Wow! that is very in-depth! Thank you!

Has anyone used Cleanth Brooks and Robert Penn Warren's Modern Rhetoric to teach writing?

We are fans of CNN Student News as well. I am interested in other options for high school that are more in depth while maintaining a level of discretion (not showing piles and piles of bodies), explaining terms and institutions (CNN is doing a great job of explaining terrorist groups without fearmongering - just giving information), and avoiding giving opinion as fact. I would like a step between CNN Student and the actual news. While I send articles that I find to dd15, I don't want to turn her loose on the news until she has more experience with logic and identifying bias - although I think she has more already than many adults! lol

Very interesting! I am obsessed right now with reading everything on this board about credits. I remember getting college credit for a "theatre tour" in New York. we went to some performances, did some back stage tours, wrote a paper, and got an hour or two credit. That was a million years ago though.... ;)

I recommend the Dorothy Sayers translation; I realize it is not a popular choice. She uses terza rima which gives it a very nice flow. Even if you do not use her translation, her notes are invaluable. Ms. Sayers was catholic - sharing the religion of the author provides insights that may have been neglected by others who tend discount his religion in favor of his political machinations. When I got my English degree, I am sure I scoffed at Dante's religious motivations and simply said with so many others, "he put his enemies in hell and his friends in heaven," etc. Dorothy Sayer's notes opened my eyes to the religious and linguistic subtleties throughout this work. I am not saying that one needs to be catholic to "get" this work, but I am saying that a co-religionist provides a unique vantage point. She also offers quotations C. S. Lewis and Charles Williams throughout her work as well. Just something to consider. :)

Very helpful!! :lurk5:

Bump :blushing:

I really like the poetry analysis in Writing With Skill. Is there a recommended resource that is similar for more poetry analysis? thanks, Michele

We have been doing Artist Study for a couple of years - some times we do better than other times. :001_rolleyes: I made some Pinterest boards for specific artists. Here is Audubon http://pinterest.com/micheletb/homeschool-artist-study-audubon/ I found a biography-novel about him written in the 30s. That is the kind of book I search for.

Just saying "Hi," Martha! I have been following this question at 4Real! :)

:bigear:

dd11 is taking apart her sister's now defunct Nintendo DSI, trying to learn what makes it work. She says she wants to learn about that in science. I cannot even think what science that is! :blush: What is it, and what books should we look at? Curricula? Thanks!

:bigear:

I have plans to beginning SOTW vol 4, ch 4 this morning as wells a s get back on track for science... One piano practice is finished, so 1 more piano and a violin left. We are going to hit grammar and writing hard this morning to make a good start for the week. :)

That's it! Thanks!:cheers2:

I cannot find an interview I am pretty sure I either read or watched, wherein SWB talks about some of the difficulties of teaching formerly-homeschooled college freshmen who are unprepared to discuss and debate their worldviews. Or did I just totally make that up?:tongue_smilie: Anyone have a link?

Thanks!:001_smile:

Does she seem frustrated when it happens?

I have seen this recommended, but have not looked at it yet. http://www.amazon.com/Flying-Circus-Physics-Jearl-Walker/dp/0471762733/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1348165107&sr=1-1&keywords=flying+circus+of+physics

:iagree:

Yep, I remember brazenly reading my Tess of D'Urbervilles in English class while the rest of the class was reading who-knows-what. The teacher glanced at my book and smiled, and chose to ignore my inattention.:001_smile:

It's me again.....It is I. Anyway....use Librivox.org. Get them in the habit of listening to audio books - books slightly above their level. My girls listened to everything under the sun - dd8 goes to bed every night listening to either Heidi, Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm, Narnia (not on Librivox, but on Ancient Faith Radio's "Readings from under the Grapevine" podcast) or one of the Five Little Peppers books. Yes, they were both reluctant to actually pick up a book and read it. "Everyone" told me it was because they were lazy from listening to too many audio books. "Everyone" was wrong. :chillpill: No book in the house is safe from either girl now! :thumbup1: They were exposed to vocabulary and sentence structure far beyond their years, and it showed in their everyday speech. Boy, did it!

BTW, I carpool (dance) a young lady in 6th grade at the local PS. I asked her what literature they are reading for English class. Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul. Feel better?:001_rolleyes:

I have an English degree and my husband has two - and yes, I stress about "language arts" more than anything else! :tongue_smilie: Is it because I think the subject is the most important? Is it because I think it will reflect poorly on me if my children don't read and can't write? I thought I needed all sorts of literature programs when I first started. I bought all sorts of things even though I had heard and read what SWB believes about killing the love of literature. :blush: I love Memoria Press, but trying to work through the Hobbit literature study almost killed my love for the story!!:blink: I feel more confident with Charlotte Mason methods than I did in the beginning. I don't think CM and SWB are that far apart on teaching literature - read, read, read. I did enjoy Five in a Row with my girls when they were little. Now I scour book lists, choose the best books for our family, and ask a few of the questions SWB suggests in TWTM. My mom was a high school English teacher (talk about family pressure!:D); she would leave "classics" on my bed for me to find. (very CM). She told me she wanted me to read them "before some teacher ruined them for me." How does a teacher "ruin" a work of literature? Over-analyzing!:svengo: My advice, such as it is, is to go with SWB, CM, and my mommy on this one - read, just read. ;)

At some point, I forget when exactly, you begin to notice that there is more variety: passages from history or science books as well as literature. This is really good practice for the writing lessons in WWS as well as later learning. It was very difficult for my older daughter to do the science passages - history and literature were fine because they were stories. What's inside a comet was more difficult to deal with. I kept telling her it was essential to train her mind to focus on readings that were outside her comfort or interest level. I REALLY wish I had been more disciplined with my college reading. If you are choosing the passages on your own, I would definitely start with literature or SOTW passages, and start sprinkling in science or geography once the child is answering without too much difficulty.