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We're working on an Adventure story this week for my 2nd grade son. We did the Story Map on day 3 and he loved it... but I was so amazingly lost on the "mood" box. I have the definition in the appendix but a list of possible moods in literature would be a huge help to me. (And yes, I'm feeling fairly lame asking this but I know my education was absolutely horrendous. We never discussed mood in English class!)

He came up with some great answers and we went with it but I'm realizing I need a bit more hand-holding. Is there a book that would be helpful for me to read up on? A website? Even a blog post. I've tried googling it but get some pretty bizarre results. Probably I'm not using the right terminology.


Thanks!

Malenksha,

Don't worry about feeling unsure in this area. Literature instruction is often something that we didn't have much of when we were in our school days. So, it is all new for us!

Have no fear though, because as you go through Drawn into the Heart of Reading you will learn all about each story element (including mood) AND will learn how to teach kiddos about it. We cover the story element "Mood" in-depth in the Fantasy genre. So, if you're unsure about mood, just peek ahead in your Drawn into the Heart Teacher's Guide. Within the Teacher's Guide (in each unit), the lessons for story elements can be found on days 3, 8, and 18 in the 2/3 level; on days 2, 7,and 12 in the 4/5 level; and on days 3, 8, and 13 in the 6/7/8 level. This is laid out for you in the opening pages of the guide under 'General Daily Format". Knowing where to find the story element lessons will make looking up an unknown element much easier!

With that in mind, just flip to the Fantasy section of your Teacher's Guide (because we cover 'mood' in fantasy) and look at day 3 under the 2/3 heading, and you'll see a listing of moods within the lesson. You'll see another listing of moods in day 8 under the level 2/3 heading, and so on.

Each type of literature (i.e. Biography, Historical Fiction, Mystery, Fantasy, etc.) found in the Teacher's Guide has one key story element that it focuses upon. This key story element is listed on the cover page that begins each genre, or type of literature. So, by looking through those 9 cover pages, you can see which unit really teaches the story element you are unsure about. Looking through that part of the guide will then quickly answer your question about that element. Don't worry about being overwhelmed with elements, as there are 9 main story elements that are referred to throughout DITHR. So, 9 is not overwhelming.

As you use the DITHR guide for grades 2-8 it will become an invaluable resource on teaching literary elements and Godly character traits. It is a well-worn friend to me and a great source of reference. We pray it will be for you too.

Happy reading!
Blessings,
Carrie

Wow, that makes perfect sense. I just *knew* you would have the information somewhere but I wasn't finding it. Thank you! I'm definitely going to spend some of tomorrow reading "ahead" so to speak!

Thank You! I had this exact question and something else too... my son is no longer excited to do DITHOR. He doesn't understand how it will help him in life to be able to describe settings and talk about main characters. Ugghhh! It has me wondering if I am doing something wrong? I am finding that I am not very knowledgeable in this area (I mean, the "list the moods" question in the story map had me stumped ) and wonder if some of that hesitation is making this a negative experience for my son? He loves to read, but always starts to complain now when he sees me get out the DITHOR book and doesn't want to read on those days... help please!

kvmck wrote:Thank You! I had this exact question and something else too... my son is no longer excited to do DITHOR. He doesn't understand how it will help him in life to be able to describe settings and talk about main characters. Ugghhh! It has me wondering if I am doing something wrong? I am finding that I am not very knowledgeable in this area (I mean, the "list the moods" question in the story map had me stumped ) and wonder if some of that hesitation is making this a negative experience for my son? He loves to read, but always starts to complain now when he sees me get out the DITHOR book and doesn't want to read on those days... help please!

