Hi Coconuts! Welcome to the HOD board! I'm a visual learner myself - and you've got a neat idea here about adding visual clips - but since Mike and Carrie are in the middle of a lot of other things right now and it may be a bit before they can do something like that, I'm going to copy a post I did a little while ago about DITHOR that maybe you'll find something helpful in. It's long
, but hopefully there will be something that benefits you!
We have used DITHR for many years, and we're still excited about using it again next school year. It is just a joy to teach, and it really does so much to teach my dc about wonderful literature from every genre, as well as teaching them comprehension skills, story elements, and character trait skills.
We do DITHR 3 days a week, and it takes about 30 minutes a day (although I only help with about half or less of the 30 min.). Any prep. I have for this takes 5 minutes or less (usually making a copy of the workbook page, or grabbing a few items from around the house). I use the Guide and Level 2/3 of the student books. We are going through 5 of the 9 genres this year. (Last year, we did DITHR 3 days a week with Level 2/3 as well, but we did the other 4 genres.) So, in 2 years, I will have taught all 9 genres of Level 2/3. (Many moms do DITHR daily, and do all of Level 2/3 twice, just using harder books the second year of doing it. So that is an option too.) I only have one child in DITHR this year, however, I will soon have one child in Level 2/3 and one child in Level 4/5.
I also tutored for 3 years using DITHR with multiple children in multiple levels as well, prior to homeschooling my own children. I had 45 min. sessions, and covered several levels during that time. We'd begin by filling out the reading pace sheet with each child. Each "level" of reader read a different book that fit their reading level, but we all did the same genre. The guide lists which level needs the teacher and when. Usually, I started with either Level 2/3 or 4/5, depending what the guide said. The 2/3 level always read out loud to me, and the 4/5 read a page or two to me and read the rest silently. The 6/7/8 only read a paragraph or not at all out loud to me and read silently. Then I gave directions for independent work in their different levels of workbooks, and also did the discussions at that point.
On the "all together" days, which are noted in the guide, we all did the lesson together, each child bringing his own book for the lesson. These "all together" lessons come up once every 5 days of plans or so, except for at the end of each genre when 5 days can be done all together if the group project is chosen. We always chose the group project when I had children in all 3 levels - it was fun and easy to do together!
As far as grading, we don't give grades for it. I do expect my ds to do his very best work on his student book pages and his projects - and he is not finished until his best work is shown. I use the Appendix's tips to help him become a good oral reader.
As far as what I love about DITHR.... Ahhh, where to begin?!? Well, I realized when I began using DITHR that I was missing entire genres from my home collection of books. I guess I was buying genres I loved. I have all boys, so you can imagine the genres I love are not typically the genres my boys love! That was a big realization for me. The balance of reading from every genre consistently was a huge bonus for me. I also like to choose what my children will read and the pace we are going to read at. It is important to me that my children continue to LOVE reading.
Through tutoring, I realized that many children start out loving reading, and begin to almost hate it over time if it is taught in a way that makes them do TOO much with a book (i.e. if they had to do their spelling, vocabulary, worksheet after worksheet, questions upon questions, creative writing, book reports... overload!). DITHR is NOT like that. The questions are well-chosen (according to Bloom's Taxonomy, I believe), but they are short and do not take forever to discuss. The worksheets are more like graphic organizers, and they are always different (you know how some curriculums reuse their workbook pages over and over - kids get tired of that just like we do!).
The kickoff and the wrap-up projects are an awesome way to keep the love of reading flowing too. They require little or no real preparation, and the amount of days planned for them is more than adequate. Plus, they're just plain fun (and this is coming from a gal who doesn't really love projects all that much)! I had 6th. grade boys that I tutored that had begun to hate reading that grew to love it again because of DITHR and the kickoffs and wrap-ups! The character trait is another thing I love. I like linking everything I can to Biblical training, and DITHR already does that for me in a very natural, meaningful way. It gives us a plan for talking about book characters who make wrong choices.
Finally, I enjoy teaching reading in a way that almost feels like how I'd talk to my best friend about a great book I was reading. It's conversational... sort of like a book club... only with all of the parts of the story, genres, etc. taught and woven into it.
I love the book packages that HOD carries as well. Sometimes I've used them completely, or subbed in books for the ones we'd already read; and other times I've used the Sample Book Ideas list HOD carries to choose books.
In Christ ,
Julie
