atozmom Posted April 6, 2015 Share Posted April 6, 2015 Ok, so a quick background why I am looking for this. In case someone has any other great suggestions. :001_smile: I always have a book that I am reading aloud to DS. It's sometimes tied into our history, but not all the time. he loves it when I read to him. However, he does not like to read himself. (I have had him evaluated to eliminate the possibility of any eye issues.) I have been slowly gathering all different kinds of books at and below his reading level (in addition to the tons we have now). From now on, I will be scheduling regular trips to the library for him to pick out tons of books of his choice. (unfortunately lately it's been hurry up and get in and pick up what's waiting for us at the desk that I have placed on reserve) I never want him to have the excuse that there is not something laying around that he would be interested in reading. I want him to develop a love for reading. Since a love for reading is my main goal right now (or at least enjoying more), I do not want squash the joy of reading by using the typical literature study guides at this time. I'm sure we will at some point, but not any time soon. When we sit down to read a book together, or when he reads one on his own, I want it to be for the pure joy of reading, not to later analyze what he just read. However, I don't want to omit learning about the elements of literature either. For this reason I would like to do literature study based on excerpts from great writers. We would probably only use it a couple of days a week. I would like something with a gentle approach. I like the looks of Mosdos Press Literature in that it has an anthology of literature containing short stories, poetry, excerpts from classical literature, non-fiction reading, etc. I like the comprehension questions, focus questions and writing ideas. However, the price tag is a bit much. I know it offers a lot and that is why the expense, but I just can't afford that right now. I do have Figuratively Speaking, but I don't think he's ready for that yet. So is there anything out there that is comparable to Mosdos, but less expensive? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oneddmanybooks Posted April 7, 2015 Share Posted April 7, 2015 I would just like to mention that using the Mosdos student book alone (without the workbook and teacher's editions) would be fine. The student books are so well done. This year, we have used the workbook a little. I have used the TE some. The TE could really, really use some editing! It is just too much of a good thing. I would use the TE more if it was more streamlined. We have really enjoyed using Coral this year. I plan to continue with Mosdos, but I might skip the TE next year. Also, sometimes the books can be found used at Amazon, Half-Price, etc. I really am not trying to talk you into Mosdos. :) I just wanted you to know that, especially at your son's age, just using the student book would be fine, imvho. Whatever you use, I hope you have a wonderful year together. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atozmom Posted April 7, 2015 Author Share Posted April 7, 2015 Thank you oneddmanybooks. I have been looking at the samples over and over again and was considering using just the student books. I will look for them used and see what I find. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeaConquest Posted April 7, 2015 Share Posted April 7, 2015 Another option would be the Junior Great Books series. The cheapest version is the iBooks version on iTunes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atozmom Posted April 7, 2015 Author Share Posted April 7, 2015 Oneddmanybooks, I see from the samples on Mosdos' site that plot, theme, character, etc. is talked about before the literature selection in the student books. However, it doesn't look like it is discussed in further context in the student books after the student reads the selection. Is there more on these elements in context with the reading selections in the workbook or is it in the teacher's book. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atozmom Posted April 7, 2015 Author Share Posted April 7, 2015 Thank you, Monique. I will check into these. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murrayshire Posted April 7, 2015 Share Posted April 7, 2015 AtoZmom, the elements are discussed further in the Teacher Guide and they do activities with them in the workbook. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murrayshire Posted April 7, 2015 Share Posted April 7, 2015 AtoZmom, the elements are discussed further in the Teacher Guide and they do activities with them in the workbook. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atozmom Posted April 7, 2015 Author Share Posted April 7, 2015 AtoZmom, the elements are discussed further in the Teacher Guide and they do activities with them in the workbook. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Thank you Murrayshire. That is exactly what I needed to know. I love the literature selections! However, I don't want to use Mosdos for just comprehension questions. I want it for literature analysis, but I just can't spend that much money on the entire program right now. ugh................ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atozmom Posted April 7, 2015 Author Share Posted April 7, 2015 Murrayshire and/or Oneddmanybooks, can the workbooks be used without the teacher guides? Or are the instructions for the workbooks pages in the teacher's guide? I just keep coming back to these and really want to make them work for what we need. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oneddmanybooks Posted April 7, 2015 Share Posted April 7, 2015 Oneddmanybooks, I see from the samples on Mosdos' site that plot, theme, character, etc. is talked about before the literature selection in the student books. However, it doesn't look like it is discussed in further context in the student books after the student reads the selection. Is there more on these elements in context with the reading selections in the workbook or is it in the teacher's book. It is sometimes discussed again in the student book right after the selection. The student book has much more than just comprehension questions. At the end of each selection, the page "Studying the Selection" has three parts: Quick Review, Focus, and Creating and Writing. Focus and Creating and Writing include things like why did so-and-so do that? What if he had done xyz? Pretend you are so-and-so and write the dialogue you think took place... Here are examples from p. 301 of Mosdos Coral Student Book. "Focus. 5. Why does Axel make an artificial foot for the whimbrel? ... Creating & Writing. 7. Write several paragraphs in which you explain why helping animals is so important. 8.Choose one of the following elements of a story: character, conflict, dialogue, or first-person narration. Write a paragraph explaining the element you have chosen... 9. Your assignment is to do an Outside Bird Count. you will need a pad and a pencil...Note the different types...Describe them in brief notes. Count the different bird calls you hear..." Also, each unit has a wrap-up with several pages of activities such as writing a short skit, choose a poem and memorize it, and questions relating to the theme of the unit. Of course, you have to pick and choose carefully. There are far too many activities and writing assignments to do them all. Yes, I think you could use the workbooks without the TE. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atozmom Posted April 7, 2015 Author Share Posted April 7, 2015 It is sometimes discussed again in the student book right after the selection. The student book has much more than just comprehension questions. At the end of each selection, the page "Studying the Selection" has three parts: Quick Review, Focus, and Creating and Writing. Focus and Creating and Writing include things like why did so-and-so do that? What if he had done xyz? Pretend you are so-and-so and write the dialogue you think took place... Here are examples from p. 301 of Mosdos Coral Student Book. "Focus. 5. Why does Axel make an artificial foot for the whimbrel? ... Creating & Writing. 7. Write several paragraphs in which you explain why helping animals is so important. 8.Choose one of the following elements of a story: character, conflict, dialogue, or first-person narration. Write a paragraph explaining the element you have chosen... 9. Your assignment is to do an Outside Bird Count. you will need a pad and a pencil...Note the different types...Describe them in brief notes. Count the different bird calls you hear..." Also, each unit has a wrap-up with several pages of activities such as writing a short skit, choose a poem and memorize it, and questions relating to the theme of the unit. Of course, you have to pick and choose carefully. There are far too many activities and writing assignments to do them all. Yes, I think you could use the workbooks without the TE. Thank you once again!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3andme Posted April 8, 2015 Share Posted April 8, 2015 Have you looked at CLE Reading? It is not secular like MOSDOS but I think it would fit your objectives and is quite economical. There is a reader for each grade level with the literary selections to be read. Then there are individual work books, called Light Units, which have the literary teaching and review. These are designed to be done independently by the student but can also be revised orally with a teacher. They also have a teacher's guide/answer key available. The entire package costs only about $30 for the year. It is very open and go for the student and teacher. At the 4th grade levels and up it is only a half year course so you could spread it over a year doing it only 2 - 3 days a week. I have used the entire series from K-8 and they do a fantastic job of developing literary analysis and reading skills in a gentle incremental yet comprehensive manner. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom31257 Posted April 8, 2015 Share Posted April 8, 2015 I was going to recommend CLE reading as well, if you don't mind a Christian publisher. The vocabulary work is fabulous. Literary terms, comprehension skills, poetry, figurative language, etc., abound in this program. It's a simple, affordable way to cover so many great skills. Being only half a year's worth of material, there is still plenty of time for whole books. I lead a book club for our homeschool group and have felt it is a great complement to the discussions I lead over those books. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jyhwkmama Posted April 8, 2015 Share Posted April 8, 2015 Oh how I wish there were a secular equivalent for CLE reading! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atozmom Posted April 8, 2015 Author Share Posted April 8, 2015 ***Edited because I responded while at work and didn't really express what I wanted to say correctly. :tongue_smilie: Honestly, I have used CLE reading (grade 1 and 2) and didn't care for it. I really think it was the stories in the readers that I didn't care for. However, we did enjoy Lit 1 that DD used in high school. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atozmom Posted April 9, 2015 Author Share Posted April 9, 2015 I was going to recommend CLE reading as well, if you don't mind a Christian publisher. The vocabulary work is fabulous. Literary terms, comprehension skills, poetry, figurative language, etc., abound in this program. A Christian publisher is not an issue at all, and I do agree that they do a great job with all that you mentioned. We just didn't enjoy the stories when we used the second grade set. Do they change any from the 2nd to the 6th? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3andme Posted April 9, 2015 Share Posted April 9, 2015 Many of the stories in the 1st and 2nd grade readers focus on everyday family situations and character building lessons and are very quaint. As the years progress, the stories definitely do improve each year and become more diverse and worldly. In 6th and up, they feature a few notable classic writers such as Pearl Buck and Tolstoy as well. My boys haven't always found the stories captivating but they're relatively short and we do other reading that fills that "high interest" niche to round things out. I've personally looked at and tried a lot of different reading curriculums looking for the "perfect" one and I've ended up back at CLE even though it represents some compromises for me because of its ease, simplicity, and thoroughness. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom31257 Posted April 9, 2015 Share Posted April 9, 2015 I didn't use the reading in those years, so I can't speak to the difference. I feel that some of the stories are not great, but as the previous poster said, there are some well known authors here and there. The material covered in the program more than makes up for any stories that are not high interest for ds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MamaSprout Posted April 9, 2015 Share Posted April 9, 2015 We have all of these, 2+ through 8. Houghton Mifflin Reading Literature Experience. The all were bought for $4 or less a piece. This one is grade 5 http://www.amazon.com/Houghton-Mifflin-Reading-Literature-Experience/dp/0395610893/ref=sr_1_10?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1428590561&sr=1-10&keywords=Houghton+Mifflin+literature+experience It includes stories and excerpts from authors like Bette Greene and Robert McCloskey, and poetry from Christina Rossetti, Langston Hughes and Carl Sandburg. There are suggested books to go along with each section, and some discussion questions. Really the stories are pretty good. I don't actually assign from these- my DC actually keeps them in her bed to read for fun. You could assign summaries, I suppose. They are really pretty good cross cultural anthologies of modern children's lit. Books 6-8 have a full novel included. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atozmom Posted April 9, 2015 Author Share Posted April 9, 2015 We have all of these, 2+ through 8. Houghton Mifflin Reading Literature Experience. The all were bought for $4 or less a piece. This one is grade 5 http://www.amazon.com/Houghton-Mifflin-Reading-Literature-Experience/dp/0395610893/ref=sr_1_10?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1428590561&sr=1-10&keywords=Houghton+Mifflin+literature+experience It includes stories and excerpts from authors like Bette Greene and Robert McCloskey, and poetry from Christina Rossetti, Langston Hughes and Carl Sandburg. There are suggested books to go along with each section, and some discussion questions. Really the stories are pretty good. I don't actually assign from these- my DC actually keeps them in her bed to read for fun. You could assign summaries, I suppose. They are really pretty good cross cultural anthologies of modern children's lit. Books 6-8 have a full novel included. Thank you. I will look into these. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amsunshine Posted April 9, 2015 Share Posted April 9, 2015 Have you looked at K12's Classics for Young Readers? They are available at Christianbook and sometimes on Amazon used. Comprehension/lit analysis questions are not in the books themselves, but they are wonderful collections of poetry, and short stories. You will find the comp/analysis questions in the Teacher and/or Student Guides that you can usually find used on Amazon. There are also usually additional books used for each level that you can find used if you scour Amazon and ebay. I've used their 6th grade literature materials and they were wonderful. Next year, we are using their 8th/9th grade materials (Literary Analysis and Composition), including Classics for Young Readers 8 and the extra novels they use for that level. I used Mosdos Ruby for one year and I agree it is a delightful program. I just couldn't stomach the price, especially when K12 and Memoria Press had such great literature programs for a lot less. eta: K12 is cheap! $10 per book!! Good luck finding what works for you!! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atozmom Posted April 9, 2015 Author Share Posted April 9, 2015 Have you looked at K12's Classics for Young Readers? They are available at Christianbook and sometimes on Amazon used. Comprehension/lit analysis questions are not in the books themselves, but they are wonderful collections of poetry, and short stories. You will find the comp/analysis questions in the Teacher and/or Student Guides that you can usually find used on Amazon. There are also usually additional books used for each level that you can find used if you scour Amazon and ebay. I've used their 6th grade literature materials and they were wonderful. Next year, we are using their 8th/9th grade materials (Literary Analysis and Composition), including Classics for Young Readers 8 and the extra novels they use for that level. I used Mosdos Ruby for one year and I agree it is a delightful program. I just couldn't stomach the price, especially when K12 and Memoria Press had such great literature programs for a lot less. eta: K12 is cheap! $10 per book!! Good luck finding what works for you!! Thank you! I will look into these as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atozmom Posted April 9, 2015 Author Share Posted April 9, 2015 Have you looked at K12's Classics for Young Readers? They are available at Christianbook and sometimes on Amazon used. Comprehension/lit analysis questions are not in the books themselves, but they are wonderful collections of poetry, and short stories. You will find the comp/analysis questions in the Teacher and/or Student Guides that you can usually find used on Amazon. There are also usually additional books used for each level that you can find used if you scour Amazon and ebay. I've used their 6th grade literature materials and they were wonderful. Next year, we are using their 8th/9th grade materials (Literary Analysis and Composition), including Classics for Young Readers 8 and the extra novels they use for that level. I used Mosdos Ruby for one year and I agree it is a delightful program. I just couldn't stomach the price, especially when K12 and Memoria Press had such great literature programs for a lot less. eta: K12 is cheap! $10 per book!! Good luck finding what works for you!! I do like the reading selections in these. I looked on Amazon and ebay though and couldn't find any guides. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jyhwkmama Posted April 9, 2015 Share Posted April 9, 2015 Have you looked at K12's Classics for Young Readers? They are available at Christianbook and sometimes on Amazon used. Comprehension/lit analysis questions are not in the books themselves, but they are wonderful collections of poetry, and short stories. You will find the comp/analysis questions in the Teacher and/or Student Guides that you can usually find used on Amazon. There are also usually additional books used for each level that you can find used if you scour Amazon and ebay. I've used their 6th grade literature materials and they were wonderful. Next year, we are using their 8th/9th grade materials (Literary Analysis and Composition), including Classics for Young Readers 8 and the extra novels they use for that level. I used Mosdos Ruby for one year and I agree it is a delightful program. I just couldn't stomach the price, especially when K12 and Memoria Press had such great literature programs for a lot less. eta: K12 is cheap! $10 per book!! Good luck finding what works for you!! Thank you for posting this!!! Are the number of the books equivalent to grade level? Can you post a picture of one of the guides so I know what I am looking for? Excited about this. Was considering Mosdos (it sounds great) but large investment in ELA is a dicey proposition here as my son has HFA and sometimes will reject things without reason. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amsunshine Posted April 9, 2015 Share Posted April 9, 2015 What level are you looking for? They are available by level, you just have to know what to look for according to what course K12 teaches. If you know which one, I can look for you. eta: yes, the books are according to grade level. I will look for an example of the 5th or 6th grade course to find out what the guides are called. Be right back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amsunshine Posted April 9, 2015 Share Posted April 9, 2015 Ok, so, for example, if you want the TG for Classics for Young Readers 5 (5th grade), do a search on Amazon for "k12 teacher guide 5" and you will find the teacher guide for "Literature 5". Make sure you get both semesters. You can do the same for "k12 student guide 5". I think for 6th and 7th, the guides are for "Intermediate A" and "Intermediate B" - something like that. 8th and 9th grades are "Literary Analysis and Composition". HTH. eta: Also, you will find that the student and teacher guides refer to extra books. (You can also search the materials lists for the individual courses themselves, on the website) For example, K12 publishes a translation of "Don Quixote" for one of the levels that we used, and it was fabulous. Look for those on Amazon, too. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atozmom Posted April 9, 2015 Author Share Posted April 9, 2015 Ok, so, for example, if you want the TG for Classics for Young Readers 5 (5th grade), do a search on Amazon for "k12 teacher guide 5" and you will find the teacher guide for "Literature 5". Make sure you get both semesters. You can do the same for "k12 student guide 5". I think for 6th and 7th, the guides are for "Intermediate A" and "Intermediate B" - something like that. 8th and 9th grades are "Literary Analysis and Composition". HTH. eta: Also, you will find that the student and teacher guides refer to extra books. (You can also search the materials lists for the individual courses themselves, on the website) For example, K12 publishes a translation of "Don Quixote" for one of the levels that we used, and it was fabulous. Look for those on Amazon, too. Thank you. I was searching under Classics for Young Readers Guide. Now when I do the search the guides come up. However, I see a Literature guide and Language Arts guide. Will the language arts include literature too or is that only in the lit guide? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeaConquest Posted April 9, 2015 Share Posted April 9, 2015 It looks like K12 now sells the readers as A, B, and C vs. grade level. Does anyone have any idea how these line up to the old edition? Also, it looks like the new editions are also available electronically. http://www.amazon.com/Classic-Stories-Young-Readers-Volume/dp/B00AZNFGXI/ref=pd_sim_mas_2?ie=UTF8&refRID=054G1QM8PEY5AHDYQR0R Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amsunshine Posted April 9, 2015 Share Posted April 9, 2015 Thank you. I was searching under Classics for Young Readers Guide. Now when I do the search the guides come up. However, I see a Literature guide and Language Arts guide. Will the language arts include literature too or is that only in the lit guide? No, the language arts will be grammar and the like. Get the literature guides. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amsunshine Posted April 9, 2015 Share Posted April 9, 2015 It looks like K12 now sells the readers as A, B, and C vs. grade level. Does anyone have any idea how these line up to the old edition? Also, it looks like the new editions are also available electronically. http://www.amazon.com/Classic-Stories-Young-Readers-Volume/dp/B00AZNFGXI/ref=pd_sim_mas_2?ie=UTF8&refRID=054G1QM8PEY5AHDYQR0R I have no idea how the new editions work, but the old editions are still on sale at Christianbook, and I found the 8th grade editions on Amazon, along with all the guides. I did only use the Teacher Guides with the younger levels and we would read the books together and do the comp/analysis questions orally most of the time. For the 8th grade level, we will use the Student Guides. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atozmom Posted April 9, 2015 Author Share Posted April 9, 2015 No, the language arts will be grammar and the like. Get the literature guides. Thank you! I figured as much, but wanted to double check. You've been very helpful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amsunshine Posted April 10, 2015 Share Posted April 10, 2015 It looks like K12 now sells the readers as A, B, and C vs. grade level. Does anyone have any idea how these line up to the old edition? Also, it looks like the new editions are also available electronically. http://www.amazon.com/Classic-Stories-Young-Readers-Volume/dp/B00AZNFGXI/ref=pd_sim_mas_2?ie=UTF8&refRID=054G1QM8PEY5AHDYQR0R From what I can tell by looking at their website, A, B & C are for grades 1-3, and grades 4-8 are still using the regular numerical designations. I've never used an actual online K12 course, though, and haven't used any of their materials below 5th grade, so I'm not an expert on this. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woolybear Posted April 10, 2015 Share Posted April 10, 2015 I really don't know if this fits what you're looking for, but why don't you take a look? The guides are $20. They have nursery-8th grade. Each guide covers approximately 8 books. http://greatbooksacademy.org/homeschool-program/good-books-guides/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chelli Posted April 10, 2015 Share Posted April 10, 2015 I'm selling my K12 lit guides, student workbooks, and the corresponding Classics for Young Readers. I have 3rd-5th grade if you are interested. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atozmom Posted April 16, 2015 Author Share Posted April 16, 2015 Chelli...just sent you a PM. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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