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Lit for 8th grade (for a student who's done nothing like this before)


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Ok, here's the deal. My oldest is 13, he's in 8th grade. We've never done lit or ay assigned reading ever. He does read for pleasure and is currently reading the 2nd book in the Warriors series. I bought LL8 which looked ok online, but when I got it I realized I wasn't really sure about it. We have IEW and he loves that, should be starting SICC B soon, so writing is covered. So I bought TTC from the IEW site and thought that might be a gentler way to go for this year. I haven't watched it yet, but will over our holiday break so we can start up when we start up school in Jan.

 

So if I use TTC I need books.

 

I have these on my list so far.

The Westing Game (may be a little easy, but thought easy would be a good start instead of getting overwhelmed)

Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (DH is stoked about this choice)

A Wrinkle in Time

 

Maybe the Hobbit. DS likes the LOTR movies but has shown no interest in the books and I've heard the Hobbit described as either a LOVE it or HATE it book. I was planning to to LLfLOTR for 9th grade next year.

 

So does anyone have any thoughts or suggestions for me on book ideas or if I need to rethink the whole thing.

 

ETA: just wanted to add, I've never read any of the books on my list either.

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LL8 is a good introduction to literature. There is required writing, but virtually no writing instruction, but if you have IEW that is not a real need. What else don't you like about it?

 

I also really like the Sonlight lists. Another option is to use the Lightning Lit lists without necessary using the program--their lit suggestions are really good.

 

Other lit suggestions:

 

O Henry short stories

Rudyard Kipling short stories

poetry-- perhaps Robert Frost or Walt Whitman for an easy start.

Where the Red Fern Grows

books by Richard Peck, especially the ones featuring Grandma Dowdel

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LL8 is a good introduction to literature. There is required writing, but virtually no writing instruction, but if you have IEW that is not a real need. What else don't you like about it?

 

I also really like the Sonlight lists. Another option is to use the Lightning Lit lists without necessary using the program--their lit suggestions are really good.

 

Other lit suggestions:

 

O Henry short stories

Rudyard Kipling short stories

poetry-- perhaps Robert Frost or Walt Whitman for an easy start.

Where the Red Fern Grows

books by Richard Peck, especially the ones featuring Grandma Dowdel

 

 

I guess I just didn't see much in it he'd get out of it. We don't need vocab and it just seemed like a lot of busy work when I looked at it.

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I will throw out a few random ideas to get the thread rolling:

All Creatures Great and Small by James Herriott

Across Five Aprils

Tom Sawyer

Carry On Mr. Bowditch (might be a bit young, but we really enjoyed it)

Swiss Family Robinson

Around the World in 80 Days

Christmas Carol

Old Man and the Sea

Scarlet Pimpernel (might be better to wait until high school; dd read this one between 9th and 10th and loved it)

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I will throw out a few random ideas to get the thread rolling:

All Creatures Great and Small by James Herriott

Across Five Aprils

Tom Sawyer

Carry On Mr. Bowditch (might be a bit young, but we really enjoyed it)

Swiss Family Robinson

Around the World in 80 Days

Christmas Carol

Old Man and the Sea

Scarlet Pimpernel (might be better to wait until high school; dd read this one between 9th and 10th and loved it)

 

 

Thanks HollyDay,

 

That's what I need a list to pull from.

I know Across Five Aprils was one I had planned to use with our history studies (if I'm thinking of the right book)

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Does your library have a mildly decent teen section? Ours does. It's not huge, but there's one decent, two sided rack of fiction and a dab of non-fiction. Anyways, you don't really need that MUCH. I agree with you on the busywork thing. ;) What you might find it easiest to do at this stage is simply take him to the teen section and let him start reading. Then you use the discussion questions in TTC to discuss those books. And maybe you cut a deal where he writes a 1 page response paper (informal, can be summary or opinion or answering some of the questions from the list I forget whether it was in WTM or WEM but I printed it). So he could write his journaled response every 3 weeks and you only discuss per TTC every 4th book. That way you can keep up and it still gets done.

 

I'll have to go find my copy of the questions. I can't remember now if it was in WEM or WTM. I typed it out I think. Martha on the hs board has been suggesting something similar, said her ds, now in college, is coming back saying that would have been worthwhile.

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Does your library have a mildly decent teen section? Ours does. It's not huge, but there's one decent, two sided rack of fiction and a dab of non-fiction. Anyways, you don't really need that MUCH. I agree with you on the busywork thing. ;) What you might find it easiest to do at this stage is simply take him to the teen section and let him start reading. Then you use the discussion questions in TTC to discuss those books. And maybe you cut a deal where he writes a 1 page response paper (informal, can be summary or opinion or answering some of the questions from the list I forget whether it was in WTM or WEM but I printed it). So he could write his journaled response every 3 weeks and you only discuss per TTC every 4th book. That way you can keep up and it still gets done.

