Did anyone go to the information webinar for Essentials in Literature?

[Heather in VA]

I'm just curious if anyone went to it and if so what they learned about the product.

 

Thanks

[cbollin]

as of now, they do have info and samples and price on the website.  there's a button at the top of the site. goes here

http://essentialsinwriting.com/essentials-in-literature/

 

 

Yesterday in the webinar (which they might be doing again on Aug 6), I heard the following info:

 

level 8 is ready for purchase, will ship next week.  (grade 8 is target age)

similar to the writing program in that it will be short lessons to build.

4 units to cover the year: fiction, non fiction, novel, poetry.   you can take a look at table of contents on samples for more details.

although each story will be 6 days of lessons, it is not expected to do school 6 days a week. (as someone who used MFW kindy twice and chats regularly about that program, I laughed out loud at that part of the webinar. but that's a side note)

 

the author thinks it can be used with a little bit younger (6th with help) and maybe as much as 10th grade IF the 10th grader has not had a lot of basics in lit analysis.

 

The Novel will have heads up notes to deal with the more graphic parts of the novel, which is a holocaust account.

 

 

The set up seems to be learning basics and elements of lit, and studying smaller selections.  contrasted to not being about doing something like progeny press guides with 4 novels in a year.

 

author is chrisitian, but he has written program for secular use.  parents will have to add in morals/values in the interpretation and such.  and he strongly encourages preview of material ahead of time so families will know if it meets their standards.  I know I'm a little nervous on the novel, but also encouraged as I think he will have heads up notes.  If it gets to be too much, I'm willing to drop that unit and find a progeny press guide of something else. 

 

If I understood correctly in the webinar, Matthew (the author) said that he will have links or hints to find the texts.   He did that instead of having to pay major royalty fees.  So far this morning, I have easily found all of the fiction selections.  haven't started for the other genres yet.

 

not sure what else you'd like to know from the webinar.   I'm interested in trying the program with my youngest who has delays in languages arts due to developmental disabilities.  I like the idea of short, incremental lessons with shorter selections. 

[cbollin]

oh yeah.. they are planning to repeat the info.  They wanted to record it, but had tech issues...  replay will be August 6, 2 pm CST.  I'm not sure on the link for registration...  and have to logout for a bit  :)

[No More Perfect]

as of now, they do have info and samples and price on the website.  there's a button at the top of the site. goes here

http://essentialsinwriting.com/essentials-in-literature/

 

 

Yesterday in the webinar (which they might be doing again on Aug 6), I heard the following info:

 

level 8 is ready for purchase, will ship next week.  (grade 8 is target age)

similar to the writing program in that it will be short lessons to build.

4 units to cover the year: fiction, non fiction, novel, poetry.   you can take a look at table of contents on samples for more details.

although each story will be 6 days of lessons, it is not expected to do school 6 days a week. (as someone who used MFW kindy twice and chats regularly about that program, I laughed out loud at that part of the webinar. but that's a side note)

 

the author thinks it can be used with a little bit younger (6th with help) and maybe as much as 10th grade IF the 10th grader has not had a lot of basics in lit analysis.

 

The Novel will have heads up notes to deal with the more graphic parts of the novel, which is a holocaust account.

 

 

The set up seems to be learning basics and elements of lit, and studying smaller selections.  contrasted to not being about doing something like progeny press guides with 4 novels in a year.

 

author is chrisitian, but he has written program for secular use.  parents will have to add in morals/values in the interpretation and such.  and he strongly encourages preview of material ahead of time so families will know if it meets their standards.  I know I'm a little nervous on the novel, but also encouraged as I think he will have heads up notes.  If it gets to be too much, I'm willing to drop that unit and find a progeny press guide of something else. 

 

If I understood correctly in the webinar, Matthew (the author) said that he will have links or hints to find the texts.   He did that instead of having to pay major royalty fees.  So far this morning, I have easily found all of the fiction selections.  haven't started for the other genres yet.

 

not sure what else you'd like to know from the webinar.   I'm interested in trying the program with my youngest who has delays in languages arts due to developmental disabilities.  I like the idea of short, incremental lessons with shorter selections. 

 

 

How does one get on the email distribution list to find out about these webinars? I looked all over the website and couldn't find anything.

[TN Mama]

 

 

the author thinks it can be used with a little bit younger (6th with help) and maybe as much as 10th grade IF the 10th grader has not had a lot of basics in lit analysis.

