Anyone use Lightening Lit for 1st or 2nd grade?

[marylandhsmom]

Just wondering about this program and what it includes!  If anyone could share about their experience with it, I'd be grateful!  Also, what else did you use to round out your LA.

TIA!

[Aurelia]

I'm pretty sure that it's so new that only maybe a handful of people have tried it. Second grade hasn't even been fully released yet.

[cbollin]

I'm in the group that is field testing the grade 2 level.  I also field tested the second half of LL 1. I'm using it in a way that's different from most users.  My youngest has autism and is delayed in language due to that.  We're using LL as a way to help her enjoy some new literature, so some discussion on the stories and a worksheet a day in grammar.

 

basically a week is (LL2... as my LL1 memories are already fading)

 

3 days of reading the book selection.

1 day of another book -- a chapter a week in a longer book

1 free day

 

in the teacher edition, you get the discussion questions, and writing assignments along with tips/permission that you can adjust and do less as needed. worksheets seem mostly focused on going through grammar, usage, mechanics.  1 sheet a day usually.   they also have the student write a summary (we do ours out loud), and copywork of favorite sentence.    composition skills are included so that you do a draft and edit together.

 

for most of the year so far, we've had longer picture books for grade 2, some poetry, and now getting into longer books that take 2 or 3 weeks to get through.

 

i really can't imagine adding much of other stuff to round out the language arts in LL2.  you have reading, comprehension, analysis, composition, grammar..  read aloud.  on "fridays' there are extras to expand it into some science or social studies extras if you want. 

 

our biggest problem (and it might be just us due to the autism and delays), my daughter had a hard time connecting on several of the biographies used..  and I haven't really liked the poetry units that much. (my tastes are different)

we're not trying to it all because we have to add speech and language therapy homeworks.

 

I like the teacher's book as I think it  has nice notes on helping with long term writing and not to stress if your child needs you to model how to write and do more copywork.

 

does any of that help?   you might look at the samples and make sure you read the teacher sample... that's where the lessons are found.  In the vast majority of weeks, we have been able to do the worksheet even if we hadn't read the story yet, or in one case, our library did not have the book.

 

oh..  and here's another thread where I said most of the same thing, but may have a few more details

http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/501952-lightning-literature-for-elementary-anyone-have-a-review/

 

 

[cbollin]

wait a minute.. I know what could be added.. spelling instruction..but it depends on your philosophy of how to teach spelling at this level.  if you want more direct spelling than copy work and edit your paper at this stage, then that would be need to be added.

[marylandhsmom]

Awesome ladies, thank you so much for responding.  It's brought clarity, and I think I won't be using this program for end of 1st/2nd...   :)

[bluedarling]

We tried LA1 when it was in Beta with my dd who was by age 1st, but was working at a much higher level.  We liked it, it just wasn't challenging her at all, so we didn't continue.  I didn't have any real complaints with the material, other than I didn't like printing everything (for using a Beta program). Looking back at my lesson plans it looks like I added some handwriting and oral language.  I don't think you'd have to...I was probably just adding her in with siblings.  While this was easy for my dd, my older kids would have felt the program was WAY too much writing at that age...we would have had to do most of the worksheets orally or on a whiteboard.  I think its easily adaptable, though.