excellence in literature reviews

Footprints in the Butter

Friday, october 28, 2011, review: excellence in literature.

Okay, so a break from the story here to tell you a bit about Connor.  When he was two, he had a vocabulary of maybe a dozen words.  Maybe.  But he would line up toys in groups of two, or groups of three, and blather on in gibberish... and it was *clear* that he was working out mathematical principles in his head. That two year old, now a teen, hasn't changed a lot.  Everything language arts related has been a struggle, with him not learning to read on a typical schedule, spelling still being an issue, and writing too.  Once he "gets it" he has it... but I ought to have known that college prep lit study was going to be too much for him in 8th grade.

Although this book is a humorous time-travel story, Twain addresses a number of serious social issues through the Connecticut Yankee's experiences. Consider how Hank Morgan's story expresses Twain's views on monarchy versus democracy, slavery and/or serfdom, or technology versus tradition. Choose one of these issues and show how Twain used Morgan's experiences to express his views and how these views reflect the values of America during his time.

4 comments:

I love Jane Eyre! You should read it with at least one of your kids!

Making a mental note for my oldest who's got only 1 more year before he might be ready for this.

I'm in the process of picking our curriculum for high school English, and I LOVE your review! Thank you so much, you answered so many of my questions! And I have to second Debbie, you should read Jane Eyre. It's a bit intimidating at first, but it is truly a great book. None of the movie versions do it justice. :)

I am using this program for my daughter. As someone who is very familiar with what goes on in both public and private high schools in the U.S., I can safely say that Campbell's basic course outline is more than so-called honors level. Typical honors and AP students read far less (and write about far less) than the basic 9 modules included in Excellence in Literature. I like your idea about having your son read some of the additional texts but not writing about them. Most honors students are only reading four or five novels and perhaps one play in a typical year. If you do the honors track as outlined, it would equal about three semesters of a typical 300 level college literature course. That being said, you would write far FEWER papers in those three college semesters, but the reading would be about the same. I took a 300 level British Novel course at a top state university and we read six or seven novels (with no additional reading and one of the novels was optional). I wrote two four-page papers and had an essay exam for the final. That was far less rigorous than Excellence in Literature.

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Excellence in Literature: English I - V

These five Excellence in Literature books guide students in grades 8 through 12 through self-directed study of classical literature. Titles of the five courses and the order in which they should be studied are:

Introduction to Literature Literature and Composition American Literature British Literature World Literature

The five literature books are available in print and as PDFs. (There is also a single PDF for all of the literature courses that offers huge savings.)

Author, Janice Campbell wants to prepare students well for rigorous college work, so she directs them to do their own independent research and writing while reading each classic work. Truly designed for independent study, the only “oversight” is the requirement for a writing evaluator to use the provided Evaluation Rubric form to let students know how well they are satisfying the demands of each written assignment that is the culmination of the study of each work. Nevertheless, students would benefit greatly if they could meet for a once-a-week session with other students to discuss their work.

Students should have well-developed writing skills and a solid grasp of grammar and spelling. However, since some students might not have had much experience writing essays, Campbell includes seven pages of instruction on "How to Write an Essay" in the fore matter of each guide. For students who need additional instruction or practice with essay writing, Campbell recommends resources such as The Lost Tools of Writing ,  The Elegant Essay Writing Lessons , and her own Excellence in Literature: Handbook for Writers . She also recommends Teaching the Classics: A Socratic Method for Literary Education if students lack prior experience with literary analysis.

All five courses are similar in their arrangement. In fact, much of the front matter, as well as most of the "Formats and Models" and "How to Evaluate Writing" chapter near the end of each book are identical. The information in those sections is valuable, and the actual lessons refer student to the various sections from time to time. The course work itself is presented in nine modules that guide students through the study of specific literary works. It should take four weeks to complete each module. Suggested schedules for each module are near the front of each book.

