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Writing and Rhetoric 2

This course is designed to help students progress and delight in writing and to continue to develop effective tools and methods for writing well. The course uses the imitation and practice method utilized by Book 3: Narrative II and Book 4: Chreia & Proverb to help students build essential tools for writing.

In the first semester, students will learn about new genres of story, including historical narrative and legend. The skills learned in Writing & Rhetoric Year 1 (Books 1 and 2) are extended and new skill sets are introduced, including identifying the difference between fact and opinion and learning to ask the five _W_s of a historical narrative: who, what, when, where, and why.

In the second semester, students learn how to write six-paragraph essays on the basis of a saying or an action. This course works to develop in each student a love of and hunger for story and writing and does so through engaging class sessions, creative assignments, and personal feedback. For a closer look at the texts used in this course, please follow these links and click “Look Inside”: Book 3: Narrative II and Book 4: Chreia & Proverb.
Schedule: 

This course is designed with young learners’ brains in mind! The course meets 3 times per week for 45–60 minutes, affording adequate instructional time while keeping on-screen sessions to a healthy duration for our youngest learners.

Spelling and Grammar Integration: While the parts of speech and other elements of grammar are referenced and integrated throughout this course, the primary focus is on writing and rhetoric—as the name implies. It is expected that students are receiving spelling and grammar instruction (whether online or at home) in conjunction with this course. If you are looking for an excellent grammar program that will nicely complement Writing & Rhetoric, we recommend the Well-Ordered Language program (live, online course available here).

Placement: Please read about our new process in our Student Parent Handbook.

  • Students who have successfully completed Books 1 and 2 of the Writing & Rhetoric series will be ideally prepared for this course. Students who are new to the Writing & Rhetoric program should be proficient in skills such as narration (telling the story back), summary, and amplification (adding details, dialogue, and description) before enrolling in this course. The course material provides a light review of the concepts and program vocabulary introduced in the prerequisite material, and the course instructor will work to welcome and orient students who have a foundation in writing skills but are new to the program. However, due to the incremental nature of the Writing & Rhetoric series, we encourage students who do not have a firm foundation in the skills mentioned above to begin in Year 1.
  • All students should be comfortable writing their work legibly by hand.
  • This course is designed for rising 5th–6th graders. Rising 4th graders who have completed the previous level of Writing & Rhetoric are welcome, though in most cases 4th-grade students require additional support from a parent in conjunction with the course. Occasionally students beyond 6th grade are well suited for this course. If your student is outside of the 4th–6th grade range or does not have previous writing instruction in the areas mentioned above, we ask that you contact us to confirm proper placement. For further information on the Writing & Rhetoric series, please see the Classical Academic Press FAQ page.
Image of text book for Writing and Rhetoric 2

Required Materials:
Books and supplies are not included in the purchase of the course.

Optional Resources:

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 historical narrative, myths, and legends aloud in a thoughtful manner.

Caeli Lanzilotti lives in Northern VA with her husband and two-year-old son. She is passionate about the Liberal Arts and pursuing a life fully realized. She has taught Ancient, American, and World Literature to 9th-12th graders in a private school setting for the past six years. Before moving to VA, she taught Middle School Literature-History, English grammar, and Religion for six years at a small classical school near Philadelphia. She loves the classical model of education, and she is deeply indebted to her former students and colleagues from whom and with whom she has learned so much about the virtuous life. She holds an MA in teaching and a BA in English with a minor in Philosophy. For leisure, she loves trail running and hiking in the woods with her husband, swimming, and baking. [email protected]

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. [email protected]

Kate Weise has worked as a tutor, teacher, or school administrator since 2010 and has experience teaching multiple grade levels and across disciplines. She believes any student can fall in love with learning and loves helping them discover their unique giftings as God's image bearers. She holds degrees in History and Writing from Union University and an M.F.A. in Writing from Vermont College of Fine Arts. Most recently, she helped launch an urban, Classical Christian school where she worked primarily in curriculum development and academic support. Along the way, she developed a passion for math education that emphasizes building mathematical thinking and problem solving skills. She and her husband have three children that they are homeschooling together. [email protected]

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. [email protected]

Quarter 1

Writing and Rhetoric Book 3: Narrative II

  1. Define story & narrative
  2. Identify & review narrative types
  3. Practice logos and lexis as rhetorical strategies
  4. Introduce outlining and story hooks
  5. Focus on protagonist, character traits, and point of view

Quarter 2

Writing and Rhetoric Book 3: Narrative II

  1. Explore antagonist and story conflict
  2. Introduce highlighting & fact versus fiction
  3. Learn the 5 Ws and an H as vital story components
  4. Write a historical fiction Narrative
  5. Introduce chreias & proverbs

Quarter 3

Writing and Rhetoric Book 4: Chreia & Proverb

  1. What is a Chreia?
  2. Explore Literal and Figurative Language in Proverbs
  3. Topic Sentence, Structure, and Order in a Paragraph
  4. Write the Chreia about Important Historical Figures Who Embodied Classical Virtues 

Quarter 4

Writing and Rhetoric Book 4: Chreia & Proverb

  1. Practice Oration, Elocution, and Inflection
  2. Drafting, Proofreading, and Revision
  3. Increase Proficiency in Writing Chreia

Red checkmarkComputer: 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.

Red checkmarkHigh-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.

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

Red checkmarkHeadset: 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

Red checkmarkZoom: 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. unnamed-e1455142229376 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.

Red checkmarkScanner: 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.

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First, read the available course descriptions, noting prerequisites, target grades, and course objectives. If you think your student is prepared for the course, go ahead and register. After registration, a placement assessment may be provided to students, depending on the course and the student’s previous enrollment with Scholé Academy. Registration is finalized when the student’s placement assessment has been returned by the course instructor with placement confirmation.

 

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