If you were going to create your own 1 year high school rhetoric course

[Faithr]

how would you do it?  What would you include?  I am thinking of using several different components.

 

1.  Copy work from Farnsworth's Classical English Rhetoric (we've been using this as a resource for copy work this year as well)

 

2.  Some kind of sentence analysis - I will probably revisit grammar resources I have around the house. We've been focusing on Latin so we've not really done English grammar by itself.

 

3.  A study of what rhetoric is - I am thinking of using the Art of Manliness's wonderful series on this topic plus other neat resources like Sister Miriam Joseph's Shakespeare Use of the Language Arts. 

 

4.  Writing every week about something with intentional inclusion of some rhetorical device they have learned or in imitation of something they've read  (for instance, write a speech about topic of choice but imitate Lincoln's Gettysburg address - that sort of thing).

 

Just wondering how others might approach this.  My students are 9th and 11th grade - both pretty strong natural writers.

 

I'd like to include some kind of public speaking element, but not sure how that will happen.

[MomOfABunch]

Following!

[g1234]

I can't wait to use Shea's The Language of Composition with my kids.

[JDoe]

Need to work Corbett's Classical Rhetoric into your mix I think.

[Faithr]

I have heard so much of Corbett's Classical Rhetoric, but I am gun shy.  I have never, ever in all my 20 years of homeschooling been able to make it through a writing textbook.  The only time I've been consistent is when we are participating in a co-op that is using a program.  So we have done IEW a couple of years about 4 years ago and we did one year of Lost Tools of Writing.  But it just seems like my kids prosper from being in an atmosphere of rich ideas and then having the opportunity to write.  They really like to make the connections on their own.  That's why I am trying to create my own program.  I think if we discuss the philosophy behind rhetoric, have a lot of rich copy work and reading that illustrates the principles and then we get in the habit of regularly writing something with an idea of incorporating what we are learning, that would work better.  Following a set curriculum seems to deaden our enthusiasm.  

 

I have not heard of Shea's The Language of Composition.  Thanks for mentioning it.  

 

I thought more about this and I think I will focus on using The Art of Manliness series for an intro, then we'll read The Office of Assertion for the first semester and then read through Shakespeare's Use of Language Arts for the second semester.  We are going to have a 'book club' where we read a book a month for this purpose and then write a LToW style essay about it.  For other weeks I came up with a list of ideas which they can choose from.  And they can always choose to go back and rewrite a former piece of writing and improve it.  

 

I will look into both of these though.  I am still developing my ideas on this.  Thanks for your input!

[Faithr]

Wow, thanks for the Language of Composition resource!  Have you seen their collection of on line examples?  It is amazing! http://bcs.bedfordstmartins.com/languageofcomp2e/#t_824256____

 

Thanks so much.  That will be really helpful!

[g1234]

Wow, thanks for the Language of Composition resource! Have you seen their collection of on line examples? It is amazing! http://bcs.bedfordstmartins.com/languageofcomp2e/#t_824256____

 

Thanks so much. That will be really helpful!

Oh, I'm glad you like the looks of it. I have a used copy and can't stop reading it. This book, along with Perrine's Literature: Structure, Sound, and Sense, gives me hope for high school comp and lit.

 

No, I hadn't seen their collection of examples. Thanks for pointing me to them!