Third Grade Memoria Press

Literature Guides {Review}

 

If you are anything like me, you long for your kids to read the classics and to love them, to appreciate them, and to learn from them.  Although I tend to waver between the classical education homeschool model and the Charlotte Mason approach, both of these methods strive to include classic works of literature in their children’s education.  I’m thrilled to share with you this review, today.  We love using the Third Grade Literature Guide Set from Memoria Press to explore great classic books like Charlotte’s Web and A Bear Called Paddington.

We received the complete set of Third Grade Memoria Press Literature Guides and teacher guides which, in addition to Charlotte’s Web and A Bear Called Paddington, include Farmer Boy and Mr. Popper’s Penguins.  My kids had fun deciding who would read which book first.

My 11 year old chose Charlotte’s Web and my 8 year old chose A Bear Called Paddington.  We decided to take a different approach for each of my kids.  My 5th grader, who has dyslexia, and who reads below grade level, is splitting his reading of one chapter of his book every day and then on the third day he reviews the material while completing the two pages in the workbook.  I decided to help him with the comprehension questions.  My 3rd grader who has excelled at language arts is reading a chapter every day and then completing her workbook pages mostly independently.  
Each chapter of the book is represented on a two page spread in the workbook.  The pages are all laid out in a similar way – beginning with 3-6 keywords which may be difficult for the reader.  The goal is to go over these before you or the students starts the reading section.  These words and definitions are found at the top of the left side for each chapter.  Then the guide moves on to vocabulary.  The vocabulary is extensive and rich – most of these words my kids weren’t truly familar with.  In this section, a sentence from the book is displayed.  One of the words in each sentence is highlighted and meant for the student to define. I allowed my kids to use an online dictionary if they had trouble understanding the meaning of the word.  The next section is a series of comprehension questions to test the students memory and understanding of the passage.  There is also a small quotations quiz – a kind of “who said it”.  This is followed by discussion questions and an extra enrichment activity.  For instance, in the “Paddington” book my daughter was told to located the continent of South America and find Peru and the Lima on a world map (Paddington was from Peru).  Then as a follow-up, she was to draw a map and the bear’s route!  There is even a recipe in the back for making Paddington’s favorite food – marmalade!  

The teacher guides are very helpful.  It is laid out in the same way as the student book but with the answers clearly printed for each section.  In the back of the “Paddington” teacher’s guide there are quizzes and a final test along with answers to the discussion questions.  The quizzes also have a separate answer key in the back of the book.  The quizzes, which are not available in the student book, span four chapters each.  You will need to make a copy of the quizzes and tests to use with your student.  I noticed that each guide is slightly different from one another.  For instance, Mr. Popper’s Penguins doesn’t feature quizzes or tests whereas the others all do.  It also doesn’t have an enrichment section but it does have an activity.  Both Mr. Popper’s Penguins and A Bear Called Paddington are shorter therefore have less chapters in the guide, as well.

 

Make sure to check out the appendix in your teacher guide.  In addition to the orange marmelade recipe in the back of the “Paddington” teacher guide,  The Farmer Boy teacher guide contains illustrations and info on common farm machinery from the 1800s and clothing from that era, as well.  It also has a biography on Laura Ingalls Wilder and a recipe for Bird’s Nest Pudding!  The Charlotte’s Web teacher guide features a section on spiders.  Each teacher guide is like a treasure chest of information and fun for both student and teacher!

 

My Thoughts:

I love this program for several reasons!

• I love that it uses real classic literature.  These are books that I would want my kids exposed to either by reading them quietly to themselves – or as read alouds!

 

• I love that this can be done independently or together with a teacher.  I assisted my son with certain sections but my daughter was able to do this by herself.

 

• I also like that it includes a section on vocabulary, a section on comprehension, and fun projects.  This is so important for all kids and especially for kids who struggle with reading comprehension.

 

•  These focused sections and fun projects really help the story come to life.

 

• They are made with a sturdy thick laminated cover and heavy weight pages so they will hold up.  In addition to this, I love that they aren’t overly thick and not intimidating to elementary age kids.

 

This curriculum seems to really give a good foundation to children and is wonderful for increasing their comprehension skills while introducing them to the classics!  I plan to use this in the years to come and look forward to seeing what books are in the next grade level!  You can’t go wrong with these Memoria Press Literature Guides!

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