No More Perfect Posted February 5, 2016 Share Posted February 5, 2016 Has anyone used Paul Kortepeter's Writing & Rhetoric Book 1: Fables? You can see it here: http://www.rainbowresource.com/product/sku/010221 This would be for next school year for a third grader. It looks geared towards a classroom setting, but I've read a review or two from homeschoolers that it is fun. I'm really trying to find a writing curriculum that isn't dry and boring and outdated. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ms.Ivy Posted February 5, 2016 Share Posted February 5, 2016 (edited) I use it. I'm a big fan, and so are my kids. My daughter is in the third book now. My son is still in the first book, but the book took him from hating writing to enjoying it. Two months ago, I could only get three sentence "stories" from him. Yesterday, he amplified a fable from W&R into a two-page story. And he actually said, "oh, amplification! I love doing that!" I was totally shocked. A couple of caveats...it is based on the progymnasmata. That way of teaching writing expects a different type of output from the student than other methods. It is very gentle and doesn't have a lot of drill. Some topics may need to be practiced without the book. For example, some people want more practice and instruction on outlining than the series provides. If you're not a huge fan of the progymnasmata approach, you might not like W&R. The books also have a Charlotte Mason feel, with lots of oral narration practice. I use Rod and Staff English to teach grammar and punctuation alongside W&R. I love how there is just a bit of dictation and copywork, and varied exercises. And I am thrilled with the content of the writing samples... it fits with my view of teaching children who have souls. Creating men with chests, so to speak. We can talk about stuff that really matters during our English lessons, and the hearts and minds of my children are fully engaged in the topic they are writing about. Edited February 5, 2016 by Ms.Ivy 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UCF612 Posted February 5, 2016 Share Posted February 5, 2016 We use it this year for my 3rd grader. We like it just fine but my son said he wants to try something new next year. He didn't have any real reason behind that just that he wants to try other things (and who knows may decide he prefers W&R!). There isn't a lot of explicit directions or handholding for the teacher which many don't like. My son is a somewhat natural writer so he's been fine with it and I enjoy writing so I find it easy to meld the program for our needs. Basically each week you read a fable and then do writing exercises based on the fable. Things like changing the adjectives to change the sentences or even writing a new fable with the same moral. There are tons of posts on these boards about it, try searching CAP Writing and Rhetoric or CAP W&R. I'll be happy to answer any other specific questions you have. I would have continued the program next year but we're going to be trying out a lot of new programs and I'm going to do a writing program that ties more into our history studies. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
No More Perfect Posted February 6, 2016 Author Share Posted February 6, 2016 Thank you both, for your replies. I use it. I'm a big fan, and so are my kids. My daughter is in the third book now. My son is still in the first book, but the book took him from hating writing to enjoying it. Two months ago, I could only get three sentence "stories" from him. Yesterday, he amplified a fable from W&R into a two-page story. And he actually said, "oh, amplification! I love doing that!" I was totally shocked.A couple of caveats...it is based on the progymnasmata. That way of teaching writing expects a different type of output from the student than other methods. It is very gentle and doesn't have a lot of drill. Some topics may need to be practiced without the book. For example, some people want more practice and instruction on outlining than the series provides. If you're not a huge fan of the progymnasmata approach, you might not like W&R. The books also have a Charlotte Mason feel, with lots of oral narration practice.I use Rod and Staff English to teach grammar and punctuation alongside W&R.I love how there is just a bit of dictation and copywork, and varied exercises. And I am thrilled with the content of the writing samples... it fits with my view of teaching children who have souls. Creating men with chests, so to speak. We can talk about stuff that really matters during our English lessons, and the hearts and minds of my children are fully engaged in the topic they are writing about. I am not familiar with the term progymnasmata so I'll need to look into that. The gentle approach is what I am looking for. I could probably find a relatively inexpensive drill book if I felt more was needed. We use it this year for my 3rd grader. We like it just fine but my son said he wants to try something new next year. He didn't have any real reason behind that just that he wants to try other things (and who knows may decide he prefers W&R!). There isn't a lot of explicit directions or handholding for the teacher which many don't like. My son is a somewhat natural writer so he's been fine with it and I enjoy writing so I find it easy to meld the program for our needs. Basically each week you read a fable and then do writing exercises based on the fable. Things like changing the adjectives to change the sentences or even writing a new fable with the same moral. There are tons of posts on these boards about it, try searching CAP Writing and Rhetoric or CAP W&R. I'll be happy to answer any other specific questions you have. I would have continued the program next year but we're going to be trying out a lot of new programs and I'm going to do a writing program that ties more into our history studies. This is what worries me. I am not a natural teacher but do very well when I have a little bit of a script or something to help me. Hmmmm... I'm finding it hard to find a fun writing curriculum with help for the teacher. I really wish I could get a hold of a copy to look at but I haven't looked for their website either, yet, only have looked at what RR had to look at online. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ms.Ivy Posted February 6, 2016 Share Posted February 6, 2016 (edited) The first three chapters/lessons in the teacher's guide are free on the CAP website as a sample. http://classicalacademicpress.com/writing-rhetoric-book-1-fable-program/#.VrYk3KiIaf0 Edited February 6, 2016 by Ms.Ivy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
No More Perfect Posted February 6, 2016 Author Share Posted February 6, 2016 The first three chapters/lessons in the teacher's guide are free on the CAP website as a sample. http://classicalacademicpress.com/writing-rhetoric-book-1-fable-program/#.VrYk3KiIaf0 Thank you! I'm not sure how I missed that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdventuresinHomeschooling Posted February 12, 2016 Share Posted February 12, 2016 We liked it and are continuing on. It was perfect in succession to WWE for the younger years. We are using MCT for LA, so he gets some different writing skills there. The teachers manual is helpful, and the lessons are set up so that there isn't too much required from the teacher in constructing the lesson. There's some grammar, copywork and narration, amplification, summarizing and concludes with them writing their own fable. The only thing really classroom based is reading their stories out loud for feedback, and I just have him read it to me instead and skip the class exercise. There are samples for the teacher to see what level they are looking at. I could see where a teacher who has poor writing skills could be a little intimidated in having these discussions, but the teachers edition has sample answers for everything. For me, it was pretty intuitive. I really like it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reefgazer Posted February 13, 2016 Share Posted February 13, 2016 You might be interested in this recent discussion: http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/587038-writing-and-rhetoric-users/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smarson Posted April 12, 2017 Share Posted April 12, 2017 Just following up, did you decide to try it? How did it go/is it going? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Insertcreativenamehere Posted April 12, 2017 Share Posted April 12, 2017 I use it for my 4th and 6th graders who are reluctant writers. I love Writing and Rhetoric and they like it better than anything else we've tried (which includes IEW, Writers in Residence, Writing with Ease, Hake, etc.) It gets done with a minimum of complaining. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Echo Posted May 27, 2017 Share Posted May 27, 2017 Hello! Does anyone know how to get books 9-12? I can't find them anywhere. Do they even exist? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lexi Posted May 27, 2017 Share Posted May 27, 2017 Hello! Does anyone know how to get books 9-12? I can't find them anywhere. Do they even exist? They have not yet been published. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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