Language Lessons for a Living Education: Grade 8 Master Books Review

Finding the right language arts curriculum for your homeschool is not always easy, especially if you’re in the market for one that includes quality material and a faith-based approach. This year, we’ve started using a new-to-us homeschool language arts curriculum that meets both of those requirements and then some. I never thought I’d actually be excited about a language arts curriculum, but…here we are, and I’m more than happy to share all the details you need so you can make an informed curriculum decision for your kids, too!

You guys, language arts is one of my least favorite subjects to teach. Sure, I’ll teach it if I have to, but…I’d rather not. Despite being a blogger and literally having a small business based on writing, all of the ins-and-outs of language arts are just super duper boring to me. And you know what? When I’m not excited about teaching a certain subject or concept, my kids know…and that, in turn, could make them have negative feelings towards the content as well.

We don’t want that!

This is a sponsored post. I have received complimentary access to this product and have been compensated for my time reviewing the product and producing this review. This resource may contain affiliate links for said product. I have not been influenced in any way and my opinions on this product are my own.

You know what I do like about language arts, though? I do like that Master Books is more than capable of filling in for me!

Before I start sharing all about the 8th Grade Language Lessons for a Living Education curriculum from Master Books, I must make you aware of something really awesome – there is a giveaway towards the bottom if this article. If you want to just scroll down to enter, I totally understand, but…taking the time to read about the curriculum & our experience really will be worth the extra couple minutes!

Overview of Language Lessons for a Living Education: Level 8

The Language Lessons for a Living Education curriculum, Level 8, is a full Language Arts curriculum for students in grade 8. What does it cover? What is included in the curriculum package? How long should it take to complete the lessons?

Let’s chat!

Who is this Curriculum For

Level 8 of Language Lessons for a Living Education is targeted to teach students in grade 8. Because grade levels aren’t always “a thing” in the homeschooling world, as long as your student can complete the following tasks, they are considered “ready” for Level 8:

• write two to three well-written paragraphs on a topic
• write a book report
• use common grammar properly
• use common punctuation properly
• are ready for self-study methods to learn spelling and vocabulary

In addition to the educational level, it’s also important to reiterate that this language arts curriculum is faith-based and regularly features lessons and activities including the Christian faith.

Curriculum Contents

The full curriculum set includes a full-color, perforated & 3-hole-punched workbook and the gorgeously-illustrated “God’s Story” book. In addition to the set from Master Books, the following supplies are needed to complete the curriculum:

• 3×5 index cards
• colored pencils
• notebook
• independent reading books
• Bible
• Dictionary

Simple, right? Nearly every homeschool household should already have those items!

In addition to the daily lessons, the workbook also includes a number of teaching resources in the back. Starting at page 379, you’ll find the Table of Contents allowing you to access features like:

• an independent reading list
• various templates and worksheets
• statement of faith
• spelling & vocabulary words
• grammar study sheets
• grading rubrics

and…the part I’ll do my best to ensure my kids never find: the answer key!

Since many of the teaching resources in the back of the book may be referenced often, you may consider removing & laminating for extra durability.

Educational Approach

Instead of the typical (read: boring) lessons found in many language arts curriculums, Master Books instead mixes stories, thoughtful questions, and writing in manageable sections. Each week is broken into 5 short lessons, so kids are steadily learning, but not overwhelmed. The approach is spiral – the student keeps reviewing & stretching their understanding and knowledge, without getting stuck in one area for too long.

Within the daily lessons, you’ll find:

• faith woven naturally into reading and assignments
  • example: When reviewing proper capitalization, one of the exercises includes the sentence “jesus came from galilee and wanted john to baptize Him” with instructions to underline the letters that should be capitalized
• open-and-go structure
• review & gentle new learning built right in
  • example: A quick look at the Lessons for a Living Education Level 8 description provides the course overview & shows that Exercise 5 (Day 5 of a 5-day school week) is a review of lessons to reinforce concepts.