The study of each literary work follows a similar format each month. Students select the version of the work they will read. Sometimes, specific versions of a work are recommended, including free, online version. Campbell provides students with minimal background information within the guides. Instead, she directs students to numerous context resources that they are to explore the first week of each module. These might be internet resources (specific URLs), other books, DVDs, audio resources, and even field trips that help students explore the background and author of the particular work they will be reading as well as history, art, and music relating to the historical era of the literary work. Many resources are available through ExcellenceInLiterature.com . Most research will likely be completed online. The PDF versions of these guides are my recommendation because they make it so much easier to follow the links.

Students should read through the assignments for the entire unit and select context resources that are most likely to be helpful as they complete all of their assignments. Each module concludes with an Assignment Schedule with detailed instructions for each week.  The Assignment Schedules provide details not included in the suggested schedules near the front of the book.

Writing assignments vary from module to module. Students might write an Approach Paper one week, an Author Profile the next week, a Literary Analysis Essay the third week. Another module might assign the Author Profile the first week, a Historical Approach Paper, the second week, and a Literary Analysis Essay the third week. Literary Analysis Essays will probably be the lengthiest and most-demanding of the assignments. A parent or writing mentor will use the rubric form to evaluate the essays, then students will revise and rewrite their essays during the fourth week.

Detailed explanations of the formats for each type of paper are included in the Formats and Models section of each guide, along with samples of excellent student work for each format. Students also learn to use the MLA formatting conventions that they will need to know for college papers.

In addition to the guide and the books they will read, students must have a good dictionary, a thesaurus, a writer's handbook, and a binder where they will accumulate their course work. It is expected that students will look up vocabulary words with which they are unfamiliar as well as grammatical and structural questions. A glossary at the back of each book defines literary terms used in the course.

Literary analysis in Campbell's courses focuses on deep reading and thinking rather than superficial comprehension. For example, one assignment for a literary analysis essay in American Literature reads: "Write a 650-word essay comparing and contrasting the courtship strategies of Irving's characters, Ichabod Crane and Brom Bones, with Longfellow's characters, Miles Standish and John Alden" (p. 77) (The prompt continues with some specific questions that student should address.) Students will need to have comprehended the details of the story to answer this question, but they also must think much more deeply to identify points of comparison and contrast in multiple works of literature.

Literary works are studied in a somewhat chronological fashion that is most apparent in American, British , and World Literature . However, you can use modules in whatever order you wish. In fact, you can even mix modules from the various volumes since the study format is the same for all courses.

In my opinion, most of the selected literary works are some of the most interesting and entertaining, although some are certainly very challenging. Some of the literary works are classics that have stood the test of time, and many of them deal with important life questions world views.

Introduction to Literature begins the first lesson with a little more instruction and a gentler pace as students read six short stories and become familiar with the methodology. As students continue the course, they will read Around the World in Eighty Days, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, Jane Eyre, Pygmalion , Treasure Island, Animal Farm, The Tempest , and Gulliver's Travels .

Literature and Composition introduces students to Robinson Crusoe, Walden, The Count of Monte Cristo, Heart of Darkness, Till We Have Faces, Death Comes for the Archbishop, Julius Caesar, Ivanhoe , and The Importance of Being Earnest .

In American Literature students will study Benjamin Franklin's Autobiography, The Last of the Mohicans, The House of Seven Gables, Moby Dick, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, The House of Mirth , The Great Gatsby, and The Old Man and the Sea. One of the modules combines the study of Rip Van Winkle , The Legend of Sleepy Hollow , and works by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow . (You might want to use this course in conjunction with IEW's Advanced U.S. History-Based Writing Lessons . The Advanced U.S. History-Based Writing Lessons course includes optional lessons from American Literature, coordinating assignments from both courses.)

In British Literature , students will study Beowulf, Canterbury Tales , Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and other Arthurian works, King Lear, Paradise Lost, Pride and Prejudice, Great Expectations, Wuthering Heights, and To the Lighthouse .

