REVIEW || Grade 3 Literature Guides

[@MindfullyLiv]

You guys this video took 39 hours to upload 😅 are any of you using literature guides for your novels this year?? Have you used guides from other companies that I didn't mention? I'd love to check them out!

[@steffanimiller769]

This was more helpful than anything else that I've watched or looked at online!! Seriously! The fact that you took an in-depth look at each guide, was incredible! Thank you thank you thank you!!

[@MindfullyLiv]

You're so welcome! I know how quickly homeschool materials can add up, and how much it helps me to be able to really see what I'm purchasing to aid in the chance it'll fit into our school space best.

[@MamaNatalieSan]

I just found you. Thank you for this video. I was intrigued when you mentioned your sons reading level vs age appropriate content. I’m going through that with my daughter. You sold me when you gave your opinion on Mr. Poppers Penguin. When my daughter finished the book she said , “Dude, he bailed on his family! He just left them behind!!” I’m looking forward to watching your channel.

[@MindfullyLiv]

I'm so happy to hear some of this resonated with you. Reading level/ appropriate content is a real issue I'm still running into, especially with reading-for-fun books. As far as those tried and true oldies, as much as I appreciate a classic, a lot of them are boring and underwhelming 🙃 fighting words for traditional, literature based homeschoolers 😅 Happy to have you here!

[@gatheredandgroundedhomeschool]

What a great video! We have been using the Moving Beyond the Page LA- Novel Guides and they are OK, mostly using the discussion questions. I've been trying to look at different guides.

[@MindfullyLiv]

These are ones that are on my list to test out as well. I feel like discussion questions can go a long way for comprehension and study! I do hope to come across a lit study that checks all of my boxes though. Thank you ☺

[@schultesweeties]

Thank you so much for this video! I was just looking at literature units for my 6th grader. I came across Nobel Units last night and wasn’t sure if that would be a good fit. Looks so good! The other option I was leaning toward was Great Works.

[@MindfullyLiv]

Great Works has a lot of activities! That would be a good fit for some families! Novel Units was a company I really couldn't get the best look inside online. I was really pleased with it when it came in and I flipped through it.

[@OdetoAbode]

Wow! I hadn't heard of most of these! Thank you so much for this video, I found it incredibly helpful. We've been enjoying LitHouse Learning novel study guides, to focus on writing. But I definitely want to have variety for next year, so I'm glad I found this.

[@MindfullyLiv]

I actually just recently came upon that company! I wish they had more options in Level 3 because it is definitely where my older kiddo falls. I may grab a guide for my younger daughter for this upcoming school year. I'm glad this was helpful for you!

[@OdetoAbode]

@@MindfullyLiv she's definitely releasing more all the time, so keep checking 😉

[@MindfullyLiv]

@@OdetoAbode will do !

[@kristinajones9975]

Thank you. This was great. I am also considering Brave Writer and some Hearth and Home studies but haven’t used them yet, so I know little about them.

[@MindfullyLiv]

I see nothing by raving positivity over Brave Writer guides and may pick one up myself! I know it's more writing-focused so I don't know if it'll fit exactly for what I want, but I'm willing to check them out.

[@maggiepanning356]

This was excellent. I am planning to do various novel studies with my son (he’ll be in 4th grade) next year instead of a literature curriculum, primarily because I want more control over what books we read, but also because the curriculum we are currently using also includes grammar and writing and I want to use different programs for both of those. The hardest part seems to be finding guides that include things like theme, internal and external details, character development, etc. My plan as of now is to do like you did and use novel studies from a variety of different sellers, as well as some that are a balance free either from the authors or publishers or as book club guides. I am curious if you plan to do lit the same way next year and if so what guides you plan to purchase. Thank you!

[@MindfullyLiv]

That sounds like exactly what I have planned for this upcoming year as well! It's difficult because these curriculum do cost money so for the sake of our homeschool funds, I hope to come across a company that offers everything I need so I can stick with them and not potentially waste on an experiment 😆 That being said, there's so many options out there and I'm definitely still going to be bouncing around a bit. When I narrow down what 5th grade is going to look like, I will share! Thank you!

[@liljdw1]

Thanks for uploading this! I was finally able to finish this video, and this really helped cement what I thought about the guides. I'm going to try Veritas Press and Novel Units I think.

[@MindfullyLiv]

I'm so glad it was helpful for you!

[@Homeschoolology]

Thanks for sharing! I learned a ton. I've been interested in book guides, but did not know which ones would be useful. Thanks for doing the leg work.

[@MindfullyLiv]

And there are so many more out there still! I'm sure there's great ones out there that I haven't gotten my hands on yet, too. Hopefully these ones can give you a head start if you wind up going with any lit guides!!

[@lindsaydoyle7488]

Thank you so much for including Novel Units in your review. I have seen them many times on curriculum websites, but have not found another review. I like to have an idea of what I'm purchasing BEFORE I make an investment.

[@MindfullyLiv]

Absolutely, as do I! I'm glad this video was helpful for you! I haven't used Novel Units for any other books, so I'm not sure if the layout and contents are consistent from unit to unit. But it was probably my favorite of the bunch!

[@lindsaydoyle7488]

@@MindfullyLiv I'll comment again after we have had a chance to go over them. I've purchased a few from Rainbow Resources (it's nice to get the book, student, and teacher pack all with one purchase). I purchased The Box Car Children and My Side of The Mountain.

