A Beka Literature

A Beka Literature exposes kids to enough great writing in manageable doses that they can appreciate it with little frustration, and get a sense of each author's style in order to discover which writers they prefer. Since all stories, poems, novel excerpts, plays, etc. are quality selections, you don't have to worry about them getting hooked on the cheap fiction too many kids read.

How Do These Work?

The program covers grades 7-12. Every level includes a student text and a test/quiz book with answer key; the teacher editions are optional. Tests and quizzes gauge comprehension through multiple choice, matching and short answer questions. The teacher guides include some supplementary material, answers to in-text exercises, and lesson plans, but not much else. The student texts contain literature with brief author biographies, exercise questions and (in the newer editions) tables for determining reading speed.

For grades 10-12 students read complete texts along with the content of the student books; older editions included these in the student books, current editions use separate volumes published by A Beka. These texts include Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare and Silas Marner by George Eliot for 10th grade; The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne for 11th grade; and for 12th grade, Macbeth by William Shakespeare and Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan. If you're using the lesson plans in the teacher's editions you'll want to get the A Beka versions, otherwise it doesn't matter what edition you use.

In older editions, grades 7-8 covered world literature, grades 9-10 covered American, and 11-12 covered English literature. The current editions cover world literature in grades 7-10, saving American literature for 11th and English literature for 12th. A general framework holds through all editions and levels, however—students read selections from classic literature and answer a few questions. In the later grades, composition exercises are integrated to encourage writing and critical thinking skills.

Some of the best Western literature is represented here. While there are noticeable absences (little attention is paid to 20th century works), students get a broad taste ranging from fiction to poetry to essays and political writing. Perhaps the most regrettable deficiency is the lack of Eastern literature, though since A Beka is a famously conservative Christian publisher and most extent Eastern documents are unchristian philosophy and religion, this is understandable (and illustrates the fact that you don't need to worry about your kids encountering anything offensive here).

Like all A Beka products, their literature course is clearly Christian (though they make an admirable effort in these books to not "Christianize" texts or authors that aren't). Also like every other program A Beka offers, this one can be either student- or teacher-directed. A Beka Literature requires no teacher supervision, as students can simply read the material on their own. If you have them complete the exercises you'll probably want to check their work, but the teacher editions make that easy.

Our Honest Opinion:

Avid readers of our reviews (if such abnormal persons exist) will probably know that we seldom give the highest marks to A Beka programs. And in all honesty, there is a glaring flaw in their literature course—students are not taught to analyze and understand literature. They are taught to pay attention while they read and remember details, but putting those together to form ideas and conclusions is neglected. At the same time, many literature courses expose kids to a limited number of works, and the true breadth of literature is left hidden.

If you simply want your kids to read as much great literature as possible, this is probably the course you're looking for (unless you prefer to just buy them a Longman anthology, but those are over the heads of most high schoolers, and uncensored). The fact that there's little external structure to the course makes it more likely students won't end up hating to read, since it's less like completing assignments and more like reading for pleasure....as if there's any other way to read. A Beka Literature isn't perfect, but it's definitely a step in the right direction.

