Cathy Duffy Review Learning Language Arts Through Literature
UPDATE: Common Sense Press has released a 3rd edition of this series since we wrote our review. We've decided not to bring the new editions in for at present, so we have non had a chance to run into them and correct information technology.
The authors of Learning Language Arts Through Literature (or LLATL) modeled their approach on the "natural learning" teaching methods of Dr. Ruth Beechick. Beechick emphasizes starting kids out stiff in the essentials—reading, writing/linguistic communication arts, and math—before building on those foundations to explore the vast earth of knowledge. LLATL is an integrated learning approach that doesn't focus on one attribute of language arts, instead attempting to synthesize phonics, spelling, grammar, reading comprehension, artistic writing, and literature written report into a single program.
Students read portions or whole texts of famous books and follow upwards with a series of activities and/or written assignments that demonstrate elements of grammar, spelling, etc. institute in the reading. The lessons are teacher guided, though after the get-go two years (the Blue and Cherry-red books in the series) in that location is almost no teacher prep required. A lot of the assignments, especially in the later levels, involve re-create and dictation to innovate and reinforce important concepts. The early levels rely heavily on games and crafts to teach and hold students' involvement.
How Do These Piece of work?
The first eight books (Blue, Red, Yellow, Orange, Purple, Tan, Green, and Gray) each encompass a single class starting with first. The ii Gilded books (i each for British and American literature) are intended for high schoolhouse report. Each book covers i school-year in 36 weekly lessons. The offset form Blueish book is about entirely a phonics grade; the second grade Red volume continues some phonics teaching but focuses more on spelling, handwriting, and basic reading comprehension. Subsequently levels concentrate more on comprehension and writing skills.
The first grade level (Blue) comes with a instructor guide, consumable student workbook, and three sets of readers. Ruby-red level comes with a teacher guide, consumable student workbook, and i set of readers. The adjacent six levels each consist of a teacher guide and pupil workbook. Both Gold level texts are a combined teacher/educatee book. As well the readers and student and teacher books each level requires the use of several supplementary texts; well-nigh are bachelor at the library, though the class authors practice utilize specific editions for the assignments.
Get-go class begins with no assumed previous reading teaching. Students will demand to know their alphabet, but the LLATL writers undertake to get kids reading within their start twelvemonth of formal didactics. The phonics approach emphasizes audio recognition and memorizing alphabetic character and give-and-take sounds by the smallest degrees possible, in order to limit retentiveness tasks to a workable size. Students are required to read from basic phonics readers and exercise their handwriting skills. Supplementary texts at this level include Corduroy, Ferdinand, and Mike Mulligan's Steam Shovel.
Subsequent levels plough increasingly to edifice grammer, composition, and vocabulary skills. This is more often than not through the reading of a passage, taking it down dictation-style, making necessary corrections through comparison of the original and the copy, and so discussing or looking up specific vocabulary words. The idea is that through copying the work of masters, students will learn the proper utilise and rules of language in a more than organic manner than elementary memorization. That isn't to say formal rules are never introduced, simply that they are de-emphasized. Instead of memorizing rules, students observe the work of those who knew how to use them.
In addition to grammar, spelling, vocabulary, and writing, students study private texts through book studies. A lot of the literature introduced throughout the series are just pocket-sized passages taken from longer works and used for the dictation exercises. For the book studies (there are usually three or 4 a year), students read a longer work (typically a novel or biography), then in addition to the usual vocab and grammar work write short essays based on what they've read. The book studies tend to assume a unit study feel, with students required to investigate the accompanying historical menses of the work and its author. These unit study-esque assignments aren't elaborated much, and are more suggestions than requirements.
While this is supposed to be a literature course also as a grammar, vocabulary, spelling, etc. class, the choice of books for in-depth report often seems a bit odd. For case, in the Grayness book, students report the complete texts of A Lantern in Her Hand, God's Smuggler, Across V Aprils, and Eric Liddell. The Gray book was designed for apply by eighth graders, and is also the level that introduces Moby Dick which makes its advent in the form of an obscure paragraph from the middle of the volume for students to copy from dictation. Also, in the high school Aureate book for American literature, the books seem somewhat unrepresentative—The Red Badge of Courage, The Quondam Human being and the Sea, and The Pearl. While information technology's good to get kids reading in general, a literature course ought to devote more fourth dimension to important, well-known works than an occasional paragraph.
LLATL was written past Christians, but in that location isn't an overpowering moralism or preachiness to the serial. Some of the dictation work includes passages from the Bible, though this is a language arts/literature course, non a Bible curriculum. When (as in the Bible selections) grammar usage or punctuation in the original is archaic or no longer standard, the form authors discuss the differences with current norms.
Our Honest Opinion:
The authors of LLATL claim a lot for their grade. The question, of course, is whether they succeed. While we've sold a lot of this programme over the years, we've too seen a lot of it returned. At the same fourth dimension we don't want to dismiss it out-of-hand, as some nosotros trust (notably Cathy Duffy) highly recommend the course. With that said, we experience some cautions are in order.
If LLATL was actually able to integrate all information technology says information technology tin, it would exist an invaluable resource. Still, as you can merely fit so much in a 200-page workbook, some things are naturally given less space than they deserve. Handwriting and spelling practice are noticeably lacking in the early levels, while in-depth textual criticism is lacking in the later ones. A lot of the comprehension questions and activities deal more with plot than pregnant. And while it isn't necessary for a student to know what a gerund is in gild to write well, some formal grammar educational activity is needed for a solid grasp of mechanics. The integrated arroyo celebrated by the authors (obviously induced by their reverence for Ruth Beechick) has some practiced aspects, but at times they seem to expect students to learn past trivial more than osmosis.
A good literature grade introduces students to the highlights of the literary canon in order to expand their understanding and to aid them toward a cultural literacy that volition make them more clear and aware. Many of the greatest works of Western literature are mentioned in this series, only in-depth study is often reserved for lesser-known and often less important works. Students whose reading has been divers largely by the selections in LLATL may find themselves at a loss in college, or anywhere at that place is educated dialogue.
The course isn't all bad. Students will be introduced to some expert literature (and some obscure literature), and the integrated approach is at least a good thought. But without a logical progression to the introduction of grammer rules, spelling rules, etc., many students may become frustrated or will simply not retain the data. The concept that students learn from imitating those who already know how to do something well is an former one and a proved one; but if the execution is flawed, even the all-time plan will get incorrect.
Review by C. Hollis Crossman
C. Hollis Crossman used to be a child. Now he's a husband and father who loves church, expert nutrient, and weird stuff. He might exist a mythical creature, just he's definitely not a centaur. Read more than of his reviews here.
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Source: http://www.exodusbooks.com/learning-language-arts-through-literature/5331/
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