Tell me why you use a literature program in the lower grades

[EKS]

I'm trying to decide if I want to use a separate literature program (like K12) next year with my 6 yo son. He already reads well.

I'm interested in all opinions and experiences.:)

Thanks!

[Mom2legomaniacs]

If you consider FIAR in that category, we did use it some. My younger one is 6 now and doesn't want to do it. But his reading level and interests are at a much higher level than the books in FIAR. I have not done anything else though.

I have ordered Teaching the Classics. I will see what is involved so that I may begin learning how to discuss the books they have read. This is not a natural thing for me to do so I need guidance. I will likely use some of the ideas to discuss things with my younger one even though the main focus will be for my 4th grader.

[Susie in CA]

And I don't plan on using a literature program anytime soon. My boys are 7 and 8. We read a lot and talk a lot about the books, movie versions etc. Imho, that's enough.

Susie

[Sue G in PA]

I thought K12's Lit program for younger grades was busywork. I didn't like how the dc read little "snippets" of stories, taken out of context and answered questions on them. Dd was reading "selections" from Little Women in her "reader" and I emailed her cyber-teacher from the VA and expressed my extreme distate for that, stating that she had already read Little Women in its entirety! He excused her from the "busywork" in exchange for talking w/ her about the book.

As for now...we tried DITHOR b/c I felt we (*I*) needed more structure to our reading. It bombed. My ds's don't really enjoy reading as it is and so when they finally find a book they enjoy...I don't have the heart to "ruin" it by making them fill out some silly workbook about it, KWIM? Dd11 is doing LL7 for 7th next year. The rest of the dc...just reading and "perhaps" the occasional lit. study. Maybe.

[ArwenA]

My kids are all avid readers and when we read aloud we often discuss our books. I find this to be enough for younger kids. Deconstructing Penguins is an excellent resource.

[Christine]

I have ordered Teaching the Classics. I will see what is involved so that I may begin learning how to discuss the books they have read. This is not a natural thing for me to do so I need guidance. I will likely use some of the ideas to discuss things with my younger one even though the main focus will be for my 4th grader.

I did not use a lit program for my older two, and now that my oldest is in highschool I'm wishing I had more. . .

I ordered TTC (Teaching the Classics) this year to help me with my older two, but after watching it, I think more will be gained by using it over time with my youngers. I will be trying to "cram" it in with my olders, but to be honest it will feel, I think, very much like cramming, specifically for the highschooler.

I agree that it's not natural for me to do. . .I wonder if it's because of my education or just a shortcoming in myself. I tend to ask only comprehension type questions and not so much analytical. Plus, I tend to "forget" to point out literary devices --foreshadowing, would be the one I'm most likely to remember -- but I just don't think about these things as a rule and need to be reminded.

[nestof3]

I don't use one, but can I still answer? :001_smile:

I just read books. I really don't need anyone giving me discussion questions at that level (I can easily come up with my own), and usually, a good book just stands on its own.

I also don't do extra things for literature. We do hands-on, more crafty things for science and history, so this would just max us out.

The fact that the boys always beg for another chapter indicates to me that we have a thriving literature program. :001_smile:

I am rather picky about what I read -- I try to read the classics, the ones mentioned in the Sonlight catalog, etc.

At junior high and highschool level, I find free ones on the internet (with discussion questions and essay questions) and I also use Progeny Press. There was a thread earlier about lit guides, and I posted a bunch of links:

http://67.202.21.157/forums/showthread.php?t=14108

[MIch elle]

is a great place to start with a formal literature program. It's a reader and 5 workbooks for 15 wks of work per grades 4-8. Here's what's covered in gr. 4 :