World Literature uses what necessarily has to be a very limited selection of literary works to cover from the Ancient Greeks to the modern era. Works studied include The Odyssey, Antigone, The Aeneid, Diving Comedy: Inferno, Don Quixote, Les Miserables , selections from The Portable Nineteenth-Century Russian Reader, Faust, and both Out of Africa and "Babette's Feast" in a combined study.

The high school courses can easily become Honors courses if students read an additional book listed for each unit and complete an additional "Approach Paper" on that book. They are also required to write an additional six- to ten-page paper. At that point, Honors students should be prepared to take the corresponding CLEP exam to both demonstrate advanced proficiency and earn college credits.

While these are not specifically designed to be worldview courses, Campbell sometimes integrates worldview type questions as she directs students' attention in their study of some books. Campbell includes a chapter titled "Discerning Worldview through Literary Periods" to aid both student and teacher in exploring literature with worldviews in mind.

Students completing these courses should be miles ahead of most of their high school contemporaries in their ability to read and analyze literature at a sophisticated level. The challenging writing assignments also promise to develop student skills in composition to a high level.

Pricing Information

When comparison prices appear, please keep in mind that they are subject to change. Click on links where available to verify price accuracy.

Published with and also available through  Institute for Excellence in Writing

Excellence in Literature - English II: Literature and Composition

• $28.25 at Amazon.com
• $22.74 Used at Amazon.com Marketplace
• $39.00 at Rainbowresource.com

Excellence In Literature Content Guides for Self-Directed Study: American Literature

• $29.00 at ExodusBooks.com
• $55.48 at Amazon.com
• $4.16 Used at Amazon.com Marketplace

Excellence In Literature Content Guides for Self-Directed Study: British Literature

• $16.95 Used at Amazon.com Marketplace

Excellence in Literature - English 1: Intro to Literature

• $28.83 at Amazon.com
• $18.99 Used at Amazon.com Marketplace

World Literature: English 5 (Exc in Lit)

• $39.00 at Amazon.com
• $41.00 Used at Amazon.com Marketplace

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• Need For Parent or Teacher Instruction: minimal
• Learning Environment: independent study
• Grade Level: grades 8-12
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• Educational Methods: research, real books, multisensory, critical thinking, creative activities
• Technology: PDF
• Educational Approaches: worldview, traditional, classical, Charlotte Mason
• Religious Perspective: Christian

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• https://everydayeducation.com/

Note: Publishers, authors, and service providers never pay to be reviewed. They do provide free review copies or online access to programs for review purposes.

Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the post above are "affiliate links." This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services that I believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255 "Guidelines Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

Excellence in Literature Reviews

This post is in collaboration with Everyday Education.

Everyday Education offers all kinds of homeschool resources for homeschooling through High School.

Many crew members reviewed  Excellence in Literature: English 1: Introduction to Literature with the Honors option .

Taken straight from the website: Throughout this course students gain an understanding and development of literature and will practice the skills of close literary analysis through essays, approach papers and other evaluative writing.

• Understand the process of writing, including the use of tools such as a writer’s handbook, dictionary, and thesaurus.
• Have specific understanding of selected representative texts by major authors of the periods studied.
• Have a general understanding of the historical and cultural contexts of the works.
• Be able to analyze literary texts and present thoughtfully developed ideas in writing.
• Demonstrate competence in essay organization, style, and mechanics.

Unit 1: Short Stories by- • Sarah Orne Jewett: A White Heron • Edgar Allen Poe: The Purloined Letter (This one is not scary, if you’re concerned about that.) • Guy de Maupassant: The Diamond Necklace • O. Henry: The Ransom of Red Chief • Eudora Welty: A Worn Path • James Thurber: The Secret Life of Walter Mitty

Unit 2: Around the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne Honors: 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne

Unit 3: A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court by Mark Twain Honors: The Prince and the Pauper by Mark Twain

Unit 4: Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë Honors: Shirley or Villette by Charlotte Brontë

Unit 5: Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw Honors: Murder in the Cathedral by T.S. Eliot

Unit 6: Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson Honors: Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson

Unit 7: Animal Farm by George Orwell Honors: 1984 by George Orwell

Unit 8: The Tempest by William Shakespeare Honors: A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare

Unit 9: Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift Honors: The Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan

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Special Thanks to Alyson from Family Style School for writing this article!

