Melinda TX Posted April 14, 2008 Share Posted April 14, 2008 Hi - I teach literature for my local co-op. We have used Lightning Literature previously, but I am thinking of offering the LOTR curriculum as a change, and maybe engage the boys a bit more (I know - that is completely sexist since many girls enjoy the series as well.) If you have used this, is the workload challenging without being overwhelming? Did it cover what you felt like it should? I guess I am asking - would you recommend it? TIA Melinda Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkateLeft Posted April 14, 2008 Share Posted April 14, 2008 My oldest used it this year, and thoroughly enjoyed it. The workload wasn't overwhelming, though she's a very language oriented kid and in her second year of Great Books literature at a local high school. :) Her absolute most favorite thing to do is discuss literature! There wasn't as much literary analysis as we'd hoped which was a bit disappointing, but since that's part of my academic background, it was easy enough for us to enhance. Most of the work in the student workbook is comprehension rather than analysis, apart from brief essays on each chapter, and we were often critical of the author's conclusions. (The analysis is fairly light, honestly.) Even so, we'd definitely recommend it as long as the parent is willing to put some effort into discussing the text! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
In The Great White North Posted April 14, 2008 Share Posted April 14, 2008 Ds(16) didn't like it. It is primarily fill-in-the-blank questions from the text and some vocab. All the writing is in the "extras" at the end of each section, a selectionof "springboard" questions. His lit analysis has always been either oral or essay format, and he really doesn't like fill-in-the-blanks. I think the workbook could be filled in almost as fast as you can write, and is more busywork than challenging, thought provoking questions. The "extras" were the most interesting thing, but none of them sparked his interest. It actually DECREASED his interest in LOTR. He disliked it so much , he asked to switch to Format Writing in Feb. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peela Posted April 14, 2008 Share Posted April 14, 2008 We loved it. I used it last year with my then 11 and 12 yos. Boy and girl. We did it together, mostly orally. We skipped a lot of the fill in the blank stuff. We did the reading as a read aloud, we did the unit studies and literary analysis as read aloud, and comprehension questions as read aloud. At first, we did everything, but after a while we dropped the tests, the fill in the blank bits, and half way through we dropped the vocabulary. Part of the books is really dark, and we did get bogged down for a couple of months. Most of the time we enjoyed it, and my son had to keep telling us about the computer games - he has the LOTR computer games, and they are based on the books, not the movies, so are pretty accurate. So that excited him. None of us had read the books, so that was good. We had all seen the movies but it was great to see them again after reading...the movies change significant things. The writing assignments in it were moral based, rather than critical thinking based....not my cup of tea. We did a few, but then I made up my own. We didn't write every week for it. I think it depends on your kids. Doing it the way i did it, I kept the interest up. If I had handed all the worksheets and assignments to my kids and had them work independently, they would have hated it...but they are at the younger end of the spectrum recommended for the program. Overall, I was very happy with it and would recommend it. The amount of literary terminology and analysis was perfect for us, and the kids got familiar with all the terms- it was perfect. Cutting back the way we did, after a while, we spent 30-40 minutes a day on it, including the reading of the books. If you were to do it all, you would be looking at a fair bit more time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moira in MA Posted April 14, 2008 Share Posted April 14, 2008 I used the high school syllabus with my then 8th grader a few years ago. As others have commented the literary anyalysis was rather light. Literary terms were introduced but then seldom reviewed. It was heavy on comprehension and vocabulary development. The unit studies were the best part of the program in my opinion. We used them as a springboard to further investigations. For the right student, this is a useful program. HTH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
singerandsigner Posted April 14, 2008 Share Posted April 14, 2008 We're wanting to use this next year for Lang Arts, so I am wondering how much writing is involved? And, what the the writing assignments like? Tamra Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LizzyBee Posted April 14, 2008 Share Posted April 14, 2008 LLLOTR is my dd14's favorite subject this year. She had already read LOTR 9 times before we started this curriculum. It took me awhile to consider using the curriculum, because I thought that using LOTR in school would suck the joy out of it for her. But when I looked at the curriculum last summer, it became obvious that the writer loves LOTR and wants to inspire students to love it too. Someone asked about the writing assignments. There are plenty of essay suggestions. We pick and choose, because there are too many for an 8th grader. Also, on the LLLOTR website, there are schedules written by the author that have already cut out some of the writing for jr. high students. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ereks mom Posted April 14, 2008 Share Posted April 14, 2008 ER's favorite authors are J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis, so he was eager to do this study, and he was not disappointed. I thought it was quite well-done. The fill-in-the blank comprehension exercises help make sure the student is understanding what is happening as the story progresses. The vocabulary exercises introduce lots of words, but don't bog the student down. The Additional Notes sections were WONDERFUL for explaining literary elements and guiding the student to analyze what he is reading. The Comprehension Questions are good, but time-consuming; IMO, these are perfect for discussing aloud instead of doing as a paper-&-pencil activity. The Challenger questions make good writing assignments. But the thing I like best about LLfLOTR is the Unit Studies -- Setting, Genre, Poetry, etc. plus Beowulf, Arthurian Legends -- LOTS of literary analysis there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karensk Posted April 14, 2008 Share Posted April 14, 2008 Here's a post by StaceyL in Canada re. LLLOTR I had saved from the old boards.... http://wtmboards.com/HSboardMar292007/messages/2330.html HTH! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melinda TX Posted April 15, 2008 Author Share Posted April 15, 2008 Thank you all so much! This is very helpful as I decide what to teach for next year. M Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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