If you’ve ever had the desire to get rid of the all-in-one language arts workbooks, you’re not alone.
I felt the same a few years ago as I was on the hunt for yet another workbook that would finally be the “right” fit for our family.
At first, that all-in-one workbook structure feels helpful. But over time, it often starts to feel repetitive and disconnected, leading to this constant search for something better.
One day it hit me:
Why is it that I get so much joy reading and talking about literature with my kids, but when we open these workbooks, we dread the task of completing it?
Shouldn’t these two things be connected? Isn’t reading and talking about literature a part of what language arts is all about??
I knew there had to be another way…
A New Approach
After some trial and error, lots of research, and a few years of experience, we have made habits and routines of learning language arts through the books we love.
We are no longer flipping through pages of random tasks, but instead we are engaged in great literature, having meaningful discussion, and still practicing different language skills such as spelling, vocabulary and grammar.
This approach put the spark back into learning – for both my children and me.
A Simpler Way to Think About Language Arts
Many homeschool parents rely on all-in-one language arts programs because they don’t want to miss anything. That makes sense, because the subject is made up of multiple parts.
But what if we simplified the standards of the subject a bit to really grasp what it is?
Suddenly, it doesn’t feel like such a monster of a subject anymore. Seeing each of it’s parts can help us truly grasp the subject and how to tackle it with a different, more natural approach – no all-inclusive workbook needed!
At its core, language arts is four parts working together:
Reading
Writing
Speaking & Listening
Language (grammar, spelling, vocabulary)
When you understand these pieces, something shifts.
You’re no longer relying on a workbook to tell you what to do.
You start to see how language naturally develops through reading great books, having meaningful conversation, and writing regularly.
But Is This Enough?
This is usually the biggest question.
If you step away from a full curriculum…are you doing enough?
With a simpler approach, nothing is getting skipped. You’re still covering everything—you’re just doing it in a more connected and meaningful way.
Instead of checking boxes, your child can truly get engaged with literature and language.
Taking the Leap
Even when this approach makes sense, it can still feel hard to start.
Without a workbook you might be wondering: “What exactly is language arts? How do I know what to cover? What does this look like in my daily schedule?”
An all-in-one workbook may feel safer, but is it truly bringing your family the joy you desire while reading and learning together?
If we look at language arts from a different angle, the leap starts to feel a little bit easier.
A Simple Way to Bring It All Together
This is exactly why I created my free guide:
Language Arts Simplified
It breaks the subject down into clear, manageable pieces and shows you:
A simple breakdown of each part of language arts
An understanding of what your child truly needs to learn
Practical ways to meet those goals
Flexible options so you can build an approach that works for your family
You Don’t Need a New Curriculum
There’s no need to start over or buy something new.
You just need a clearer understanding of the subject—and a natural way to approach it.
Download the Free Guide
If you’ve been wanting a simpler, more connected way to approach language arts, you can download the guide below.
My hope is that it gives you the clarity and structure you’ve been craving—so you can move forward with confidence and finally feel at peace with your approach to language arts.
Novel study has been the most fun and engaging way for us to learn language arts in our homeschool, and adding in a DIY outlook has been so freeing. Two and a half years ago we actually eliminated an all-in-one language arts curriculum workbook to solely focus on novel study, and it’s been the best decision for us.
We like to call this method DIY Language Arts because we are able to take any novel of our choosing and use it to learn all the parts of language arts including spelling, vocabulary, grammar, narration, handwriting, and more.
After a couple years of adjusting and finding good rhythms for this, I am now able to share these novel studies with you. Multiple studies are available, but sometimes it’s nice to see inside one, and that’s exactly what I want this blog post to be for you.
Included in this post is a download to receive an entire week free for one of the novel guides. In the text below, I’ll walk you through how it works, so you know exactly how to incorporate it into your homeschool. I can’t wait for you to try this!
This post contains affiliate links. If you follow one of my links I earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you for supporting my blog
Look-Through a Novel Study
If you would like to see a video of this particular novel study sample for “The Sign of the Beaver”, you can check out this link where I share more details. You can also see a complete look-through of one of the first studies I published. This will give you a better idea of all of the information and resources that come with the novel study. The novel studies have been updated since then and look much nicer now, but the content is still the same.
Language Arts Overview
Included in this sample is the “Language Arts Overview” page where I break down the subject explaining exactly what it is and how this novel guide meets the criteria for the subject. A clear and simple chart will show you this evidence.
Language arts can be so overcomplicated in our minds, but by breaking it down and understanding what it is, we can get a better idea of how a novel can truly allow us to study the subject in its entirety.
What age is this novel study for?
These novel studies were created to be for the whole family. I’ve used them in my own home with one of my six year olds all the way up to my eleven year old. All of your kids will enjoy these novels, and the activities and work that are included are made to be able to adjust for different levels. If you purchase a novel study, I include the steps to walk you through this entire process in detail.
Weekly Pattern
Each week follows a pattern. Your daily tasks will look very similar (reading, discussion, narrating, copy work), but we will rotate an additional activity each day. This makes scheduling easy, and it allows you to loop different language arts skills for better focus instead of cramming everything in to an all-in-one lesson. The looping looks something like this:
Day 1: Spelling and Vocabulary
Day 2: Grammar
Day 3: Enriching Literature and Writing
Day 4: Dictation and Bonus Activity
Let’s take a look at each day. As I describe each of these activities, you will have a better idea of how to use the free sample provided in this blog post.
Spelling
On the page labeled, “Spelling and Vocabulary Samples”, I have provided a couple of pre-made spelling lists. Multiple options are provided to help differentiate the words for the level of spellers you have. This is just an example to help you get started. You are encouraged to pick whatever words best suit your children. The words/list you choose can be recorded in the chart on the daily task sheet.
On the day one task sheet you’ll notice “Spelling Activity” is listed. I’ve got you covered with options for this. Practicing the words can be as simple or as hands-on as you’d like. In this sample, I have provided you with multiple spelling activities to try with your family. Some are extremely simple. Others are a little more involved. The great thing about this is you can do what feels right for your week.
As you practice the words, make a note of the ones your kids know well and the ones they don’t quite have memorized yet. This could be a simple checkmark next to the word in your spelling chart. Then, each day after that, remind them of these words. Have your child practice the missed words throughout the week. Spend about a minute or two each day reviewing the words that are needed. The final spelling assessment will be in their dictation.
Vocabulary
Optional vocabulary words are chosen for you in the “Spelling and Vocabulary Samples” list. Once again, you have the option to choose the best words for your family. We aren’t doing matching worksheets or flash cards. Instead we will focus on meaningful discussion the whole family can participate in. When you read the weekly passage aloud to your children, this discussion will come pretty naturally. A discussion might look something like this:
Ask your child, “What do you think ____ means?” It doesn’t have to be a formal definition. Sometimes my child will describe to me with motions or sounds and then try to explain herself. Let this be casual. If she knows it well enough, move on to the next word. If not, move to step two.
Next say, “Let’s look at the sentence and see if it can give us some clues to make a guess on what ____ means.” Read the sentence again that includes the vocabulary word. Then, encourage your child to make a guess.
If the child is still not able to come up with a definition that is close to the real thing, look it up in the dictionary. This is a great way to practice dictionary skills. Sometimes you can even practice the process of looking it up on a phone or computer.
Grammar
There are many, many grammar lessons that can be taken from a passage. Throughout the guide I will provide you with one grammar focus on day two of each week. You have the option and are encouraged to practice more grammar, if you desire. In the full novel guide, I provide you with detailed information about grammar studies and how to engage in meaningful grammar lessons while practicing passage study.
