Diogenes in a co-op setting

[Zada]

I am looking for suggestions for teaching Diogenes Maxim in a co-op setting. I have taught Aesop, Homer, and Poetry in our weekly co-op, but am puzzled about how to approach/organize Maxim when we meet once per week.

Any suggestions would be welcome.

Thanks in advance!

[Lene Mahler Jaqua]

My primary suggestion will be to get the Diogenes Student Guide when it comes out (soon this summer).

It is divided into "weeks" and that way you can overview the work a week at a time, have each student mark what you want them to do at home... and then work on the stuff you want to cover for the week during your co-op class.

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Now, barring that "helpful" suggestion above (since the Student Guide isn't quite out yet), I'd recommend the following:

You work through the book lesson by lesson from beginning to end. You may choose to skip any lesson that doesn't seem relevant to you, or that is stuff you know your students know well.

** For the first Unit, you don't do a WP....

** For all subsequent units you do the WP of the prior unit while forging ahead lesson by lesson in the theory and A and I stuff.

Therefore, plan your week with 4 lessons per week and a writing project per week, doubling up ONLY on lessons where the lesson asks the student to read background information (there are about 5 of those lessons in the book, they are quick).

For UNIT 1.... assign 5 lessons per week because there is no WP, otherwise for all other units, assign only 4.

Each lesson encapsulates one concept and is meant for one day, but I think when teaching in the co-op setting (IF you choose not to get the Student Guides, where you need one per student) you can easily teach 4 concepts during a weekly session.

The writing project THEORY is all covered in the lessons, the only new material in the writing projects is

1. putting the theory learned together in an outline
2. EDITING, EDITING and more EDITING

so the WP fits well at the tail end of every class with editing (students editing for each other, f.ex.) as an emphasis.

There is a lot of work in the lessons in Dio, so I would choose to do only one WP every other week so the students write a draft at home, bring it to class, edit each other's work, and then come back the following week with a finalized WP.

Just a few ideas,

Lene