Homeschool Review Crew - American Christian Literature Hewitt Homeschooling

I have a high school student this year who loves to read but is extremely careful about her choices for literature so I couldn't have been more excited to get a chance to review the American Christian Gr 11-12 Authors Pack from Hewitt Homeschooling.


Other members of the Homeschool Review Crew received the following. Some even had the opportunity to take part in the Hewitt Homeschooling paper evaluation service where you submit your student's essays and papers for evaluation. So, please be sure to check out their reviews to get a full picture of what Hewitt Homeschooling has to offer: Grade 1 Lightning Lit Set
Grade 2 Lightning Lit Set

Grade 3 Lightning Lit Set

My First Report

Gr 7 Lightning Lit Set 

Gr 8 Lightning Lit Set 

American Early-Mid 19th Century

American Mid-Late 19th Century

Speech

British Early-Mid 19th Century
British Mid-Late 19th Century
British Medieval
Shakespeare Comedies

Shakespeare Tragedies

British Christian

World Lit 1

World Lit 2 *~*

What is the American Christian Author Pack from Hewitt Homeschooling?

Hewitt Homeschooling dates back to 1963 when a group of professionals who were concerned about education and overall health and welfare of the family organized a foundation that was part of the pioneers of the homeschooling movement in America. Hewitt Homeschooling focuses on a flexible approach to schooling with balance with an emphasis on academics, character development, and instilling a work ethic and community service.

The American Christian Literature pack is part of Hewitt Homeschooling's Lightning Literature curriculum which teaches language arts through the use of whole books and classics, teaches deep reading and writing skills with the intent of increasing the student's love for reading.

While the company is very homeschool oriented, their books have also been used successfully in private school settings.

I received a glossy paperback 176-page student guide and corner-stapled, 3-hole-punched, notebook-ready teacher's guide pages.

The Student Guide

The Student Guide

The student guide is set up to cover either a semester or a full year's schedule. If you choose the semester, it is broken down into 18 weeks. If you choose the full year, it is stretched out over 36 weeks. Both cover the same amount of material.

The lessons are broken down into:

• Introduction
• The Selection
• While You Read
• Comprehension Questions
• Literary Lessons
• Writing Exercises
• Perspectives
• Appendices - Discussion Questions, Project Suggestions, Reading List, Schedules

At the beginning of each lesson, there is an introduction that provides a brief biography of the author and additional tidbits about the reading passage in the lesson. The selection portion is the literary work being studied. It will either refer to one of 4 of the books listed for use with this study or will include poems, essays, etc. on the pages of the Student Guide. The While You Read section includes a list of questions for the student to keep in mind while reading. Each section is followed up with Comprehension Questions, literary lessons, and writing exercises. Some include additional perspectives.

There are also Activities to Enhance the study suggested:

• Vocabulary Notebook
• Reading Journal
• Biographies
• Family Reading or Writing Night
• Oral Summaries
• Writing Group

The Teacher Guide

The teacher guide provides an introduction to the parents explaining how the student guide should be used, includes the schedules, writing exercises, discussion questions, and project suggestions. It also contains a grading guide and the answers to the comprehension questions.

How Did We Use It?

I knew from the start that my middle daughter would be perfect for a literature study. She lives to read, but is extremely particular about the words she puts into her mind and prefers Christian authors or topics that are edifying to her spiritual life. So, when I saw that I was chosen for the American Christian Authors Pack, I was excited and told her about it before it even arrived in the mail. I was anxious to get her reaction. Before I handed it off to her, however, I took some time to dive in and find out what it was all about.

My first order of business was to locate a copy of the first book that is covered in the program. I checked with my local library, but they did not have one. Thankfully, I was able to get my hands on the book elsewhere. When you purchase the pack from Hewitt Homeschooling, the books are included but were not for the purposes of my review.

Then, I began by reading the teacher guide which explains the student guide is written directly to the student and is set up in sections:

• Introduction which explains the importance of writing well, includes a short biography of the author, Lucy S. R. Austen, and provides topics to think about while reading.
• Comprehension Questions
• Literary Lesson - Each lesson teaches aspects of writing by using a specific piece of literature.
• Writing Exercises
• (Throughout the Student Guide there are also "Perspectives" which are informative articles that provide historical background to the piece of literature being studied).

The books covered in the course include:

• Can You Drink The Cup? by Henri Nouwen
• A Circle of Quiet by Madeliene L'Engle
• Godric by Frederick Buechner
• No Graven Image by Elisabeth Eliot

There are also short reading selections, poems, and essays that are included in the student's guide.

The student guide suggests that the students keep a journal and that they discuss the things they're reading with their parents.

What Did We Think?

First of all, I can't stress enough how happy I was that there was a literature program that covered Christian authors. Also, I really love the way this pack is presented with not only comprehension questions but also writing assignments and projects. I also appreciate that the importance of the parent/teacher reading along and being actively involved with the student in the study of each piece of literature discussed.

On a somewhat shallow side note, I want to add that when I presented the course to my daughter and asked if she would be interested in making it her full-year study of literature, she responded with glee that the book looks pretty, so she'd be open to the idea. Of course, I explained what the course was all about and talked about the authors and the books in the study before she decided to give it a go beyond whether or not the cover of the book was "pretty".


Please Note: There are some hot-button topics discussed, such as racism, incest, rape, murder, and homosexuality, making the high school level appropriate. When I discovered the authors chosen for this course, I will admit that I took pause and went back and forth wondering if I should present the material to my innocent daughter or not. I  do want to note that all is done in a manner that I did not find controversial or problematic, but rather serves as a critical thinking launching pad that opens up discussions to help walk the student through formulating their own thoughts on deep spiritual matters which establishing a moral framework. Still, I was happy for the heads-up about them presented in the teacher guide. Within the American Christian Literature course, these topics are discussed in light of God's power and love. There is an explanation toward the end of the Student Guide that explains why the spotlighted authors were chosen to be included in a study of American Christian authors. The author of the curriculum writes:

Test everything. Hold on to the good. Avoid every kind of evil. - It is my hope that you will do this with the authors and works in this book, and that they will give you the same encoouragement that they have given me.

