Illuminating Literature:Characters in Crisis - A Review

As a member of the Homeschool Crew, I always look forward to checking out the upcoming vendors. When Illuminating Literature:Characters in Crisis by Writing with Sharon Watson came up, and I was put on the list to review it, I was thrilled. Actually, that's an understatement. I was probably more excited than one might expect a person to be over a literature course, lol. Of course, most homeschool moms that I know can get pretty jazzed over curriculum, but let's just say, I was happy.

We received the Student Textbook, the Teacher's Guide, and the Quiz and Answer Manual. There is also a great Novel Notebook for the course that is a free pdf download on the Illuminating Literature:Characters in Crisis  website. If you take another glance at the title of this review, you'll be reminded that it's a literature course. As such, you 'll be reading various classic books. While some short stories are included within this curriculum, you will need to borrow or purchase others. But I'll come back to that in a bit. For now, let me lay out the material and other pertinent information that you'll find in each of these books.

This is a class created for grades 9-12. It is a full year, two semester, college prep course. Upon completion your student will have earned one credit. While it is second in a series, this class may be completed on its own, without prerequisite. Bonus, for me, and I know, many of you, it is presented from a Christian worldview.

The Student Book:

This is the textbook, and the workbook for your student. The text begins with an introduction to the course. The author presents the material in a personable style, very conversational. She offers an overview of the year, some of the literature selections that will be covered, and then has the student take a fun opinion survey regarding their history and general feelings about the subject. She also provides reasons that it is important to include classic literature in their education, and a glossary terms that will be used. I love the way that she presents this course. Even if you have a student that dislikes the subject in general, her tone is disarming and welcoming. I was quickly drawn in by the personality of her writing, and I knew that my daughter wouldn't be the only one taking this class, lol.

After finishing the first few lessons of the Introduction section, it's time to begin reading some classics. The material for the books make up the chapters. So for the first story, A Jury Of Her Peers, that chapter features lessons surrounding that story. There are questions that relate to the theme of the story, to get your mind thinking, reading and homework schedules, character breakdowns, insights into the author's life, and finally, the story itself. It's packed with material! Following the story, there is still more to do. Students rate the story, giving one to five stars. There is a quiz to take, and work in the Novel Notebook- I'll cover those shortly. Finally, there is a list of activities to choose from, to extend the theme of the story. All of these activities and lessons will help teens learn how to analyze a piece of literature.

Hand in your activity and wipe the sweat from your brow. Lol!

The Teacher Guide:

Really, this is what it says it is, the manual for the course. It provides the versions of the books that will be read, as well as a list of the short stories that are already in the Student Workbook. It lays out course objectives, grading instructions, and the basic schedule. Very good book.

The Quiz and Answer Manual:

There are two options for taking the quizzes for this course, online, or using this Quiz and Answer Manual. The only difference, which obviously would be, that one is paper and one is online. Our family is old fashioned, and we still prefer a paper copy, so this manual was and is, great. There are a couple of quizzes for each story, one is an "I read the story" quiz, and the  other a literary terms quiz.

The Novel Notebook:

This is the free PDF that is found on the website. It's pretty cool. Print it, and keep it in a 3 ring binder. It's colorful, and sorry teens, this might not be cool to say, but it's cute and pretty too. This notebook has various questions to answer, as well as other short writing assignments, all of course, relating to each story or book. And you know, I just really like this. It's visually appealing, and a nice written record of the class.

Here is a sample of literature that will be read:


* A Jury of Her Peers
* Frankenstein
* Silas Marner
* Much Ado About Nothing

What do we think?

I used this with my daughter, who is in the 8th grade. But wait!, you say, you said that this is a course for grades 9-12! I know, I know, it is. The cool thing about homeschooling is that you can gauge the maturity and readiness of your students. I felt that she could handle the course, so we went for it!
We worked 4 days a week, and are partway through the book Frankenstein as of the writing of this post. I had thought that she would find the tone of the teaching to be interesting and inviting. My daughter loves to read, but the general study that accompanies the subject of literature can be a bit of a yawn for her. I'm happy to say that I was right, and while she wouldn't call Frankenstein her favorite, she does like the lessons. She's learning that there are classics that she likes and doesn't like, but that she can learn something from all. And, this class is not only for homeschoolers. It will also work in classrooms and co-ops. As the teacher, I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this course! I wish that I had had the opportunity to take this class when I was in high school. Fortunately, I  still can! I would and will recommend Writing with Sharon Watson to anyone who will listen, and specifically this course, Illuminating Literature:Characters in Crisis . I would strongly encourage you to visit the website, and look at the sample lessons. I bet you'll be impressed!


                                                                     




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What did other Crew members think? Read their reviews here