LLATL is simple for the teacher to use and very effective for the student. Research indicates teaching language arts skills in an isolated format is not as effective as an integrated approach. A student may be able to complete a workbook page on punctuation but not include correct punctuation in his own daily writing. When the skills are kept in the context of literature and writing they take on new meaning for the student. This method not only gives the student more understanding for the skills, but also adds to the retention of them. We’ve heard numerous stories of students who once disliked language arts when using a basal program, decided it was their favorite subject when they used Learning Language Arts Through Literature.
LLATL incorporates the dictation method into lessons integrating grammar, punctuation, spelling, writing, and thinking skills. Copying is used at lower levels and is suggested for older students who have difficulty with dictation skills. When a student uses good literature as a model, he is learning to improve his own writing skills. It trains him to look for details, strive for accuracy, and learn to write.
Since this method may be new to you, here are a few suggestions:
For more information on dictation, watch our video.
The lessons are integrated so you don't need to add grammar, writing, spelling, etc. to the curriculum. For many people, the program is enough, but we know that needs vary from student to student, so it is designed to be flexible for those who may need more practice or who would benefit from having something explained in more than one way. There is no busy work, so most lessons usually take 20-30 minutes or less. This frees up your time to supplement if needed according to your student’s needs.
Most students struggle with writing skills, so we do offer supplements that add to what they will be doing in LLATL. The Wordsmith series is very effective, easy-to-use, and students can work through it on their own with some oversight. The three levels are Wordsmith Apprentice (4th-6th), Wordsmith (6th-9th), and Wordsmith Craftsman (9th-12th). In addition to this you might look at Paragraph Writing for Kids (4th-6th) which gives a good foundation for writing five types of basic paragraphs. All the lessons in these programs should take less than 20 minutes a day to complete making them a good fit with any curriculum.
We do recommend that you purchase the teacher and student book. Because the teacher book has the answers for each activity in the margin of the page which makes your job easier, you would have to cover that up each time your student used the book. Also, just having the teacher book would require your student to do a lot of extra copying of activities. The student book is designed to keep all your student's work together and to cut down on any copying work. While it does contain much of the teaching to encourage the student to work as independently as possible, this instruction is sometimes more abbreviated than the teacher's book.
Keep in mind that, if we have them on hand, you can purchase the books at 50% off from our imperfect bookshelf. This means that you could possibly get the two books for almost the price of one. Here's the link for the imperfect books: Common Sense Press | Scratch and Dent Homeschool Textbooks - Common Sense Press. The availability of titles is always changing.
Learning Language Arts Through Literature, while primarily a neutral language arts program, does have Christian content. A handful of the dictation lessons are based on passages from the Bible, hymns, and Christian biographies. They are used to teach grammar, spelling, vocabulary and other skills, just as the other dictation passages are. They are not designed to be used as religious study.
For example, after reading the Epic of Gilgamesh in the ninth grade, there is a critical thinking writing activity that instructs the students to do a study of origins and write a paper defending their conclusion. The student is not dictated a conclusion and the instructions leave it in the teacher’s hands. In another lesson students have an activity to compare and contrast different religions.
All the authors of the program are Christian. We do have many families that are not Christian who have indicated to us that they are comfortable with the curriculum, but some may find it objectionable. We suggest that anyone with concerns about the program, either way, should carefully review it before purchasing. This would be true of any teaching sources you consider bringing into your home.