What’s Covered in the Curriculum

Throughout the course of a year, students will cover a number of material including:

Grammar & Punctuation

Instead of teaching concepts such as sentence structure, parts of speech, and punctuation in isolation, they’re tucked into interesting reading and writing activities. Master Books understands that even the most educated adult doesn’t always remember basic grammar & punctuation rules (how refreshing is that view?!), but also knows that repetition and meaningful application can be beneficial! That feeling is clear throughout the curriculum.

Communication

You won’t find any boring, meaningless writing assignments in this curriculum! Instead, students are exposed to, and challenged in, various forms of communication like sentence writing, paragraph assignments, essays, etiquette practice (how cool is that?!), facial expressions, and body language. Students aren’t “just” taught about communication, but are taught how to communicate!

What’s unique about Lessons for a Living Education Level 8, what really sets this curriculum apart from others, is that lessons include a biblical worldview. Sure, the fundamentals of language arts are covered, but they’re often done through the inclusion of Bible stories, scripture, hymn studies, and more allowing students to build on their faith alongside a core educational subject.

Our Thoughts on This Master Books Language Arts Curriculum

Honestly, this opportunity to check out this Master Books curriculum couldn’t have come at a better time for my family.

Convenient & Cost Effective

We’re currently in the process of moving from Georgia to Florida, so many of our homeschool supplies are packed up in an effort to help our Georgia home to sell quickly. I don’t have access to many of our homeschool materials and, if I need to purchase materials, I don’t really want to spend a ton on something new that know I have packed up in a box somewhere.

I love that the Language Arts for a Living Education curriculum is nearly open-and-go, only requiring me to spend a few bucks on a notebook and a pack of index cards!

In addition, since the lessons only require a few additional materials, the workbook, and the story book, the curriculum in it’s entirety doesn’t take up a ton of space! As we’re moving things around, it’s been super easy to keep track of all the supplies required for my son to complete his lessons.

Hands-On

For a number of reasons, I’ve also been on the hunt for a new-to-us Language Arts curriculum. I’ve really been wanting a hands-on, paper & pencil Language Arts curriculum because I know that’s better for memory and learning and because I know my 13-year-old’s handwriting could use some improvement.

Approachable

Like I said before, I’m not a big fan of teaching Language Arts. I’m betting a bit of that feeling/attitude has rubbed off on my kids, too. Fortunately, Master Books has done an amazing job making lessons extremely approachable.

I love that the workbooks makes it really easy to see the scope & sequence for the year. I love that the daily lessons are organized so nicely and that each workbook page is clearly labeled with the lesson, exercise, and day. This makes it easy for me and my son to figure out the course progress and offers the ability to quickly return to the correct page in the workbook day after day.

Biblical

This may come as a surprise, but my son and I both love the fact that this curriculum is faith-based. While we have previously focused on keeping faith separate from our homeschool days, it’s been nice to have the biblical lessons and messages interwoven into the daily lessons. My son is able to learn & reinforce a variety of Language Arts concepts while growing in his faith…and that’s been pretty cool!

That being said, it’s obvious our experience incorporating the 8th Grade Language Lessons for a Living Education into our daily activities has been positive.

Here’s a bit of testimony for you: my son and I have enjoyed this curriculum so much that I’ve already gone ahead and purchased the 6th grade version for my 11-year-old!

You guys – we really do love this curriculum!

Enter the Giveaway

Now that I’ve shared our experience, and details, of including the Language Lessons for a Living Education into our homeschool, it’s time for you to get an opportunity to win your very own set!

Go ahead!

Happy Homeschooling!

After taking the time to include Level 8 of Language Lessons for a Living Education, it’s clear to me why so many families keep coming back to Master Books! The curriculum gives teens the clear instruction they need while incorporating important faith & life lessons. If this sounds like something your child could benefit from, you should totally check out Master Books for yourself.

Have you used this curriculum yet? Have you tried any other Master Books curriculum before? Leave a comment and share your thoughts below!

Until next time, stay safe, and enjoy quality time with your family,