kailuamom Posted July 9, 2010 Share Posted July 9, 2010 I am familiar with the Lightning Lit program and am curious whether there are similar programs available. If possible, I want to compare a few -- see what books are covered, etc. -- before deciding what to use for my rising 8th grader (strong reader). Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bookworm Mom Posted July 9, 2010 Share Posted July 9, 2010 :bigear: I'd love to know too. My rising 8th grader loved LL7 but has already read most of the books in LL8. We are looking into LL's Early American Lit. and Mid. American Lit. but I am unsure how big of a jump there is in the program skill wise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KarenNC Posted July 9, 2010 Share Posted July 9, 2010 :bigear: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abbeyej Posted July 9, 2010 Share Posted July 9, 2010 We've used and been very happy with LL7 and 8 (still working on 8). We'll be doing LL Early-Mid 19th Cent British and American programs during the school year. I've looked them over, but haven't used them yet... Others you might look at include: Windows to the World Learning Language Arts Through Literature - gold level Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunshine State Sue Posted July 10, 2010 Share Posted July 10, 2010 Mosdos Press I've always found this intriguing, but they don't use whole books. We used LL7 and LL8 and enjoyed them. FWIW, you may read my review here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melissa B Posted July 10, 2010 Share Posted July 10, 2010 There's Excellence in Literature. http://www.everyday-education.com/englishclasses/index.shtml Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
astrid Posted July 10, 2010 Share Posted July 10, 2010 Mosdos PressI've always found this intriguing, but they don't use whole books. We used LL7 and LL8 and enjoyed them. FWIW, you may read my review here. We used Mosdos Press for 5th and 6th grades (Coral and Jade? Not sure about those--- but we used it for two years and dd loved it. It's not cheap, though. We switched to Lightning Literature for 7th and love it. I have to order 8th grade level for my rising 8th grader. SPANISH is my dilemma.........:001_smile: Astrid Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mandy in TN Posted July 10, 2010 Share Posted July 10, 2010 I am familiar with the Lightning Lit program and am curious whether there are similar programs available. If possible, I want to compare a few -- see what books are covered, etc. -- before deciding what to use for my rising 8th grader (strong reader). Thanks! Smarr Literature Calvert Discoveries in Reading Drawn into the Heart of Reading Stobaugh's For Such a Time as This Literature Courses HTH- Mandy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kailuamom Posted July 10, 2010 Author Share Posted July 10, 2010 Thanks for all the great ideas! I do like the look of Lightnight Lit, but my daughter was not thrilled with the 8th grade reading list (she reads a LOT but likes to choose her books). Maybe I will look into trying out the high school level classes for her? Otherwise, I like the Glencoe (free!) guides and the Smarr program is one I had never heard of before. Some of the others look good, too! I have a lot of research to do! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori D. Posted July 10, 2010 Share Posted July 10, 2010 (edited) ... my daughter was not thrilled with the 8th grade reading list Just wanted to throw in that before doing LL8, we were a bit hesitant about the lit. list, too -- BUT, we found two books we absolutely LOVED that we were completely unaware of previously by doing LL8 (A Day of Pleasure; My Family and Other Animals). We enjoyed a Christmas Carol much more than we expected (and afterwards had fun watching The Muppet Christmas Carol on DVD, which actually quotes a LOT of lines from the book! :tongue_smilie:). And LL8 ends with the absolutely wonderful To Kill a Mockingbird. We ended up enjoying LL8 so much with older DS, we did it again 2 years later with younger DS, who also enjoyed most of it (he's not fond of poetry) -- and he's a very picky reader. :) Or, if you really don't want to do LL8, what about Literary Lessons from the Lord of the Rings? Fabulous notes for every single chapter with lots of literary elements introduced and explained, and themes and symbols discussed; great discussion questions; and 12 wonderful units of additional, tangential material, such as background on the author; literary genres; the conventions of an epic; analysis of Beowulf, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, and some poetry; etc. Check out this recent thread on the high school board with comparisons of several literature programs and links to see samples: Literature Programs. And while it is a unit study rather than just a lit. program, you might want to take a look at "Where the Brook and the River Meet", based on Anne of Green Gables books. BEST of luck -- and enjoy your literature journey! Warmest regards, Lori D. Edited July 10, 2010 by Lori D. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kailuamom Posted July 10, 2010 Author Share Posted July 10, 2010 Check out this recent thread on the high school board with comparisons of several literature programs and links to see samples: Literature Programs. And while it is a unit study rather than just a lit. program, you might want to take a look at "Where the Brook and the River Meet", based on Anne of Green Gables books. BEST of luck -- and enjoy your literature journey! Warmest regards, Lori D. Thanks so much! I truly am looking forward to this part of the new year as much as my daughter! I will look at those you suggested -- and maybe we just need to give LL8 a chance. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abbeyej Posted July 10, 2010 Share Posted July 10, 2010 Thanks so much! I truly am looking forward to this part of the new year as much as my daughter! I will look at those you suggested -- and maybe we just need to give LL8 a chance. :) I agree with a previous poster -- I knew ds would enjoy some of the 8th grade list, but we've also been introduced to books that we would have missed and certainly wouldn't have chosen on our own. The nice thing about LL was that it expanded ds' horizons a bit (beyond the fantasy and mystery / adventure books he would have chosen on his own and the classics and historical fiction I would have assigned). Sure, he has enjoyed some units more than others, but overall both he and the girl with whom we school part-time have thoroughly enjoyed LL7 and 8. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.