Lightning Lit 8?

[steppingstonemomma]

Is it crazy to do LL8 if my dd has read most of the books and I am doing SICC B (10wks) and Elegant Essay/Speech Bootcamp for writing?

If so, would you have another suggestion for what to use for Lit? I need something with as little teacher intensiveness as possible.

 

Tiffany

[Sunshine State Sue]

We enjoyed Literary Lessons from Lord of the Rings in 9th grade after using LL7 & LL8. You may read my review here. I don't really consider it teacher intensive because everything is laid out for you. Of course, I spent quite a bit of time on it, but LOTR is my favorite book of all time.

 

Good luck!

[Lori D.]

Of anything I can think of, LL8 is designed to be a program done independently by the student, and needs very little parent involvement.

 

What did DD "do" with the books in her previous reading: Just read them? Or did she do any analyzing or writing about them? And has she had any previous Literary Analysis or other formal learning about Literature?

 

If not, it may still be worth your while to have her do LL8 -- having already read some of the works, she would be very familiar with them and would be able to focus on the written-to-the-student literature lesson for each work, as well as the independent work pages which help the student practice the literary lesson that is the focus for that unit. If DD is VERY new to classic Literature and literary analysis, you may want to look at the shorter LL7 (8 units -- 2 short stories; 2 poetry units; 4 novels) which could also be done solo, and would be an excellent intro to literary analysis -- perhaps she has not already read those works...

 

Additionally, there are 12 units to LL8: 3 short stories; 3 poetry units; 6 novels/novellas. Has your DD read ALL the poems and short stories in LL8, too? That is HALF of the units that make up the program. If not, that might be another reason to go ahead and do LL8.

 

And finally, having read some of the works would give you the option of dropping one or more of those works if you are running tight on time with other subjects -- and, the amount of writing in LL8 is quite limited (a 1-2 page "mini-writing lesson" at the end of each unit, plus 2-4 writing assignment ideas to choose one to write one). This could easily be dropped with no huge loss to the program -- OR -- every once in awhile substitute one of the LL8 writing assignments for a week in place of the SICC B (10wks) or Elegant Essay/Speech Bootcamp.

 

see LL7 sample

see LL8 sample

 

 

However, if you feel there would be too much repeat in doing LL8, or if DD has already had some exposure to literary analysis, you may want to look at:

 

- Literary Lessons from the Lord of the Rings

(gr. 7-10) A one-year program covering the 3 novels of the Lord of the Rings trilogy, with the option of also reading an epic (The Iliad or The Odyssey); Beowulf; Sir Gawain and the Green Knight; and a work on King Arthur. A gentle intro to literary analysis program, written to the student, with fill-in-the-blank comprehension questions and vocabulary worksheets, quizzes and tests (answers in TM); extensive chapter notes (with all the literary elements and themes explained) for every chapter; discussion questions (answers in TM); some writing assignment ideas; and 12 (meaty) units of additional material, including discussion of genre; what is an epic; and analysis of poetry, and excerpts of Beowulf, and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.

 

Expensive, but very worthwhile; a high school student could do it virtually solo; an 8th grader with no previous literary analysis background would probably want/need more parent involvement -- and with the 12 additional units, this is a very in-depth program, and would probably be much more enjoyed (and worth the cost) if done together by 2 or 3 siblings at the same time. Matches up very well with Medieval History/Literature.

 

see scope and sequence

see table of contents

see samples

 

 

- Excellence in Literature

gr. 8-12 Five one-year programs, self-directed, covers complete works, includes teaching of literary analysis and writing instruction, optional "honors" track, and a grading rubric for the parent. While this will still require parent input, the teaching portion is written to the student, and does cover literary analysis. You would most likely want to look at the "Intro To Literature" program, for grades 8-9.

 

 

- Windows to the World

(gr. 9-12) A one-semester course, but would work well to spread it out over 1 year with an 8th grader. The author, Jill Pike has a Lit. Analysis Syllabus on the IEW Families yahoo group files under lessonshare for $10; it uses WttW and Teaching the Classics together with other books to expand WttW into a one-year program.

 

A solid introductory literary analysis program. Covers 6 short stories, with the focus on: annotation; how to write a literary analysis essay; and what several specific literary elements are, how to look for them, and how they work within a piece of Literature. Includes a student and teacher book; exercises; and a few longer writing assignments. While not teacher-intensive, it would require much more teacher time than LL8, and somewhat more than Excellence in Literature: Intro to Literature.

 

see sample pages

see Cathy Duffy review

 

 

- select a few classic works and use either Progeny Press or Total Language Plus guide to go with it

 

Progeny Press: great flexibility; written to the student; vocabulary exercises, comprehension questions; some discussion questions; a few writing assignment ideas; answers in back. Requires some parent involvement. Some guides are better than others; the poetry guide is quite good. See sample pages at http://www.rainbowresource.com

 

Total Language Plus: complete language arts (vocabulary, spelling, comprehension questions, enrichment activities) in one guide. Program is directed to the teacher, not the student. Limited high school level offerings.

Edited August 14, 2011 by Lori D.

[steppingstonemomma]

Ok, I think I'm going to stick to the plan to do LL8. I just got it in the mail and it looks like way more than she's done in the past.

 

Up til now she's just read the book, discussed with me and done a literature analysis via WTM. I think this will be much more meat for her.

 

And, Lori, no, she hasn't read all the short stories and poems so it should be ok. She's not looking forward to Treasure Island though. She said she hated it. LOL! I loved it!