In my home, we also enjoy using a grammar review workbook alongside these novel guides. We have used Fix it Grammar in the past and now we use Easy Grammar. (See this video for details) The novel passages give us more opportunity to review what we have learned in those workbooks and see it in a more meaningful way.
Enriching Literature and Writing
On day three of the week, a picture book is chosen for you to read aloud to your children. This particular book will teach a little science as we learn about the life cycle of bees.
I encourage you to check your library for this, but I will mention that it’s also read aloud on YouTube HERE. This picture book is an enriching option that provides your children with an exciting story related to the novel, and it will allow you to stretch your novel study across multiple subjects.
I also use these picture books to practice written narration with my older children. Written narration has been such a beneficial practice in our homeschool (watch this video to hear more). Once I read the story, my oldest child will write a narration about the book.
Dictation
Dictation happens on the fourth day of the week, and I have provided you an option to help your younger writers in this process. Not all of your children will be ready for dictation yet, but those that are can complete dictation in two different ways.
The first option is for your beginning writers. I have provided you with a fill-in-the blank dictation option that uses a shortened passage and contains the spelling words from one of the spelling lists.
The other option is a full dictation where your child will write down the passage as you read it out loud. Feel free to dictate just one or two sentences, especially if you’ve never practiced dictation before. If you have a strong writer, you could try dictating the entire passage.
The copy work will match the weekly passage. You have multiple options when assigning copy work in order to best meet the needs of each of your children. In this sample, I have included the shortened copy work as well as the full passage.
The goal of the copy work is to finish it by the end of the week. It may not take that long, but I challenge you to encourage your child to go slower with their best effort. I like to give short and sweet daily copy work assignments with the reminder that it has to be their best writing. In my experience, these short bits of copy work assigned over the week turn out much better than long, daily assignments.
Download the Novel Study
You can access the free sample to this novel study at the end of this post.
If you enjoy this first week and you’d like to complete the novel study as a whole, you can find the entire guide here. This guide will include much more information about the DIY method and will even teach you how to take any novel that you choose and use these same patterns! The how-to guide is GOLD! You’ll learn so much about language arts and the simplicity of a good novel study.
There are multiple novel studies available and more coming soon. To see more novel options, click here.
Picture Book Studies for Grades K-2
If you like the idea of book studies in your homeschool, check out my new picture book studies for your younger ones. These one-week units focus on one beautiful picture book and provide you with a passage for the week. This passage will allow you to practice copy work, spelling, vocabulary, and grammar.
Each week also includes an outdoor activity as well as an optional bonus activity at the end of the week. These book studies are so much fun! Use them for one week or grab a themed bundle for the month!
Have you been wondering if you could teach language arts without a workbook in your homeschool? It seems do-able and much more inviting than opening a workbook each day. Well, I’m here to tell you – you CAN! And it’s so freeing and fun! It can completely change the attitudes of this subject in your home, in the best way!
A few years ago we did just that. I was having the hardest time teaching language arts, mostly because it was boring and the workbooks really felt like a chore to get through. Add the fact that I have multiple students to teach, and it really just wasn’t great for any of us!
This is when I began to research passage study and novel-based language arts. There are multiple curricula options available to walk you through something like this, but I still was looking for even more freedom. That’s when I started practicing and using the term “DIY Language Arts”
This post contains affiliate links. If you follow one of my links I earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you for supporting my blog!
What is DIY Language Arts?
As I mentioned in the introduction, over the past few years I have been passionate about letting go of an all-in-one language arts curriculum. They are great for pacing and consistency, but most of the time we found them to be boring and repetitive in our home. I want my children to love literature and since it is such a huge part of language arts, it’s important to me that we all find enjoyment in learning about it. Otherwise, in my experience, reading becomes more like a chore.
Using this DIY (Do-It-Yourself) method of language arts, we have been able to have so much more freedom, letting go of the workbooks and instead choosing what we learn based on passages from great novels.
Choose A Novel
First, we choose a novel we want to read and all of our studies come from passages in that novel. One passage per week is how we started. The novel works around our schedule, making it so much more enjoyable than trying to fit a novel and chapters into certain time frames. Since all of the passage studies revolve around the novel, it becomes simple to plan and inexpensive to purchase. We can almost always use the library to collect books.
Passage Study
As we read, I choose a passage from the upcoming chapters each week and that becomes our focus. What’s going on? Who’s involved? What are the emotions? Next, that passage provides us with new vocabulary to discuss as well as spelling words to practice for the week. Each day, my children write portions of the passage practicing their handwriting skills and getting accustomed to reading and writing well-written sentences.
Narration + Meaningful Discussions + Enriching Literature
As we read the novel together, we practice narration and have meaningful discussions. This has allowed us to eliminate the need for busy-work worksheets and instead encourage connection and conversation about what we are reading. Through the addition of children’s literature, we can expand our language arts across multiple subjects as we relate our story to something in history or science or the arts. My older children use these engaging stories to practice writing skills.
Dictation/Assessment
Finally, through the use of dictation, I am able to assess my children and their progress from the week. I can check spelling skills and punctuation use as I dictate the weekly passage. This pattern of passage study has been educational, flexible, and honestly just much easier and enjoyable than completing a workbook every day.
Family-Style
This method of language arts works for my whole family! Currently my school-aged kids are 6, 9, and 11. We love that we can do language arts all together. With simple adjustments to copy work and spelling lists, each of my kids can participate in this study, making planning and time management so much easier in our homeschool!
New Guides Available
After doing this for a few years and forming rhythms, I’m so excited to share what I have learned with you all. Recently I created DIY Language Arts novel guides where I walk you through a complete novel PLUS I share with you the research and strategies I use to put something like this together. My goal is to help you be able to DIY your own language arts in your home whenever you choose. It’s freeing and FUN! The newest guides are linked below:
If you are familiar with passage study or if you do something like this style in your own home, then you may enjoy the new Passage Study Charts. These charts break it down so simply providing a passage, sample spelling and vocabulary lists, chapters to read for the week, and weekly enriching children’s literature. This simple chart is perfect for someone who loves a little more freedom but wants decisions made already!
Ready to plan your own? Before I made the guides, I used a simple template (pictured above) to help me organize and plan our passage study. By making quick notes at the beginning of the week, decisions were made and the process of studying the passage became easier. Plus, it doubles as a great record for our novels and how we have used them throughout our school year. This is a FREE template! Get yours below.
I’ve done a lot of research on the different pieces of language arts and what it ACTUALLY is. I honestly think the subject gets over-complicated and as a result we end up with endless worksheets and exercises that feel more like busy work than meaningful education.
Imagine if your language arts could suddenly feel like a little book-club in your home. Book after book you can make connections, expand your learning across multiple subjects, learn from character experiences, and MORE and you study language arts as a family. This method simplifies the process, makes learning meaningful, and truly creates much better connection than a workbook.
I hope you’ll give it a try! If you do, share it with me here or on social media (@simply.learning.together). I love chatting about this so if you have questions, let me know. I also have multiple videos on YouTube sharing our experiences with this over the years:
I absolutely LOVE adding literature to our homeschool studies. Recently we completed our study of American History using nothing but picture books! It was amazing! And so much fun! Check it out here:
We recently switched our curriculum to the ABeCeDarian reading program. I had never heard of it before and I had a hard time finding a lot of information about it online. So, I’m so excited to share with you our first impressions about it.
I recently published a YouTube video describing our first impressions, and it also contains a complete look through of the level we are using. Be sure to check it out to get a thorough look into the teacher guide and the units.
This post contains affiliate links. If you follow one of my links I earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you for supporting my blog!
Why We Switched
This year was a big review year for us. In the previous school year we completed Foundations A and B from Logic of English. It went really well, and I thought the curriculum was great, but I felt the need to review some more.
