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Art of Argument.... Middle or High?


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I think you could do it with a 9th grader but if you want to give high school credit for it, you might want to extend the writing assignments from short answers to full-length essays. I don't think the content is too easy for high school, but the assignments seem more geared towards middle school IMHO.

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One book that my DD read this past fall while doing AoA is "Thank You for Arguing: What Aristotle, Lincoln, and Homer Simpson Can Teach Us About the Art of Persuasion" by Jay Heinrichs. Definitely pre-read for content because the author makes a lot of pop culture references that some parents might find objectionable.

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I would think it would be 1/2 credit on its own? I think you can easily get through it in a semester.

I agree that it can be done in a semester, but I don't think the book as written is enough for high school credit. All the assignments are short answer responses and there aren't any full-length essays. However, I think it would be fairly easy to adapt AoA to a 9th grade course by assigning at least one full-length essay per fallacy.

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Thank you ladies!

 

This is the same problem that I am running into at my homeschool store...... Some say 1/2 credit....some say 1 credit.... Then others on here say middle, some say hs? Which is it?

 

I know there is no certain way of using it but I would love to know how to place it on her transcript.

 

Has anyone already used this with their 9th grader? If so, how did you justify credit and how long did dc use it?

 

Thanks again!

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I taught it locally last semester & offered it for 7th through 9th graders with the understanding that we'd cover it in one semester & it would be worth 0.5 credit for the 9th graders. (We didn't end up with any 9th graders!) If you are doing it with a 9th grader, cover it in a semester (0.5 credits) and expect more in terms of assignments & discussion than with middle schoolers. There is a LOT of meat, opportunities for rabbit trails (current events, magazine/newspaper articles, short essays), and more than enough fodder for discussion. 

 

If it is used with strictly middle school, you can slow down the pace & cover it in a year. (There are several suggested pacing schedules on the CAP site.) If you cover it with a 9th grader, up the pace and make sure your output matches beginning high school level. 

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I am glad that I read this thread. I have the curriculum, and had planned to do it this year (7th). But we had some other things in process that didn't seem like they could keep until 8th. So I put it away. Thanks for the reassurance that 8th or even 9th will be ok.

 

I would think that this type of informal logic could be part of an English credit if need be.

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I had intended to use it for 6th grade but found that I wanted to wait a while longer. I'm thinking maybe 8th or maybe 9th; I could see it being a 1/2 credit in high school.

 

I did the same - decided to focus on problem-solving and more big-picture thinking stuff in 6th grade, and I'm planning on AofA for 7th.  

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My 9th grader is using it. He is earning a full Intro.. to Logic credit this year. He has completed The Fallacy Detective and The Thinking Toolbox, both by the Bluedorns. Now he's working through The Art of Argument book and listening to the DVD that goes with it. We watch the DVD together and discuss each fallacy. He works through the book independently. He does all of the writing. Yes, it is mostly short answer or short paragraphs, but in the next month or so he will finish that and work through the Argument Builder book. That book will have him applying what he has learned and at that point I will assign lengthier writing projects if needed, but I'm not sure yet if it will be needed as I haven't looked through it very well yet.

 

My 6th grader has enjoyed The Fallacy Detective and The Thinking Toolbox as read alouds. He could do them independently but I think he benefits from the discussion. He really loves both of those books. He also sits in on the DVD for The Art of Argument. I am going to wait before having him use the text but he could probably do just fine with it now. I think he is going to love it.

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