I recently had the privilege to review four
LitWits Kits from
LitWits –
Carry On, Mr.
Bowditch,
Anne of Green Gables,
Black
Beauty, and
Charlotte’s Web.
These are digital products that encourage students to read for fun. They are
not asked to read with an assignment in mind. Students can get lost in the
story, and feel as if they’re there, instead of looking for answers to complete
a classroom assignment. After students read the selected story, the LitWits Kit
guides their comprehension through tangible, engaging ways – prop ideas,
hands-on fun, book bites, takeaways, great quotes, handouts, and learning
links.
The prop ideas generate the “aha” moment. Teachers choose
props that are unique to the setting and props that are symbolic of the theme.
These props are objects from the story that make it more real for the students.
My daughter and I used an old lamp, compass, and ship models to learn more
about the book
Carry On, Mr. Bowditch.
The hands-on fun projects provide a variety of projects that
enhance each story. The “Gloomy Gus” activity from
Carry On, Mr. Bowditch was a fun skit where we were able portrait
Ben and Nate and really feel the value of a positive attitude and perseverance.
From all the projects available, we especially enjoyed our “collaging” project.
The search for images that reminded us of the Anne of Green Gables story and
its characters is like a treasure hunt. This time of hunting, clipping, and
gluing provided the perfect space to talk about our favorite scenes from the
book.
Book bites help students taste the story. Teachers choose a
food right out of the book that is important to the plot, has thematic significance,
or is unfamiliar for reason of culture, era, or location. We chose to eat jerky
with the book
Carry On, Mr. Bowditch;
and we tasted plum pudding with the book
Anne
of Green Gables.
There are many takeaways in each story.
Carry On, Mr. Bowditch is full of many topics to explore, from
American history and geography to navigation and mathematics. This LitWits Kit
narrowed the focus to three “takeaway” topics – perseverance, attitude, and
directions. Anne of Green Gables is also full of wonderful topics to explore,
from the history of Nova Scotia to the nature of friendship. This LitWits Kit
narrowed the focus to three “takeaway” topics – art imitates life,
self-discipline, and imagination. These takeaways are hands-on connections to
each story.
There are handouts included in each LitWits Kit, along with
any necessary answer keys. These academic handouts include narrative arc,
vocabulary, geography, characterization, essay writing, and creative writing.
Here is the handout from the narrative arc in
Carry On, Mr. Bowditch where we learned about the different points
of the arc and how they help the story move along.
Learning links are provided to supplement your reading
experience, research points of interest, and prompt tangential learning
opportunities. Students will learn more about the book and author, as well as
story supplements that go beyond the book. This is where we found the link to
purchase the Anne of Green Gables Cookbook.
Each LitWits Kit uses the senses to see, smell, touch,
taste, and do things from the story. This gives students a full comprehension
of the story. LitWits makes great books fun for students of all ages! Visit the
Crew Blog to read what the
Homeschool Review Crew has to say about the LitWits Kits from LitWits.