We've found the kickoff to be a key way to get excited to begin a genre each time. So, I try to be sure to choose one that is bound to be a hit with my dc's personal interests in mind. Perhaps it's time to go all out and do a big one? I often times choose the easier ones to do, but one time we buried the "treasure" in the garden and did a treasure map to find it (for Adventure, I believe), and that was a HUGE hit. Another thing that makes a big difference is the amount of pages they are reading aloud. What level is your ds doing, which book set (or which books did you choose), and how many pages about is he reading a day? All of this can make a big difference in how it goes. Book selections and pacing are so important. For example, my 7 yo reads just 2 pages out loud to me each day, and then reads 2 on his own. My almost 11 yo reads 1 page aloud to me (sometimes 2), and reads 10 on his own. If I had my 11 yo read a lot aloud to me, there would be balking. If I'd had my 7 yo read a lot independently (earlier on), he would have balked at that. Making sure to fill out the reading calendar at the onset of each genre is key as it stops the constant bargaining about what can or cannot be read each day for pages.

I've also figured out the hard way not to draw out discussions as I look for that one elusive "right answer" which is usually just the answer I would have given, and probably isn't necessary 99% of the time. Boys generally don't like drawn out discussions. If they give a short well-thought out answer that makes sense, that's good enough, and it's time to move on to the next question. Some dc may not take to the writing portion as well as others - usually because writing just is not their thing. There can be many reasons for this - maybe they physically struggle with the act of writing, maybe they are perfectionists and struggle with getting it just right, maybe they are poor spellers and need a model to look at when writing, or maybe they just have a poor attitude. All of these situations just make it all the more clear that writing is a skill that needs to be improved by working on it diligently. I've written their answers on a markerboard for them to copy in their Student Books to begin with, but then eased them into doing it independently over time. This has worked well.

The last thing is to be sure to do the projects at the end. They switch things up a bit and give dc some independence within a project, and they celebrate the conclusion of a genre. We make a big deal out of these! I explain the project options and let my dc choose their favorite. We then brainstorm and plan what needs to be done to complete the project, we show Dad the finished project, and often take pictures of it. This has made the end to every genre exciting and something to look forward to!

There have been times that our dc need to be disciplined for poor attitude or lack of obedience as well. If I have done all of the above things and there is still an attitude, then a consequence is given. Dad will often get involved. I want our dc to know that this is just not acceptable. As Karen Andreolo said, "No balking allowed!" If I've been careful to choose an appropriate living book, scheduled a doable pacing, chosen an appropriate number of pages to be read aloud to me, not drawn out or added to the discussions, modified when necessary for the writing, done the kickoff and the project with gusto, and there is still an issue - then, yes, no balking is allowed. I hope something here can help!

In Christ,
Julie

Julie,
Thank you for you advice..it is very helpful. A couple of things reallly hit home with me. First, making a big deal with the kick off, which I have not done. I have been having him read the entire selection (usually about 7 or 8 pages, but he really likes to do a whole chapter and not stop at some random spot...) although, he has never complained about that part! Very often he wants to read more of the story. I am sensitive to his dislike of handwriting and either write his answers on a white board for him to copy, or sometimes he just dictates to me. The thing that really hit home with me is just accepting his answer and not making a big discussion about it. Yikes! I enjoy long drawn out discussions and bunny trails, but he doesn't. In fact he is continually telling me about a sunday school teacher who he doesn't enjoy very much becuase she is always explaining things in detail and going off in different directions. Sounds like me now that I think about it. Thank you for your insight and I'm excited to go try it out on my son!

I am glad there were some things I've struggled and changed that may be of benefit to someone else! This totally describes my natural tendency...

kvmck wrote:J...The thing that really hit home with me is just accepting his answer and not making a big discussion about it. Yikes! I enjoy long drawn out discussions and bunny trails, but he doesn't.

I have had to work and work and work on this myself. I love discussion! Perhaps girls are different, or even personalities differ, but my dc do not like long discussions, no matter how enthused I am about them. When I clip along and keep the "short lesson" concept CM was such an advocate of, things go so well! They are much more excited about what we are doing then. Anyway, I hope something here helps with your ds, and I pray DITHOR will become a blessing for you and your ds!

In Christ,
Julie