 

I'll have to go find my copy of the questions. I can't remember now if it was in WEM or WTM. I typed it out I think. Martha on the hs board has been suggesting something similar, said her ds, now in college, is coming back saying that would have been worthwhile.

 

 

our library is pretty crappy. I did download the SWB lecture on lit analysis, is that the question list you mentioned?

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I guess I just didn't see much in it he'd get out of it. We don't need vocab and it just seemed like a lot of busy work when I looked at it.

 

Were you looking at the teacher book or the student materials? There is very little to the teacher material. The "meat" is the student guide and student workpages.

 

Lightning Literature (LL8) is designed as a very gentle intro into literature. Each of the 12 units opens with a multi-page lesson on a specific literary element -- setting, character development, conflict, etc. Actually, the vocabulary is quite minimal in the program -- just a list to help the student not have to stop every 2 minutes to look up words in a dictionary, and thus slowing the flow of the work of literature -- there are no vocab. quizzes or worksheets.

 

The workpages are specifically designed to guide the student into understanding the literary element discussed in the lesson portion, and putting into practice beginning literary analysis -- there are 2 pages that are busy work in each unit (a crossword and a word search), but the program specifically states those are bonus or extra pages. The remaining pages are very pertinent and useful (at least we found them to be so). In the second half of the program, more and more the workpages reprint a section from a classic work of literature, or even a complete short story, and guides the student in analysis through specific questions.

 

The program is set up with 12 units:

3 = short stories ("A Crazy Tale"; "Wakefield"; "Reflections')

3 = poetry (about 6-8 classic poems in each unit)

1 = novella (A Christmas Carol)

2 = biography/autobiography (A Day of Pleasure; My Family and Others;)

3 = novels (Treasure Island (adventure); The Hobbit (fantasy); To Kill a Mockingbird (realistic/coming of age))

 

With the exception of 2 of the short stories, we found all of the works selected to be VERY accessible and enjoyable. It was great to be introduced to a variety of types of literature (poetry, short stories,

 

 

Teaching the Classics (TtC) would be a fine program to use, but I think you will find it MUCH easier to use it simultaneously with a guided program such as LL8 as your first "test drive" of TtC, than using it on a list of books --unless *you* are very comfortable with leading Literature discussions and helping students see and understand literary analysis through a lot of additional, guided questions.

 

(I am remembering a past post on this board in which the Mom (an engineer, not a Literature major) and her 8th grade DS did TtC; she asked the questions, he answered "I don't know", or with 1-word answers, and she didn't know what else to do beyond the TtC questions, and that was as far as the literature conversations went... Hopefully this would NOT be your experience! ;))

 

Another option would be to start with LL8, and then follow up with TtC coupled with Windows to the World, which teaches annotation and how to use your annotations to write a literary analysis essay, and how to look for about 8 different literary elements, such as. There is a syllabus by Jill Pike, specifically designed to couple these two programs, plus add several novels and a play to the 6 short stories covered by WttW in order to make it a full-year program. I strongly recommend waiting until high school to use WttW, since your DS has not done any formal literature studies prior to this, or read any of the more traditional high school level classics -- the program could feel very overwhelming.

 

Having done both LL8 and WttW, and having looked at TtC, I would say that LL8 is definitely easier to grasp and more guided for the student who has never done Literature before than TtC. I also think the selection of Literature for LL8 is a bit easier than WttW for your first time out with literary analysis.

 

 

Another option would be to go with some of the books you liked off the lists posted above, along with really solid, detailed literature guides. The "Challenger level" guides of the Discovering Literature series by Garlic Press Publishers are excellent: The Hobbit; Redwall; The Giver -- would all be great ones to start with. (see table of contents and a few sample pages at Rainbow Resource.)

 

 

BEST of luck in deciding on what works best for your family! Warmest regards, Lori D.

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I like the description of Lightning Literature as "a gentle approach." It's quite guided and seems relatively well rounded in bringing up different kinds of literature. My concern with your reading list is that it's focused on fantasy and science fiction. Trying to read a few different types of literature would be a good experience for eighth grade.

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I guess I should have left off the whole "or rethink the whole thing" part in my original question. I'm really looking mostly for book ideas, not to be talked into using LL8 which I decided I didn't want to use. I realize my list is fantasy focused, which is why I was looking for suggestions for books.

