another literature question.

[Ohdanigirl]

I have noticed that LL7 and LL8 are very popular, but the high school packets are not. Why? What other options are there?

 

Thanks.

 

Danielle

[helena]

I've noticed that too. I'm all ears... :bigear:.... :D

[Trish]

Some people do Excellence in Literature. We're not that far yet, still doing LL7 and LL8.

[ChrissySC]

I used the high school LL. It may have something to with the history cycle. You have American, British, and Shakespeare for example. These do not seem to coordinate with the classical cycle. In high school, we spent two years on American History and two years on World History, including a semester of geography, economics, and government. I did not follow the classical cylce in HS because we had completed the cycle twice.

 

Just a note: We studied eastern world history one year and western world history the next. This is more typical of a college structure, and I thought dd would benefit best. In HS, I began to adapt my style to more closely fit the collegiate experience with regard to history, including using an essay to demonstrate understanding and knowledge. Hewitt's HS history seemed the best fit fit that time, including their literature and composition.

Edited April 26, 2011 by ChrissySC

[Ohdanigirl]

Some people do Excellence in Literature.

 

I had not heard of this before. I'll look into it.

 

Thanks.

 

 

I used the high school LL. It may have something to with the history cycle. You have American, British, and Shakespeare for example. These do not seem to coordinate with the classical cycle. In high school, we spent two years on American History and two years on World History, including a semester of geography, economics, and government. I did not follow the classical cylce in HS because we had completed the cycle twice.

 

 

 

Did you feel that the program was pretty meaty? Pros? Cons?

 

Thanks.

 

Danielle

[Tammyla]

I have a friend whose dd has used uses LL through 11th grade. I'm not sure what their plans are for next year; her ds/9th uses it too.

 

(Btw..She isn't a board member.)

[Lori D.]

I have noticed that LL7 and LL8 are very popular, but the high school packets are not. Why? What other options are there

 

I think it is because by high school many people are either:

- using Teaching the Classics, Well Trained Mind / Well Educated Mind, or How To Read a Book methods to do literature themselves

- OR, the literature is included in their high school program and matches up with the history time frame (Tapestry of Grace, Omnibus, SMARR, My Father's World, K12, etc.

 

However, a number of people DO use the Lightning Lit high school programs. They are just structured differently than the middle school programs -- one semester long, rather than one year long; focus on works written in a specific time period/nationality; no consumable worksheets; more focus on in-depth writing assignments. See samples at Hewitt's website of the different high school programs.

 

I recommend either doing a search on the high school LL programs for past threads on the pros and cons, or post a thread over on that board with your questions. :) You'll also find other threads on more Literature options by doing a tag search.

 

 

Full-year high school options

 

- Windows to the World

Christian; 1 semester. Teaches annotation, how to write a literary analysis, and covers 10 major literary elements (theme, plot, irony, character, etc.). Covers 6 short stories. Has helpful exercises. Author has a free, downloadable file with additional works on Yahoo groups to make this a full-year program. See sample pages at http://www.christianbook.com'>http://www.christianbook.com'>http://www.christianbook.com'>http://www.christianbook.com'>http://www.christianbook.com'>http://www.christianbook.com'>http://www.christianbook.com

 

- Excellence in Literature

Christian; full year program. Each covers wide range of types of writing (plays, short stories, novels, etc.). There are 5 programs:

Introduction to Literature (gr. 8-9)

Literature & Composition (gr. 9-10)

American Literature (gr. 10-11)

British Literature (gr. 11-12)

World Literature (gr. 12)

 

- Bob Jones University Press Literature

Christian; full year program. Uses excerpts not full works. Covers wide range of types of writing (plays, short stories, novels, etc.) Four years available:

Fundamentals of Literature

Elements of Literature

American Literature

British Literature

See Cathy Duffy review.

 

- SMARR

Full year English program, or individual lit. guides. See the list of individual guides available.

 

- Learning Language Arts Through Literature: Gold: American Lit.

- Learning Language Arts Through Literature: Gold: British Lit.

