Writing & Rhetoric Year 1

For each skill instructors have determined whether it is a prerequisite skill or a skill to be developed throughout the course. For lower school, instructors indicate where parent support is expected.

• With Parent Support: Skills that most lower school students will need help with.
• Developing: Skills that the instructor will help develop and emphasize throughout the year.
• Mastered: Prerequisite skills that the instructor is expecting students to possess.

Canvas

• With Parent Support
• Be able to manage Canvas assignments and submissions (view assignments, check for teacher messages, submit homework as pdf file, submit revisions if necessary, set Canvas notifications for the class, view class notifications when posted, etc.).
• Be able to set notifications settings to alert the student of class announcements, homework assignments, due dates, instructor comments made on assignments, instructor comments made on individual student submissions, instructor comments made on graded items, etc.
• Be able to review notifications ongoing throughout the year; notifications which include: class announcements, homework assignments, due dates, instructor comments made on assignments, instructor comments made on individual student submissions, instructor comments made on graded items, etc.

Writing

• Developing
• Spelling at grade-level
• Be able to write sentences with basic sentence syntax (i.e. capitalization of first word in a sentence, punctuation at the end of each sentence, space between sentences, capitalization of proper nouns, each sentence having a subject and predicate, etc.).
• Mastered
• Be able to hand-write answers in complete sentences.

Reading

• Mastered
• Be able to read to learn not merely learn to read.

In-Class

• Mastered
• Follow along with teacher-led workbook completion and record answers during class.
• Be prepared to answer questions when called on in a group setting, during class.
• Be prepared to volunteer comments, answers and ideas in a group setting, during class.

*Required Texts:

• Writing & Rhetoric Book 1: Fable (Student Edition)
• Writing & Rhetoric Book 2: Narrative I (Student Edition)

*Required texts are not included in the purchase of the course.

Optional Resources:
Writing & Rhetoric Book 1: Fable Audio Files
Writing & Rhetoric Book 2: Narrative I Audio Files

These audio files allow students to engage their sense of hearing and their listening intelligence as Dr. Christopher Perrin, along with the Writing & Rhetoric series editor, Christine Perrin, deliver the fables, parables, and myths aloud in a thoughtful manner.

Commonplace Journal (This can be a spiral-bound notebook, bound journal, or loose-leaf notebook.)

Computer: You will need a stable, reliable computer, running with a processor with a speed of 1 GHz or better on one of the following operating systems: Mac OS X with Mac OS 10.7 or later; Windows 8, 7, Vista (with SP1 or later), or XP (with SP3 or later). We do not recommend using an iPad or other tablet for joining classes. An inexpensive laptop or netbook would be much better solutions, as they enable you to plug an Ethernet cable directly into your computer. Please note that Chromebooks are allowed but not preferred, as they do not support certain features of the Zoom video conference software such as breakout sessions and annotation, which may be used by our teachers for class activities.

High-Speed Internet Connection: You will also need access to high-speed Internet, preferably accessible via Ethernet cable right into your computer. Using Wi-Fi may work, but will not guarantee you the optimal use of your bandwidth. The faster your Internet, the better. We recommend using a connection with a download/upload speed of 5/1 Mbps or better. You can test your Internet connection here.

Webcam: You may use an external webcam or one that is built in to the computer. Webcam Recommendations: Good (PC only) | Best (Mac and PC)

Headset: We recommend using a headset rather than a built-in microphone and speakers. Using a headset reduces the level of background noise heard by the entire class. Headset Recommendations: USB | 3.5mm

Zoom: We use a web conferencing software called Zoom for our classes, which enables students and teachers to gather from around the globe face to face in real time. Zoom is free to download and easy to use. To download Zoom:

1. Visit zoom.us/download.
2. Click to download the first option listed, Zoom Client for Meetings.
3. Open and run the installer on your computer.
4. In August, students will be provided with instructions and a link for joining their particular class.

Scanner: In this class, students frequently submit homework assignments by scanning pages from their workbooks. Students and/or their parents should have easy access to a scanner and the ability to use it.

Kara Lobley, enjoys finding answers and imparting those discoveries to everyone. This passion for truth inspired her to earn her bachelor’s degree in history at Patrick Henry College (PHC), in Purcellville, VA. The classical experience at PHC and her own experience being homeschooled outside the classical tradition (K-12) showed Kara the beauties of each approach. She delights in witnessing how classical homeschooling equips students to identify and discover “the true, the good, and the beautiful” in the world around them and to share those revelations with others.

Kara began working with children as a high schooler at children’s theater camps and at her church’s Vacation Bible Schools. During college and post-graduation, she spent five years as a high school writing tutor and one year as a preschool teaching assistant. Kara has spent the past three years teaching lower school Well-Ordered Language and Writing and Rhetoric with Scholé Academy and is excited to return for a fourth year this year. Outside of the classroom, Kara can be found reading, hiking, or singing. klobley.scholeacademy@gmail.com

Kirsten Fortier holds a BA in Education from Saginaw Valley State University in Michigan. The bulk of her experience comes from 18+ years of classically homeschooling four sons K-12 who have now transitioned successfully through college, into careers, and enjoying life. She has taught in various settings including at home, in co-ops, in brick-and-mortar schools, and online. Most recently she enjoyed the role as the Director of Curriculum at a small classical Christian school. She now looks forward to a part-time career teaching restfully at Scholé Academy. Her passion for classical education is especially apparent when she is developing in others a love for the humanities and all that is good, true, and beautiful. In her free time, she enjoys visiting her children and grandchildren, hiking, camping, and researching family genealogy. She and her husband live in Michigan with their two dogs, one cat, a handful of chickens, and two hives of honeybees. kfortier.scholeacademy@gmail.com

Stephen Williams once told his longsuffering, homeschooling mother that his future job would never depend on his ability to write in cursive or diagram a sentence. Similarly, he spent over a decade swearing that he would never enter pastoral ministry, yet he is nonetheless now creeping towards a decade in the classroom while pursuing theological studies at Beeson Divinity School in preparation for the Anglican priesthood. Stephen has had the privilege of being shaped by several classical institutions throughout the course of his life, most notably his alma mater, Patrick Henry College, which exposed him to the glories of the Western Canon and began to grow in him a love of literature, history and theology. After a season spent in campus ministry at PHC, he stumbled into a teaching career that has spanned the elementary, middle, and high school levels, turning him into an amateur medievalist, Inklings enthusiast, and subject-matter expert on the psyches of middle school boys. Rumor has it that he sleeps with a baseball and a copy of Tolkien’s The Silmarillion under his pillow each night. When he doesn’t have his head in a book, Stephen enjoys hiking, dabbling in poetry and cooking, and cheering on the St. Louis Cardinals with his brilliant and hilarious wife and fellow Scholé instructor, Sarah Williams.. stephenwilliams.scholeacademy@gmail.com