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TPS Narnia online writing review and teacher rec


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I am considering this for my 6th grader. He will be 11 3/4, an older 6th grader.

Can you tell me what you like about this class? What kinds of writing/ essays? How much time a week? Is the writing formulaic like IEW? Ds is doing IEW Level B now. He doesn't like to have to include all sentence openers and dress-ups. I hope Narnia is not strictly formulaic.

Please share your experience.

I am mainly concerned if this class is too much a challenge for ds. He reads fast and comprehends well. He can write 5-paragraph essays nicely. I would like some online class to give him the accountability, challenging but manageable for him. Would TPS Narnia be the one for him?

 

My 8th grader will take WHA online writing. If it goes well, my 6th grader will then take it after TPS Narnia.

ETA: Which teacher do you recommend, Mrs Richards or Mrs. Boone?

Edited by JadeOrchidSong
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What's TPS Narnia?

 

The Potter's School has a literature-based writing class called Journey to Narnia.

 

"Journey Through Narnia is a fun and fast-paced introductory literature and writing course in which students will read the seven books that comprise C.S. Lewis's The Chronicles of Narnia. ...  Class discussions will focus on the stories from literal, moral, and allegorical points of view. Weekly writing assignments will prepare students for the class discussions on topics such as recurring themes, literary allusions, and biblical allegory. The writing assignments will also be used to practice different essay styles, and will include both creative and analytical writing."

 

TPS is a Christian provider.  I don't really think the Narnia course, especially, would work for a family for whom Christian content and worldview is an issue.

 

 

My daughter took the course last year, in 7th grade. She turned 12 in October of that year.  We were both happy with the class. Each week, there was a homework assignment based on that week's reading. It included .....

 

1) a list of 5-6 vocabulary words to define

 

2) 4-6 questions that are mostly to show reading comprehension, but they were much better than the usual, flat "reading comprehension" questions that can be answered in a few words, like  who did this or that? Or what happened when...?  Students have to answer in complete sentences.

 

3) a "Thinking Question" to be answered in 2-3 paragraphs. I really liked these. They usually required the student to start making that connection from specifics in the text to analysis of a theme or concept. 

 

4) finding specific examples in the text of the themes in the book, as well as literary & Bibilical allusions.

 

I think the "Thinking Question" alternated with a creative writing prompt. My daughter _loved_ the creative writing assignments.  Students often shared their writing in class, which she also enjoyed.

 

They also did one or two longer papers each semester. Over a period of a few weeks, the instructor walked them through each step of the process of writing those, starting with choosing a topic, writing a good thesis, etc.  Unlike the Eng. 3 class, I don't think there was a checklist of specific things they had to include or avoid in their papers.

 

It was a very good class for my daughter at the particular point she was at. It definitely helped her move toward close reading and literary analysis. She wrote a good amount every single week. She also wrote some longer essays/papers. She liked the Narnia books, though a couple of them not as much as the others. If I had it to do over, I'd have had my boys take the class in 7th grade, too.

Edited by yvonne
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The Potter's School has a literature-based writing class called Journey to Narnia.

 

"Journey Through Narnia is a fun and fast-paced introductory literature and writing course in which students will read the seven books that comprise C.S. Lewis's The Chronicles of Narnia. ... Class discussions will focus on the stories from literal, moral, and allegorical points of view. Weekly writing assignments will prepare students for the class discussions on topics such as recurring themes, literary allusions, and biblical allegory. The writing assignments will also be used to practice different essay styles, and will include both creative and analytical writing."

 

TPS is a Christian provider. I don't really think the Narnia course, especially, would work for a family for whom Christian content and worldview is an issue.

 

 

My daughter took the course last year, in 7th grade. She turned 12 in October of that year. We were both happy with the class. Each week, there was a homework assignment based on that week's reading. It included .....

 

1) a list of 5-6 vocabulary words to define

 

2) 4-6 questions that are mostly to show reading comprehension, but they were much better than the usual, flat "reading comprehension" questions that can be answered in a few words, like who did this or that? Or what happened when...? Students have to answer in complete sentences.

 

3) a "Thinking Question" to be answered in 2-3 paragraphs. I really liked these. They usually required the student to start making that connection from specifics in the text to analysis of a theme or concept.

 

4) finding specific examples in the text of the themes in the book, as well as literary & Bibilical allusions.

 

I think the "Thinking Question" alternated with a creative writing prompt. My daughter _loved_ the creative writing assignments. Students often shared their writing in class, which she also enjoyed.

 

They also did one or two longer papers each semester. Over a period of a few weeks, the instructor walked them through each step of the process of writing those, starting with choosing a topic, writing a good thesis, etc. Unlike the Eng. 3 class, I don't think there was a checklist of specific things they had to include or avoid in their papers.

 

It was a very good class for my daughter at the particular point she was at. It definitely helped her move toward close reading and literary analysis. She wrote a good amount every single week. She also wrote some longer essays/papers. She liked the Narnia books, though a couple of them not as much as the others. If I had it to do over, I'd have had my boys take the class in 7th grade, too.

Thanks for this terrific review! We are secular homeschoolers, but I wouldn't say Christian content or worldview is an issue, other than my DD's unfamiliarity with any other than the main characters/high points of the bible. Would a child who has not studied the bible extensively be able to understand the allegory, for example? Or does the class presuppose knowledge of specific biblical characters/stories?
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  • 2 weeks later...

I think you might be looking at 2015-16 class times and teachers. Last time I looked at their site, I seem to remember 2016-17 class info would be posted at the end of Feb/beginning of Mar. I could be wrong, though! I'd check now, but their site is terrible on a phone, so I'll need to look while at my computer later.

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Class schedule (to be posted 2/22/16) and reg info is on their site under the "Calendar" tab.

 

From their site:

 

"2016-17 Enrollment Opening Dates
Class Schedules posted: 6:00 pm US ET February 22, 2016
Overseas Enrollment opens: 6:00 pm US ET February 22, 2016 (Note 1)
Multiple Course Enrollment opens: 6:00 pm US ET February 25, 2016 (Note 2)
Returning Family Enrollment opens: 6:00 pm US ET March 1, 2016 (Note 3)
New Family Enrollment opens: 6:00 pm US ET March 8, 2016"

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Thanks for this terrific review! We are secular homeschoolers, but I wouldn't say Christian content or worldview is an issue, other than my DD's unfamiliarity with any other than the main characters/high points of the bible. Would a child who has not studied the bible extensively be able to understand the allegory, for example? Or does the class presuppose knowledge of specific biblical characters/stories?

 

Sorry, I thought I'd already answered this, but looks like it didn't post!

 

I don't think _extensive_ knowledge of the Bible is necessary.  It helps to have some familiarity with at least the more common Bible stories. You could easily get that by reading through a book of Bible stories, like this or this. Like any other subject, the more pieces you have beforehand, the more you get out of it. If you have a framework, it's easier to build on that framework.

 

That probably doesn't help much. My daughter did have background knowledge of Bible stories, people, and themes going into the class. I imagine that that did contribute to her enjoying the class so much. It's always fun to pick up on allusions and allegories. It's hard to say whether a student with little to no background would like the class as much. Sorry I can't help more with that!

 

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