"Junior Great Books" for advanced kids?

[Anonymous]

I was told by the school my daughter attends (WOTP, elementary) that they have "Junior Great Books" program for their advanced students. My daughter has always been advanced on the DC CAS in both math and reading and I feel that she should be in this group if it is what it actually supposed to be for advanced students. Anyone know anything about this so that I know if its wortwhile or just some fluff?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I was told by the school my daughter attends (WOTP, elementary) that they have "Junior Great Books" program for their advanced students. My daughter has always been advanced on the DC CAS in both math and reading and I feel that she should be in this group if it is what it actually supposed to be for advanced students. Anyone know anything about this so that I know if its wortwhile or just some fluff?

[Anonymous]

Read the books?

[Anonymous]

Is there a list of what those "Junior Great Books" are?

[Anonymous]

not sure

[Anonymous]

A looonnggg time ago when I was in school we had that program at Lafayette (I think we maybe started it in second or third grade?). It likely has changed some--but at the time, it was essentially classic short stories and novel excerpts that were grade level appropriate that came along with discussion questions. We had parent volunteers come in to lead the book discussion, and sometimes lead activities related to the story. Mostly it was a nice way to get group discussions started on reading and foster greater reading comprehension and understanding of literary techniques (i.e. understanding what a metaphor was) and had some writing goals associated with it. It wasn't a list of books--it was just a program that came with a book that had carefully chosen stories and discussion questions.

[Anonymous]

Oh yeah, here's the link to their website: http://www.greatbooks.org/programs-for-all-ages/junior/jgbseries/grades-3-5/reading-list/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A looonnggg time ago when I was in school we had that program at Lafayette (I think we maybe started it in second or third grade?). It likely has changed some--but at the time, it was essentially classic short stories and novel excerpts that were grade level appropriate that came along with discussion questions. We had parent volunteers come in to lead the book discussion, and sometimes lead activities related to the story. Mostly it was a nice way to get group discussions started on reading and foster greater reading comprehension and understanding of literary techniques (i.e. understanding what a metaphor was) and had some writing goals associated with it. It wasn't a list of books--it was just a program that came with a book that had carefully chosen stories and discussion questions.

It's still the same.

[Anonymous]

Great link, thanks!

[Anonymous]

21:10 here. I just glanced at the link (I posted that). Most of the stories in there are the same as they were when I was a kid!

[Anonymous]

is that a good or a bad thing that it's mostly the same after all these years?

[Anonymous]

Hmmm....I don't know if it is necessarily a good or bad thing. The stories were generally pretty good (it's supposed to be classics, hence the "great books" theme, and readings like Hans Christian Anderson fairy tales and a Rudyard Kippling's Just So Sories are pretty timeless), but I suspect much of the strength of this program has more to do with how it is implemented. I think it is a nice program, but I can see how one could do something similar (reading and discussing classic stories, basically) using a different curriculum.

[Anonymous]

I freaking loved junior great books as a kid. Helped me immensely (smart kid stuck in a school with limited advanced options). Loved loved loved it. Great exposure to a lot of classics. I will be crushed if my child isn't considered advanced enough for it.

[Anonymous]

21:10 again. It was definitely a positive experience for me, and I enjoyed it.

[Anonymous]

Thank you, OP here. I feel better now as I was afraid the school was just fobbing me off by saying they had a program for advanced students. But based on what people are saying on here it seems like "Junior Great Books" might be the real deal at her DCPS.