Great Books ForumRhetoric & Composition
Imitation in Writing Set
Publisher/Author
Logos Press
Other Information
Level: All
Description
“As the title suggests, this course from Logos Press aims to teach writing through the medium of imitation. The author proposes that as it was the method of a bygone era, and since educators still use imitation to teach many different subjects, e.g. handwriting, art, math, music, and reading, it is an effective tool for teaching the art of writing. Written for a classroom setting, the series is easily adapted to a homeschool environment. Each book has step-by-step instructions, beginning with the student’s first reading of the original work and ending with a final draft and grading of his own version. All of the stories, tales, myths or fables to be imitated are included in each book, along with reproducible worksheets which guide the student in taking notes on key aspects of rewriting the original: vocabulary, plot, characters and any additional requirements. Examples are given of completed worksheets and rewritten stories, tales, myths and fables to aid the teacher. A neat series for teaching young people to write creatively.” – Rainbow Resource
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Lost Tools of Writing
Publisher/Author
Circe Institute
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Level: 7-12
Description
“The Lost Tools of Writing: Level One: 5th edition (LTW) teaches a holistic, systematic approach for teaching composition. While often used within classical education settings, LTW can be used by all homeschooling parents with students in middle school and beyond. Students need to have developed basic grammar and writing skills, and they need to be able to think divergently, drawing information from sources and considering it from different perspectives. While younger students might work at a simpler level, the same essential techniques can be used with teens and adults. The goal is to help students learn to write with both creativity and discipline. The vehicle for teaching these skills is the persuasive essay, but skills learned will transfer over to most other types of writing.
The program consists of a 352-page Teacher Guide, a student workbook, and a series of instructional videos for parents and teachers that are accessed through Vimeo. Andrew Kern and Leah Lutz take turns presenting the video lessons, and both are excellent presenters. Videos are relatively short segments that run from about seven to twenty minutes each. Parents and teachers need only watch about one per week as they teach the program, learning techniques as they go.” – Cathy Duffy Reviews
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Our Mother Tongue
Publisher/Author
Nancy Wilson, Exodus Books
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Level: 7-12
Description
“The study of grammar is the study of the rules that govern a language. Nancy Wilson asserts the best place to start for a thorough understanding of the English language is English grammar, and in Our Mother Tongue: A Guide to English Grammar she articulately outlines and explains those rules. Good communication, she maintains, is the result of familiarity and comfort within the structure of the language. There’s nothing flashy here—just straightforward grammar instruction—but the idea is for students to become intimately acquainted with the mechanics and form of our language, not to keep them entertained. Instead, this is a clear introduction to a too often neglected subject.” – Exodus Books
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Poetry Primer
Publisher/Author
Logos Press
Other Information
Level: All
Description
“Starting with a lesson designed to debunk the notion that poetry is only flowery snippets that appeal to girls, the student is challenged to take the time to investigate what poetry really is and to determine to enjoy it. To make this challenge more palatable, a poetic quote from Master Samwise of Lord of the Rings fame is given. Poetry is defined as a language of pictures and music. To illustrate the diversity of poetic language, riddles are scattered throughout the student pages. Remarkably thorough but not overwhelming for an introductory book, the seventeen lessons include such poetic devices as simile, rhyme, metaphor, personification, and inclusion, combined with a more lengthy look at meter particularly iamb and trochee. Lessons are varied, including both analysis and original composition. I would expect the lessons to take about 30 to 45 minutes to complete. It could be used either as a quarter’s study (two lessons per week) or over the course of a semester (one lesson per week). A final exam is provided.
The Teacher Edition contains exact copies of the student book with answers. Annoyingly, the page numbers between the two books do not correspond. The Student Book also includes an anthology of poetry designed to capture the interest of even the most reluctant poetry student. Although no instructions are given for the use of the selections from this anthology, it wouldn’t take much planning or creativity to incorporate its use as part of this study or as continuing exposure to poetry selections.” – Rainbow Resources
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Rhetoric Alive!
