Memoria Press' Literature Guides

[Daisy]

Has anyone gotten a look at these. I'm interested but wondering if anyone has any feedback on Memoria's products. The Literature guides are Beta testing? I'm not sure what this means but have any of you used them?

 

http://www.memoriapress.com/descriptions/LiteratureGuidesBETA.html

[Samiam]

Haven't used them but eyeballed them intensely. Of course, I eyeball all curriculum, kind of an addict that way.

 

 

BTW, Beta means they are still "testing" them. MP is offering them at a reduced rate, as they are in their first printing stage. You may find errors, and MP would like you to let them know. I think they also print them in house and thus the printing will be slightly lower quality. In exchange for all of this, MP offers a lower price on it.

[Jen in PA]

:lurk5:

[Another Lynn]

I think someone here - can't remember who - used to use these before MP was marketing them to the general public. (I think she knew about them - maybe from The Highlands School - and requested to buy them, etc..... )

 

If I can find an old post, I'll copy the link.

[Verity]

I bought three of these this year for my 6th grader to use. Basically this was a way for me to build our own literature program. My son has high reading comprehension skills but has Aspergers and a very narrow field of reading interest. I'm assigning him the books linked to the student study guide for three books this year and having him work with them. The study guides are very similar to MP's Famous Men student workbooks. Each chapter has "Reading Notes" that list the characters and who they are, a short vocabulary section (vocab words used in context and a line for the student to write the definition), comprehension questions and discussion questions and activities.

So far I'm satisfied with what I'm seeing. I'm not generally a huge fan of "worksheets" but I'm building this child's ability to work independently and this gives him the structure he needs. I can be sure he is reading the work and understanding it and I don't have to discuss every chapter with him.

 

"Cons": Obviously printed "in house" the cover is cardstock and it has the black binding that you can do yourself.

 

"Pros" - Vocabulary and comprehension questions to help with classic literature without having to buy a huge curriculum. Also, I haven't found any blaring errors as of yet.

 

I bought guides for King Arthur (Roger Lancelyn Green), The Hobbit and Adam of the Road.

[KatieH]

Thanks for the feedback, Verity! I'm looking at getting the Lion, Witch, and the Wardrobe guide for next year. Kind of hoping it will be out of beta by the time I buy it, but the reduced price is nice!

[MSNative]

I've been looking at the literature guides, too. However, before you buy for Lion, Witch and Wardrobe book, search online for free resources. We're using a free lapbook and literature guide that I found by googling.

[Daisy]

I bought three of these this year for my 6th grader to use. Basically this was a way for me to build our own literature program. My son has high reading comprehension skills but has Aspergers and a very narrow field of reading interest. I'm assigning him the books linked to the student study guide for three books this year and having him work with them. The study guides are very similar to MP's Famous Men student workbooks. Each chapter has "Reading Notes" that list the characters and who they are, a short vocabulary section (vocab words used in context and a line for the student to write the definition), comprehension questions and discussion questions and activities.

So far I'm satisfied with what I'm seeing. I'm not generally a huge fan of "worksheets" but I'm building this child's ability to work independently and this gives him the structure he needs. I can be sure he is reading the work and understanding it and I don't have to discuss every chapter with him.

 

"Cons": Obviously printed "in house" the cover is cardstock and it has the black binding that you can do yourself.

 

"Pros" - Vocabulary and comprehension questions to help with classic literature without having to buy a huge curriculum. Also, I haven't found any blaring errors as of yet.

 

I bought guides for King Arthur (Roger Lancelyn Green), The Hobbit and Adam of the Road.

 

Thanks. This is exactly what I'm looking for. Nothing fancy, just a way to make sure my daughter is digging a little deeper into her middle school reading. She reads voraciously, but I'd like to pick one or two books a year that she spends more time on.

[PeterPan]

Daisy, have you tried just googling your prospective book? There are all kinds of study guides and lesson plans and things available online. This site http://www.mrsrenz.net/ask.htm has amazing book projects you can do with any book. They go across a range of modalities (art, computer, creative writing, etc.). But again, you can find guides just by googling your title and a term like guide. I found a Hobbit guide that we used and enjoyed last year. If your dd is anything like mine, she won't want to be stopped chapter by chapter to fill in stuff. For us, something that spreads over multiple chapters is better. The Logos Jack London (Naturalism) guide does this, not sure about the others.

 

I know sometimes I forget to check for the free online resources, so I just wanted to toss that out. :)

[LunaLee]

I agree about finding stuff online. I just found a really great lit guide/lesson plan for Journey to the Center of the Earth. The internet has a plethera of good stuff.

 

If you have your heart set on using a guide, I'll give you my opinion. I've had a chance to compare them at length to the Veritas & Progeny Guides and I'll be honest, I was not impressed.

 

There are couple of reasons why:

 

1. I thought they were pretty simplistic. I didn't think the questions were especially thought provoking and I didn't think the vocabulary assignments were all that great either. I think Veritas has better activities (like hands on stuff) and the questions & vocabulary excercises were rich without being overwhelming. The Progeny Guides do a better job with vocabulary like what'd you'd expect to do with a classical education and there was much more literary analysis and the reading comprehension questions were much better.

 

2. The MP guides come in two parts, a teachers guide and a student guide and they aren't cheap. I think Progeny offers more for you money.

 

3. Presentation. I hate those black comb bindings.

 

So there you have it, my overall impressions fwiw.

 

Good luck in your search.

[Another Lynn]

Another economical option might be Logos Upper Grammar Literature Guides. They are $15 and each one covers 4 or 5 books. I don't think they cover vocabulary... and are mostly comprehension.... but are a fine opportunity for writing some short answers and sometimes a narration.

[Gratia271]

I'll be honest, I was not impressed.

 

There are couple of reasons why:

 

1. I thought they were pretty simplistic. I didn't think the questions were especially thought provoking and I didn't think the vocabulary assignments were all that great either. I think Veritas has better activities (like hands on stuff) and the questions & vocabulary excercises were rich without being overwhelming. The Progeny Guides do a better job with vocabulary like what'd you'd expect to do with a classical education and there was much more literary analysis and the reading comprehension questions were much better.

 

2. The MP guides come in two parts, a teachers guide and a student guide and they aren't cheap. I think Progeny offers more for you money.

 

3. Presentation. I hate those black comb bindings.

 

So there you have it, my overall impressions fwiw.

 

Good luck in your search.

 

:iagree:

 

I didn't find their questions thought-provoking in the least. Granted, I am the stereotypical attorney who subscribes to a socratic teaching methodology and really wants my children to dig into what they are reading... at the same time, there is really not much, if any, depth to their questions. I returned all of my study guides.

[Daisy]

I enjoyed the lower level Veritas Press Guides but the upper level have fewer hands-on projects. They worked well. I should look at the upper level more closely. We really enjoyed the Charlotte's Web one and Misty of Chinoteague (for anyone who is looking at them).

 

Progeny Press guides have always driven me CRAZY with their layout. Instead of chapter by chapter it is all over the place and the vocabulary and comprehension are in two different sections. We've never successfully finished one.

[dee67p]

I"ve used the study guides from Veritas with our reading of The Magician's Nephew and The Horse's Boy. I bought the one guide that includes questions for each book. I've been pleased withe questions and format. I've used them with my 2nd graders last year and my 3rd and 4th graders this year. That is in no way a restriction to these guides being for elementary students. The students read the books and narrated an answer for the questions to me as I wrote the sentences for answers.