Resource Updates for Excellence in Literature

2 Responses

  1. Donya says:

    EIL looks to be an AMAZING curriculum! I am eager to use this in my own home. The multiple writing assignments are a big plus. However, for the teachers/parents does it include a brief summary of each book/poem that is included in the reading list? In other words, is there something available for the grader to effectively evaluate the content (not just the grammar) of the written assignments without having read the literary work?
    I look forward to hearing from you.
    Thank you

    • Janice Campbell says:

      Hi, Donya,
      There is a rubric provided in the book that will help you evaluate content, style, and mechanics according to consistent standards. I didn’t include summaries, as I didn’t want to have students reading a summary and deciding they hated the story without ever reading it;-). I also wanted to keep each lesson streamlined so students could see it was doable. However, you can find free CliffNotes and/or SparkNotes online for almost all the selections. These will provide you with a summary and other useful information.

      The key point to remember with these study guides is that they present one perspective on the meaning of the book. This perspective is based on the study guide author’s own reading, their literary background, and their worldview, just as your perspective and your students will be based on your own readings, literary background, and worldview. Therefore, if your student reads the book and his/her interpretation of theme or other portion of the book is different from the study guide, but it is well supported with quotes from the text, it is valid. A literary analysis offers only one reader’s perspective, so there is definitely no one right answer to the essay prompts. That’s what makes literature study so much fun!

      I hope you and your student will enjoy EIL.
      Warmly,
      Janice