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Read what other members of the Homeschool Review Crew thought by clicking on the picture below:

TOS Review: Hewitt Homeschooling Literature

My son and I were excited to get the opportunity to review:

Lightning Literature and Composition: American Mid-Late 19th Century Student's Guide - $29.95
and
Lightning Literature and Composition: American Mid-Late 19th Century Teacher's Guide - $2.95

Both are from Hewitt Homeschooling and are intended to be used with students in Grades 9-12.


The curriculum contains 4 units. Each unit is broken down into lessons to cover your choice of a semester's worth (18 weeks) or a full-year's worth (36 weeks) of learning. Hewitt Homeschooling recommends that the lessons are completed within the semester's time table, but allows for them to be spread out to cover an entire year.

The study required using additional books that were not included with the study guide or teacher's guide. I had a couple of the titles, and the others were easy to find at my local library. I even found Uncle Tom's Cabin free online as well as I was able to download it from my library's e-book section. The additional books include:

• Uncle Tom's Cabin (Available for purchase separately on the site for $9.98)
• Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (Available for purchase separately on the site for $5.95)
• Red Badge of Courage (Available for purchase separately on the site for $3.95)
• The Call of The Wild (Available for purchase separately on the site for $4.95)

Most of the books, my son had not yet read. Though, I did read The Call of The Wild aloud to him several years ago.

Hewitt Homeschooling also offers a Lightning Literature and Composition Pack to purchase, if you prefer, for $51.96 and includes the student and teacher's guides that I received plus the 4 additional literature books.


The curriculum is easy to follow with some reading assignments found in a book you buy or check out from the library, and others found inside the curriculum book provided. The order of the reading includes:

Unit 1

1. Uncle Tom's Cabin book by Harriet Beecher Stowe
2. Selected poems, included in the curriculum text, from Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass

Unit 2

1. A short story from Bret Harte called, "The Outcasts of Poker Flat", which is included in the curriculum text
2. The book Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain

Unit 3

1. Selected poems from Paul Laurence Dunbar, included in the curriculum text
2. The book, The Red Badge of Courage, by Stephen Crane

Unit 4

1. Selected poems from Emily Dickinson, included in the curriculum text
2. Jack London's book, The Call of the Wild

After the student reads the introductory information, during the first day, it's time to dive into reading. Since the first book on the list is the longest one in the curriculum, a lot of time is spent on Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin. The first six weeks (12 weeks if you're following the full-year schedule) are mostly reading a few chapters a week of Uncle Tom's Cabin and answering discussion questions while keeping the focus on the topic of "Theme". Though, before the student dives into reading, there is a nice background informational section about the author, and also gives the student things to think about while they're reading. There are 8 writing exercises at the end of the first lesson.

Because I knew we wouldn't have time to finish the entire semester's worth, or full-year's worth of lessons during the course of the review, I decided to jump ahead a bit just to get a glimpse of what was in the rest of the book.

The lessons encompass topics such as:

• Theme
• Humor
• Description
• Point of View
• Figurative Language
• Register (Levels of Formality in Writing)
• Sound in Poetry

The student guide is in its third printing edition and is a perfect bound 160-page book. It is presented in a way that makes it interesting for the students to read, with grayed boxes summarizing what is being taught, bold headlines so the student knows exactly what they are learning in each section, and segments of the text highlighted inside eye-catching text boxes. The Student's Guide includes:

• Information about the Authors
• Comprehension questions
• Writing Exercises
• Discussion Question and Project Suggestions
• Reading Lists Related to the Period or Topic
• Semester and Full-Year Schedules that allow for either 18 weeks or 36 weeks of learning
• Bibliography

The teacher's guide is 44 white pages with typed print in a 3-hole punched format and ready to insert into a binder for use. The Teacher's Guide includes:

• Answers to Comprehension Questions
• Teaching Schedule
• Teaching and Grading Helps
• Copies of the Writing Exercises
• Discussion Questions

LITERATURE AND MY SON

I knew from the start that actually getting my son to sit down and read a book at all would be my biggest challenge. This child blossomed early, reading fluently at the age of 3, really! But, my excitement about this accomplishment quickly waned as he has entered his teen years. This child who once insisted on staying up till he finished a 65-page early reader compilation book of Dick and Jane stories, now cringes at the thought of even looking at a book.

Once I saw the curriculum and was holding it in my hands, I got very excited. Though, I still knew that while it is set up in a way that many parents could merely just hand the student book to their child, give him or her assignments, and receive back some great work - I knew I was going to have to find a way to present the idea that he would actually be reading an entire book.

I was thrilled when I found the first required book at my library as an e-book. Having it on screen instead of on paper works better for my son. From there, I chose to take the lessons at the slower, full-year pace instead of the shorter, recommended 18-week semester schedule.

WHAT DID I THINK OF THE CURRICULUM?

I'll just sum it up by saying - I LOVE THIS CURRICULUM! I'm very excited to have the opportunity to use it to help my son move beyond his dislike toward reading. The formatting of the student book is designed to capture and hold the interest of a high school student.

I really love the checklists that are provided in the Teacher's Guide, and I found the teaching schedule to be quite helpful as well.

Find Hewitt Homeschooling Literature on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Google +, and the Hewitt Homeschooling Blog. Also, read what other TOS reviewers thought: