Excellence in Literature

[desertflower]

Hello,

Can anyone give me feedback on Janice Campbell's Excellence in Literature series?  Pros, Cons? Thanks in advance.

[Lori D.]

We created our own literature in high school, largely doing that independently (although I did use some excerpts from some lit. guides). Each year, I heavily researched lit. programs for ideas, so my comments below are NOT from personal use, but from my conclusions from research:

Pros:
- covers a variety of literature types (short stories, novels, plays)

Neutral:
- covers traditional classics
- has the student research author/times by following links to articles
- geared for a strong reader/writer, and the self-directed student who enjoys literature and working independently

Cons:  
- writing heavy
- no writing instruction, guidance, or grading rubrics (that I could see)
- covers only older works -- no contemporary or YA works

Website Info that might help you get a feel for the program and if it is a fit/not a fit for your family:
- FAQ
- overview of what each unit in the program looks like
- pdf with sample unit + 1-page list of what's in each of the five 1-year programs

[desertflower]

Thanks Lori D.!

[ScoutTN]

I was given all the volumes and used it as a resource for assignments for specific books. I do have a writing grading rubric from Janice Campbell. Will look for it and see if I can post a link or some thing. It definitely assumes that the student is already very comfortable writing literary analysis essays. 

Edited January 14, 2022 by ScoutTN

[desertflower]

2 hours ago, ScoutTN said:

I was given all the volumes and used it as a resource for assignments for specific books. I do have a writing grading rubric from Janice Campbell. Will look for it and see if I can post a link or some thing. It definitely assumes that the student is already very comfortable writing literary analysis essays. 

Thanks for your input!

[RubyPenn]

I have the high school guides, but haven't used them with my son because of what Lori said.  I also think they are for the self-directed learner, which my kid is not, and there aren't specific writing directions or directions for what to do each day.  However, I like them as a resource because links are provided for the authors, art, and music from the times the books were written in if you want extra information. 

[desertflower]

20 minutes ago, RubyPenn said:

I have the high school guides, but haven't used them with my son because of what Lori said.  I also think they are for the self-directed learner, which my kid is not, and there aren't specific writing directions or directions for what to do each day.  However, I like them as a resource because links are provided for the authors, art, and music from the times the books were written in if you want extra information. 

Thanks for your input! 

[blue plaid]

My son is using EIL American Literature this year.  I definitely think it is a solid program, but I have some mixed feelings about it.  Week one is generally reading a lot of background references. I think this is an excellent idea but there are a ton of links to read/choose from -- so on the one hand that is good, on the other, son doesn't want to read all of them and feels like a week on it is overkill.  I wish there were some short summaries of the info available for me to read so I could have a better idea of what he is learning (I don't have time to do the course along with him.) I like the book choices -- I did make a point of reading the books I hadn't read so I could more easily have a conversation about the books and know if his writing assignments were on point.  Overall to me as a teacher/parent that is the main weakness -- there doesn't seem to be info on the content available to the instructor to know if what the student writes in their assignments is correct/on point/relevant etc.  Having read the books and having some knowledge of literature I am not completely flying blind but it feels like I am a little bit.  Thankfully my kid using this program is already a strong reader and writer so I feel like he is learning and getting the main ideas and it is working for him.  So I am not sorry we are using it, but will most likely try another program next year.

 

 

[desertflower]

37 minutes ago, blue plaid said:

My son is using EIL American Literature this year.  I definitely think it is a solid program, but I have some mixed feelings about it.  Week one is generally reading a lot of background references. I think this is an excellent idea but there are a ton of links to read/choose from -- so on the one hand that is good, on the other, son doesn't want to read all of them and feels like a week on it is overkill.  I wish there were some short summaries of the info available for me to read so I could have a better idea of what he is learning (I don't have time to do the course along with him.) I like the book choices -- I did make a point of reading the books I hadn't read so I could more easily have a conversation about the books and know if his writing assignments were on point.  Overall to me as a teacher/parent that is the main weakness -- there doesn't seem to be info on the content available to the instructor to know if what the student writes in their assignments is correct/on point/relevant etc.  Having read the books and having some knowledge of literature I am not completely flying blind but it feels like I am a little bit.  Thankfully my kid using this program is already a strong reader and writer so I feel like he is learning and getting the main ideas and it is working for him.  So I am not sorry we are using it, but will most likely try another program next year.

 

 

That helps. I’m not very strong in literature. Thanks!