Review by C. Hollis Crossman
C. Hollis Crossman used to be a child. Now he's a husband and father who loves church, good food, and weird stuff. He might be a mythical creature, but he's definitely not a centaur. Read more of his reviews here.
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45 Items found Print
American Literature - Answer Key
4th edition from A Beka Books
for 11th grade
in A Beka Literature (Location: LITCUR-ABK)
$14.00 (1 in stock)
American Literature - Student Textbook
Classics for Christians Vol. 5
4th edition from A Beka Books
for 11th grade
in A Beka Literature (Location: LITCUR-ABK)
$35.00 (13 in stock)
American Literature - Teacher Guide with Lesson Plans
4th edition from A Beka Books
for 11th grade
in A Beka Literature (Location: LITCUR-ABK)
American Literature - Test/Quiz Book
4th edition from A Beka Books
for 11th grade
in A Beka Literature (Location: LITCUR-ABK)
American Literature - Test/Quiz Key
4th edition from A Beka Books
for 11th grade
in A Beka Literature (Location: LITCUR-ABK)
$11.00 (4 in stock)
English 9 - Homeschool Curriculum Lesson Plans
2nd edition from A Beka Books
for 9th grade
in A Beka Grammar & Writing (Location: GRA-ABK)
$15.00 (1 in stock)
English Literature - Student Quiz & Test Book
4th edition from A Beka Books
for 12th grade
in A Beka Literature (Location: LITCUR-ABK)
English Literature - Student Text
4th edition from A Beka Books
for 12th grade
in A Beka Literature (Location: LITCUR-ABK)
English Literature - Teacher Edition
4th edition from A Beka Books
for 12th grade
in A Beka Literature (Location: LITCUR-ABK)
English Literature - Test/Quiz Key
4th edition from A Beka Books
for 12th grade
in A Beka Literature (Location: LITCUR-ABK)
$11.00 (1 in stock)
English Literature - Text Answer Key
4th edition from A Beka Books
for 12th grade
in A Beka Literature (Location: LITCUR-ABK)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Julius Caesar
Literary Classics
by William Shakespeare
from A Beka Books
Historical Tragedy for 10th grade
in A Beka Literature (Location: LITCUR-ABK)
$8.00 (4 in stock)
Macbeth
from A Beka Books
for 12th grade
in A Beka Literature (Location: LITCUR-ABK)
Of People - Set
5th edition from A Beka Books
for 7th grade
in A Beka Literature (Location: LITCUR-ABK)
$44.00 (2 in stock)
Of People - Student Text
Classics for Christians Vol. 1
5th edition from A Beka Books
for 7th grade
in A Beka Literature (Location: LITCUR-ABK)
$25.00 (14 in stock)
Of People - Teacher Key
5th edition from A Beka Books
for 7th grade
in A Beka Literature (Location: LITCUR-ABK)
$11.50 (3 in stock)
Of People - Test/Quiz Book
5th edition from A Beka Books
for 7th grade
in A Beka Literature (Location: LITCUR-ABK)
Of People - Test/Quiz Key
5th edition from A Beka Books
for 7th grade
in A Beka Literature (Location: LITCUR-ABK)
$10.00 (2 in stock)
Of People Literature - Teacher Edition 2 Volume Set
5th edition from A Beka Books
for 7th grade
in A Beka Literature (Location: LITCUR-ABK)
$35.00 (3 in stock)
Of Places - Quiz/Test Key
5th edition from A Beka Books
for 8th grade
in A Beka Literature (Location: LITCUR-ABK)
$10.00 (2 in stock)
Of Places - Student Text
5th edition from A Beka Books
for 8th grade
in A Beka Literature (Location: LITCUR-ABK)
$25.00 (2 in stock)
Of Places - Teacher Edition 2 volumes
5th edition from A Beka Books
for 8th grade
in A Beka Literature (Location: LITCUR-ABK)
$38.00 (1 in stock)
Of Places - Test/Quiz Book
5th edition from A Beka Books
for 8th grade
in A Beka Literature (Location: LITCUR-ABK)
Of Places - Test/Quiz Key (really old)
3rd edition from A Beka Books
for 8th grade
in A Beka Literature (Old Versions only) (Location: OABK-LIT)
$1.00 (1 in stock)
Of Places Literature - Answer Key
5th edition from A Beka Books
for 8th grade
in A Beka Literature (Location: LITCUR-ABK)
$14.00 (2 in stock)
Pilgrim's Progress
from A Beka Books
Christian Prose Epic/Allegory for 12th grade
in A Beka Literature (Location: LITCUR-ABK)
Scarlet Letter
by Nathaniel Hawthorne
from A Beka Books
Realistic Fiction for 11th grade
in A Beka Literature (Location: LITCUR-ABK)
$7.00 (1 in stock)
Silas Marner
by George Eliot
from A Beka Books
Realistic Fiction for 10th grade
in A Beka Literature (Location: LITCUR-ABK)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Themes in Literature - Answer Key
5th edition from A Beka Books
for 9th grade
in A Beka Literature (Location: LITCUR-ABK)
$13.50 (2 in stock)
Themes in Literature - Student Text
5th edition from A Beka Books
for 9th grade
in A Beka Literature (Location: LITCUR-ABK)
$32.00 (2 in stock)
Themes in Literature - Test/Quiz Book
5th edition from A Beka Books
for 9th grade
in A Beka Literature (Location: LITCUR-ABK)
Themes in Literature - Test/Quiz Key
5th edition from A Beka Books
for 9th grade
in A Beka Literature (Location: LITCUR-ABK)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Themes in Literature - Test/Quiz Key (really old)
3rd edition from A Beka Books
for 9th grade
in A Beka Literature (Old Versions only) (Location: OABK-LIT)
$1.00 (1 in stock)
World Literature - Answer Key
4th edition from A Beka Books
for 10th grade
in A Beka Literature (Location: LITCUR-ABK)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
World Literature - Answer Key
5th edition from A Beka Books
for 10th grade
in A Beka Literature (Location: LITCUR-ABK)
World Literature - Quiz/Test Key
from A Beka Books
for 10th grade
in A Beka Literature (Location: LITCUR-ABK)
$6.00 (4 in stock)
World Literature - Quiz/Test Key
5th edition from A Beka Books
for 10th grade
in A Beka Literature (Location: LITCUR-ABK)
World Literature - Quizzes & Tests
4th edition from A Beka Books
for 10th grade
in A Beka Literature (Location: LITCUR-ABK)
World Literature - Quizzes & Tests
5th edition from A Beka Books
for 10th grade
in A Beka Literature (Location: LITCUR-ABK)
World Literature - Set
by Jan Anderson
4th edition from A Beka Books
for 10th grade
in A Beka Literature (Location: LITCUR-ABK)
$59.00 (2 in stock)
World Literature - Student Text
by Jan Anderson
4th edition from A Beka Books
for 10th grade
in A Beka Literature (Location: LITCUR-ABK)
World Literature - Student Text
by Jan Anderson
5th edition from A Beka Books
for 10th grade
in A Beka Literature (Location: LITCUR-ABK)
World Literature - Teacher Guide
4th edition from A Beka Books
for 10th grade
in A Beka Literature (Location: LITCUR-ABK)
World Literature - Teacher Guide Volume 1
5th edition from A Beka Books
for 10th grade
in A Beka Literature (Location: LITCUR-ABK)
World Literature - Teacher Guide Volume 2
5th edition from A Beka Books
for 10th grade
in A Beka Literature (Location: LITCUR-ABK)