 

I need to have fun things on the list, because this is our first experience with assigned reading, I don't want to bog my son down with a book/books that is/are going to be a long hard slog to get through. I guess what I don't want is my son to look at literature the way I did because I was assigned more things I didn't enjoy reading than I did. Due to that I have not read most of what is considered classic literature and have no desire to do it. I know you won't always love what you have to read, but I don't see a point in always having to read things that are not enjoyed either.

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My sincere apologies. I misunderstood your original post; in no way trying to push anything or annoy. And sorry to hear you had some unpleasant Literature experiences in your past! Hope your Lit. journey with DS will be a very different experience. Warmest regards, Lori D.

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Would mythology work? My dd just finished Padraic Colum's Great Myths of the World and she really enjoyed this. Or you could try norse mythology.

 

What about reading an author biography and then reading one of their works? Maybe Mark Twain and the River by Sterling North and then reading Tom Sawyer or The Prince and the Pauper.

 

You could try a series....A Wrinkle in Time has several books in the sequence.

 

Short stories would also be a great source for shorter works that can be read and discussed.

 

Some popular shorts stories:

Rip Van Winkle and/or Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Irving

The Fall of the House of Usher (or other choices) by Poe

The Lottery by Jackson

The Great Stone Face (Hawthorne)

 

 

Maybe The Giver by Lois Lowry?

 

I mentioned on The Hobbit thread that dd liked A Wizard of Earthsea for another fantasy novel. This has several other books in a sequence too.

 

Treasure Island (for an adventure style novel) and compare to Captains Courageous....

 

 

Has he read about Robin Hood or King Arthur? Roger Green has good books for both of these.

 

Hmmm, just listing a few suggestions...I'm not sure if this was helpful. :)

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I guess I just didn't see much in it he'd get out of it. We don't need vocab and it just seemed like a lot of busy work when I looked at it.

 

There is a fair amount of busy work (like all the word searches). However, the Student Guide does introduce literature vocabulary and give some author background. As a former English major I have used the program as a base, skipping the busy work (some chapters are worse for this than others).

 

Edited to add: Just read your updates in the thread. I didn't fully understand your preference not to use LL8 at all. I have realized over the last two years that it only works for me because I use it as a springboard--I have enough lit background/experience to beef up the inadequacies of the program. Having said that, I think your approach of trying to build a love of literature this year will be good, especially since you are supplementing with a strong writing program.

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Reading a wide range of literature exposes readers to many new ideas and perspectives. Cultures throughout the world are based on stories. Our basic belief systems, our reasons for reaching for the stars, exploring new things, come out of the stories that we tell to each other. It's frustrating if at some point you're not introduced to these stories. We live in a post-modern world where everything references other things. There are whole episodes of South Park or The Simpsons that assume you've read Charles Dickens or Washington Irving. Without knowing the key books that are being referenced, the jokes are gone. Not that you should read just to get the jokes on sit-coms, but reading opens the world.

 

That said, I can understand not wanting to get your son frustrated with reading. But you're also suggesting that you want to think about studying literature, which really is different than reading. Both are important. Try getting some of the books that are recommended in the Lightning Lit, because it is a good list, and just putting them around the house. Either go to the library, make the library inter-library loan them, or buy them cheap on AbeBooks or Alibris or something. You could try reading them yourself and talking about them to get your son interested in them.

 

More ideas: If all you do is watch videos of Shakespeare for weeks, that would be tremendously helpful, literature-wise. Get videos of Shakespeare. (many are online) There are new apps for studying Shakespeare (http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/02/books/review/new-apps-for-help-reading-shakespeare.html). Subscribe to Garrison Keillor's The Writer's Almanac. A new poem a day with biographical material about writers. Maybe once a week you'll find something interesting (http://writersalmanac.publicradio.org/) Study for the Mythology test. That will increase his knowledge about literature. Read Aesop's fables and talk about them. Look into graphic novels. Many classic books are now in graphic novel form.

 

If you don't want to read the books, then watch the films based on some of the books and then discuss the theme and ideas afterwards. To Kill a Mockingbird is also a great film. Treasure Island (even The Muppets version), Tom Sawyer. See the new Hobbit film. There are lots of version of A Christmas Carol (Scrooged with Bill Murray). I guess I'm also saying that there's more to literature than reading books -- it's being exposed to new ideas and there are multiple ways to experience these texts.

 

The Online G3 program uses Lightning Literature if you don't want to teach literature.

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My 8th grade ds is reading the Warriors series right now too.

 

We started with The Hobbit this year using the Progeny Press guide. We moved into LLfLOTR, and we're both enjoying it. So my suggestion is to move right into Lord of the Rings. I think it's perfect for this age.

 

(My dh read Hitchhikers to my ds and they had a ball!)

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