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moved this from Drawn into Heart of Reading section to hear...to see if someone can respond

Will Dithor work as my jr. High literature
by ckemonster » Fri May 11, 2012 12:07 am

We are required to add literature starting in 7th grade in our state. Their are no regulations as to what to teach. I know there are study guides available from different places but we are working on freeing ourselves of so much worksheet style things. After looking through DITHOR, I am thinking I can use this for literature...it seems more than "just a reading" program. I haven't compared it to other things yet and this will be our first year using DITHOR ( for several children at dif levels!) Do I need DITHOR and something else or will this be enough? We will also be doing HOD's Shakespeare study even though we won't be using that guide for all of our work this year ( but dd is way too excited about Shakespeare to wait!). Is that enough? I want to enjoy this new adventure not bog it down with lots of extras if possible.

Thanks!

I think DITHOR works well as a literature course. It is much more than a reading program. The level 6/7/8 book has the student analyzing many things. Each genre deals with a different literary element such as setting, type of conflict, mood, theme etc. They do activities surrounding these elements. There is also vocabulary work and comparing the characters to Godly character traits. The one thing you would want to make sure you do is get the teacher's guide because it has more in depth discussion questions also.

I would agree with Lynn, and think that DIHTOR would be a fabulous choice for Jr. High Literature. I know that I've seen Carrie say that if you haven't been using DITHOR all along that it would even make a good 9th grade lit program, so I'm thinking that it really would be a great choice for what you need. HOD has it scheduled to do 5 of the genres each year...and I'm thinking that would be sufficient for lit study in jr. high? You would want to use the teacher guide and the 6/7/8 student book...and then books of your choice. I know that Carrie has a new book pack out for that age level. And, we LOVE her choices!

Besides teaching the student to analyze what they're reading & learn about story elements, our absolute favorite part fo the program is the way that it teaches the kids to read with Biblical discernment. They are encouraged to compare characters thoughts and actions with God's Word and see how they measure up. We love the lessons in character along the way! And, I know this is such an important skill that will serve them well with media input of ALL kinds throughout their lives.

Kathleen

Thank you both! Our area has a used book sale on Thursday. I am glad to know I really don't need to look for one more thing! ) I am looking forward to using DITHOR. I hope to use it for all 3 kiddos this year.