At that point I found a couple different programs that I used together to help me do this. One was called Treasure Hunt Reading. This was a super cute, inexpensive workbook that came with free online videos. My daughter loved the video host, and it was just a great way for us to get some review in without feeling like we were starting all over.
The other program we used was called Phonics Pathways. This was much different than Treasure Hunt Reading, but it is specifically made for students that may need extra reading instruction. As we used it, I could really tell she was starting to improve in her blending skills and at the same time I was learning so much about phonics and teaching reading.
We used Treasure Hunt Reading off and on, but we were more consistent with Phonics Pathways for about eight months. After a while though, we started to feel bored by the lessons and it was a struggle to complete a short ten-minute phonics review. At this point I knew I needed to try something different.
Why ABeCeDarian?
I started by searching the internet for reading programs that helped struggling readers. I have had my eye on Pinwheels for about a year, but I just can’t get myself to commit to the cost and the printing involved! Then All About Reading came to mind which has such a great reputation, but once again the cost was a factor.
I wasn’t looking to spend $150+ on something. I had already done that with Logic of English (which was worth it at the time!) However, I didn’t think it was the right move this time.
Then I came across a video on YouTube where a mom described Abecedarian and how her daughter started reading so quickly and became so confident. Now this was what I needed! I wanted a confidence boost in my house. With all of the review we were doing, I felt like my child was in a place where reading just didn’t interest her at all!
Materials
After reading about the different levels, I chose to start my daughter in their B-1 Level. I bought the teacher guide for about $25, the student book for about $25, and their leveled reader for $12. So, for about $65 I was set to try this out.
This B-1 level contains 12 units, and I figured it would help me get through the end of our school year. Once we completed it, I could re-evaluate where we were at and if we wanted to continue.
The workbooks for ABeCeDarian can be purchased on this site.
Teacher Guide
The Teacher Guide is jam-packed with information. My favorite part is that at the beginning it contains of Quick-Start Guide. So, with just a little bit of reading, I could start the program immediately. Then, I spent the next few days reading more of the information provided.
The guide includes a description of the components of reading, teaching struggling readers, descriptions of all the activities, tips on error correction, scheduling and more! It’s quite the read, but it’s very helpful!
First Impressions
After you complete a unit, your child is supposed to read a fable from the leveled reader. After just one unit, my daughter read the fable so well! I literally cried listening to her. I was so proud, and she was SO happy! It’s like a huge bulb went off and suddenly she was so interested in reading and overjoyed that she could do it!
I started noticing her trying to read out in public – signs, papers, words on a TV screen. She was recognizing some of the sounds we had been practicing. She also started getting books from the library and was making an attempt to read them – and was doing really well!
This would’ve been unheard of before. I feel like in the past she just felt like – “I can’t read.” Now, suddenly, she had this feeling of “…maybe I can!” And I was thrilled!
Nothing Like I’ve Seen Before
This program is nothing like I have ever seen before – seriously! In the teacher guide it tells you not to use terms like “silent e”, “short vowels”, “buddy letters”, and more. Every reading program we have ever tried always has some type of trick to memorize the rules of letters, and this guy is telling you – don’t even say it! Isn’t that crazy?
Sight words are another example. He explains that many programs state sight words need to be memorized because they don’t follow the normal rules. Then he goes on to explain that your child WILL be breaking down the sounds of these letters and a “sight word” category of words is completely unnecessary.
Instead of teaching letter by letter or even a group of letters, this book teaches vowel sounds. So for example, the unit we just completed taught the sound /u/ (what we might know as the short u). However, it doesn’t describe it like that. Instead it introduced four different groups of letters that make that same sound.
One unit focuses on eight key words that make the particular sound. So, by the end of the the unit your child will master the eight words and continues to review them with flash cards, the leveled readers, and eventually fluency lists.
Getting Started
I can’t express enough to really get to know this program before you jump in. It is VERY unique, and I think it’s important that you recognize that and make sure it’s the right fit for you family. I found 1-2 videos that helped me, but I also now have published a full look-through on YouTube that may be helpful.
Check out their websites. Yes, that’s multiple sites. From what I have researched, ABeCeDarian is now under the name Sharpen. The original website still exists and contains information about the different levels, downloadable resources, and samples to the units. However, if you want to purchase their units, it will re-direct you to their Sharpen site.
Take a look at some of the videos the website offers. The videos are a little outdated, but you can watch the creator tutor children using the program, and it is SO helpful to see him do it. Some of the terminology he uses and his correction process is really interesting to watch. It really helped me understand what I was about to teach.
Online Edition
If you click around on the Sharpen site, you may notice that the company provides an online version of this program as well as some tutoring options. I am not familiar with this at all, but I do know they offer a trial and from what I have read, it seems like the online version is the same as the text.
Curriculum Goals
I have been so happy with the progress I have seen using this program. Now, that we are halfway through B-1, I understand the teaching method a little bit better and the lessons don’t feel as overwhelming as they did with the first 1-2 units.
There’s no way I can stop this now. I have seen too much progress and such a positive attitude switch in my child. I don’t think we will get through the book by the end of the school year, so my hope is to somehow incorporate it into our summer review. I’m still thinking about how to do this. For now, my goal is to complete B-1 in it’s entirety and see where we are from there.
When I first went looking around to find information about this program, I didn’t find much, so I hope sharing about it here can be helpful to anyone looking to know more. Be sure to check out my look-through video for a closer look. Finally, as always, remember that every family is unique. What works for mine may be different from yours. I always use this blog to provide our experiences in hopes that it might inspire you in a way that best suits your family.
In the middle of our year I found us needing to pause on our regular language arts curriculum, back-up, and review. In this process, I have discovered a language arts combination I love in order to teach my child to read.
Previously, we had used Logic of English to teach reading. It’s a great program, but we hit a wall. We made it all the way through Foundations A and almost finished Foundations B. But getting through the last lessons was starting to become a struggle.
I was really tempted to throw in the towel with LOE and completely switch to another reading program. However, to be more budget-friendly, I decided to do a little research and put together a collection of low-cost resources that I love.
We’ve been doing this for two months now. Not only do we have a great routine in place, but I have seen tremendous progress in my daughter’s reading AND writing progress. This combination has been a game-changer.
This post contains affiliate links. If you follow one of my links I earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you for supporting my blog!
Why Multiple Books?
The truth is, at this point in our homeschool, reading lessons were a struggle for my sweet girl. I needed something that was simple, fun, and short. I couldn’t just blow off extra practice. She really needed repetition. By combining a selection of books, I’m able to spread out the practice and use each one daily for a handful of minutes per day.
A really long and tough language arts lesson became little bursts of practice, and that has been so helpful for us. Reading lessons are more fun and consistent AND they’re working!
I’ll be honest, for some kiddos that catch on to reading quickly, this combination may be a little over-kill. Don’t think that this is the best combo for every child. I know for a fact that in my own house this wouldn’t work so well for one of my other daughters. Each child is unique, and I have seen that come to life over the last five years of our homeschooling journey.
Even if you don’t use all of these books at once, they are all VERY helpful resources to teach reading. You might enjoy browsing through each one to see if it’s a good fit for your sweet kiddo.
Phonics Pathways
I bought this book last year because I heard such great reviews about it on YouTube. When it came in the mail, I looked through it and was immediately overwhelmed. So, it sat on my shelf for a good year before I pulled it out again and started using it to supplement our Logic of English lessons.
Each day when I start our lesson, I set a timer for 10 minutes. (That’s it!) I get through as much as I can in that time frame.
The book walks you through the process and how to use each page, so as long as you’re reading the directions it’s easy to follow. I also save the last couple of minutes for her to practice writing from dictation (suggested by the book). This has been amazing practice and has improved her reading, writing, and spelling all in one!