27 thoughts on “Excellence in Literature Reviews”

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Shawna B @ Tenacity Divine English 1: Intro to Literature

I missed getting my link on the linky – it’s here: http://tenacitydivine.com/2011/11/01/excellence-in-literature/

I reviewed this product. Terri G. @ Accidentally Homeschooling

http://www.accidentallyhomeschooling.com/2011/11/excellence-in-literature-review.html

One more review: http://tolchin.blogspot.com/2011/11/tos-crew-review-memoria-pressclassic.html

Thank you to TOS and the review crew for the wonderful reviews. I haven’t found and read them all yet, but I’m grateful that so many of you took the time to thoughtfully try out Excellence in Literature and share your thoughts with others.

Reviews have always been one of the primary ways I learned about and evaluated what I’d use to teach our boys, so I know these will be helpful to others. And I’ve had a lot of fun reading them!

Blessings, Janice

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• Pingback: 2011-2012 TOS Homeschool Crew Blue Ribbon Awards at TOS Homeschool Crew

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Excellence in Literature Review

As a classical educator (sort of), I value the study of classic literature. I want my children (and myself) to have an understanding of the themes and messages found in classic books.

I have a problem though. I do not really “get” a lot of literature myself. While other homeschoolers quake at the thought of teaching advanced math and science courses, my biggest fear is literature. In my “former life”, I was an engineer. And engineers don’t have to take a lot of English courses in college. So I had 1 semester of freshman English. I had a reasonably decent high school education, but it always took the class discussions for me to see the themes and draw conclusions from my reading.

My 13 year old son is a very literal kid. So just asking leading questions about a book isn’t going to be enough. Plus, I don’t know what kind of leading questions to even ask. Studying literature with him is not going to be easy. I fear that it’s going to be a painful experience. Yet, we do want him to have at least had the experience of reading the books and making some attempt of analyzing them.

This is not an easy course . It will require thought and a lot of time to complete the assignments. And that is just for the regular assignments. The author gives extra selections to read to increase the difficulty to an honors course. (I frankly can’t imagine that our local high school students are getting anything remotely like this course in a regular English class. But my goal is not to mimic the public high school anyway!) Excellence in Literature is not a fill-in-the-blank literature course . It is too advanced for my 8th grader, who is extremely smart, just not in this area, to complete at the pace that the course is designed to be completed. I am planning on holding onto the course for next year. Before then, I’d like to obtain a copy of Teaching the Classics which the author recommends if you need help with literary analysis. (which we do!)

If you’re looking for a challenging course for high school literature, I recommend that you look at Excellence in Literature . You can download an overview of the entire program and the complete book list on the Everyday Education website . Each course is available in print for $29 plus shipping, or as an e-book for $27.

Please visit the Homeschool Crew Blog to read other reviews of this and other products for your homeschool!

Disclosure: I received a free copy of this product to review. I was not compensated for this review and all opinions expressed are my own.

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4 thoughts on “Excellence in Literature Review”

Kristen, I love reading your reviews. This looks like a great book to have in one’s curriculum. I have been frustrated many times after reading the works of some writers and then try to explain or ask questions with the kids. Not easy.

Thank you Paula 🙂

What are your thoughts on EIL now after using it?

I ended up using the literature that accompanied Notgrass World History for my oldest son’s 9th grade year and then this year he took a literature class outside the home. So, I have not fully implemented this program, but I do have Teaching the Classics now and I may use this along with Notgrass for my daughter this year. My son will be taking another literature class. It works well for both of us for him to study literature outside because he is competitive and will do the work that way.

