Lightning Literature Level: Storm (Gr. 6-8)

Lightning Literature Storm is replacing the current Lightning Lit Grade 7. The course covers grammar, punctuation, composition, and literary analysis using a 4-day, 6-week schedule. The required components include a Teacher’s Guide, two consumable Student Workbooks, and the literature.

Carefully selected literature engages readers, and the workbooks (one per semester) guide students through interactive exercises, reflection prompts, and comprehensive grammar drills. Comprehension, critical thinking, and writing skills are integral. No spelling is included. There is more writing instruction in Tempest compared to the previous grade 8 course.

The name change is in response to students this age being sensitive to grade levels. At the middle grades, students really have a wide range of abilities and needs. This course is meant to follow Lightning Literature 6.

For your convenience, we offer a complete Full Year Package with the teacher’s guide, student books, and all required literature. You can also purchase just the Teacher/Student Set or just the required Literature Only.

The Teacher’s Guide (TG) lays out lessons for you very clearly. The focus is on reading and composition, and your student has many of the lessons in their own workbooks to guide the independent learner. Answers are provided when relevant, otherwise you will find suggestions for providing productive feedback. There is a lot of discussion material here. It would be great for a group setting, but you can be the soundboard for your student as well with suggestions from the TG. Adaptations are constantly given to tailor the program to your learner’s needs. Only 1 week is spent on sentence diagramming. 402 pages.

Student Workbook Volume 1 and Student Workbook Volume 2 each cover one semester. These books are consumable, but the student will also write outside of the workbook. Students will appreciate the added color! Also, there is more writing instruction in the student books than in the previous Grade 8. The grammar and punctuation lessons are found between story lessons and incorporate literature as well.

Students read 6 novels from a range of cultural viewpoints, voices, and genres, and they will also read the Rainy Day Reader. While some of the titles include heavy content like racism and poverty, the selections are meant to make kids this age ponder, and topics are handled thoughtfully. You will also see a balance of male/female perspectives.

Required Literature selections include the following 6 novels, plus the special Rainy Day Reader (also used in Lightning Lit Storm). Click the links to read more about each novel or to purchase them individually. This is the sequence the novels are presented in the course.

Prairie Lotus by Linda Sue Park is about Hannah, a girl growing up in America’s heartland in 1880 who faces racism for being half-Asian.

The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien is about a band of elves and their quest to reclaim their gold. They choose an unlikely accomplice, Bilbo Baggins, at the suggestion of the wizard Gandalf.

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll is about an ordinary young girl, Alice, who follows a rabbit down a hole and finds an enchanted world full of zany characters.

Elijah of Buxton by Christopher Paul Curtis is about a young boy, Elijah, who is the first to be born free in a Canadian settlement of former American slaves. Elijah shows his bravery when challenged by a thief.

A Day of Pleasure: Stories of a Boy Growing Up in Warsaw by Isaac Bashevis Singer is an autobiographical collection of Jewish life in the city both before and during WWII. He wrote this for children to read.

All Creatures Great and Small by James Herriott is about his life as a country vet and the often-hilarious cast of characters he meets and treats, from the largest to the smallest.

The Rainy Day Reader was created just for these courses (Storm and Tempest). It includes short stories and poems selected by the author.