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| Mon, 09-25-2006 - 11:25pm |
14 yo dd is in AP English and To Kill a Mockingbird was their first book of the year. DD read the book cover to cover and still did horribly on the tests. I even caught up with her and read it with her after she failed the first test. Her grades with my help were only slightly better.
The Bean Trees is up next, one of my favorites, and I will read it with her again but I'm wondering about using Cliff Notes or SparkNotes as we go along to help her get out of it what she must for the tests. I will have to order it online and there are

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Just a thought, could you maybe get the book on tape?
Some kids do better that way. I know that some libraries
have them. Has reading been an issue before? Maybe she
is having trouble reading for comprehension.
good luck
Signlady
"We are Virginia Tech - we will Prevail"
I think the cliff notes, along with reading the book will help.
Hi,
My DD experienced the same thing. She used Spark Notes online to help her. She would read the SparkNotes first for a chapter and then read the chapter and usually reread the SparkNotes. She also made an outline of what actually happened in each chapter when she was done reading it. This sort of forced her to commit the events to memory. DD has ADD and has to literally write things and then type them before they stick.
Oldest DD used Cliff notes along with hers and did fine. She loves to read so I think that just naturally made literature easier for her. Plus she went to a different school and I don't think the teachers were as difficult as youngest DDs were.
Good Luck and I hope things get better!
My thinking runs along the same vein as Pam's. English has always my DD's strongest subject and she was quite surprised that she didn't do especially well on her first English assignment in high school -- or the one or two after that.
The expectations were just different and DD had to learn to read and write more analytically, more critically and at a level consistent with AP and advanced classes. She met many, many times with her teacher over the course of the year and worked really, really hard to get her grade back up to where she was used to it being. It was 4th quarter before DD actually saw the results of her effort!
Using Cliff or Spark notes will probably help some, but your DD will be just as well served by taking the time to meet with her teacher, learn what her expectations are, as well as where your DD is falling short.
What are SparkNotes, may I ask? My dd is also ADD and it is heart wrenching to watch her struggle so much.
Thanks!
Amelia
Hey - my name is Amelia too but call me Lia. My brothers couldn't pronounce Amelia.
Anyway, SparkNotes are sort of an online CliffNotes. Just go to www.sparknotes.com. It is a free service and DD would often sit at the computer at read her book and the notes at the same time. She also took the notes that I mentioned. In other classes, DD loves to use index cards - one fact per card b/c she can keep them in her purse and study while she's waiting somewhere like the dentist office. This doesn't work too well if the facts have to be learned in a specific order (chronological for example). But for definitions, it's great. Both my girls and I use this method of studying (I finished my Master's about 1 1/2 years ago).
It is heart wrenching to watch them. DD is now a freshman in college. She took classes over the summer and it was exhausting for me and her both. She was at class 8 - 12 in the morning. Then she would come home and study noon to bedtime everyday but Fri. She didn't have class on Fri so she got up and studied from 8 til around 4. Sat and Sun she studied all afternoon. I too did a lot of sitting by her side over the years but really had to work at getting her to study alone b/c mom's not living in the dorm 5 hours away (I would if they would let me). She got so frustrated b/c she said she had to read everything 3 times to get what everyone got from reading once. But on the upside she made all A's and started college as a second semester freshman. Her goal is to graduate in 3 years. This worries me and we've talked about it. So far, she sticking to the plan but does admit that she might use these additional hours to be able to take lighter loads later on and take the full four years.
Good Luck and let me know how it goes.
Thanks for the replies. DD did say that only a few students did well on the tests with most doing as badly as she did or worse. The grades were apparently so bad the teacher took off the lowest of the grades from the 3 tests. I too thought it was an essay exam but it was multiple choice, dealing with her interpretation of things, not who did what to whom. For instance she maintained that Boo was mean because that's what Scout & Jem said, nevermind his actions were clearly not mean.
I do think she's in the right class, but it might take a while for her to get the hang of reading the story for the bigger picture. I didn't know that SparkNotes were available online so I will download that, thank you for whoever recommended that option. Also, I think it would help her to write a
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