I am homeschooling my six grade son and daughter and my 8th grade son. We have just finished Lord of the Flies and I thought it was time for a Bronte. Would that be too much? Which one if I did? | Lord of the Flies Questions & Answers

Answered by Swiftwell on 02 Apr 15:07

It depends on their ability, but I suspect not. Though if they were able to manage with 'Lord of the Flies' then they might be able to cope with 'Jane Eyre'. That being said they probably wouldn't be able to handle 'Wuthering Heights' as it is exceedingly hard to follow, verbose and thematically difficult. I'm not saying it isn't a fantastic book but pushing it on them when they aren't ready runs the risk of turning them off it. 'Jane Eyre' is comparatively simple but all the same isn't ideal for their age group.

Answered by englishteacher07 on 05 Apr 16:44

I teach 7th grade Lang and "Jane Eyre" is considered 9th grade curriculum at our school. However, I also have several home schooled cousins and they all read way above their grade level. If this is the case with your children, I think "Jane Eyre" would be perfect for them. It is the least complex of the Bronte novels and a great introduction to this author. A great tool I use to help students understand certain novels is a website called shmoop.com. It puts the novel in modern words and relates it to today's world and times.

Answered by LyndaKDeckard on 07 Apr 16:48

The Bronte sisters wrote great books, but I do not really think they are interesting enough for young men of 6th and 8th grade. I know it sounds stereotypical, but let's face it...an old love story is not really the kind of material you are going to find them reading on their own. Why not choose something that is maybe less of a classic and more to their own interest level? I have just finished teaching The Walking Drum by Louis Lamour to a group from a similar age group and they LOVED the story. I had never thought of Lamour as a good choice for a literature class..........but the story is exciting, and it also couples well with history, ethics and discussions of personal choice.

I also start out most of my classes with a quote for the day, and I found my students using lines of the novel to quote to me. That indicates true interest in what they were reading!!

3 Answers