Twenty-five years later, I have newly-found freedom in Shakespeare as I read his works with my 3rd and 4th grader. I haven't had to get my fifteen-pound college book off the shelf just yet; here's the version we started with:
This book came from one of my treasure-hunting expeditions at the Goodwill clearance center where I pay by the pound. I had placed it on our school shelf and hadn't thought about it for who knows how long. I was about to sell it in a book sale when my friend Eliza said, "No! This is Lamb's Shakespeare, the one you want for your instruction next year!" Whew...what a pal! I hadn't realized the treasure that was in my midst! This book contains some of Shakespeare's plays in story form, easier for students to understand, but by no means "watered down." Because of their density, I divide each one over five days, and we read several paragraphs, narrating each. We have enjoyed The Tempest, A Midsummer Night's Dream, As You Like It, and Hamlet.
In Charlotte Mason style, it's my job to present these living stories to my children, require them to retell what we read in their own words, and allow them the freedom to take what they will from each work. I wanted to add to our narration of Hamlet, so I decided that the three of us would "act out" a scene. It was primitive, yet unforgettable! On the spur of the moment, I became Hamlet, while my girls were Queen Gertrude and Polonius. I had a conference with my mother, the queen, expressing my burden about her having married my evil uncle. She argued with me, I (playfully, of course) pushed her on the sofa, and a voice from behind the curtain (the "tapestry") cried, "The queen! Help the queen!" I took out my pretend sword, ran to the curtain and struck the figure behind it, who fell dramatically to the floor. Then, that same budding actress gave up that role and became the ghost of my father, King Hamlet (there were only three of us, so in Shakespearean style, we had to combine parts). I acted terrified of this ghost, who reminded me of my promise to get to the real details of his murder. Finally, I nearly passed out when I saw that the man who I had "slain" was not my uncle Claudius, but rather Polonius, the father of my dear Ophelia.
We had no practice-run, no props, no costumes, and no lines; everything was on the fly, and from memory. My less-artsy girl was not enthusiastic, yet she participated, and will certainly remember that scene from Shakespeare for years to come.
Make no mistake, I reluctantly started the Shakespeare readings; I was simply following the list of Ambleside Online, my curriculum guide. It wasn't that I dislike Shakespeare; I just remember the readings being difficult. However, I had faith in the method and in the Lord, Who I definitely went to about my doubts. We underestimate children, as well as our own abilities; when we're faithful and present ideas, they prove much more curious and capable than we imagine. Charlotte Mason has enabled me to understand this, too; children's minds are thirsty for a living education and life, not the dry, dumbed-down twaddle-crumbs they're often given. Our culture has formed an idol of the food we allow our kids to ingest, yet we starve their minds and characters.
With all of this simmering in my mind, I had a divine meeting with this yesterday in an antique store:
SOLD!!!!
This is a longer version of the Lamb book pictured above; it includes more plays told as stories, and fewer pictures. In fact, I ended up doing Hamlet with the girls because it was in the other book, and The Winter's Tale (which was on the Ambleside list), was not. This book includes The Winter's Tale and our other play scheduled for this school year, King Lear. What a treasure, and how surprised I was to find it! The girls are ready to transition from the first book to this one.
For What It's Worth...
I'm learning something about teaching reading to children: not all will prefer the sight-words method (known as "whole language"), but teaching with a phonetic approach is practically foolproof. I've done some reading on this subject, and can attest to this in my own teaching experience. Prior to the 1950's, children were taught a phonetic approach to reading. Granted, English does have words that must be learned by sight, but overall, teaching phonics provides a logical way to decipher words. For some reason, around 1950, some people with letters behind their names decided it would be better to teach reading from a whole language approach, in an attempt to "fix" what wasn't broken. Statistics show that this indeed broke what didn't need fixing, and students (teachers, alike) often want to beat their heads against a wall.
My first child took whole language and it just clicked. When my second child didn't, I was discouraged. When I moved to All About Spelling and All About Reading, curricula that focus on phonics (syllables, phonograms, decoding), things began to change. I wanted to cry when we did testing last year; the entire spelling section was sight words! "Why????!!" I clamored, as I started to beat my head against the wall. Now I know: because tests and school curricula are designed specifically in the whole-language method.
Sheesh. If your child seems behind in reading, don't panic (I've already done that). Do not fall into the trap of automatically assuming that something is wrong, or that your child is lagging. Contrary to what standardized tests and people with letters behind their names would have you believe, children are individuals, not automatons. And here's another thing...as recently as the early 1980's, kindergartners did not know how to read and write! They knew basic counting and ABC's, but that was about it. When did we start expecting a first-grader to be reading chapter books? Forcing skills when kids aren't ready paves the way for kids to believe they're lacking when they are not. Every individual should learn at his or her own pace, not be hurried in order to perform "well" on a test. Great improvements in reading can't always be measured by a "standard."
In our case, I discovered that my girl just needs lots of practice reading diligently out loud every day. I have her All About Reading book that gives her phonetic practice; there are no sight words in the stories. This is fine for teaching and reinforcement, yet because the reality in English is that we come upon many sight words, I have her practice with regular readers, too. I like school readers from the 1950's, '60's, and '70's; the stories and pictures are delightful, and they are designed with the whole-language method of word recognition. Now that she has phonics under her belt, my girl is moving toward reading fluency and is comfortable reading from both kinds of readers. However, we had to nail down phonics before she was able to make headway with the whole-language method.
This reader from Open Highways was mine as a kid, and I love that my girls get practice out of it, too:
Any parent or teacher can use this to give simple, daily practice to your child. You can find it on Amazon for just a few dollars. It has nice stories that are short enough to give reading practice, yet aren't insulting to a child's intelligence.
Children will be able to manage a story in its entirety, and gain the sense of accomplishment that comes with finishing the whole thing. I used to keep this book at my grandparents' house when I was little, and have nice memories of reading it there, even when I was way beyond this reading level. That's what I want for my kids: cherished memories of reading, not thinking of it as a struggle or chore.
(For more information on this and other eye-openers, check out The Diseasing of America's Children by John Rosamond and Bose Ravenel, 2008).
Incidentally...
Within the past week, I'm seeing the fruits of all this narration, literature, phonics, and reading practice. My girls enjoy playing the game of Life, where they spin for children, a career, and either get money or have to pay the bank. With no prompting, they decided to write stories about their "families" from the Life game. They have begun to fill page upon page of notebook paper with writing, all of their own desire. Even though we work hard on it, they leave out some punctuation and misspell quite a few words. I say nothing, but read these stories aloud as they're meant to be read. I know that the errors will correct themselves as the girls grow and have more reading and writing practice, just like their tennis serves and strokes have gotten progressively better as they work at it. I take this position thanks to the wisdom of a wise, dear lady who graciously shares her experience each year at the Charlotte Mason retreat that I attend. It's nice to guide, yet allow my children to stretch themselves as learners.
Because There Are Never Enough Books...
Here are my finds from a trip yesterday to my pay-by-the-pound place. It was either these, or a dessert from a chain restaurant, because they cost practically the same amount. Talk about a no-brainer! This is rich food that's worth it! Not that I can't enjoy a good piece of cake while reading....
Finally, I want to share this poem by Anne Procter (1825-1864) from one of this week's readings in The Cloud of Witness. Find time to linger over it this week.
"The Lord weighs the hearts." Proverbs 21:2
Until next time!