See a curriculum look-through for Phonics Pathways HERE.
Reading Pathways
This book is filled with reading pyramids. It helps the reader to develop fluency in reading. It is a fantastic supplement on its own, and that’s exactly how we started using it at first.
I’ve been using Reading Pathways off and on over the last year. It’s actually the partner-book to Phonics Pathways mentioned above. The reason I continue to use it is because the Phonics Pathways book suggests doing one pyramid a day as a warm-up. (Check out this YouTube video for a look through.)
That’s exactly how we use it! Before we open up Phonics Pathways, she reads one pyramid. It only takes her about a minute.
Treasure Hunt Reading
I had never heard of this program until this year – never! And I research curriculum all the time! This is such an incredible resource. You can download and print FOR FREE if you’d like, but to make it even easier you can buy it on Amazon. Every time I look online the price is $11, and that is a steal in my opinion for what this is.
Each lesson in this workbook comes with short video lessons hosted by “Adventure Kate”. She’s the best! She’s easy to listen to, and has almost brought me to tears at times as she encourages little readers to just keep practicing! I love her. You can watch some of the videos HERE. Check out the “Program Overview” video for parents.
I have also recorded a look through of this workbook on my YouTube channel if you want to see a closer look. We actually blew through Journey 1 in a couple of days because my daughter already had letter sounds down. Once we hit Journey 2, we slowed down a bit. On average, we complete about two pages a day. This usually takes us about 10-15 minutes.
Explode the Code
Explode the Code has been a helpful workbook for my daughter. She is currently working in level 2. I do feel like for some kids it can be busy work, and I actually don’t use it with all of my kids. I do love using it in this case because it encourages independence (She can do it on her own.) and the phonics practice is needed.
I’ve also been able to see a lot of progress with Explode the Code. Going from not being able to do an exercise…to doing it with help…to doing it on her own. We have even used their 1/2 levels to reinforce a few skills and I’m so glad that we did.
She completes a page of Explode the Code daily during her independent work time. This happens right after she gets ready for the day and finishes her morning checklist. It only takes a couple minutes for her to do.
Other Language Arts Components
The following components are technically language arts, but they happen naturally in our day. I’m going to list them here though because I think it’s important to point out that not all reading and language has to be learned in workbook form.
Independent Reading: I aim to have her read to me for 10 minutes a day. I am really bad about sticking to this. However, the goal remains, and I do try to reach it.
Narration: Narration has impacted our homeschool in the best way. If you’re unfamiliar, I highly recommend looking into it. It has simplified our days while enhancing our conversations about what we are reading. The book “Know and Tell” by Karen Glass was a huge help to me with this. I could go on and on about this book, but I’ll be sharing another blog post about it soon. 😉
Family Read Alouds: We read aloud constantly. Every morning we read devotions and picture books during morning time. I read throughout the day, maybe during the afternoon. I also read a novel to my big girls every night. Reading aloud doesn’t feel like school, but it’s technically part of language arts. To us, it’s life!
Audiobooks: We love audiobooks in my house. My daughter is an audiobook super-girl. It’s her favorite thing to listen books, and I love that she’s been exposed to so many. I can barely keep up with what she’s reading most of the time. We get our audiobooks free from the library. I check out the CD’s and we have a system at home in their room using a simple CD player. We also use the Libby app from our library, which I love!
Lesson Timeline
Lastly, I want to break down a language arts lesson in the simplest form to show how our routine plays out. It looks a little something like this…
Independent Work – Explode the Code – First thing after breakfast and chores (1-5min)
Morning Time – Read alouds and narration
Phonics with Mom (10 min)
Reading Pathways
Phonics Pathways
Treasure Hunt Reading with Mom (10-15 min)
Independent Reading (10 min…when I remember! Just being honest.)
Evening Read Aloud
Yes, it’s a lot of pieces but the short bursts of learning are fun for her and it honestly feels like less work for me too!
As I share this post, I hope for a few things. One, I hope it exposes you to some resources that may be helpful to you and your family. Two, I hope it encourages you to always do what’s best for your child. And three, don’t be afraid to mix things up! Have fun with learning…and make sure you’re having fun as the teacher too!
The Door in the Wall is a novel that takes place in the middle ages. This Charlotte Mason inspired novel unit will connect both history and language arts. The living book will provide passages that allow your child to study grammar, spelling, and vocabulary while practicing the skills for copy work, narration, writing, and dictation.
I talk a little more about this method of language arts in this post. It has given us so much freedom in our studies and I have enjoyed very much linking multiple subjects (history and language arts) to one book. Because of this, I almost feel like I have less on my plate, which I think can be helpful for any parent out there!
This novel was a part of our middle ages history unit study, which I will also link for you (COMING SOON). In that post you can see many different activities we did as we studied the time period, but they could also be great activities as a tag-along to this book! We are currently studying the middle ages now as I write this, breaking it into little mini units that I will post as we complete them.
This post contains affiliate links. If you follow one of my links I earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you for supporting my blog!
The Door in the Wall
“The Door in the Wall” by Marguerite de Angeli takes place in the middle ages. It follows the story of a young boy who is destined to become a page but is suddenly ill and unable to fulfill his duty. A monk comes to his aid and encourages him to learn new things and work on becoming stronger. His hard work will soon pay off as he will play an important role in protecting the castle.
This book came highly recommended (from many other homeschool mamas online) as a historical fiction novel to read while studying the middle ages. Our family used it as a read aloud which worked out great. The language can be tricky to understand and by reading it aloud, I was able to explain what many different things meant. (I also learned some things myself!)
The book is 121 pages and contains 10 chapters, most of which we were able to read in one sitting. The last two chapters were much longer and took us a couple of days to get through.
We all enjoyed this book so much. It was wonderful to read a book that took place in the time period we were studying for history. I also love the message and theme that surrounded the story. Hard work and perseverance can really pay off. When one opportunity ends, another one might come along. You may think about a modern day phrase, “When one door closes, another opens”. All of these ideas brought on great discussion with my kids.
Chapter Summaries and Discussion Questions
I wanted to include chapter summaries and discussion questions in this post for a couple reasons. First, I think it’s helpful to know more about what is in a book before reading it with your kids. When I have more information about a book I can come up with different activities or topics I may want to learn about with the kids as we read through it.
Second, someone reading this might want to assign this book as a silent reading option for their child. I feel like these summaries and questions may help guide you in assessing how that silent reading is going.
I did not include answers to the questions. Most of them are meant to start a discussion and can have a lot of different answers. I hope that if you are practicing narration with your kids that these questions might allow you to challenge your kiddos in what they tell you about the book.
SPOILER ALERT – If you read these summaries, some of the events in the story will be spoiled. Unfortunately, I couldn’t avoid that, but I do hope that even still you find it helpful.
Chapter One
SUMMARY: Robin, a son of a noble family, has reached the age where he is ready to be sent away to learn about becoming a knight. Right before he is supposed to leave he becomes ill. A wandering friar hears of Robin’s condition and travels to help him.
How do you think it feels to leave your parents at such a young age?
What is the plague?
What do you think Brother Luke means by a door in the wall?
Chapter Two
SUMMARY: Robin arrives at St. Mark’s where he is cared for by Brother Luke. He is learning new skills while getting accustomed to his new living space.
What was it like at St. Mark’s?
What kind of things does Brother Luke do to help Robin? What skills does he teach him?
Why do you think Robin got upset with the boy that called him Crookshanks?
Chapter Three
SUMMARY: Robin works hard on his whittling project and learns a helpful lesson about patience. He makes a plan with Brother Luke to learn many different subjects with the help of other monks.
What does Robin learn while learning to whittle?
What kind of things does Brother Luke want to teach Robin?
What do we learn about Robin and his illness after reading the letter to his father?
Chapter Four
SUMMARY: Brother Luke takes Robin fishing where he sees a group of boys playing. He experiences different emotions as he yearns to be well, but he also gets the idea of making himself something to help him walk.
How did Robin feel when he saw the boys swimming?
How does Brother Luke plan to help make Robin stronger?
How do you think crutches could be a door in the wall?
Chapter Five
SUMMARY: Robin receives a reply from his father and makes plans to travel to Shropshire. Robin, Brother Luke, and John-go-in-the-Wynd travel together by foot. The journey is not easy and a fork in the road causes a delay.
What did Robin’s father say in his letter?
How does the fork in the road affect their journey?
What kind of attitude does Robin have on the trip?
Chapter Six
SUMMARY: Robin, Brother Luke, and John continue traveling and stop at a place to sleep. Unfortunately, they are forced to leave because of two evil men and must quickly find a new place to rest.
How did Brother Luke feel about staying at the White Hart?
What did Robin overhear the two men talking about while he was supposed to be sleeping?
Chapter Seven
SUMMARY: Robin, Brother Luke, and John pause their journey for Robin to experience a fair. After a quick stay at an old cottage in the woods, they reach their destination. Robin meets Sir Peter and begins his duties as a page.
How does Robin feel about meeting Sir Peter?
What kind of things will Robin do for Sir Peter?
Chapter Eight
SUMMARY: Robin gets stronger and stronger as the days pass. A thick fog threatens the castle and they are attacked.
Robin has learned many new subjects and skills since he became ill. What are they?
Why is the fog putting the castle in danger?
What do the people inside the castle do while they are under attack?
Chapter Nine
SUMMARY: The people in the castle are running out of supplies while they are under attack. Someone must sneak out to get help. Robin volunteers and heads to John’s Mother’s cottage. John sends a message to get help for the castle.
Why do the people in the castle need help?
Why does Robin think he can be the one to get help?
What was Robin’s journey like?
What is John’s plan for getting back into the castle?
Chapter Ten
SUMMARY: Sir Hugh arrives to help defeat the Welsh. Robin is a hero! However, he still desires to see his family. Soon enough, he sees them and makes plans to travel back home to be with them.
How did Robin play such an important role in this defeat?
Who arrives at the castle on Christmas Eve?
What kind of blessing and reward did Robin receive from the king?
Where will Robin go to live now?
Unit Schedule
The following is a brief outline of what I hope to accomplish each day of this unit with my child. For more details on each piece, be sure to read my explanation post.
In this post I will share the passages we studied and how we broke them down each day in case you’d like to try the same sort of method.
For a VERY brief overview of how our time is used for language arts – I read aloud the novel to all of my kids, usually in the evening before bed. For daily grammar practice, my daughter uses Fix it Grammar. I love that it can be done independently and takes about 5 minutes to complete. Copy work is also completed independently (5 minutes). I set a timer for our actual language arts lesson for 20 minutes.
When you read through the lists for each day, think of it as a checklist. As you can see in the way we split our time, this is getting accomplished all throughout the day at different times. It’s spaced out in a way that works for us.
DAY 1
Read novel and narrate [whole family]
Grammar Workbook [independent work]
Copy work – complete 2-3 lines of selected passage from novel [independent work]
Study passage – focus on grammar [language arts lesson with parent]
DAY 2
Read novel and narrate [whole family]
Grammar Workbook [independent work]
Copy work – complete 2-3 lines of selected passage from novel [independent work]
Study passage – focus on spelling and vocabulary [language arts lesson with parent]
DAY 3
Read novel and narrate [whole family]
Grammar Workbook [independent work]
Copy work – complete 2-3 lines of selected passage from novel [independent work]
Written Narration [language arts lesson with parent]
**Option – review passage/spelling words if necessary
DAY 4
Read novel and narrate [whole family.]
Grammar Workbook [independent work]
Copy work – complete 2-3 lines of selected passage from novel [independent work]
Dictation [language arts lesson with parent]
DAY 5 (OPTION)
Read novel and narrate [whole family]
Silent Reading (15-20 minutes) [independent work]
Narration [language arts lesson with parent, about 5 minutes]
Passage Selection – Week One
I selected two passages to use for our copy work because it took us two weeks to read the book. Each week, we studied one passage during our language arts lesson time. I will share with you how we study these passages throughout the week.
Now, if you wanted to simplify this even more, you could only focus on what connects to your grammar workbook. Point out what you’ve studied so far, and that’s it. That way it’s consistent between the two. However, I enjoy looking a little deeper than that. There are times when I don’t really know why a comma is there, and I just look it up online right there with her. That’s what it’s all about – learning together!
The following is our passage for week one:
“Always remember that,” said the friar. “Thou has only to follow the wall far enough and there will be a door in it.”(The Door in the Wall, Chapter One, Marguerite de Angeli)
An important thing to keep in mind here is I am not trying to have her reach mastery with these discussions we have about the passages. The mastery will come from her grammar workbook practice. However, I do want her to observe the grammar usage in a way that is meaningful to her, through our family novel. Our lesson is more of an opportunity to have a conversation about why this passage is written the way it is.
I picked this passage because it’s the first time the book mentions the door in the wall. I felt it would be an important part of the story, and it really was. By studying this passage, it allowed my daughter to really think about what the door in the wall means.
On the first day of our schedule, we focus on grammar and punctuation. The following is what we discussed for this passage:
Capitalization and end marks
Quotation rules
The comma after “that” goes at the end of the quote, before the actual quotation mark.
“Thou hast” is another way of saying “You have to…”
For the word “there” we made sure to discuss why it was spelled that way.
As we study these topics we might practice different examples on the board or practice them orally, if possible. This might seem brief, but as you discuss each one with your child and provide alternate examples or even just look for more examples in the book, the time will go quickly.
Spelling and Vocabulary
For our second day of lessons, we are still using the same passage. This time we focus on spelling and vocabulary. I first ask my daughter if she knows what certain words mean based on the context. If we need to, we look them up in the dictionary.
The vocabulary words we looked at for this passage: friar, and we reviewed “thou hast”
For spelling, I quiz her with many of the words from the passage and see which ones are mastered and which ones need practice. I have her write them on a board. You can make this list based on your child’s needs, but our list looked something like this: always, remember, friar, thou, hast, only, follow, enough, there, door.
Any word spelled incorrectly we practice a few times. I will also try to quiz her the following day as well to see if she can remember the word(s) she missed.
Passage Selection – Week Two
Week two follows the exact same schedule, just with a different passage. So for this section, I will list the passage as well as what we studied to go along with it.
“They knelt in the woods, as if it had been a cathedral, as indeed it looked to be. For the trees, bare of leaves, arched overhead in the very same way that the groined arches of stone swept up high overhead in the Gothic churches.” (The Door in the Wall, Chapter Seven, Marguerite de Angeli)
I loved the image that this passage created, and I liked that it mentioned Gothic churches, something we plan to look at while we study the middle ages. Once we started looking at it together, I regretted my choice because the commas in the first sentence were difficult for me to explain (or even understand myself). BUT! We kept on…this is a learning experience for the both of us and my goal is not mastery here, but instead it’s exposure with meaning.
The following is what we discussed for this passage:
Capitalization and end marks
The commas in the first sentence – This was the confusing part I mentioned. Based on my research, those commas are there because “as” is a subordinate conjunction. Now, I am no expert, but this is what we went with! Honestly, I’m not stressing about it. I’m 35 and have to google it so I feel like this is one I can let slide. 😉
The commas around “bare of leaves” are there because the clause is not essential to the sentence.
Later in the week, I realized I could have also looked at similes. I believe the first sentence contains one. So, if that is something you are interested in, it’s another option. We will save similes for another day.
Spelling and Vocabulary
On the second day of our week we look at spelling and vocabulary from the passage. The spelling words we practiced were as follows: knelt, cathedral, indeed, looked, bare, leaves, arched, overhead, groined, swept, Gothic, churches
The vocabulary words we studied were cathedral, bare, arched, groined, and Gothic. Don’t forget to use context clues first, and then try the dictionary.
Optional Activity – Connecting the Grammar Book to the Passage
Our spelling and vocabulary lesson goes pretty quick, so I like to use this day to connect her grammar book to our passage. She is using Fix it Grammar and marks up a sentence each day with certain symbols and letters. I write out the passage from our book for her on a piece of paper with no capitalization or punctuation and have her practice editing the sentence using the same marks she has learned from her Fix it Grammar. You can see a preview of this in the image above.
Honestly, you could do this with any grammar workbook. If you are practicing adjectives, find the adjectives. If you’re underlining the subject once and the verb twice, do the same here. See if you can combine your grammar book with your novel one day – It makes the workbook feel relevant!
Final Thoughts
If you want to check out another novel we have done before, click here. We are studying the middle ages for the rest of our school year, so our next couple of novels will most likely fall in that category.
Do you use a similar method to this? Does it help to share all of this info? Let me know if you feel like this is something you might like to see more of!
NEW Novel Guides Available!
For the last few years, my children and I have used this novel-based language arts program that is family-style and enriched with great literature each week. I’m so excited to share a NEW guide with you on how we do this in our home. If you’re tired of an all-in-one language arts workbook or if you’re itching for a great novel to read aloud to your kids, you’ve got to try this method! Below are two of the newest guides available now:
You can watch multiple videos about this method of Language Arts on my YouTube Channel HERE
More Learning with BOOKS
I love using literature in our homeschool. Although this method of language arts is newer to us, we have used books to learn in our homeschool since the beginning. I will link that below for you if you would like to check it out:
This Winnie-the-Pooh novel unit has really brightened up our language arts. The way it is set up has given us a sense of freedom and fun in our homeschool routine.
This method of language arts is new to us, but we love it so much. I actually break down the entire process in another blog post that I will link here. I highly suggest you read through that first as it will help the rest of this post make more sense.
In this post, my goal will be to give you specifics about our studies and schedules for this particular book, Winnie-the-Pooh.
This post contains affiliate links. If you follow one of my links I earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you for supporting my blog!
Winnie-the-Pooh
When I first heard that this was a great family read aloud, I ignored it. I thought it was going to be baby-ish and that my kids wouldn’t be interested. However, I was gifted the series from my husband’s grandmother and needed a good, living book to try this new method of novel unit out. Since we had it on our shelf, I went for it.
WOW! Was I wrong! This book was one of the most adorable books we’ve read together. We giggled in every chapter and didn’t want it to end. It’s the sweetest, and it made this unit all the more special!
The goal in reading this book was to try to get through a chapter a day. There are 10 chapters total, so we were able to finish the book in two weeks. I didn’t always read a whole chapter in one sitting. Sometimes I broke it up and read some at night and the rest in the morning. I have a couple little ones and longer chapters are harder to sit through. Breaking it up helped some days!
Unit Schedule
The following is a brief outline of what I hope to accomplish each day with my child. For more details on each piece, be sure to read my explanation post.
In this post, I am going to focus on Winnie-the-Pooh and will share the passages we studied and how we broke them down each day in case you’d like to try the same sort of method.
For a VERY brief overview – We read aloud as a family at different times in the day. For daily grammar, my daughter uses Fix it Grammar. I love that it can be done independently and takes about 5 minutes to complete. Copy work is also completed independently (5 minutes). I set a timer for our actual language arts lesson for 20 minutes.
DAY 1
Read novel and narrate [whole family]
Grammar Workbook [independent work]
Copy work – complete 2-3 lines of selected passage from novel [independent work]
Study passage – focus on grammar [language arts lesson with parent]
DAY 2
Read novel and narrate [whole family]
Grammar Workbook [independent work]
Copy work – complete 2-3 lines of selected passage from novel [independent work]
Study passage – focus on spelling and vocabulary [language arts lesson with parent]
DAY 3
Read novel and narrate [whole family]
Grammar Workbook [independent work]
Copy work – complete 2-3 lines of selected passage from novel [independent work]
Written Narration [language arts lesson with parent]
**Option – review passage/spelling words if necessary
DAY 4
Read novel and narrate [whole family.]
Grammar Workbook [independent work]
Copy work – complete 2-3 lines of selected passage from novel [independent work]
Dictation [language arts lesson with parent]
DAY 5 (OPTION)
Read novel and narrate [whole family]
Silent Reading (15-20 minutes) [independent work]
Narration [language arts lesson with parent, about 5 minutes]
Passage Selection – Week One
I selected two passages to use for our copy work because it took us two weeks to read the book. Each week, we studied one passage during our language arts lesson time. Next, I will share with you how we study these passages throughout the week.
“He was getting rather tired by this time, so that is why he sang a Complaining Song. He was nearly there now, and if he just stood on that branch…Crack!” (Winnie-the-Pooh, A.A.Milne)
On the first day of our schedule, we focus on grammar and punctuation. The following is what we discussed for this passage:
Capitalize the first letter in a sentence and choose the correct end mark.
A comma and a conjunction can join two sentences together. (Conjunction Junction, what’s your function? — Are you singing yet?)
Complaining Song is capitalized by the author – Why? It’s possible he wanted to make it more official or to make it a title of a song. (Poetic License/Author’s Choice)
The “…” is called an ellipses. It encourages the reader to pause.
“Crack!” is italicized for emphasis, an exclamation point adds volume in this case. For fun, we also discussed what onomatopoeia was.
As we study these topics we might practice different examples on the board or practice them orally, if possible. This might seem brief, but as you discuss each one with your child and provide alternate examples or even just look for more examples in the book, the time will go quickly.
Spelling and Vocabulary
For our second day of lessons, we are still using the same passage. This time we focus on spelling and vocabulary. I first ask my daughter if she knows what certain words mean based on the context. If we need to, we look them up in the dictionary.
The vocabulary words we looked at for this passage: rather, nearly, complaining
For spelling, I quiz her with many of the words from the passage and see which ones are mastered and which ones need practice. I have her write them on a board. You can make this list based on your child’s needs, but our list looked something like this: getting, rather, tired, why, complaining, nearly, there, stood, branch, crack
Any word spelled incorrectly we practice a few times. I will also try to quiz her the following day as well to see if she can remember the word(s) she missed.
Passage Selection – Week 2
Week two follows the exact same schedule, just with a different passage. So for this section, I will list the passage as well as what we studied to go along with it.
“Pooh felt that he ought to say something helpful about it, but didn’t quite know what. So he decided to do something helpful instead.
“Eeyore,” he said solemnly, “I, Winnie-the-Pooh, will find your tail for you.” (Winnie-the-Pooh, A.A. Milne)
On the first day we discussed the following:
Capitalize the first letter in a sentence and choose the correct end mark.
Didn’t is a contraction – did not. We practiced writing other contractions.
A new speaker starts a new paragraph, indent.
A comma is placed after “Eeyore” to separate the quote, but we also discussed direct address.
Always capitalize “I”.
Winnie-the-Pooh is surrounded by commas because it is information that is not essential to the sentence.
Quotes go around what the character is saying.
Now, if you wanted to simplify this even more, you could only focus on what connects to your grammar workbook. Point out what you’ve studied so far, and that’s it. That way it’s consistent between the two. However, I enjoy looking a little deeper than that. There are times when I don’t really know why a comma is there, and I just look it up online right there with her. That’s what it’s all about – learning together!
Spelling and Vocabulary
On the second day of our week we look at spelling and vocabulary from the passage. The spelling words we practiced were as follows: ought, something, helpful, about, didn’t, quite, know, decided, instead, solemnly, tail.
The vocabulary words we studied were “ought” and “solemnly”. Don’t forget to use context clues first, and then try the dictionary.
Optional Grammar Activity
Usually on our spelling and vocabulary day we have extra time. I like to switch out her Fix it Grammar page with a little something different. We use the exact same methods she is practicing in her workbook but we apply it to our passage instead.
Here’s an example. In her Fix it Grammar book she is currently marking words that need to be capitalized, end marks, nouns, articles, and pronouns. So, I wrote the sentence on the board and had her do the same thing to our passage. It worked out great! I’ve snapped a picture (above) of an example for you to see.
Honestly, you could do this with any grammar workbook. If you are practicing adjectives, find the adjectives. If you’re underlining the subject once and the verb twice, do the same here. See if you can combine your grammar book with your novel one day – It makes the workbook feel relevant!
I’ll admit, there were a couple words I wasn’t sure about (yay for learning together!). The dictionary was very helpful. Find the word that matches the context of what you’re looking for and the dictionary lists the part of speech. So, if you see something off in my photo, blame Webster 😉
Ready to try it?
Does this sound like something you would enjoy? Sometimes it’s hard to explain what goes on in this crazy head of mine, but I hope that this explanation simplified the process for you. Isn’t it freeing to just read and chat about a book with your children? That’s what I love the most about this. Besides our daily grammar practice, there’s no workbooks, no busy work, just beautiful book discussion.
Want to see more novel units like this? We are starting another soon, and if this is helpful, I’m happy to break it down like I did with this one. Let me know in the comments or reach out to me on social media (Instagram: @simply.learning.together)
When I first started learning about the Charlotte Mason method, which is what inspired this study, I was nervous about the no-workbook-factor. Having a consistent plan like this with certain goals has really given me the confidence that a typical curriculum workbook doesn’t have to be necessary if it doesn’t bring you joy! It’s been so freeing to be able to study language arts through the books that we love!
NEW Novel Guide Available
For the last few years, my children and I have used this novel-based language arts program that is family-style and enriched with great literature each week. I’m so excited to share a NEW guide with you on how we do this in our home. If you’re tired of an all-in-one language arts workbook or if you’re itching for a great novel to read aloud to your kids, you’ve got to try this method! Below are two of the newest guides available now:
(Mostly) Workbook Free! Did that reel you in? 😉 Well, this whole method was inspired by my research but also a desire to get rid of the workbooks! They were making me crazy…and bored! However, I have found it important to continue daily grammar practice. That’s where the workbook comes in. Even still, this new method has been such a breath of fresh air for us! I’m so excited to share. Let me tell you a bit about how we got here.
After Christmas, we kicked off the year with a fantastic history unit on the Vikings. We were having so much fun learning, but it would come time to sit down for language arts, and I dreaded it! I finally said to my husband – I can’t stand language arts workbooks. I’ve tried multiple workbooks over the years, and it never fits our family quite right. I just want to study language arts through what we are already learning in history or science.
Well, it wasn’t long after that, I was led (by prayer I’m sure of it!) to a post or a quote that mentioned Charlotte Mason, which I was pretty unfamiliar with at the time. Well, one thing led to another and suddenly I was listening to every Charlotte Mason podcast I could and reading all the info I could find online. I was fascinated by the methods, but nervous to commit.
Then, I came across a brand new book called “Modern Miss Mason” by Leah Boden, and it inspired me in the most beautiful way – WOW! I can’t recommend it enough. Her book encouraged me to learn the philosophies of Charlotte Mason but then to apply it to our homeschool in a way that suits are family well.
My point in all of this intro is to let you know that this novel unit is inspired by what I learned from studying Charlotte Mason’s methods. (I still have so much to learn!) It may not follow her philosophy exactly, but the whole process has brought my family (especially me) such a sense of joy, and I am certain that is what matters most. This unit has given me a freedom that makes language arts interesting for us again, and I hope if you try it that it may do the same for you.
Now, before I continue, I should mention that you could probably adapt this unit a little bit to use for any grade you’d like. My child (that I created this for) is in third grade, but I planned all of the lessons according to what she has already learned and what she is learning in her grammar book (More on that later). You can do this too, and I hope my breakdown of this method helps you see the simplicity that I see in that. I encourage you to continue reading no matter the grade level.
This post breaks down the actual process of putting this unit together. Definitely look through the detailed descriptions of each piece below first, but if you want to see a unit in action, check out our first novel unit like this, “Winnie the Pooh” (the book is so adorable!)
This post contains affiliate links. If you follow one of my links I earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you for supporting my blog!
Language Arts
From all of my research, I came up with the following list of what I wanted to include on a regular basis for my daughter’s language arts.
Good (living) book
Narration
Daily Grammar
Copy work (to practice Handwriting, Grammar, Spelling, and Vocabulary)
Written Narration
Dictation
As I go through this unit, you will see these pieces incorporated throughout. If you’re interested on where I’m learning about all this, I’ll leave a couple links for you here. (I listened and read so much! But these two sources stick out to me the most) Simply Charlotte Mason, and the Charlotte Mason Show Podcast.
Novel Unit Schedule
I’m going to outline the schedule of this unit, because I want you to see the simplicity of it – at least, I think it’s simple, and I hope you do too! Think of the lists you see as a checklist for the day. Each day of language arts requires about 5-10 minutes of independent work from your child and a 20 minute lesson with you, the parent. You’ll also be reading aloud at some point in your homeschool day, but I don’t really count that. Reading great books together as a family doesn’t feel like school for us. (We’ve read at bedtime and/or our morning time for the last couple years, and it’s been wonderful)
It probably won’t make any sense at first, but if you read further, I explain each piece of this schedule in my post.
I will put in the schedule to read each day. You can time it as you please. We read every day, whether it’s a school night or not. Our normal homeschool schedule is four days a week, but on the occasion that we are home on Fridays, I will mention my plan for that day as well.
DAY 1
Read novel and narrate [whole family]
Grammar Workbook [independent work]
Copy work – complete 2-3 lines of selected passage from novel [independent work]
Study passage – focus on grammar [language arts lesson with parent]
DAY 2
Read novel and narrate [whole family]
Grammar Workbook [independent work]
Copy work – complete 2-3 lines of selected passage from novel [independent work]
Study passage – focus on spelling and vocabulary [language arts lesson with parent]
DAY 3
Read novel and narrate [whole family]
Grammar Workbook [independent work]
Copy work – complete 2-3 lines of selected passage from novel [independent work]
Written Narration [language arts lesson with parent]
**Option – review passage/spelling words if necessary
DAY 4
Read novel and narrate [whole family.]
Grammar Workbook [independent work]
Copy work – finish copying selected passage from novel [independent work]
Dictation [language arts lesson with parent]
DAY 5 (OPTION)
Read novel and narrate [whole family]
Silent Reading (15-20 minutes) [independent work]
Narration [language arts lesson with parent, about 5 minutes]
Read Novel – A Good (Living) Book
Give me all the books! I love reading to my kids, and I especially love coming home with a bag full of books devoted to a unit study. This whole year, we have done all of our science and history using books from the library, and it has been the most wonderful time.
I tend to just get what the library has available, which I think is fine! Lately, I’ve been trying to be a little bit better about thinking ahead and finding good, quality literature. I might put a few books on hold or visit my local used bookstore. The effort has been worth it. Having good literature makes our studies come alive and become more enjoyable.
What is a living book? Well, that’s a good question. It’s a hot term in the Charlotte Mason world, and it honestly intimidates me a bit! So, here’s the method I use when choosing a book. Do I enjoy reading it? Is it helpful to our studies? Does it add something positive to what we are learning? Will my kids find it fun/interesting?
These are just a few questions I’m thinking about. This article breaks down the definition of a living book in an easy-to-read list. I find it very helpful, but I’ll be honest, my kids and I enjoy a good Magic Treehouse book here and there…is that “twaddle”? Maybe…but remember…my hope here is to do what’s best for my family, and we like it sometimes! So I encourage you to find books that your family enjoys too!
I mentioned this earlier, but we read our novels at bed time usually. We also have a time to read aloud during our morning time. When we read, it’s with all my kids, and it’s not part of our lesson time. What’s great about this is each child is benefiting from the literature, and my little ones are even practicing narrating as we do it. Whole family learning is my favorite!
Narration
I am new to narration, and I don’t know if I do it the “right” way, but I do it in a way that feels right for my family. (Are you catching a pattern here? Every family is so different, but what a blessing it is to have the freedom to adjust as needed, according to our family interests) Every time we read something we talk about the book together. Sometimes it’s in the middle of a chapter, sometimes it’s at the beginning, sometimes it’s at the end of our reading.
For this new language arts method, I made sure to encourage my children to talk more than we usually do. I wanted to be intentional about our book conversations. If I just say “tell me back what happened”, they look at me confused. So I usually start them off with a question or two to get them going.
So, what happened at the beginning of the chapter? What was your favorite part? What problem did they run into? How did they solve it? How do you feel about that character’s choices? I don’t ask every question every time, but this is just an example of what gets us started talking. Both of my school age girls participate in this daily book discussion.
There’s a lot more to narration than this, so if this is new for you as well, I encourage you to look into it further. (Check out this site)
Daily Grammar
We recently added Fix it Grammar to our homeschool day for my third grader, and I love it. I will link the product for you (not affiliated) if you want to learn more about it. It takes my daughter about 5 minutes a day to do this, and she can complete most of it independently.
She does this work daily, which gives me a boost of confidence knowing she is getting consistent practice. If you are looking into doing a unit like this, any grammar workbook can be used! Earlier this year, we used an Evan-Moor fundamentals workbook, and I feel like that could’ve been used just as well. The point is regular practice and connecting it with what you’re reading.
One of the days of the week, I like to do an alternate grammar activity instead of the grammar workbook. This usually happens on Day 2, because it doesn’t take us the whole 20 minutes to do spelling and vocabulary. We basically apply the rules of her Fix it Grammar sentences to our passage. Let me give you a concrete example.
Currently, in the Fix it Grammar books, she is labeling captalization, end marks, nouns, articles, and pronouns. She knows how to do this because it’s practiced daily. Well, one of the days during the week, we look at the novel passage and label it in the same way. This has been a great way to apply the same steps to a relevant passage from our novel. I love linking the two (grammar and novel) together.
The copy work is chosen by me using passages from our novel. My goal is to study one passage a week. This copy work will allow my child to practice handwriting, but we will also be working together to study grammar, spelling, and vocabulary through this passage.
Each week, I wrote the passage out onto lined paper, skipping every other line. (See photo) This gave her an example to follow. Each morning, during her independent work time, she would copy 2-3 lines. The goal is not to do a ton of copy work in one sitting. What does get finished must be done well, if that makes sense. This is another philosophy I am learning about from the Charlotte Mason method. Shorter lessons, better quality work. I’m finding it to be very true!
Copywork – Grammar, Spelling, and Vocabulary
This part of our lesson will vary depending on the passage, but you can see it in action by checking out one of our units.
On the first day we look at the grammar and punctuation. We go through each sentence and figure out together – Why is something capitalized? What is the punctuation at the end? Why is that comma there? When do we add quotes or indent? And so on…
I am very intentional about the passage I choose for this reason. I’m not going to pick something that has incorrect/odd grammar. I’m choosing passages I know will enhance what she’s already learning in her grammar book.
I also spend a day focusing on spelling and vocabulary. (See outline) If there are any words she is unfamiliar with, I try to have her guess the definition using the context. Then, we look the word up in the dictionary.
Next, for spelling, I quiz her on a variety of words in the passage. If she gets it right, we move on. If it’s wrong, we focus on that word for a bit and I try to remember to quiz her on that word a time or two during the rest of the week. There is no spelling test as she will be writing the words by memory during the dictation portion of our week.
Written Narration
Depending on the child’s age, your lessons may or may not include written narration. Based on my daughter’s abilities, I felt she was ready to start with my help.
One day a week, I require written narration from her. My goal here is for her to write about what we are reading. I like to help her brainstorm and figure out how to write a good narration. Eventually, I hope she will use these brainstorming techniques to write on her own.
I ask her the following questions and we jot down quick notes as our answers (see photo):
Who is involved?
Where did it take place?
What happened?
Any other important pieces to mention?
How did it end?
I just made these questions up. This is not an official strategy, but we used it for both passages, and it went really well.
Once she has short notes, she begins making sentences to form a paragraph about what we read that day. The first couple times I asked her to do written narration, it was rough. However, with consistency and my help, she is starting to get the hang of it. I was so proud of the last one she did! She’s made awesome improvement.
If you check out the picture below, you’ll see something else we add in for fun. As a reward for her hard work in writing, she likes to draw with Art for Kids Hub. We add it to her notebook, and it’s a cute addition to her work. (You’ll also get a peek at how she took my notes from the board in the last picture to her completed paragraph.)
I’ll admit, the hardest part of this lesson in written narration is for me to just be quiet. I always want to say things like, “Wouldn’t it sound better if…” Or, “Well, don’t you want to add…” I have to bite my tongue – a lot! It’s worth it though. I just LOVE hearing her voice in her writing.
Dictation
We’ve had practice with dictation from a couple different places. I first learned about it when we completed a Dart Guide from Brave Writer. We were also already doing it at the beginning of this year through the language arts program I chose, Learning Language Arts through Literature. I love it because it’s an easy way to assess that doesn’t feel like a test. Plus, it’s meaningful because it comes from what you are reading.
This article gives fantastic instruction, including a video, on how to do dictation. Like some of the other pieces of this unit, dictation gets easier with practice. The way we set all of this up, we study the passage Monday-Wednesday and dictation is on Thursday. By working on the passage a little bit each day, I feel like it’s a great way to set her up for success during dictation.
I was explaining to my daughter today during her dictation what a wonderful skill it was. Being able to write something and know how to add punctuation and edit it is a life skill that will be necessary her whole life – writing emails and letters, for example.
After I finish dictating the passage to her, we correct it together.
Freedom and Fun
I feel like that’s what it really boils down to here. By doing this method in our language arts, we’ve had more freedom to apply books we are already using to learn, making it more fun and interesting to actually work with.
A lot of things have inspired me to get here, as you may have read throughout this post, but I’m so thankful for what I’ve learned and how we can now find a way to do something that works so well for our family.
Have you tried something similar to this? Are you interested in seeing more units like this in the future? Let me know in the comments and be sure to sign up for my email list where I send all our updates, posts, and resources that we are using in our homeschool.
You can also catch me on Instagram @simply.learning.together If you try this out, take a photo and tag me. I love seeing your families enjoy learning together!
NEW Novel Guide Available!
For the last few years, my children and I have used this novel-based language arts program that is family-style and enriched with great literature each week. I’m so excited to share a NEW guide with you on how we do this in our home. If you’re tired of an all-in-one language arts workbook or if you’re itching for a great novel to read aloud to your kids, you’ve got to try this method! Below are two of the newest guides available now:
