Lightning literature?

[Dmmetler]

I'm considering the grade 7/8 lightning lit, either with the Online G3 course or at home, for DD9. She's loved the Athena's Academy lit discussion classes and I'd like to continue that. I have to say though, that the LL samples don't impress me, and she's already read five of the books between the two lists.

 

Does anyone have any experience at using this curriculum (or,even better, the online class)? Or, does anyone have another suggestion to consider?

[clemota]

DD11 did LL7 at Online G3 last semester.  She had already read 2 of the books, but wanted to try the course because of the low writing component (we are waiting on a possible dysgraphia diagnosis).  I had purchased the whole set last Spring with the thought of doing it ourselves the following year, but then saw that G3 was offering it.   For us, it was an issue of only reading 5 books for the year - DD reads way too fast for it to have lasted that long.  Plus,  a lot of the workbook seemed like busywork to me.   So doing the course in a semester online sounded like a good compromise.

 

The class at G3 was well led, but DD decided the pace was too slow for her (you could read as far ahead of the assigned sections as you wanted, so that wasn't an issue - it was more of wanting to be able to move on to the next book.) She also disliked when the teacher had to stop the discussion to reprimand some kids taking advantage of the chat feature - this happened weekly, and dd gets easily annoyed by those who don't take literature seriously, LOL.  But over all, it was worth it for one semester.  I've decided not to do LL8 next year on our own because she's already read all the books, and LLLOTR is calling my name...

 

Let me know if I can answer (or DD can answer) any specific questions about it for you!

[8filltheheart]

I know nothing about G3, but I am very unimpressed by Lightning Lit's level of work. I bought either 7 or 8 several yrs ago and I was pretty surprised that the assignments were so low level straight from the book type questions. There was no in-depth analysis or even critical thinking involved. I think you would be happier with some other materials.

[quark]

Lightning Lit and LLfLOTR were two that we abandoned quite early in our search for higher level lit curricula. Nothing has come close to following our own lit bunny trails and discussions. We have had some luck with auditing one Mythgard LOTR course but after reading 8's review of other Mythgard offerings (not so positive) I think it was successful only because DS was at about the right level for the input (not the output, that's why he audited plus auditing is much cheaper) vs 8's DD being at a much higher ability level. Nevertheless, I felt that the Mythgard material was much more challenging than LL (including some of LL's high school courses) by far. The target audience is different.

 

Caveat: Mythgard's offerings might be limited depending on the semester.

 

[nutella08]

I wasn't impressed with the curriculum but DD loved all the G3 classes (LL7, LL8, LLOTR) and enjoyed the discussions. She read several of the books before class started. The workload and writing for the course was fairly light. I did hear the teacher having to keep chat discussions on tasks as well. I don't think it happened weekly in DD's class. DD has connected with a couple students outside of class through the forums and NaNoWriMo. She's very social, so that could be a big factor for her.

[clemota]

Lightning Lit and LLfLOTR were two that we abandoned quite early in our search for higher level lit curricula. Nothing has come close to following our own lit bunny trails and discussions. 

 

And that's what's keeping me from pushing the "buy" button: we are both happier going at our own speed and following bunny trails of our own choosing with regards to literature.  I love the *idea* of a structured year-long LOTR study with bunny trails, but I don't think it would work for us in the end - too confining.

 

 

 

 

[Donna]

My dd liked K12's Literature and Composition course last year when I needed something more spelled out for her to do because I was working more. We have used LL as well....did LL 7th grade a couple years ago. I thought the K12 course was more comprehensive and the discussion of the books more thoughtful.  This year we are doing our own thing.

[Dmmetler]

Has anyone done both the G3 classes and Athena's Academy classes to compare them? DD is really enjoying the Athena's classes, but the Athena's classes aren't following a "curriculum" as far as I can tell-they're reading books (and have a weekly writing prompt), but the kids come up with questions to share and discuss in class. The LL samples look like a lower level than the questions DD's classmates in a supposedly 6th grade level lit class (although a lot more of the kids are DD's age or so) are regularly coming up with. But she absolutely adores the weekly discussion in class and the chats on the discussion forums during the week, and LA isn't an area where I feel a need to push her-she's spending enough time on math and science (and technical writing for science) that I'm pretty content with her doing history and literature closer to her age/grade for now (and, really, her emotional maturity is such that she really isn't ready for some of the heavier classics).