 

 

I did not get to hear the whole thing yesterday, but from what I got, Mr. Stephens said that he did not think 6th grade would be a good fit for this level - even one reading at a higher level. 

 

 

[Heather in VA]

Thanks everyone for the feedback.. Special thanks to cbollin for the great recap. I didn't realize the samples were up so I'm going through those now. I have a 7th grader so it seems right on the edge. Night is an excellent book and would work really well for us this year since we are doing Modern. It is dark obviously but I don't remember anything over-the-top graphic considering the subject matter. That said it's an interesting choice for a literature analysis program. 

 

Decisions, Decisions....

[Teresa in MO]

For anyone interested in the other levels, I was emailing with them last night and was told they hope to have levels 7 and 9 done by Jan. 1st, and level 10 done by March.  There will eventually be levels 4-12.  

[cbollin]

I did not get to hear the whole thing yesterday, but from what I got, Mr. Stephens said that he did not think 6th grade would be a good fit for this level - even one reading at a higher level. 

 

Ok. there was noise in my house during that part.   maybe he said 7th as youngest for level 8. I didn't take a full transcript on it.  and could be remembering wrong for 6th.  thanks for correction.  :)

In any case, he was strongly discouraging it below 6th.  I remember the example he gave in the Q &A time for 4th or 5th grader saying it would not work for them.  but  I don't remember on 6th grade clearly enough.  I may have been hearing 6th when he said 7th because in some ways that's about where my daughter is in listening/comprehension.

9th yes.  10th... was a maybe and gave parameters where it would wouldn't fit. 

 

I thought Night was interesting for lit.  But apparently it's one of those that gets used in some schools.  ???   I was a little iffy after seeing the list with Stop the Sun and reading a quick summary of it. Then I read the whole short story and that wasn't so bad especially with as much NCIS and Blue Bloods, and Quantum Leap as we watch in our house....   but I was worried from descriptions of the short story that it would be iffy.. but then read the short story this morning and think "I'm not worried now."

 

I haven't read Night...  I know when I was in middle school we all read Diary of Anne Frank.   and my olders have done Hiding Place.   I know I plan to read Night, and of course Matthew S says he gives heads up on the tougher parts.  quote from the website under the sample  Parent Note: One literary piece for this level is a narrative nonfiction piece in which the author recounts his horrifying experiences as a Jewish boy under Nazi control. Some may find his experiences graphic and/or disturbing. All “questionable†excerpts are listed in the teacher handbook so that parents/teachers may preview questionable material before students read. A list of ways to handle these types of excerpts in literature as a whole is provided as well.

 

(edit to add:  and if I had to sub this one, or use it in later years with this child.. that's ok.   I won't know until I see the actual lessons)

 

oh, another point that was brought up a lot in my opinion anyway was amount of writing:  not looking at long essays in this program.  more of paragraph and shorter answers.   of course, who knows what future and higher levels will have.

 

and someone asked how to get on mailing list..   all I remember doing a while back was using contact us feature and asked a question.  When they replied, I asked to be placed on email list for stuff.    I was actually asking if they still planned to do the 12th grade "technical" writing book.  was told not sure... but do you want to be on list for future info.. sure!

 

That was a long time ago (well, ok, at least a year or 2).   Call them, email or use the chat feature and see if they'll link you to the registration for the webinar tomorrow.    The webinar was approximately 40-45 minutes yesterday and just expanding on the samples a bit and with info on when the other levels plan to be released.   a few FAQ things.   they went "live" with the samples yesterday within a few minutes to half an hour after the seminar.

[Heather in VA]

 

 

I thought Night was interesting for lit.  But apparently it's one of those that gets used in some schools.  ???   I was a little iffy after seeing the list with Stop the Sun and reading a quick summary of it. Then I read the whole short story and that wasn't so bad especially with as much NCIS and Blue Bloods, and Quantum Leap as we watch in our house....   but I was worried from descriptions of the short story that it would be iffy.. but then read the short story this morning and think "I'm not worried now."

 

 

 

Yes - our public schools use Night in the 8th grade.

[BusyMom5]

Bumping this up- any reviews on this yet?  We love EIW for writing, and this is high on my list for possibilities for 8th next year.

[SnMomof7]

I'm looking at it for 8th as well. Big ears!