Publisher/Author
Classical Academic Press
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Level: 10-12
Description
“The highly engaging Rhetoric Alive! explores the principles of winsome speech as developed in the foremost text on persuasion, Aristotle’s Rhetoric. The 15 chapters of Rhetoric Alive! step through the essential components of persuasion—the three appeals, the three types of speech, and the five canons. Each chapter includes an exemplary classic text for analysis and discussion, spanning from Pericles’s “Funeral Oration” to Martin Luther King, Jr.’s, “Letter from Birmingham Jail.” Students also have plenty of opportunities to practice developing their own rhetorical skill through weekly workshops, imitation assignments, and oratory presentations.” – Classical Academic Press
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The Argument Builder
Publisher/Author
Classical Academic Press
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Level: 8-12
Description
“The Argument Builder (Student Edition) is the ideal follow-up companion to The Art of Argument. Where The Art of Argument enables students to find and identify fallacies in various kinds of writing and speech, The Argument Builder will teach students to actually build compelling and persuasive arguments of their own. The Argument Builder is a blend of logic and rhetoric.* Students first study the logical structure of good arguments, and then study how to use several lines of argument (a.k.a. the common topics), such as the use of examples, analogy, comparison, testimony, and statistics. The text comes in a workbook format with plenty of exercises to ensure students learn to become skilled argument makers!
The Argument Builder Teacher’s Edition is also available. It includes the entire student text, answers to exercises, teaching tips, and reproducible worksheets. Suggested schedules are available in the Support tab above.” – Classical Academic Press
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The Art of Poetry
Publisher/Author
Classical Academic Press
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Level: 7-12
Description
“A one-semester or yearlong course for students in grades 7-12 “I dwell in Possibility— A fairer House than Prose—” While we think of poetry as the best words in the best order, we sometimes forget how important its poetic or metaphoric thinking is to various subjects such as writing, speaking, business, and science.
The Art of Poetry is an excellent middle or high school curriculum that teaches the practice of reading a poem closely and absorbing its beauty.” – Classical Academic Press
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The Rhetoric Companion
Publisher/Author
Logos Press
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Level: 7-12
Description
“For the Christian student of rhetoric, manipulative sophistry is clearly out of bounds. But putting careful thought into what constitutes eloquent speech and persuasive argumentation is not. What many people dismiss as “a bunch of rhetoric” is simply poor rhetoric. There is a Christian approach of memorable and effective expression, and it is the task of this book to lay out that approach.” – Cannon Press
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The Roar on the Other Side: A Guide for Student Poets
Publisher/Author
Logos Press
Other Information
Level: 7-12
Description
“For all its storied past and lofty reputation, poetry is really just the art of noticing, naming, and comparing the stuff of this world.
Unlike the eye of modern science (which sees the world as a giant specimen for us to dissect), poetry fosters and nurtures life by finding wonder in the nooks and crannies of ordinary life.
Suzanne Rhodes, a longtime poet and teacher, offers The Roar on the Other Side as an introductory guide to poetry for students (junior high and up). Focusing on the importance of sight and the necessity of practice, Rhodes easily communicates the joy of words to her readers and helps them see how good poetry binds all seemingly-contradictory things together. Students will emerge from this book with a good handle on the basics of writing poetry and a new appreciation for the awesome world in which we live. It covers poetic tools (similes, metaphors, figurative languate, etc); forms (sonnets, haiku, syllabic verse); tricks (assonance, alliteration, rhyme); genres (lyric, narrative, epic, ballad, etc.); and exercises that encourage students to experiment more.” – Logos Press
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Vocabulary From Classical Roots
Publisher/Author
Norma Fifer and Nancy Flowers
Christian Book: Visit Website
Other Information
Level: All
Description
“This five-book series teaches junior and senior high school students words derived from the most important Greek and Latin roots. Every lesson introduces up to fifteen words derived from two or more classical roots. A dictionary-like format provides all the necessary information, including related forms of the word and sentences illustrating each word’s correct usage. Special sections called “Nota Bene” provide information about etymologies and words that might be confused.” – Christian Books
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