SUNRISE READING 400 – Bridges Beyond
401
Working with vocabulary words
Using a map
Comparing and contrasting past and
present
Pioneer and modern windows
Choosing the main idea of the story
Noting which lines of a poem rhyme
Matching characters to actions
Identifying rhyming words in poetry
Writing an ending line for a poem
Predicting events if circumstances
would have been different
Statements as fact or opinion
Characters’ feelings at given times
Abbreviations No. and Nos.
Discerning between imaginary and
non-imaginary statements
Interpreting a figure of speech
Learning the term simile
Identifying similes
Vocation in the story and in a poem
Determining why a story character’s
action was wrong
Writing about a personal fear
Using a map in an encyclopedia
Which story idea was most important
Characters’ actions — character traits
Sentences about a poem’s content
Deciphering a code
Finding parts of sentences that verify
statements
Inferring details from a story
Topic sentences of paragraphs
Putting story events in order
Identifying anachronisms
Inferring characters’ feelings from their
actions
Showing a characters’ feelings
God answered a character’s prayers
References to find various information
Pioneer life – enjoyable or not?
Interpreting a Bible verse
Memorizing and applying Scripture
402
Working with vocabulary words
Identifying instinct in animals
Reading poetry by sentences
Rewriting sentences in different words
Identifying the main idea of a paragraph
Locating a figure of speech
Important details to story plot
A long figure of speech in a poem
Marking rhyme scheme of a poem
Working with synonyms
Using footnotes
Identifying causes of given effects
Counting syllables in lines of poetry
Comparing two animals
Identifying the setting of a story
Contrast clues to identifying meanings
of phrases or words
Using lively verbs
Accented and unaccented syllables
Writing another title for a story
Good weather for various activities
Working with rhythm in poetry
Reading a poem aloud
Putting words in order of value
Scanning to find descriptive verbs
Reviewing rhythm and rhyme in poetry
Sentences with opposite meanings
Making an animal chain
Inferring details from the story
Interpreting a poetic figure of speech
Characters feelings in given situations
Identifying onomatopoeic words
Using descriptive adjectives
Understanding words in brackets
Studying a Bible poem
Setting, characters, plot, and lesson
Reviewing fiction and nonfiction
Inferring things not stated in the story
Memorizing and applying Scripture
403
Working with vocabulary words
Identifying a summary of a story
Matching characters to descriptive
clues
Scanning to verify given statements
True/false statements containing the
word not
Categorizing words
Reasons for given circumstances
Scanning for a figure of speech
Placing events in order
Inferring to place events in order
Ways to obey a Scripture verse
Completing a crossword puzzle
Determining a word meaning
The best time to right a wrong
Determining responsibilty for mistakes
God’s part and our part
Writing a second line for a couplet
Matching words to phrases that rhyme
and have the same rhythm
Making recommendations
Matching actions to Scripture verses
Antonyms of words that describe
character traits
Identifying character by observing
actions
Jobs fourth graders can do faithfully
Learning the term analogy
Completing analogies
Comparing characters to Anabaptists
Using the table of contents
Identifying a story scene – easy to
see in the mind’s eye
Painting a word picture
Completing a crossword puzzle
Learning the term parable
Matching parable details to meanings
Exhibiting understanding of parable
Identifying the most important lesson
in the parable
Memorizing and applying Scripture
404
Working with vocabulary words
Reading a graph
Verifying given statements
Reviewing setting
Key words to use with the encyclopedia
Scanning for answers to questions
Reviewing poetry skills
Predicting what would happen in
given circumstances
Identifying story details that show it
happened long ago
Reviewing summaries and main ideas
Inferring details from the story
The world’s most useful grass
Identifying parts of stories that would
be read orally slowly or quickly
Comparing two unlike things
Reading between the lines
Word pictures from the story
Writing to show emotion
Guessing word meanings using
context clues
Reviewing onomatopoeia
God’s thoughts are not man’s thoughts
Telling something they learned by pain
How a title is/is not a figure of speech
Characters, plot, and lesson
Summaries, lessons, and main idea
Taking responsibility for mistakes
How the story could have ended
Working with antonyms
Testing their own instinct for direction
Locating places on a globe or map
Giving logical reasons
Giving logical responses to given
circumstances
Memorizing and applying Scripture
405
Working with vocabulary words
Categorizing words
Inferring to put events in order
Reviewing summary and main idea
Reviewing poetry skills
Using the dictionary
Determining whether certain actions
were wise or not
Telling why gossiping is wrong
Ways to respond to a tale-|bearer
Comparing a handicapped person’s
abilities with their own
Self-imposed handicaps of character
Good relating to handicapped person
How a character obeyed Scripture
Giving and supporting an opinion
Scanning for information
Identifying personification
Giving an opinion based on inferences
Thinking logically about infirmities
Painting word pictures
Interpreting a figure of speech
Correcting characters’ bad grammar
Why characters acted as they did
Telling one thing very hard for most
people to do
Reading between the lines
Identifying true courage
Exercises with no written instructions
Reviewing summary and main idea
Simile and personification
Determining which of several choices
is most important
Matching synonymous ideas
Lessons to be learned from several
Bible stories
Writing a personal experience
Determining Biblical word meanings
Working with a map
Differences in today and Bible times
Understanding nonresistance to evil
Memorizing and applying Scripture

Join the CLE yahoo group (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/christianlightfamilies/)to see samples and more of the scope & sequence charts.

[Beth in Central TX]

I use R&S Reading/Bible program from 1st to 4th grade. At this time, my focus is to make sure that the phonics rules are well-grounded, and that they are reading for comprehension.

When we get to 5th & 6th grade, I switch to an informal literature program that I've put together myself. I assign 12 literature books that are tied to the history cycle that is being studied. The boys read and take notes on these books. We have weekly socratic discussions, and a book report is due on some of the books, but not all.

In 7th grade, I switch to the Omnibus series. During the junior high years, we work through Teaching the Classics formally and How to Read a Book.

HTH!

[LisaK in VA]

I would say it really depends upon your child. If you have a child who loves reading, a program like Abeka or K12 isn't the best approach. If you wanted some structure (and help), the VP Lit Guides could be used, but done orally (or just for the fun projects).

I use a program for my oldest, because he has a real dislike of reading. Last year, we tried just reading books, and we probably read four during the whole year -- it was a nightmare. The "snippets" -- plus poetry and prose -- work well for helping explore the literary world, and provide a small challenge. Additionally, he will actually read more "real" books this year, than he read last year.

After experiencing the K12 Lit program, would I "go back?" to just "real books" if my ds enjoyed reading? Probably not. I use the literature program to help develop skills -- and for exposure to different types of writing. We use the "real" books (except for the 4-6 he *must* read for school) for his free reading time, allowing me NOT to get hung up over the fact that he would rather read Star Wars novels (blech) over The Cricket in Times Square or Henry & Rigsby.