Lightning Lit.- does this cover writing?

[annette4]

I am thinking of using Lightning Lit. 8 for dd, but want to make sure that it covers the writing instruction necessary for an 8th grader. My other curriculum choices are: Sonlight Core 200, Apologia Physical Science, Videotext Alg., and Analytical Grammar. I know that Sonlight Core 200 has great lit. in it, but dd has not done well with Sonlight 7 writing assignments this past year. There is just not enough guidance and I am not very good help in this area of instruction. So, I guess my question is will Lightning Lit 8 be enough instruction in writing or is it more into lit. analysis?

[love2read]

There aren't a lot of writing instructions, mostly it is an assignment and some direction. Would you consider a formal program like Write Shop or IEW? The theme based ones are fairly simple to use even if you haven't used any of their material previously.

[annette4]

We used IEW history based vol. 1 this year. It worked fine except that it seemed like it forces the dress-ups a bit much requiring the student to put so many in each paragraph that it made the writing awkward. I am probably looking too hard for the perfect program, and we should just stick with IEW. I would love to have the writing instruction connect with either history or lit. instead of being a whole different subject. Thanks for listening to my thinking process and for the advice.

[asta]

We used IEW history based vol. 1 this year. It worked fine except that it seemed like it forces the dress-ups a bit much requiring the student to put so many in each paragraph that it made the writing awkward. I am probably looking too hard for the perfect program, and we should just stick with IEW. I would love to have the writing instruction connect with either history or lit. instead of being a whole different subject. Thanks for listening to my thinking process and for the advice.

DS calls dress-ups "fluff".

His approach is that, if he needs to "pad" what he is writing, he adds dress ups. If not, he ignores them for the most part. He has recognized that as he learns more about the function of writing and research, there simply won't be much room for "pad" (in a well written piece).


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[Julie in MN]

I'm planning to continue to plug in Writing Strands assignments when I think ds needs to do some writing. WS is easy to have on hand and just use if I see a need, without overwhelming with extra work.

[love2read]

It takes my kids about a year with IEW before their writing flows. Before that, it does look awkward or contrived. Once they have the hang of structure and style, I don't insist that they use all of the dress-ups and openers, they just naturally put them in.

It sounds like your dc probably has the structure down and knows how to dress-up, so LL8 would probably be a good program to use. Did you look at the samples online? I really like it.

[annette4]

I liked what I saw in the samples for LL8 and up throught the high school levels. I think that this will help dd interact with the books she read as I do not have time to keep up with her reading schedule in Sonlight. Maybe we should give it a try this year and see if she can apply what she has learned in IEW about structure and style. Have you used LL in the highschool level and been pleased with the writing requirements?

[Sue in St Pete]

I can't really answer your question about LL8 because I've only used LL7. In LL7, they have 3-4 topics per unit to choose from to write about. I don't really consider that they give much writing instruction, and we use a separate writing instruction.

However, if you search for Lightning Literature and Lori D. you will might find a post where she gives more details about the writing in LL8. I seem to have a vague memory of it. I've seen other posts from people saying they thought the writing in LL (8?) was just fine. Search a bit...

I did want to point out that Analytical Grammar has no writing.

ETA: Here's one:
Lightning Lit 7?? (http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=102501&highlight=lightning+literature+writing)
and another:
Middle school literature (http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=97983&highlight=lightning+literature+writing)

[love2read]

Have you used LL in the highschool level and been pleased with the writing requirements?

We haven't used the high school level because we already had something else in place, but I was very pleased with all of the material in LL8. It's very cohesive and teaches many new schools. The writing assignments use the skills learned in the lesson and are varied enough that the student doesn't get bored. I would use the high school if I hadn't already invested in another program.

[annette4]

What do you mean by "teaches many new schools"? Do you mean styles? Can I ask what program you will be using for high school after using LL8?

[love2read]

I think I meant new skills in terms of literary analysis. Good heavens, I need to proof better.