Do I add writing and grammar to LotR Literature?

[Night Elf]

DH and I decided on Literary Lessons from the Lord of the Rings for ds13. We will be logging this work to turn in to Keystone for a 9th grade English credit. What else should be added to make this a full credit?

 

Here is what they want to evaluate the course:

 

 

 

1) Graded exams from the beginning, middle and end of the course (2 from the beginning, 2 from the middle and 2 from the end)

 

 

 

2) 6-8 pages of student writing (essays, research paper, literary analysis, reflective journals) graded by teacher/instructor and dated. PE and Math are exempt

 

 

 

3) Other examples of student learning (photos, work samples, brochures, awards, competition schedules, honors, etc)

 

 

 

Log of hours, 180 hours full credit, 90 hours half credit; with description of learning covered for each entry (pages read, activities covered, test taken, essays written, competitions, etc) dated and signed by teacher/instructor

 

 

Should I add in a writing program? Recommendation for a boy who is a reluctant writer?

 

I am undecided about grammar. Keystone offers a full credit course called Grammar & Usage. My dd18 is about to finish it. I don't think it's going to be a good class for my son though because there are 2 speeches due and he stutters. So maybe it would be better to intersperse grammar into the Literature courses.

 

Gosh, what would I do without these boards? How many times do we say that? :D

[Medieval Mom]

:lurk5:

[Stacy in NJ]

LLfLOTR has suggested writing assignments, but no rubic for grading or instruction on how to approach the assignments. If you feel confident enough to guide him through the assignments and grade them, I'd just do several of them and count that as composition. Grammar is not addressed at all within LL, so I'd pick something like AG or R&S and pace through that. If you want a seperate writing program, my suggestion would be Wordsmith. It's really gentle and not overwhelming for a reluctant writer.

 

HTH, Stacy

[Lori D.]

Literary Lessons from the Lord of the Rings will cover portions of your Keystone English credit requirements:

 

 

- vocabulary -- covered

- graded quizzes/exams (on comprehension, and vocabulary) -- covered

- about 160 hours (4 to 4.5 hours/week) from reading the 3 books of the trilogy; doing the comprehension and vocabulary worksheets and quizzes; reading/discussing the chapter notes and discussion questions; and doing the 12 additional units); your remaining 30 hours (less than 1 hour a week) can come from adding grammar, or additional writing, or additional literature. Or, if you do some of LLftLotR's writing assignments, yes you WILL have 180 hours, just with the program standing alone.

 

 

LLftLotR provides some writing assignment ideas, but no instruction in composition, no samples, and no grading rubric. Since LLftLotR has none, you might want to add something (not necessarily full programs) for:

- writing instruction and exercises

- grammar instruction and mechanics/usage practice

 

 

For writing, consider using a few of the LLftLotR writing assignment ideas; doing a 2 research papers with citations to go with whatever you're doing for history; and once a month practice doing a timed essay from a prompt (see Online Math Learning website (scroll way to bottom of page) for past SAT essay prompts from which to practice). For free writing instruction, what about Owl at Purdue? Or, very dry and formulaic, but Jensen's Format Writing could do the job. It's about $18.

 

For grammar, consider The Chortling Bard -- retelling of Shakespeare play one paragraph per day, with enough paragraphs to do it 3-4 times a week for 36 weeks. Student practices proof reading, and you go over it with the student and discuss various grammar mechanics and usage points -- plus it includes some great SAT-type vocabulary words in each paragraph. A pretty painless way to both learn and review grammar -- and practice proof-reading -- in about 10 minutes a day. It's about $15, and has 3 complete Shakespeare stories ("Much Ado About Everything"; "Midsummer's Nightmare"; and "Twelfth Night of Mischief or What You Will, Doubled") -- each story has enough material to cover 1 year of high school.

 

Or, some people like Jensen's One Stop Grammar for grammar "brush up" in high school. I believe it's about $20. You could work your way through some of it in each year of high school. We initially tried Analytical Grammar for a "final grammar review throughout high school" -- but WAY too much and WAY too workbook-y -- and that was the reaction of the DS who doesn't mind workbooks and writing things down so much. While good and pretty thorough (for those who fit that learning style), I still thought if was very expensive for what it is, even if you spread it over 3 years. JMO.

 

 

BEST of luck in finding what works best -- and ENJOY your LLftLotR year! Warmest regards, Lori D.

Edited September 8, 2010 by Lori D.