xpost need advice on lit and vocabulary

[Chez J]

Hi,

My daughter is age 8. I need advice on how to direct her reading and vocab. She is spelling at a late 7th grade level. She is reading books of the same level.

So, I would like your suggestions on how to approach a literature study. I've not done anything like that before (didn't think I needed it till I did this placement type evaluation of her).

Is there a program that uses books without questionable subject matter that would allow her to read the book and study vocabulary with it? Or, should I just make her read to me a certain book and "I" make a vocabulary study to go with what we read? Seems like if I could find something like that already created, it would be better to study the vocabulary before we read it in the book.

Do I not worry about vocab and lit, and instead do a word roots/prefix/suffix study? She already is biliterate in French, so we have the French to use in working through some vocabulary.

Someone IRL suggested Greek since she's somewhat covered Latin with the French. Thoughts on that?

I don't want to just let her work through it on her own. She occasionally mispronounces big vocabulary because it's a word she's not heard before. So, I'm going to bump our "spelling" to a much higher level of phonics study with SWR section S. I worry about learning vocabulary meaning through context only.

Any suggestions?

Lesley (struggling to keep up with my extremely gifted daughter)

[suzf242]

Have you checked into the Ambleside Online booklists? I believe the vast majority of selections is not offensive. My dd is only in Year 1 and doesn't like anything too sad, especially animals that die, so we are substituting for a couple of the fairy tales and Aesop's fables.

You may want to actually look at Years 3 or 4 because the selections are typically above grade level. (Pilgrim's Progress in Year 2, Shakespeare in Year 4...)

Good luck. I hope you find something that works for you.

Suzanne.

[chai]

We are using Lightning Lit for grade 7. So far, it is a hit. Each book has a vocabulary list by chapter. It also includes literature terminology and poetry. You can look at the list of books at Hewitt (http://www.hewitthomeschooling.com/book/blight.asp) .

Before this, I have never concentrated on literature and reading because dd didn't need it. Now, I am seeing the benefit of studying to her strength--her eyes light up whenever it is time for literature!

[Chez J]

Thanks for the reply. I am still so confused on what to do. I need to dig further in Lightning Lit. I have ruled out LLATL. I also am looking at CLE Reading for 5th grade. Let me know if you want to read what we end up doing.

Lesley

[CleoQc]

She's 8 and she can speak French? Would she like a penpal ? My DD is also 8, and a francophone. Not quite bilingual with English though, but getting there.

Ok, it doesn't answer your question though.

I'm trying Sonlight this year for the first time. And am very pleased with it. You can chose a core that would put your DD in the lower end. Their cores have an age-range associated with it. My son is doing core 6 (from 10yo to 13yo if memory serves me right) and some books are giving *me* trouble!

[CleoQc]

Someone IRL suggested Greek since she's somewhat covered Latin with the French. Thoughts on that?


Hmm. We're French speakers and still benefit a LOT from Latin. Knowing French is not the same as knowing Latin.

[EKS]

You could try Literary Lessons from the Lord of the Rings. As far as I know there is no objectionable content in there. It is written for grades 7-12 or so and is easily modified. There is vocabulary integrated into the program but I wouldn't say that it is a strong part of the program.

Have you looked at Michael Clay Thompson's language arts materials. They are frequently recommended for gifted kids.

[nmoira]

Have you looked at Michael Clay Thompson's language arts materials. They are frequently recommended for gifted kids.I'd recommend starting the Caesar's English (http://www.rfwp.com/series33.htm#17). You need only purchase the TM. I recommend his entire program, but if you're only looking at vocab and lit studies, I'd also recommend you look at MCT's poetics series.

I'm in a conundrum regarding literature study. DD the Eldest is nearing 7, and I don't want to start formal literature study for at least two more years. She's a voracious reader and is quite happy to spontaneously discuss things she read. I'm looking at Lightning Lit. The College of William and Mary has a literature series for gifted kids (http://cfge.wm.edu/curr_language.htm), but I have not yet ordered a unit for evaluation. Some here are using Moving Beyond the Page, but I don't know if their literature unit can be purchased separately.

