Lightning Lit: Gr-4 Student Workbook

The author’s goal in writing this series is to “instill a love of great literature in children, expand their ability to read intelligently and deeply, improve their communication abilities, and prepare them for more advanced language arts concepts.” The three key components to this series are literature, grammar and mechanics, and composition. This year, students read a variety of great children’s literature, classic and modern. Two books written in verse encourage students to explore poetry in different ways than they may have previously. An inspiring nonfiction story of a boy’s quest in Africa to bring electric power to his home provides lessons on expository, descriptive, persuasive, and narrative writing.

The consumable four-color Student Worktext contains comprehension questions, discussion questions, instruction on grammar (including sentence diagramming), workbook pages, and a reading journal. Workbook answers are in the Teacher’s Guide. The Workbook and Guide can be purchased separately, in a set together, or in a pack with the readers. You’ll need something else for teaching spelling, learning to read, and penmanship.

The books read (in the order they are introduced) are:

• The Earth Dragon Awakes by Laurence Yep
• Morning Girl by Michael Dorris
• The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate
• Gone Fishing by Tamera Will Wissinger
• Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin
• The Family Under the Bridge by Natalie Savage Carlson
• Nims Island by Wendy Orr
• The Dreamer by Pam Mu?oz Ryan
• Love That Dog by Sharon Creech
• The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind by William Kamkwamba and Bryan Mealer
• Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt
• The Borrowers by Mary Norton