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kristinannie
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| Posted: April 23 2014 at 4:35pm | IP Logged
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Has anyone used Language Lessons Through Literature? Right now, I am just doing it all on my own which isn't necessarily a bad thing because I can tailor it exactly to my individual child's needs. However, I am expecting a baby and it might be nice to have it all neatly planned out. We will still do our own picture study and skip these. Here is the website.
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jawgee
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| Posted: April 23 2014 at 4:49pm | IP Logged
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I'm planning to use it with my second child (who will be 9) starting the fall. It looks nice, but I have no experience.
I tried Intermediate Language Lessons with my oldest when he was 9, and he didn't like it. The following year we did Learning Language Arts Through Literature, but there was too much busy work for our liking.
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SallyT
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| Posted: April 24 2014 at 6:33pm | IP Logged
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A friend was recommending this program to me, and it does look really nice, though it's possibly more of a "program" than I'd ever truly use. I wish she had the higher levels ready -- she didn't last time I checked.
Sally
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Maryan
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| Posted: April 29 2014 at 8:05am | IP Logged
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Hmmm... this might make me leave Writing with Ease and First Language Lessons! My time is getting more and more limited. I love how she set this up using entire books instead of snippets (although snippets do introduce you to some new books and act like teasers). She has narration, copywork, dictation, grammar all in one book.
Cathy Duffy's review was helpful reading:
Quote:
ELTL covers grammar and composition skills. Spelling is learned through dictation exercises and copywork. Reading and handwriting need to be taught separately. While this is a Charlotte Mason approach, it has more direct instruction on grammar than do some CM programs, and many CM programs omit sentence diagramming. Memory work in the appendices of each book can be used in a classical fashion or skipped if that is your preference. Because of these features, ELTL really straddles CM and classical approaches.
Since ELTL uses literature that is in the public domain, the style of most of the books and poetry sometimes seems a little archaic. While you will have to discuss the meaning of unfamiliar vocabulary words, the mix of Aesop’s fables with poetry and high-quality literary selections seems to work quite well so that the content is interesting and even fun to read. In contrast to most of the literature, DeVore’s instruction on grammar is written simply and directly to the student in a casual, personal tone. The instruction avoids the sometimes flowery language that was used in earlier books presenting Charlotte Mason-style language lessons.
Christian content shows up primarily in the Bible verses used for copywork. In addition, the Aesop’s fables and literary works often teach virtues and positive character traits that support a Christian worldview.
Lessons are very simple to follow with instructions included within each book. There are no answer keys for Levels 1 and 2, but answers are obvious or easy to determine. Level 3 has an answer key for the exercises at the back of the book.
While ELTL is a new program and it’s not as well-known as some of the other CM approach grammar resources, I expect it will quickly become popular since it’s a substantive program that retains the hallmarks of CM methodology while also including some classical methodology. The coverage of grammar should also prove helpful to those concerned about the Common Core and standardized tests. |
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As I have more kids to teach, I'm not as able to do Writing With Ease and FLL as I would like. It looks like she has all these in one place much like Hillside's PLL but with more hand holding.
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Maryan
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Maryan
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| Posted: April 29 2014 at 8:53am | IP Logged
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Also, it appears that the series has been renamed to English Lessons Through LiteratureE -- and those paperbacks are available from amazon. Ebooks of them are available on lulu as well as a printable workbook.
Thanks for suggesting Kristin -- I'm definitely perusing it with interest!
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Maryan
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CrunchyMom
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| Posted: March 03 2015 at 1:39pm | IP Logged
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Has anyone used this program since this thread was started?
After talking to my 10 year old and mulling over both our needs and limitations, I think this might be a good fit for us right now.
Actually, Maryan, it has been in reading your posts over the years using Writing With Ease that was a factor in my looking at them both. ELTL just looks the closest to what I would ideally be doing on my own. Have you given it any more thought or just stuck with Ol' Reliable this year?
There is a rather long thread over at the Well-Trained Mind forums that the author of the program participated in heavily. Fwiw, if anyone else is looking, she actually uses the program herself one behind, so, she starts level 1 in second grade.
I am currently using Bravewriter's The Wand with my 8 year old, which is similar, but ELTL looks to be better organized, imo, and is a better value (though, I bought The Wand from the Homeschool Buyers Co-op at a discount), so when we finish The Wand, I think I might move into ELTL with him, and it might work out to use The Wand for 1st grade for my third and move onto ELTL Level 1 in 2nd grade for my current non-dyslexic 6 year old.
I also think that ELTL, while not as flexible as The Arrow, breaks the ideas as from The Arrow into more bite-sized pieces. Though, from what I can tell, there might now be quite so much literary analysis covered.
Just thinking out loud. 
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CrunchyMom
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| Posted: March 03 2015 at 1:42pm | IP Logged
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Oh, and Sally, Levels 4 and 5 are available now, if you are interested.
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Lindsay
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SallyT
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| Posted: March 03 2015 at 1:45pm | IP Logged
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I've looked over it a lot, though again, it's more of a program than I want or need right now. Still, it looks really beautifully done, and if you're needing open-and-go, because of being spread out over a number of children, it does look like a great CM solution, with so much planning and work done for you.
She has some great free resources on her Lulu page, too -- I downloaded a free copy of CM's Elementary Geography readers for Kindle from her. MUCH better formatting than others I had found online!
Sally
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Maryan
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| Posted: March 03 2015 at 2:00pm | IP Logged
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We've used it this year and enjoyed it. I'm using Level 1 with my first and second grader (with the pdf workbook). And am using Level 3 with my fourth grader and Level 4 with my 11 yo.
She has an order to how she does thing, but it's not nearly as predictabe/organized as WWE or FLL. It's wayyy less work because all her book selections are found on librivox. So my Level 1 guys sit with the book (or kindle or a page on Gutenberg) and listen to the chapter. I really liked most of their level 1 books. She has a poem and a fable with each lesson (we do 3 a week). She has them narrate a fable every six lessons or so. She also has a very simple picture study.
The samples that she offers give an idea of what the program is about, and I definitely recommend doing them before buying. That is what we did.
For my level 3 guy, he had already read Secret Garden, so we just skipped reading and did the lesson. Same for my 11 yo who had read Black Beauty already.
She does include diagramming in level 3 and up -- but I would still feel like I would need to do a heavy grammar year and don't feel like this program would replace it. She has you memorize definitions of parts of speech, but not as organized as FLL does. I actually use our flash cards that I made from FLL and use those to aid in our memorization. You can pick which poem to memorize, but there are no prompts to remind you.
She has the answers in the back of the book. For the older kids, I ordered the spiral workbooks from Lulu. They've been great. I think I have come across some errors or sentence choices for diagrams that have been not my preference, but that no way shadows how it's been going.
By the way, I also switched from explode the code to her Reading Lessons through Literature. It's definitely more teacher intensive, but I've enjoyed our progress in phonics. I have my 7, 8 and 10 yo doing that with me. It helps refresh a lot of spelling. I also have my 10 yo and 11yo doing Phonetic Zoo. We just need reinforcement in that area.
I am glad that I did WWE and FLL because she held my hand when I needed it and gave me a lot of tools that I can add to any program, but I'm having a hard time sticking with her as I have more kids to homeschool and laundry to do. So barefoot ragamufffins stuff this year has been a great edition!
Just my two cents. 
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Maryan
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Maryan
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Oh and I plan on continuing next year with it as well with levels 2, 4 and 5.
And Reading Lessons through Lit levels 3 &4.
And FYI she has a VERy active Yahoo group and she is very quick to respond with any questions.
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Maryan
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CrunchyMom
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We'll see how it works for us, Sally. It is more program than I imagined myself to use, but I think it might strike the right balance between my ideals and my reality at this point.
Thanks for the tip about the geographical readers! 
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Lindsay
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jawgee
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| Posted: March 03 2015 at 2:48pm | IP Logged
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I am using ELTL Level 2 with my 3rd grader this year. I am so happy with it. It takes about 10 minutes 3x/week for my son and I to go through it, and because I got the books from Librivox, he listens to the selections.
This one book includes literature, grammar, poetry study, picture study, and narration.
I'm planning to use Level 1 with my 1st and 2nd graders next year.
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CrunchyMom
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Ah!, Maryan, I cross-posted and missed your post entirely. Thanks for the review.
I'm so glad to hear it is working well for both you ladies. It is encouraging when I start thinking it was too much of an impulse buy.
I really like the look of Reading Lessons Through Literature, but I think that the programs we are using are working fine. I know that Dancing Bears/Apples and Pears is a good fit for my dyslexic 8 year old right now, and he joins my 6 year old for his LOE Foundations/Doodling Dragons lesson that is behind where he is in reading but gives him lots of extra practice in the auditory exercises like segmenting where he really struggles. However, the "open and go" approach to the Orton-Gillingham method sounds SO appealing!!
It is interesting, though, how you are using it with your 10 year old as well as Phonetic Zoo. I have wondered if my own 10 year old who loved Explode the Code needs a refresher. He reads well above grade-level but often mispronounces things he has only read about. I've heard so many mixed things about Phonetic Zoo. Do your boys like it?
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Lindsay
Five Boys(6/04) (6/06) (9/08)(3/11),(7/13), and 1 girl (5/16)
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[URL=http://mysymphonygarden.blogspot.com/]Lost in the Cosmos[/UR
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Maryan
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So we are not natural spellers at first in our house. I think mostly because the guys just don't remember it matters. They just would rather just get their ideas out. So I like to do a couple of things to help that.
My 10 yo seems to have missed some rules because he was so fast at Explode the Code -- I don't think it sank in. So I love RLTL to help him remmber them. And then I like how phonetic zoo makes lists based on patterns. It's simple in execution for me. It does get to be pretty rote for them, but no one has fought me about it. So I won't say they love it, but they definitely don't mind.
I have those two doing level A & B in Phonetic Zoo because I would see mistakes and wasn't sure that my dictation would be enough since I'm spread around.
I've also doubled up a bit for my 1st and 2nd grader too. I have them doing Words Their Way workbooks -- which essentially is cutting out cards and sorting them by pattern for a week and then gluing them down at the end of the week.
Because these "extras" require no time from me, they work out -- and I have to say that between all of these things I have seen our spelling improve greatly this year. The RLTL does take my time though, but with our LOE flashcards and RLTL lists and reading stories... it's fifteen minutes three times a week for three kids at once? Works for me! So these things have fit my needs this year.
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Maryan
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Syncletica
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| Posted: March 18 2015 at 11:00pm | IP Logged
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Our Lighted Lanterns program is very Charlotte Mason-friendly if you want to check it out. 
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4Real Forums : Language Arts Come Alive
Topic: CM LA: English Lessons Through Literature