 

Another group option for next year would be a 2 hour/week Shakespeare course locally, which is supposed to be excellent, but she'd be on the extreme young end for the class (the person coordinating it has already told me DD would be welcome, but most of the kids are high school students, and many of them upper division high school at that). I also am a little concerned because I've seen writing samples from some of these high school students and have taught some of them in Latin and in co-op classes, and frankly, my 9 yr old writes better and has more depth of thought than many of the teens. It's also on Friday afternoons, which will cut a chunk out of her fieldwork time, and this year, at least, has been a good time to meet with the research team (that schedule is likely to change, but her mentor says that Fridays are usually a light day on scheduling in general).

 

 

And, of course, there's doing something on our own, but I do think she benefits greatly from having people to discuss with who are closer to her age/worldview, instead of seeing the world and the book from a 42 yr old worldview.

 

 

[nutella08]

We haven't done Athena's but the teacher in G3 doesn't really seem to "follow" or use the questions in the book that closely. I feel the webinar discussions have more depth than the textbook and most of the supplemental activities & videos have been enriching. However, many of the written responses posted in the forum aren't particularly deep. A few kids put in more effort than others. Don't know if it matters to you; the teacher started G3 for her PG daughter and it seems to be popular within that community.  I had always presumed G3 is a natural progression after Athena. DD just seemed to be beyond the level of Athena's courses when we found the programs, but of course, I could be mistaken. 

[Laura Corin]

I did LL7 with Calvin when he was about 11.  It was a perfectly fine gentle introduction to writing about literature.  Nothing special though.

 

L

[Dmmetler]

We haven't done Athena's but the teacher in G3 doesn't really seem to "follow" or use the questions in the book that closely. I feel the webinar discussions have more depth than the textbook and most of the supplemental activities & videos have been enriching. However, many of the written responses posted in the forum aren't particularly deep. A few kids put in more effort than others. Don't know if it matters to you; the teacher started G3 for her PG daughter and it seems to be popular within that community. I had always presumed G3 is a natural progression after Athena. DD just seemed to be beyond the level of Athena's courses when we found the programs, but of course, I could be mistaken.

That sounds pretty good-I started DD at Athena's for mythology last fall, and when SL core 6 didn't work (because there was too much "YA" stuff in the books) moved her to the lit class. It wasn't challenging, but she's really enjoyed having a class with kids her age, so I'm inclined to move her to G3 just for that reason. There definitely is a range of levels in the responses at Athena's, too, but it's open-ended enough that there's room for it. Right now, she seems to need lit (and history) at her emotional maturity level, which is very different from her reading level, and also need the social, part of the group feeling.

[quark]

Also, Athena began after G3. Headmistress G started G3 first and at that time, without Athena, those of us with 7, 8, 9 year-olds were enrolling in G3 courses for the challenge. It was after Athena came on board a year or two later under a different director/ headmistress that most 7-9yos moved over to Athena and G3 took over the "higher level/ older kid" courses. Almost all the kids I know who do Athena just move on to G3 when they are older or are done with the younger level courses. For kids who need that emotional maturity/ social environment with some challenge but not too much writing G3 is filling a much needed void. But there needs to be something beyond G3 for some kids (even minus the social environment if necessary) without the expectation of long papers, and that's where I am having difficulty finding quality courses.

[alsoelizabeth]

My now 13-yo dd began with Athena's mythology prep class a few years ago when she was 10-11 yo (5th). She also tried out the lit club--again, a good fit. Last year (6th), she tried G3's LL7, then we did LL8 independently. I'm in agreement with others here that LL7 & LL8 are not particularly challenging but it added some discipline to her lit studies. This year she's back with Athena's for the teen lit circle focusing on fantasy and futurism and it's been a great fit for her reading passion. We could have handled the lit stuff ourselves (I was an English major and love to talk lit) but I think we've both appreciated the extra adult contact and feedback she's received from these outsourced instructors. (We also purchase online access to Rosetta Stone Spanish through G3.)