[WendyK]

What I have been doing, and it is a lot of work, is writing my own questions and compiling my own vocabulary lists. I usually make a list of words my son likely does not know, or that I want to make sure he pronounces correctly and go over them before he reads the book/story/poem. We do that part orally. I don't make him memorize the meanings of those words. We use Worldy Wise for that. Then I write questions to make sure he understood the reading. Sometimes they are simply recalling different parts of the story, or him retelling certain parts or the entire story. If it is a well known book you can often find questions/suggestions/activities online somewhere to help guide you. Once in a while I come across sites with questions for each chapter already done.

We have started going over some literature study concepts such as cause and effect, etc. I have a variety of books I use for that.

My son is 6.5 though. I mostly want to make sure he gets the major points of the story. I don't think he needs too much more at this stage. In the near future I am eying the Jacob's Ladder Reading Comprehension Program. That isn't due to be out until November though and I would like to get some opinions on it before forking out $40 for it.

It's tough. I haven't come across a single source, program, book, etc that totally fits. Even though my son can read almost anything, he is still so young. So I just try to piece things together myself.

[Chez J]

She's 8 and she can speak French? Would she like a penpal ? My DD is also 8, and a francophone. Not quite bilingual with English though, but getting there.

I assume you'd want practice with English? I would encourage a penpal if we could use paper and pencil instead of email. My dd can't type yet.

I suppose we could alternate French one letter cycle, English the next letter cycle, so that each could practice her foreign language.

Thoughts?

Lesley

[CleoQc]

I assume you'd want practice with English? I would encourage a penpal if we could use paper and pencil instead of email. My dd can't type yet.

I was thinking paper and pencil too. My DD loves to send drawings, so it's easier via regular mail.
I don't think my daughter's ready to *write* in English yet, at least not much. I'm thinking we could have each letter 50% English and 50% French, as the child and mom want. Friendship shouldn't be regulated too much ;-)
I'd be happy even if the kids get a letter in their second language to read and decipher. My DD would write in French, and yours in English. That would be good enough for me. I know my DD will *try* to write a few things in English though, it's just the way she is.

[Academy of Jedi Arts]

We are also enjoying Lightning Lit 7 for my dd7.

Before that we used study guides from Teacher Created Resources and similar booklets. It worked well, but I like having everything all laid out for the year with LL7.

[Sebastian (a lady)]

Hi,

My daughter is age 8. I need advice on how to direct her reading and vocab. She is spelling at a late 7th grade level. She is reading books of the same level.

So, I would like your suggestions on how to approach a literature study. I've not done anything like that before (didn't think I needed it till I did this placement type evaluation of her).

Is there a program that uses books without questionable subject matter that would allow her to read the book and study vocabulary with it? Or, should I just make her read to me a certain book and "I" make a vocabulary study to go with what we read? Seems like if I could find something like that already created, it would be better to study the vocabulary before we read it in the book.

Do I not worry about vocab and lit, and instead do a word roots/prefix/suffix study? She already is biliterate in French, so we have the French to use in working through some vocabulary.

Someone IRL suggested Greek since she's somewhat covered Latin with the French. Thoughts on that?

I don't want to just let her work through it on her own. She occasionally mispronounces big vocabulary because it's a word she's not heard before. So, I'm going to bump our "spelling" to a much higher level of phonics study with SWR section S. I worry about learning vocabulary meaning through context only.

Any suggestions?

Lesley (struggling to keep up with my extremely gifted daughter)

One thought is to disconnect the reading level and the literary analysis level a bit. In other words, while your daughter is reading at a 7th grade level, you might want to go ahead an choose slightly easier books to discuss on the topic of theme, style, point of view, etc. You can even use picture books to discuss these concepts if you want.

We used the Wordly Wise series for a while for vocabulary. I liked these because they concentrated on words that might be confused with each other.

I have also found that it is worth listening to my kids read aloud once in a while. The older two are very good readers, but often mispronounce words that they haven't heard much. (Ex. crisis is pronounced with two short i's)

[Cornerstone Classical]

Have you looked at Moving Beyond The Page (http://movingbeyondthepage.com)? I bought a few of their literature packs and my advanced ds like them. They read a book, and then there is a workbook that goes with each book. In the workbook it takes the child deeper with activites. You might want to check it out.