 

I have another question about LL, but I'll post in a new thread...

[Lori D.]

She's not looking forward to Treasure Island though. She said she hated it. LOL!

 

 

How about having her skip a second reading of Treasure Island and just having her read the student guide portion (I think that one is on setting, and was quite good), and do the workpages? I don't think it would hurt to skip re-reading one of the repeats. ;)

[steppingstonemomma]

Actually, I was wondering about having her skip it. She's already told me all the comprehension type answers so I know she read it thoroughly. Good idea.

 

Ok, I never got a chance to post my other question so here it is...

 

Has anyone switched out a book in LL8 because they didn't like one that was scheduled in it?

I just finished reading My Family and Other Animals and it really bugs me. I think the little boy is endearing, but I really hate the disrespectfulness and language that the oldest son uses. Does anyone think I could switch it out for another book? And, if so, which one?

[Harriet Vane]

Actually, I was wondering about having her skip it. She's already told me all the comprehension type answers so I know she read it thoroughly. Good idea.

 

Ok, I never got a chance to post my other question so here it is...

 

Has anyone switched out a book in LL8 because they didn't like one that was scheduled in it?

I just finished reading My Family and Other Animals and it really bugs me. I think the little boy is endearing, but I really hate the disrespectfulness and language that the oldest son uses. Does anyone think I could switch it out for another book? And, if so, which one?

 

I have substituted as I see fit.

 

That said, there is a really wonderful, well done movie of My Family and Other Animals produced by PBS. It's absolutely delightful. Check it out before chucking that one entirely--you might find that you enjoy it after all. :)

[Lori D.]

Of course! Feel free to drop or substitute as needed/desired. :)

 

I, too, just wanted to throw in a thought re: My Family & Other Animals.

 

The very title gives you a big clue about an underlying theme in the book: told through the eyes of pre-teen boy who loves and understands nature and animals, in comparison, the eccentricities of character and the choices of his family members make them far more exotic and incomprehensible than any animal. Irony -- the human boy understands/connects with orderly nature more than with his own disorderly/unpredictable family of humans -- when typically, Literature shows man as above animals, imposing order on Creation.

 

And the disrespectful brother is the "intellectual", always reading Great Literature -- but is actually the farthest family member from understanding/liking nature (God's creation) -- is there a connection between that and his language/disrespectfulness? ... perhaps that might open a door into an interesting and fruitful conversation with your DD?

 

All of the family members are drawn as caricatures (as "stereotypes", without depth or complexity of motivation) -- which is a kind of literary cartoon, which is what allows us to laugh. Obviously, in real life these people were more complex than just being the kind, nurturing, gardening, cooking slightly dithering mother; snobby, rude, intellectual elitist brother; the laconic, hunting, shooting, brother; the ditzy, blonde of a sister only interested in fashion and boys... but would we be able to laugh as much at the comic aspects if they were more realistically complex. And then, if written in that way, it would be a very different kind of book, with a very different purpose by the author...

 

 

And, just as a general thought about doing Literature with our own DSs -- just because the words or attitudes are in the book, doesn't mean that we should mimic them. Or that the author even agrees with their characters! Often, authors use characters to reveal the *opposite* point of view as a foil or contrast; or use characters to speak for/against what the author believes in. We often find characters in books -- such as the disrespectful brother in My Family & Other Animals -- as great springboards into conversations about choices, attitudes, behavior, worldview, theme, values, etc. Think about how many unlikeable, disrespectful, sinful people there are in the Bible -- the examples of people's choices and actions in Scripture seem to far more often be the "DON'T do this -- look what happens when you do" kind of example...

 

Just something to ponder! :) Warmest regards, Lori D.

Edited August 17, 2011 by Lori D.

[Mom22ns]

I'll chime in on this one. I agree that you should feel free to substitute if you aren't comfortable with a book or if it doesn't match your family's criteria.

 

That said, My Family and Other Animals was a book we would never have chosen for ourselves. It is not a style or characters I would have expected to appeal to my ds. At the end of the year he chose it as his favorite book of the year. I think exposing kids to a variety of literature is important. It is true that the oldest son acted like the head of the household. For us, that quirkiness was part of the joy of the story though.

[Lori D.]

My Family and Other Animals was a book we would never have chosen for ourselves. It is not a style or characters I would have expected to appeal to my ds. At the end of the year he chose it as his favorite book of the year. I think exposing kids to a variety of literature is important.

 

 

This, exactly! :) For us, it the book "A Day of Pleasure" from LL8 turned out be the book we never would have chosen, but ended up *very* glad we read it!

[Mom22ns]

This, exactly! :) For us, it the book "A Day of Pleasure" from LL8 turned out be the book we never would have chosen, but ended up *very* glad we read it!

 

We felt that way about that one too Lori! Never would have chosen it. It wasn't our favorite book of the year, but we did enjoy it and were glad we read it. I think there is so much to be gained from reading outside your comfort zone.

[steppingstonemomma]

Lori, thank you so much for that explanation! See, I would have never seen all that stuff!!! Seriously, I read what you wrote and it gave me a whole new appreciation for the book- now I want to reread it with those thoughts in mind.

How do you get to this place of understanding? I never read a single classic book in high school so my education has been seriously stunted. How do I go about gaining some insight into how to think this way and see beyond the surface of a story? And fast- because my daughter is in 8th grade and I need to stay one story ahead of her! LOL!

 

BTW, I've been reading though the student notes of LL8 and I am LOVING it. Though I think it is too hard for me. My 13yo will probably do a better job at it than me...