 

Far and away the greatest benefit for our family has been the virtual friends she's made on the G3 forums. (Less so on Athena's as she reports that the fit isn't quite as good.) We live in an isolated area and the opportunity for many friends, especially accelerated learners, just hasn't been in the cards. The forums give her a great place to connect around teen culture, NaNoWriMo, and other shared interests.

 

Karin

 

 

[Rosepetal]

I would like to ask about G3 Courses and their charges?How many live online classes per week?For completing one course what is the duration?and are these only Literature classes or writing classes also there?

Thanks..............

[quark]

I would like to ask about G3 Courses and their charges?How many live online classes per week?For completing one course what is the duration?and are these only Literature classes or writing classes also there?

Thanks..............

 

You should be able to find all if not most of the answers on their website: http://www.onlineg3.com/

Schedule/ classes: http://www.onlineg3.com/mod/page/view.php?id=3226

Course descriptions: http://www.onlineg3.com/mod/page/view.php?id=3222

Classes are usually semester long (spring semester/ fall semester) but there are short classes as well e.g. the only one DS took was a short, 8-week prep class for the National Mythology Exam.

FAQs: http://www.onlineg3.com/mod/page/view.php?id=3224

 

[Kathy G]

We are using Lightning Lit and I think they are a good spine.  I like the vocab words (although we do vocab separately too) and the choices of literature.  We read 3-4 times as many classical books a year and I guess I consider composition a different subject so didn't worry too much about the lack of writing here.  Like SO MANY of my curricula it is just a good spine- does anybody really have only one source for any one subject?  ;)  This begs the question- anyone here actually found a good curriculum that has both the lit and composition components- or does everyone do it separately?

[Dmmetler]

I borrowed the K12 7th grade guides from a friend. I like the looks of them, but it looks like I can't get the group discussion without signing DD up for our state VA-and she'd have to do ALL the classes through them (and if I grade skipped her to 7th so the lit/composition is on the right level, the grammar would bore her and the math and science would be too easy. The History looks great, though). So I'm thinking maybe we'll do the Online G3, but supplement with the writing from the K12 teacher's guides (and probably add in the lit selections for K12 that aren't in LL).

 

Sigh...it's so much easier to be able to just order the next AOPS book...

[Connections]

DS took an online G3 literature class a couple of years ago and we were both very disappointed. He is a very insightful and well-read young man and frankly he did not learn anything from the G3 class. (Except, sadly, that he does not want to waste time with online classes.) I was disappointed with the level of challenge for something that was considered a "gifted" class. The online vocabulary exercises were simply online games. The discussion questions that they were required to answer (and to comment on other student's answers) were often the "Character Y was embarrassed when X happened in the story. Have you ever felt embarrassed?" type of question. I do not recall a single forum discussion question that actually asked the students to analyze literary elements, the story line, etc. Very disappointing. The in-class discussions focused on providing the answer that the headmistress was seeking (typical of school but not what I expected in a gifted class). My son and I were hoping that the discussions would stretch students. We were looking for the headmistress to ask questions that required higher level thinking skills and then to guide them in a more sophisticated back and forth exchange of ideas.

 

After that experience we have decided that discussions with a 40-something mother are preferable. We will likely be able to find other students at a high school level to participate in our discussions, but for the time being we are continuing to do our own thing.

[drum1019]

I agree with Connections we also took an online G3 class and were greatly disappointed. The discussion in class and the forums were too basic. I found the same to be true with Athena courses, ie the literature ones. I am weary of any type of online class now, you never know what to expect.

[FairProspects]

Bumping up an old thread to ask - can anyone speak to how quickly the pace of the G3 lit classes move? How much reading in pages is expected weekly if they are condensing the class to a semester? My ds would love the social interaction and I would like the accountability to get through the books, but since he is 2E and a slow reader I'm wondering if the reading load would bog him down (even though he loves literature and discussion).