank you all so much for these suggestions. This is exactly what I am looking for.
Theresa, would To Kill a Mockingbird be an okay read for a 12 year old. This book popped into mind when I was initially thinking about this but I had always heard that you should keep this book for highschool. What do you or anyone else think? |
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Just my 2 cents: My 8th grade teacher used this book as a read-a-loud and I found it alarming. I was a late bloomer, so I think high school would have been better. I loved all the parts about Scout and the style of writing, but I didn't hit puberty until later, so some of the more mature themes were too much too early imo. I think it would depend upon your child.
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Maryan
Mom to 6 boys & 1 girl: JP('01), B ('03), M('05), L('06), Ph ('08), M ('10), James born 5/1/12
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4Real Forums : Living Literature
Topic: Book suggestions for the Great Ideas
