If you have been reading this blog for long you know that we are a book loving family. We are blessed to have many overflowing bookshelves and a library that fills in most of the time when we don’t have a specific book. During the summer i like the girls to complete some type of summer reading project to keep their knowledge going. Hewitt Homeschooling fits the bill for what I was looking for; a literature curriculum that uses classic books and poems to teach writing skills and literacy analysis. I was thrilled to be offered the Lightning Literature and Composition: Grade 8 Student's Guide, Grade 8 Student's Workbook, and Grade 8 Teacher's Guide to use with Madison.
Hewitt Homeschooling has been around for many years in the homeschooling circle. They strive to serve parents with students from kindergarten through high school with an emphasis on combining excellent academics with character development, by instilling a strong work ethic, and to develop a spirit of community service within the next generation. The company firmly believes that reading great literature and then writing about it goes hand in hand in preparing students for college-level reading and writing.
We have had the opportunity to use the Eighth grade set for the last six weeks. This set includes a student guide, a teacher guide, and a consumable student workbook. Lightning Lit exposes your child to several different genres of short stories and books and helps your child dig a little deeper into the context. Your child will also practice several writing techniques that are presented in a variety of methods and exercises.
This set covers the following stories and books:
Books are available in a package with Stories and Poems for Extremely Intelligent Children and in a pack without Stories and Poems for Extremely Intelligent Children. For this review we were to supply our own books and lucky for us we had a majority of the literature works at home already.
The Teachers Guide contains complete answers to everything in the student workbook as well as discussion questions to check for comprehension. It also includes a helpful planning schedule for 36 weeks of learning. It retails for $20.00.
The student guide breaks each literature piece or short story down into manageable sections including:
- an introduction to what is being read
- while you read
- a vocabulary list
- comprehension questions
- literary lesson
- a variety of mini-lessons
- writing exercises
The vocabulary list could take the place of your separate spelling list as it contains words needed to know. This guide contains no space for writing. Rather, your child will complete the different exercises in a notebook or on lined paper. The student guide retails for $25.00.
The student workbook is a consumable workbook and retails for $25.00. Your child will complete grammar exercises, analyze parts of the book or short story, complete crossword puzzles and complete short writing exercises. To keep from being so repetitive, Lightening Lit varies the activities for each book/short story.
I used this literature set with Madison, who is an avid reader and rising 8th grader. Since I was using this as a summer enrichment for her I had her work through the exercises 3 times a week and we used a different order for the literature. Because Madison has previously read Treasure Island we skimmed through this section as a review and completed most of this section aloud. She was able to recall the story and answer the comprehension questions to my satisfaction. So we focused on to A Christmas Carol and The Hobbit for this review. I did however, have her read through the section on taking notes as I think this is an important skill to know.
I will say that even though Madison is a strong reader she was challenged by this program. She really had to think about some of the questions and for completing the exercises. I should note that even though this course is listed for eight graders, a seventh grader who is a strong reader and likes writing may also be able to do well with this course as well as a ninth grader who needs a little more instruction on the foundations of composition. Overall I am completely pleased with this set and would recommend it to anyone looking for a thorough all encompassing Literature program. Be sure to check out what my Crewmates thought of this program and the other products offered from Hewitt Homeschooling by clicking on the banner below.
Company ~ Hewitt Homeschooling
Products ~
Lightning Literature and Composition: Grade 8 Student's Guide
Lightning Literature and Composition: Grade 8 Student's Workbook
Lightning Literature and Composition: Grade 8 Teacher's Guide
Price ~ Student Guide $25.00, Student Workbook $25.00, Teachers Guide $20.00
Ages ~Recommended for 8th graders, but will work for 7th and 9th graders as well.
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