Christian. One semester each. Each covers novellas or novels; short stories; poetry. Brief author info; comprehension questions; 1-2 discussion questions; some writing assignment ideas. "Lite", but esp. the American Lit. can be helpful for exposure to a number of short stories and poetry. See sample pages at http://www.christianbook.com

 

- Literary Lessons From The Lord of the Rings

Christian author, but written secularly. Full-year program; gentle intro into literary analysis; best for grades 7-10. Vocabulary worksheets and quizzes; comprehension questions; detailed notes for EVERY chapter with explanations of literary elements and themes and how they are working in the book; discussion questions; some writing assignment ideas; answers; and 12 units of additional material, including several units analyzing other works (Beowulf, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight; poetry), a unit on the conventions of the epic; a unit on genre, etc. See sample lesson at Home Scholar

 

 

Individual Guides to go with works you select:

 

- Glencoe Literary Library

FREE. Online; secular; middle school/high school works. Especially thorough (and helpful) background info on the author/times, plus some worksheets, graphic organizers and a few exercises, questions, writing assignment ideas.

 

- Sparknotes, Cliff's Notes

FREE. Online; secular; high school/college works. Background info on the author/times; in-depth analysis on themes, symbols, motifs, characters. Just a very few essay topic ideas.

 

- Bibliomania

- Shmoop

- Pink Monkey (free and for a fee)

- Bookrags (for a fee)

- Enotes (for a fee)

- Wikipedia articles on specific authors and/or works

 

- Discovering Literature guides: Challenger Level

Excellent, meaty, secular guides with excellent discussion questions for EVERY chapter; LOTS of information on various literary elements; very good writing assignment ideas; background info on the author/times; suggestions of what to look for as you read; ideas for additional activities and resources. Downside: guides only for: Redwall; The Hobbit; The Odyssey; The Giver; To Kill a Mockingbird; Lord of the Flies

 

Progeny Press

Christian. Includes: background info on author/times; things to look for as you read; vocabulary and exercises; comprehension questions; discussion questions (about half compare themes to Scripture); a few writing assignments/essays; occasional short definition of a literary element and then a question about how that literary element was used. Some guides are better than others. See samples of specific guides at http://www.christianbook.com/

 

The Great Books

Christian. Guided Q&A worldview discussion rather than a literature guide. Author/times info at the beginning; a concluding brief essay and a few writing assignment ideas at the end. Some guides are better than others.

 

Brightest Invention of Heaven: Christian Guide to Six Shakespeare Plays

Christian. Lengthy analysis on themes, characters, etc. Some questions. The title says it all; see it at http://www.christianbook.com

 

Parallel Shakespeare

Secular. Helpful student workbooks and teacher guides for first exposure to Shakespeare. See samples at http://www.rainbowresource.com

Edited April 26, 2011 by Lori D.

[Ohdanigirl]

Lori D, thank you so much. You have provided me with a lot of great info.

 

Danielle

[ChrissySC]

Did you feel that the program was pretty meaty? Pros? Cons?

 

Pros:

 

 

• Full books

• Composition - "Writing Exercises"

• Response to the literature

• Comprehension questions

• Based on a specific time period, region, or author

• Literary lessons - addresses figurative language too

• Poetry and other writing selections beyond the novel

Cons:

 

 

• Does not adhere to classical history cycle

• Lots of reading

• Lots of writing

• Not as instructional - does not teach the how to write but provides an avenue for writing

• Geared for a semester - can be stretched out if using another writing/composition program or grammar

 

A typical lesson contains an introduction to the novel or work. There are considerations for while you read. Typically, a nice list of questions are presented and to be read prior to the reading selection. After reading the selection, a few comprehension questions are ready to be answered. These questions may require more than a simple statement or quick sentence. Sometimes a bit of an explanation is needed.

 

At the end of the reading, or end of the novel, there is a literary lesson.

 

After the lesson, the writing exercises are presented. There are several. You are normally asked to choose 2-3. Often, I required more based on the skill or type of assignment.

 

Examples of writing exercises:

 

Choose one character trait you believe you posses, and write a paper about yourself showing that character trait. Be sure to include a story (narrative) that demonstartes that trait in you...

Use some unsual source as the basis for a paper...

 

The writing exercises cover each type, or strand, of writing.

 

With the way that I last approached HS history and language arts, we used BJU 10 for example with early American history studies and LL Early-Mid 19th Century. I was mean.:lol: