Total Language Plus (Study Guides for Novels)

The curriculum uses grade-appropriate literature with increasingly complex texts at higher levels.

Progression from books like 'Charlotte's Web' in grades 3-4 to 'The Scarlet Letter' and 'To Kill a Mockingbird' in high school, with 'more challenging' vocabulary and spelling at advanced levels

The curriculum includes systematic vocabulary instruction with multiple practice activities and student-created glossaries.

Vocabulary work consists of 'four lessons working with words drawn from the reading' and 'students create their own glossary toward the back of the book by entering definitions and parts of speech labels'

Writing instruction varies by level, with particularly strong composition instruction at the high school level that emphasizes organization and planning.

High school guides include 'extensive writing activities' that 'teach and stress organization and planning while offering students suggestions about the main points they might wish to include'

This curriculum is built entirely around reading whole novels rather than excerpts or passages.

Each study guide is designed as 'a student study guide and a workbook for the study of a companion novel' with students reading 'sections of the novel each week'

The curriculum provides minimal teacher support, requiring parents to read novels themselves and develop many activities independently.

'Parents really need to read the novels themselves to be able to fairly evaluate all student responses' and enrichment activities 'require independent research and work beyond what is presented in the guide'

The curriculum assumes prior knowledge and provides limited direct instruction, particularly in grammar and composition for middle grades.

For grades 5 and up, 'lessons dealing with grammar, writing, and spelling rules are for application and review rather than instruction' and 'a basic understanding of grammar, spelling, and composition skills is assumed'

The curriculum provides some domain knowledge through enrichment activities but lacks systematic knowledge-building across content areas.

Enrichment activities include 'map and geography work' for Around the World in Eighty Days, but activities 'are presented as suggestions rather than as fully developed plans' requiring 'independent research'

The curriculum includes some retrieval practice through weekly comprehension questions and vocabulary drills.

Students work with 'spelling and vocabulary flashcards in drills and games' and answer comprehension questions weekly, though systematic spaced review is not explicitly described

No evidence of systematic phonics instruction is provided in the review materials.

The review focuses on comprehension, vocabulary, and grammar work but does not mention phonics instruction for early grades