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BJU Press Literature (Jr. High)

Publisher: BJU Press
Review last updated: 2012		 Instant KeyPublishers InfoPricingProduct Photos

Bob Jones University Press
Literature (Jr. High)

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This is a review of the third editions of BJU Press's excellent literature program for junior high. The latest editions of both books are softcover and are formatted with more colorful graphic design for visual appeal than earlier editions.

I recommend that you purchase the teacher editions. There are two volumes for the teacher edition for each level. They have reduced pictures of the student text pages and all teaching material and commentary. Each TE includes a CD that has reading quizzes, writing rubrics, supplemental worksheets, and standardized test practices that are helpful. CD's also have some other items that are useful in classroom situations.

Lessons in the teacher's edition follow a format of overview, objectives, potential problems (e.g., objections to authors portraying animals as having human qualities), introductory discussion, the reading, analysis, application, and additional activities. Suggestions for journal writing are given. Vocabulary words with definitions are inserted right into the text of each piece in the student text.

There are questions at the end of each of each literary piece (or section of a piece for lengthier writings), and these are preceded by an insert called the "Thinking Zone." Thinking Zones are graphically-separated inserts that might take up about a third of a page. Thinking Zones highlight key literary elements and show how they have been implemented in the selection students have just read. They feel more like sidebars than instructional material although they accomplish the latter's purpose. Questions that follow are thought provoking, addressing literal, critical, interpretive, and appreciative elements. (Each question is labeled as to which of these areas it addresses.) Each unit has a Review in the student textbook. Reviews are tests that include questions with brief answers, multiple choice questions, true/false questions, matching and short answer questions, and one or two essay questions. Space is provided within these texts for students to answer questions from both chapter and unit questions directly in the book.

Homeschool Subject Kits include a student text and teacher's edition plus tests and a tests answer key for each level.

Explorations in Literature, third edition (2007)

The seventh-grade-level text covers a wide range of themes while emphasizing character. Literary analysis and enjoyment is taught from a Christian perspective, although literary selections are not all by Christian authors. One of the main purposes of this text is to help students progress beyond simply reading for pleasure to the point where they enjoy reading for inspiration and wisdom. Many of the selections should elicit strong emotional reactions.

Content sections are titled Courage, Nature and Man, Generosity, Our Land, Humility, and Family. While some selections are by well-known authors (e.g., Carl Sandburg, O.Henry, Charles Finney, and James Thurber), most authors are not readily recognized. Nevertheless, both literary quality and appeal for young teens are high. Selections are primarily prose, but there is also some poetry.

Excursions in Literature, third edition (2008)

This eighth-grade-level text covers a variety of themes portraying a Christian's journey through life, including choices he must face. Illustrations from Scripture appear at the end of each unit. The text continues the character emphasis of the seventh grade book. Units are titled Choices, Friends, Viewpoints, Adventures, Discoveries, and Heroes. Some authors and writings (or excerpts) included are: Lew Wallace (Ben Hur), Louisa May Alcott (Little Women), Charles Dickens (A Christmas Carol), Jack London (The Banks of the Sacramento), John Bunyan (Pilgrim's Progress), and Amy Carmichael (Make Me Thy Fuel). It also includes the short novel, In Search of Honor by Donnalynn Hess, which takes place during the French Revolution.

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        • Instant Key

        • Suitable for: one-on-one or group plus independent work
          Audience:           grades 7-8
          Need for parent/teacher instruction:            moderate
          Prep time needed:           low
          Need for Teacher's Manual:  essential
          Religious perspective:           Protestant

        Publisher's Info

        • Bob Jones University Press

          Greenville, SC 29614
          (800) 845-5731
          www.bjup.com


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