[kiwik]

I would like to be able to buy a PDF version of the text without getting the DVD.  I bought EIW3 a few years ago with the DVE and downloadable workbook option and although it did what I wanted the postage almost doubled the cost.  The exchange rate wasn't as bad then either.  EiL doesn't seem to have any options but everything being posted to you.

[SnMomof7]

I would like to be able to buy a PDF version of the text without getting the DVD. I bought EIW3 a few years ago with the DVE and downloadable workbook option and although it did what I wanted the postage almost doubled the cost. The exchange rate wasn't as bad then either. EiL doesn't seem to have any options but everything being posted to you.

Are you in Canada? Learninghouse.ca carries EIW. Cheaper shipping :).

[cbollin]

Bumping this up- any reviews on this yet?  We love EIW for writing, and this is high on my list for possibilities for 8th next year.

 

I did buy the level 8.  We've used it slowly with my child.  She has academic delays with her special needs.  So we haven't rushed it.   I'm enjoying the short lessons with her.   Because of her disabilities I'm reading the short stories out loud with her.  I don't know how I would feel about the course with either of my other children because we used progeny press guides with them and it's a very different approach.

I like that EIL feels doable for our needs.  I like the idea of learning the vocabulary of analysis and applying it to a short story.  This is very different from what I did with other kids, but is what I experienced as a student when I was in school.   I could see doing one level at some point in middle school or early high school, but just cannot see doing it each and every year to cover the same/similar kinds of topics.  I can understand why level 8 was the first one released. 

 

I could see how level 8 would be ok in 7th grade if that student was in a group.  But not really below that.  Let the child get a little older to be able to have a little more life to understand the stories.  (edit: but I do think for some of the selections, some 7th graders may not have enough life and history background to really appreciate all of the stories.  so.. I'm iffy on using it in 7th for most.  there will always be some who can do just fine)

 

The teacher book does have just enough from the dvd lecture to go over it again.  That's a good thing for us.

 

It's an essentials course, and that's ok with me.  overall it has a book club feel to it and yet designed to be done with one student instead of classroom.

 

I made the decision that with my dd, that using Night as novel study is not the right thing.  She's not developmental ready for that.  So we'll just sub that out.   I still feel that even with that sub, there's enough to be able to do the program. 

Edited February 20, 2016 by cbollin

[Serenade]

Thanks for all the information about this program.  Sounds like something I might like to try.  I may actually try to do it with both my boys kind of as extra units in summer or throughout the year.  They don't do much school together anymore, but this sounds like it might be good as an intro for my younger son and a review for my older son.  I sounds like the program is divided into manageable chunks suitable for sporadic periods of study.

[Heather in VA]

Thanks for all the information about this program.  Sounds like something I might like to try.  I may actually try to do it with both my boys kind of as extra units in summer or throughout the year.  They don't do much school together anymore, but this sounds like it might be good as an intro for my younger son and a review for my older son.  I sounds like the program is divided into manageable chunks suitable for sporadic periods of study.

 

PM me if you decide to try it. I bought it and it's not going to work for my daughter. I didn't use it and I'm going to list it. 

[cbollin]

I do think it's divided in chunks suitable for on/off study.  That's how I *have* to use it with this child.  With her, we can do a section. take time away..  pick it back up.  slow and steady. and especially for a child like her who does not really like to read all that much (except for below level fun), she can tolerate the length of lessons.   I'm thinking that I probably would have done it faster or combined 2 days at a time with my other gals.

 

Finding the reading selections online has not been an issue for us.  I printed out the fiction for use.  Some of the non fiction we just do on the screen.  Once in a while I'm finding dramatic readings on youtube or other.  and maybe it was mentioned on that part of the dvd (blush, didn't check that unit) but even though I didn't know exactly which "virginia hamilton interview" to use, it was really easy to adapt the lesson to any interview with her.  I used part of an interview on c-span for enough of the lesson.  When my daughter's eyes glazed over, I stopped the recording.   then next day found an interview or two on our church's website of people and events that my dd could relate a little better and get the idea of interview.   (like I said, she has some severe delays, so some of it was hard for her..  and I know on this forum it will be very easy for others.)

 

someone asked me on another forum if I thought it could be done without being online all the time...  You don't need to be online to do each lesson, but you will need to find a way to get the reading selections.  Then the reading itself can be done offline.   I printed some.  downloaded others. linked to some.   But we do the work offline.   I spent some concentrated time at start of each non novel unit to just get the reading.