DITHOR--necessary?

[hs.mama07]

Hi! We are nearing the last part of emerging readers and I’ve started looking a bit at DITHOR. The problem is, I did not like literary analysis in school (least favorite subject). I enjoyed analyzing history and science (and anything else really) and I loved reading just about everything, but I did not like analyzing good literature books. For me, it was like watching the behind the scenes for my favorite movie (which I don’t like to do). Instead of enjoying the movie, I would be picturing the positions of cameras and imagining actors drinking coffee while playing on their smart phone.

So, for my son in elementary and eventually jr high, this is what I would most naturally do: I’d have him read good books and then narrate on what he reads. Then we would discuss anything we wanted to discuss (and I would focus a lot on reading the book with a Biblical worldview and learning from the characters and such). But that would be it. I’d probably casually introduce literary terms like scene, mood, etc in the course of our discussions, but it wouldn’t be our emphasis.

All that said, I have come to trust HOD a lot and know there is a good reason for doing DITHOR/literary analysis in elementary and jr high. Could you help me feel better about it?!?!

[Motherjoy]

We have always skipped DITHOR because I was crunched for time, and had to choose what to drop. I do hope to add it in, loosely, this year. At the very least, I want to read over the material and be able to use that in discussion with my children. I do think that it can lay a good foundation, and can be very useful for later years if you choose to use it. CM wasn't a proponent of serious, systematic, teacher-led literature analysis. However, I think it can be helpful for a busy homeschool mom who needs guidance on which areas of literature to cover. If a child finds it horribly boring, then you can simply sprinkle in the terminology into your discussions, so that there is exposure without killing any love of reading. Different children need different methods, so just figure out what will work in your home.

[rodandmegs]

We just started DITHOR this week, so I am no expert, but I will tell you that we LOVE it so far. It is a lot of fun for my kids. They are voracious readers, so there is no book shortage around here. They read plenty of books for fun, but I wanted them to have a solid reading program. I have a 7th grader, 5th grader and 2nd grader doing it. For example, my 2nd grader is reading Buffalo Bill and the Pony Express this week {we started the Adventure genre first}. Today, she had a Bits and Pieces worksheet where she answered a few questions and drew a picture of an important scene. My 5th grader had to make a bookmark today which had important information from the book on {he drew a bear and a spear - he is reading Cabin on Trouble Creek}. My 7th grader had to draw a book cover which made people want to read the book. {She is reading The Little White Horse.There is actually a picture of it on my blog.} It doesn't take us long each day {10-20 minutes}, and my kids are reading good books {as opposed to the Baby-Sitters Club, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Judy Moody, and the like.} I would recommend it! It doesn't seem to over-analyze to me. It just helps you dig into the book.

[Rice]

I think there's great value in it. I don't know if we'll continue it for 6-7 years (Bigger to MTMM) straight (this is our 2nd) but it has given new perspective and discussions to our literature discussions for my CM-raised kids. If it were left to me, I know there are many things about literature analysis that I just would never cover, so using DITHOR (for at least 2-3 years for me) is kind of essential, if I want my kids to be able to interact with literature terms and understand any literature studies they might be asked to take in High School or college.

That said, do I think you HAVE to do DITHOR? No. But there aren't many lit studies that are so flexible and do such a great job of covering Christian character at the same time.

I want to try to get through the genres at least twice with DITHOR (especially for my alread-middle-school-when-we-started-HOD kids). On the other hand, I don't make them do every page and every activity suggested for every book. I'm careful not to drop the same types of pages repeatedly, but I use the program to get what I know my kids need and don't require that they do (what seems to me to be, based on our busyness, the page's applicability to the book we chose and their past experience with what the page is asking) busy work.

FWIW, I also hated ruining a good book by analyzing it to death in PS, too. English was my LEAST favourite subject, even though I was a voracious reader. But I know there are certain things (based on my aversion for it, my busyness and the fact that I just wouldn't think of it) that my kids need to be aware of/familiar with before hitting HS lit and I believe that DITHOR is helping me achieve those goals.

Blessings,

[MomtoJGJE]

I also loved reading but hated analysis. For the exact same thing. I read books for the stories. It's impossible to focus on the stories when you are analyzing every word and action

Anyway, I do not feel DITHOR is necessary. However, it does not "mess up" the book by having so much analysis. It's basically what you said you'd have them do anyway. The biggest thing DITHOR does in my opinion is make the kids slow down. I think that is a very important skill for voracious readers to learn.

[hs.mama07]

Okay, well that does make me feel better. Sounds like it is gentle and easy to tweek if needed. I'll go ahead and get it and give it a try...we can always make adjustments if needed. Thanks so much for your input!!

Probably should ask this on a separate post, but I'll give it a go here. Does anyone do some or all of the student worksheets orally?

[Nealewill]

Glad you are going to give it a try.

I used other stuff before finding HOD and I felt like those programs were excessively draining and exhausting. I feel like DITHOR offers a refreshing way to look at literature. It does incorporate some technical terms but it is all geared at how does the child interpret things. I like that it creates a conversational opportunity to look at things. If you didn't want to fill out the worksheets you don't have to. But the worksheets, as the kids get older, provide the opportunity for the kids to express their ideas in a non-verbal way. I am pro the student book myself. All in all - we really enjoy DITHOR.

[chillin'inandover]

Liz,
I am glad you are willing to give DITHOR a try. I have been using DITHOR since 2003. HOD started with just DITHOR, so it is at the heart of HOD.

I love that what you are analyzing is a character's behavior. They compare their behavior to a Bible character and the question, "What would Jesus do" is asked. The analysis includes plot. What do you think will happen next?

Many times I share bits and pieces of my life that I confess I would not have if the question wasn't staring me in the face.

Plus, the kick off and final projects are fun! I have done this program so long because I started with my oldest who are now adults. My oldest started reading with HOD'S DITHOR and truly created some fun memories.

I love that HOD now has book packs. When I first started we received a book list, it is still for sale. It was hard to find some books and required visits to the library to pick up books or pay fines. Now I can just order the packs.

I loved that it required reading in 9 genre. I would have limited our reading to only non fiction and Biographies. Now they read mysteries or fantasy or humor. This has made well rounded readers who think deeply about what they have read. They no longer rip through a book in an hour. They linger over the characters, their issues, and their solutions. Sure they pick up an occasional book to read in an hour, but they soon forget it.

Hoping your experience in DITHOR is a blessed one.

[MelInKansas]

For the beginning of DITHOR with a younger reader I would definitely do some of the worksheets orally. It's too much writing for a 2nd grader IMO. But since it takes more than a year to get through even one whole 9 genre rotation, by the end they should be able to do the worksheets more independently. I would say she didn't do DITHOR 2/3 at all independently, but I started it really young. I have put off starting DITHOR with my 2nd born because now I think she will be more ready for it.

I echo exactly what others have said. It is a great way to interact with great literature and understand more about literature. I have learned a lot. The projects are fun, definitely a highlight of our school times (though sometimes time-consuming but I just need to get over watching the clock all the time). As my DD has grown in independence I have found it even better (she can dilly dally and enjoy the project with her own time ). I think it gives them great things to put their energy into.