Literature & Composition for struggling students

[SLH in ND]

If anyone has or had a high school student who lacked strength in the areas of literature (analysis mainly) and writing, what program(s) did you find to be the most straight forward and easiest for an independent student to follow?

 

This student IS college-bound, but the areas she's leaning towards will not be ones that require more than the entry level English classes, so we just need the basics for Literature, not the AP geared courses that my oldest DD took.

 

I worry most about the writing part, as it's essential for college and beyond.

 

Thank you!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ETA: punctuation

[swellmomma]

So far what is just starting to work for ds14 who struggles immensely with these areas is LLATL and meaningful composition.  M.C. we had started a few years back and it was hard for him to do then, but we started again a couple weeks ago and he is doing well.  LLATL he is working on the green book, and again it's a new program for him, so I can't answer to how well he will do long term on it.  But for the first time in years literature and composition are not a battle, he is actually feeling like he can do them.

Last year he took some online lit classes, that he never actually participated in, and I learned after the fact barely did the readings for BUT he still talks about the discussions that occured.  He basically sat on his end here and just listened in to the lit discussions that the tutor and the rest of the students had.  He of course never got an actual grade in the class, I consider them audit classes but it seemed to have helped him in how he was thinking when it came to literature.  The students in his classes could at times get quite deep in their analysis and just listening helped.  DD13 was in the same classes and she did the readings, and participated as much as she could though she didn't get as deep as some of the 16-17 yr olds did.  Having his sister discussing these things next to him while he listened also seemed to help.  The classes they took last year were through our school board for registered students, but I have heard that they allow international students to register for the classes, so those might be an option too.

We got the list of available classes for the fall already and ds14 has been reading descriptions and circling which ones he wants to take so they had a positive impact on him.  I even told him he didn't need to take them this year he has his TC lectures and LLATL but he is insistent that he takes them again that he really liked them.  Rule for this year though is the readings must be done even if he still doesn't talk in class.

The meaningful composition stuff, I started him back at the beginning in book 4+ first semester, which starts with grammar review and then sentence construction and into paragraph writing.  Because composition has always been such a struggle with him I wanted him to feel success right from the start and start thinking composition isn't as hard as he thought.  He will be done with that first book by the end of september and done with 4+ second semester by xmas (Thay are only 18 weeks long each).  He will do book 5 first semester in 2nd term, and book 5 second semester in summer term.  We already have all 4 so that's why we are just carrying through. 

Book 6 starts on the compare and contrast essays, friendly letters, instructional essay, biographical report etc so you could most certainly just start there and carry on. None of them are grade levels imo, they are skill levels.

Book 6 only has 1 semester, and then there is a book 7 first semester and second semester; book 8 first and second semesters, book 9 first semester and book 12 first semester.  The rest have not been written yet. 
 

The final product of the book 12 is a 12-30 page MLA formatted research paper.  So the skill level gets quite high, I know in high school and in college I never wrote 12-30 page papers so I still couldn't do that.

I also find the price to be right at only $35 per book, so $70 for a year of composition instruction that I find to be very thorough

I hope they have book 10 first and second semesters by the time we need them because it is slated to include the 5 paragraph essay, timed essays (which is so important for diploma exams here, and SATs there), which reminds me I should send them a message asking when they think those will be ready for the market.

ANyway, hope that helped :)

[Pegasus]

Take a look at the "Writing Skills" series by EPS.  It takes writing and breaks it down into bite-size pieces and then builds on itself. It was what DD needed to get over the writing hurdle. It is also very straightforward (some would say dry) and can be done independently.

[SLH in ND]

Take a look at the "Writing Skills" series by EPS.  It takes writing and breaks it down into bite-size pieces and then builds on itself. It was what DD needed to get over the writing hurdle. It is also very straightforward (some would say dry) and can be done independently.

How long did it take to go through the book - did she work on it daily?

[Candid]

I would build on the writing component since she'll need to write in almost any career. For literature, many of the classics used in high school are fairly easy to read, you don't need to big list from classical literature. So start with those but make sure you tackle some more difficult works, but try to find ones that will fit with her personality and interests. 

[1Togo]

You might consider at a new product by the ladies at Analytical Grammar -- Beyond the Book Report.  There are three seasons.  The first season is out now; the second will be available in October, and the third will be available in February.  Season 1 teaches basic literature terms, summary and paraphrase, pamphlet book report, and journalism book report -- simple but foundational skills and forms.  Season 3 teaches other lit analysis forms, and then Season 3 will teach the essay with thesis and the research paper.  Include Analytical Grammar and some type of vocabulary to put together a solid year for a struggling student.  Very nice product.

 

[wingedradical]

I'm using Window to the World from I.E.W. for my student who has problems with analyzing literature and doing any kind of formal writing (she is good at creative). I'll have to see how it works, but from what I've read of the actual curriculum, I think it is a good choice for us. It is only a semester long. It takes short stories and first teaches the student to annotate, then talks about literary devices and then analysis; there are writing assignments for that. She isn't going to like the annotating but she needs it and I believe she will see the benefit. She also does I.E.W. - Student level C.

[Colleen in NS]

Writing With Skill put out by Peace Hill Press

[swellmomma]

I heard back about meaningful composition year 10 book 1 and 2, they did beta testing last year, and are doing so again this year, and hope to have it on the market for fall 2014.  So for those that were interested in using that program you can mark that down :)

[AngieW in Texas]

I tried Movies as Literature with 15yo last year, but we didn't like the movies and ended up abandoning it. She is not an essay writer, but she did write a complete novel for NaNoWriMo and it was actually quite good. She read a lot of dystopian literature and did a Pride and Prejudice study comparing the Colin Firth movie version to Lizzie Bennet Diaries.

 

We are going to attempt Crash Course Literature next year. My dd loves the Vlog brothers.

[Pegasus]

How long did it take to go through the book - did she work on it daily?

 

I think it would take about a semester per workbook if worked on daily.

[mamakelly]

No the OP, but I'm in the same boat. I'm going to check out all these suggestions!

[1Togo]

Another option.  "Help for High School" by Julie Bogart/Bravewriter.  We're on our third round with H4HS, and it does an excellent job of teaching essays with documentation and a bit of creativity.  We have looked at other options, but come back to H4HS because it is written to the student and easy to teach.  The students reads the material, takes notes, completes the assignments,  and mom provides input on the writing.  Do H4HS during the first semester and follow that with Windows to the World, which has already been suggested, for the second semester.  Practice and fine tune for the rest of high school with timed writing, longer research papers, and any other type of writing that interests you and your student.

[jpklehm]

Take a look at the "Writing Skills" series by EPS.  It takes writing and breaks it down into bite-size pieces and then builds on itself. It was what DD needed to get over the writing hurdle. It is also very straightforward (some would say dry) and can be done independently.

 

What is EPS, please?

 

Thanks!

[Kareni]

What is EPS, please?

 

 

Here's a link.

 

Regards,

Kareni

[SLH in ND]

Thank you, so much, for all the suggestions - I've been researching them and think I'll find something suitable for her.  I just need to NOT overanalyze things too much - just pick and go with it! :tongue_smilie: