Looking for a Christian-based homeschool language arts curriculum? Check out this engaging, easy-to-use literature-based program from Kendall Hunt RPD!
With 10+ years of experience in homeschooling my children, I have come to realize that a compelling book can go a really long way when it comes to educating my kids and helping to foster spiritual growth. In fact, it is my opinion that a good book can cause a child to forget that they are actually learning! When it comes to education, isn’t that what you want in a homeschool reading and language arts curriculum? Comprehensive, Christian-based, with excellent anchor books!
Pathways2.0 Reading and Language Arts for Grades 1-8 is a comprehensive reading program that integrates language arts learning through the use of anchor books, all while nurturing spiritual growth.
This Christian-based (Seventh-Day Adventist) program is organized into 9 unit studies for each grade level, based on the following themes:
- Heroes: Features those who overcame insurmountable odds, from physical to defending beliefs to social injustices
- My World: Shares experiences of how people live in different cultures and political settings
- Living Things: Focuses on life-science and God’s creation
- Walking with God: Encourages students to grow spiritually by focusing on Christ-like attributes
- Friends and Family: Focuses on interrelationships around family members and friends
- Environment: Deals with the survival of people in nature and the exploration of God’s world
- Personal Feelings: Stresses personal issues and struggles as students move through the stages of development, while integrating character development
- Yesterday: Explores history and God’s hand in the affairs of humans
- Social Issues: Explores relationships among different groups over issues of prejudice, disabilities, cultures differences, immigration, poverty, hunger, and more
Each of the 9 units lasts 4 weeks, with 5 days of instruction for each week. This combines for a full 36 weeks / 180 days of language arts instruction for each grade level!
Literature-based Language Arts
My favorite part of the program is that each unit utilizes an award-winning anchor book to help provide context for applying the skills learned within the unit. For example, the Grade 6 “Yesterday” unit uses the book, A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park.
A Long Walk to Water begins as two stories, told in alternating sections, about a girl in Sudan in 2008 and a boy in Sudan in 1985. The girl, Nya, is fetching water from a pond that is two hours’ walk from her home: she makes two trips to the pond every day. The boy, Salva, becomes one of the “lost boys” of Sudan, refugees who cover the African continent on foot as they search for their families and for a safe place to stay. Enduring every hardship from loneliness to attack by armed rebels to contact with killer lions and crocodiles, Salva is a survivor, and his story goes on to intersect with Nya’s in an astonishing and moving way. ~Kendall Hunt RPD website
A Long Walk to Water is just one of the nine total anchor books for the Grade 6 program. Be sure to view the complete list of the anchor books for each grade level and unit of study.
Engaging Learning Activities
While the Pathways2.0 Reading and Language Arts program is literature-based, the student does not merely read the book. The program provides hands-on, interactive activities that correlate and integrate with the anchor book, all while providing ample language arts instruction. For example, the A Long Walk to Water unit study includes activities such as:
- making spelling/vocabulary word cards
- writing vocabulary riddles
- utilizing graphic organizers
- learning scientific names and foreign words
- completing grammar-based worksheets
- defining Greek roots
- constructing an opinion essay
- and more!
Comprehensive, Easy to Teach Lessons
A great homeschool language arts curriculum does not have to be difficult and laborious to teach! While this comprehensive program includes instruction in spelling, writing, grammar, reading, vocabulary, language, grammar, speaking, and listening, it is very teacher-friendly!
The Teacher Daily Lesson Guide tells you exactly what to do every single day for the entire unit! This is perfect for busy homeschool parents because having the lessons all planned out can be a HUGE time saver!
In addition to the easy-to-use daily teaching instructions, all of the printables and worksheets needed to complete the unit study are provided in the appendix! Word study printables. Reading and writing printables. Assessments. Graphic Organizers. Everything! It’s all included! For a busy homeschool parent, it doesn’t get much easier than that!
Final Thoughts
If you are searching for a Christian-based language arts program for your 1st through 8th grader, I would highly recommend that you check out the Pathways2.0 Reading and Language Arts curriculum from Kendall Hunt RPD. The language arts instruction is comprehensive. The program integrates Biblical values to encourage spiritual growth. The lessons are easy to teach. And, the anchor books will likely have your child so engaged that they don’t even realize that they are learning!
For more information, be sure to connect with Kendall Hunt RPD via the following social media outlets: Website | Facebook | Twitter
This post was originally published on April 10, 2020.
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