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Excellence in Literature Home

 It is what you read when you don’t have to that determines what you will be when you can’t help it. Oscar Wilde  

Excellence in Literature: The Website — Study Resources for Literature and Writing

This Excellence in Literature home site is home to a large collection of resources for the study of literature and writing. It began with many of the resources referenced in the Excellence in Literature study guides, but has grown far beyond that. We host an ever-growing library of author biographies, poetry, music, and art, as well as articles by professors, scholars, and other experts .

We have been fortunate enough to receive permission to preserve excellent literature and writing resources that would have otherwise disappeared with the author’s retirement or passing, and we continue to seek opportunities to do so.

Study Guides

Learn more about the curriculum

The Blue Ribbon Award from The Old Schoolhouse Review Crew was the first of many awards Excellence in Literature has received over the past few years.

The Excellence in Literature study guides by Janice Campbell help students study classic literature with the help of context resources such as art, music, poetry, author biographies, critical essays, and more.

Each full-length classic studied in the curriculum is framed by glimpses into the history, art, music, and other works relevant to the author and the text. Students learn to write at an advanced level through carefully-crafted, week-by-week assignments. You can learn a bit more about the philosophy behind the curriculum (and why there are no comprehension questions) at Excellence in Literature  or at  About Excellence in Literature   on this EIL home site .  There is also a short video walkthrough of the curriculum on the About page. It’s just a quick iPhone video, but you may find it helpful.

Some of the articles below are at Everyday Education (the bookstore) or the Doing What Matters blog (Janice’s blog), but they are set to open in a new tab so you don’t lose your place here on the EIL home page.

• Free sample lesson  and printable booklist  (PDF).
• Descriptive overview of study guide contents
• Article:  How I Chose Books for Excellence in Literature 
• Article:  Excellence in Literature Worldview
• Article:  How to Use Excellence in Literature  (a week-by-week overview)
• Article:  Is There a Teacher’s Manual for Excellence in Literature ?
• Article:  Honors Option for EIL
• Article:  Print or eBook for Literature Study?
• Article:  Using Excellence in Literature in a co-op
• Excellence in Literature FAQ
• Links to recommended editions of the classics studied
• Cathy Duffy’s review

Resource links stay up to date at the  Study Guide Link   pages.

Direct links to detailed descriptions.

You will find   each guide,including  The Complete Curriculum —  all five years in a big binder , in print and/or ebook format at  Everyday Education .

• Introduction to Literature (English 1) 
• Literature and Composition (English 2)
• American Literature (English 3)
• British Literature (English 4)
• World Literature (English 5)
• The Complete Curriculum: Literature and Writing for Grades 8-12
• Handbook for Writers

The Everyday Education bookstore site offers the exclusive Print Plus  ebook add-on option .

Print Plus eBook learning advantages:

• Printed guide is best for frequently referenced instructional articles and models
• eBook add-on can be one more than one device for use by others in the family
• eBook add-on allows students to click context resources links on most computers, rather than type in URLs (any link updates will be listed on this site in the Curriculum User Content)
• Extra copies of reproducible forms can be easily printed from the add-on

Search tips for resources

Curriculum users : Links from the study guides are organized by study guide level (Introduction to Lit, British Lit, etc.), and regularly updated at this Excellence in Literature home site. You can reach them from the Study Guide Links page.

Specific authors or works : If you are looking for resources about a particular author or literary work, just type a few keywords into the search box, and you should find the resources we host here.

Writing help : If you are looking for help with annotating books, writing techniques, or other how-to information, look under the Writer’s Handbook  category, or just use the search box to find what you need.

You may purchase the  Excellence in Literature  study guides at the author’s company, Everyday Education. We offer the exclusive ebook add-on option .

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Here’s the Everyday Educator — our annual newsletter handout. It has book lists and helpful articles about homeschooling topics. We’d rather be sharing it in person, but for now, you can download the Everyday Educator here.  I hope you enjoy it!

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