sadiegirl Posted July 28, 2010 Share Posted July 28, 2010 My sons are going into 8th and 9th this year. They are both avid readers and average between 6-12 books per school year. However, we don't use a set list of books. They both like different kinds of books and so I try to keep a running list of books based on their interests, favorite authors, or previous books they enjoyed. I am trying to beef up our curriculum this year and so I am considering Lightning Lit 8 for my 8th grader.(oddly enough, there are 2 books on the list that I had planned for him to read!) I put the 8th grade Pack in my shopping cart...does that cover everything I would need for him? What English/Literature would be good for 9th grader that hasn't done a formal program of sorts before? I thought about ordering the American Early -Mid pack for him...would this be a good choice? I'm using Analytical Grammar(new to it this year!) and Vocabulary from Classical Roots and we use Jump In writing. thanks, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ma23peas Posted July 28, 2010 Share Posted July 28, 2010 I'm not up on literature curricula, but I do own a LOT of books! We just finished typing up our 'pull from' list...I moved books that I wanted my 6th-9th graders to read...believe it or not, they read 50 books a year...I have about 200 from which they can choose from right now...some of my favorites would be books by these authors... Mark Twain "Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry... George MacDonald "At the Back of the North Wind" Howard Pyle "Robin Hood" Avi "The Fighting Ground" Dahl "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" Dickens any!!! Henty any!! but they may like "the Boy Knight" Linda Sue Park any!! Kipling "Jungle Books" and short stories McGraw "Master of Cornhill" Nesbit "The Story of the Amulet" Peck "A Long way from Chicago" Picking good authors/writers improves soo much of their education....it's a must in our family...but I do let books like Dumas' Count of Monte Cristo count as 3 books...if it's over 1000 pages you get 3 book credits! :) Tara Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sadiegirl Posted July 29, 2010 Author Share Posted July 29, 2010 do those of you that use Lightning Lit purchase the individual items or do you normally purchase the pack? anyone? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grace Posted July 29, 2010 Share Posted July 29, 2010 My sons are going into 8th and 9th this year. They are both avid readers and average between 6-12 books per school year. However, we don't use a set list of books. They both like different kinds of books and so I try to keep a running list of books based on their interests, favorite authors, or previous books they enjoyed. I am trying to beef up our curriculum this year and so I am considering Lightning Lit 8 for my 8th grader.(oddly enough, there are 2 books on the list that I had planned for him to read!) I put the 8th grade Pack in my shopping cart...does that cover everything I would need for him? What English/Literature would be good for 9th grader that hasn't done a formal program of sorts before? I thought about ordering the American Early -Mid pack for him...would this be a good choice? I'm using Analytical Grammar(new to it this year!) and Vocabulary from Classical Roots and we use Jump In writing. thanks, I have read that Lightning Lit 8 can be used for 9th grade also. You may be able to combined both boys and have some great discussions. With having different interests, they may have differing views on the stories. Grace Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sadiegirl Posted July 30, 2010 Author Share Posted July 30, 2010 that's what I was leaning towards doing...using Lit8 with both. I want to challenge them but not overwhelm any of us since we haven't done much up til now in this area! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Margo out of lurking Posted July 30, 2010 Share Posted July 30, 2010 My dd used Lightning Lit for the first time in 8th grade (the 8th grade level). I was surprised by how much she enjoyed the selections. In the past, I'd "hand-picked" everything for her, typically with her interests in mind. A fresh perspective worked very well. I was able to find almost every book from my library. For 9th grade last year, she used Notgrass and hated it. I agree that the lit selections were all over the board, from very challenging (the first book was Scarlet Letter) to downright awful (Christy, imo). She requested Lightning Lit again for 10th grade (Shakespeare Tragedies!). I've seen many board comments that LL may be "light" reading for those used to reading a lot in school (Sonlight, Tapestry, etc.). I agree, but she did learn a lot and appreciated the time it freed to pursue other interests (even other books). I've also seen comments about a lack of scheduling in LL, but that's not true. There is a weekly schedule, and I appreciated both the flexibility and the guidance to keep on track. LL has a coupon here for free shipping, which expires Sunday (it's near the end, one of the last few pages). I went to order this a.m., only to find that they are closed on Fridays, so I sent them an email asking if I could still get the discount if I call back Monday. And yes, the pack will give you everything you need to complete the course. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sadiegirl Posted July 31, 2010 Author Share Posted July 31, 2010 thanks Kristine! Hopefully, they will allow the coupon on Monday. I think I'll do the LL8 with both after reading the comments...it was my initial choice before viewing other posts and comments. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Margo out of lurking Posted July 31, 2010 Share Posted July 31, 2010 Sadie, I want you to know that while my dd is planning on the Shakespeare, after reading your post, it made me consider LL7 for my ds. He'll be a young 7th grader, and I don't have a formal lit program for him. I loosely use Teaching the Classics methodology for whatever book we read--and that's only when I think about it. (Okay, so that may have happened 2-3 times last year. :001_huh:) Oh, yes, I'm beginning to think this is an excellent idea, so thank YOU! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pegasus Posted July 31, 2010 Share Posted July 31, 2010 do those of you that use Lightning Lit purchase the individual items or do you normally purchase the pack? anyone? We used LL7 and are currently using LL8. I just buy the student and teacher book from LL. I usually have a few of the books already on my shelves and hit the local used book store for most of the rest. I only had to buy 1 book new for LL8. Pegasus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HollyDay Posted July 31, 2010 Share Posted July 31, 2010 LLATL high school is very popular locally Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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