[@TheDovesNest]

Thank you so much for this video. So thorough and so much information! I’m going home to watch it for a third time, and this time take notes! We’re starting literature for my second grader this year, and I was just going to use Memoria press. But after seeing this video, I’m going to really look into progeny and novel units! Thanks again

[@MindfullyLiv]

I totally adore Memoria Press, we are using several subjects from them for next year for both my younger daughter and my older son. I just really wasn't impressed with the lit guides unfortunately! This layout may actually call to some, it's repetitive and you can expect the same thing each week. I think for some that may be a positive. It just didn't have the depth we were looking for, which was a bummer! I hope Progeny Press and Novel Units have some great 2nd grade picks ☺ Veritas Press had a fun project after every chapter and was decent as well!

[@darleneklinger8585]

Great video and look throughs and your opinions on each. Thanks

[@MindfullyLiv]

Thanks Darlene!

[@Homeschooling_Realtor]

This was such a helpful comparison, thank you!

[@MindfullyLiv]

You're welcome!

[@Qetesh777]

I like buying lit guides from TPT there are a few sellers on there who do awesome guides. I specifically like when they have boom cards with them because my kids like using them.

[@MindfullyLiv]

I find it so difficult to navigate and sample what TPT has to offer, which is too bad because I know that there are probably some true gems on there. Are there any books and accompanying guides specifically that stood out to you? I'd love to look into them!

[@Qetesh777]

@@MindfullyLiv I really like Gay Miller. She has sets with boom cards and my kids find those fun to complete. She also has it in PDF and goes over literary elements. I also enjoy The book umbrella for more open ended. I hear Stacy LLoyd is really good for older kids. I actually sell one unit on there mine is a mix of what I like but I didn’t have the time to make it have boom cards I did it for the book skunk and badger because I did not see a unit on it at the time.

[@MindfullyLiv]

@@Qetesh777 I will have to check all of these out, thanks so much!

[@leahkuqo]

that upload time 😳 thank you sharing, so much helpful info

[@MindfullyLiv]

right 😅😭 I kept coming back and checking and was in slight disbelief. You're welcome! Thanks for stopping by and checking it out!

[@staceykruse8932]

Thank you! This video is exactly what I was looking for.

[@MindfullyLiv]

I'm happy it was helpful!!

[@brookeally1346]

Your son sounds a lot like mine. He’s 5 and definitely his strongest subject is language arts. He’s starting to read early chapter books now. Any recommendations on language arts for an advanced 5 year old? I feel most curriculum packages for his age are not at his pace or level.

[@MindfullyLiv]

Is your son technically kinder already, or still prek? I really struggled with this because on the one hand, I wanted to challenge him but on the other hand, I didn't want to skip the sweet 5 and 6 year old stories I knew he'd enjoy, just not necessarily learn from. My daughter is the exact same way. With my son, I didn't need to teach him to read so I purchased a grade level ahead of some different LA curriculums. It was okay, but he wasn't really challenged until in 3rd grade we started doing the Michael Clay Thompson LA, and that really met him where he needed to be. Recognizing that my daughter was on the same track, we have done a separate reading curriculum since preK and then literature on the side. MBTP level 6-8 (technically 2nd grade) looks pretty fun! There's an option to purchase the full package without reading or math (so Science, Social Studies, and Language Art) since it sounds like your kiddo won't need a reading curriculum. They have this option for both 5-7 and 6-8.

[@brookeally1346]

@@MindfullyLivthanks so much for your feedback. I often get people telling me to just let him play. It’s not that easy with the way my son works but sometimes I wish that was the answer. He’d technically be prek but pretty much we are halfway done with kindergarten. We use AAR for reading but most days it’s very fast but I’m trying to avoid any gaps. We are using Memoria press kindergarten enrichment and it’s wonderful but not quite enough. We also use units from core knowledge as well. I think we should try MBTP again. We tried but not for long enough to give it a fair shot. We have a unit for 5-7 age range. Thank you!

[@MindfullyLiv]

@@brookeally1346 that sounds pretty close to what I do with my daughter! We did MBTP (4-5) for her when she was 4, then started Logic of English. Then for her kinder year we did Memoria Press Enrichment and LOE. Neither of my kiddos would have been content to just play. Some purposeful instruction definitely gets us through our days, but when they're done after an hour or two at that age, I let them be done :)

[@kerensaclarke2996]

Thanks for your help

[@lillahigdon771]

😊

[@michellecalais2482]

Have you tried Progeny Press or Total Language Plus?

[@MindfullyLiv]

I have not tried Total Language Plus. We have used Progeny Press, and I would say it's very similar to Veritas Press option!

[@Homeschooling.with.Ginger]

Progeny Press includes different literary elements in different guides.

[@MindfullyLiv]

Good to know! We didn't see any in this one, I did love the way it was set up otherwise. If I pick up more I'll keep my eye open!

[@kawaiikawaiianimegirl4144]

Very helpful

[@stefanietaylor4989]

Can you explain how the Novel units student and teacher guide work together??

[@MindfullyLiv]

They actually don't work together so much as they complement each other. You're going to find different elements in each one. The Teacher guide has a lot more assessment type options and the Student guide focuses a lot more on activities, but you're going to find all levels of analysis in both.

[@kerensaclarke2996]

Very helpful

[@MindfullyLiv]

I'm glad to hear it!