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Accelerating Language Arts for a holistic learner


lewelma
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I talk a lot about my older boy and math, and I thought it was time to share the annual plan I just made for my younger boy in Language Arts.  He is a gifted writer and incredibly insightful but he is definitely a holistic learner so this plan is not a grammar/WWS plan.  I will be using highschool level materials but at a slower pace, and we will be reading and analyzing lots of literature, poetry, and nonfiction.  He has requested this focus, so we are putting quite a bit of time into it and will use it as a way to train his mind for other subjects. He starts 7th grade in February


Goals:

1) write an A- essay in an hour (not perfect, but very good)

2) understand basic film analysis

3) understand poetry structure, begin poetry analysis

4) research and write 3 research reports (2 weeks each)

5) read a book a week!

6) Identify and evaluate arguments in published essays.

7) study how to write essays by division, classification, comparison/contrast, cause/effect

8) Set aside time for creative writing without instruction or critique

9) exposure to shakespeare through film


Resources:

Film: Movies as literature - watch twice, discuss, write

    Shakespeare film - one in original language, one adaptation of same play


Poetry: MCT A World of Poetry

    Begin Perrine’s Literature: structure, sound, and sense.  Poetry section


Literature: Mensa list for grades 7-8.  I have sorted them into easy, medium, and hard.  He will rotate over 3 weeks.  Fun book of his choosing, easy mensa, medium mensa. The hard books (Count of Monte Cristo and Pilgrim's Progress for example) he will read as serials Friday afternoons - three books at a time.


Research reports: I’ll just show him how


Study how to write essays by division etc: Common Threads. Analyse essays within


Evaluating Arguments: first 7 chapters of They Say, I Say.  Use NYT Room for Debate for argumentative essays to evaluate each week


A- essay in an hour: he knows how, we will start with easy topics and scaffolding, and just write write write.  2 essays a week.  Topics will be history, the films we are studying, Room for Debate topics, pop culture.


Discuss literature/film: over breakfast or on a walk using Sparkesnotes


Daily Time: 4x per week:

40min discuss literature/film

40min writing instruction/analysis of models/outlining

50min composition

1 hr everyday for literature


Weekly time

Film - 2 hours per week

serial literature - 2 hours every week

 

Schedule: 4 10-week terms. Each term divided up:

2 weeks - research report

3 weeks - creative writing

5 weeks - nonfiction

 

Output

4 research reports, 40 1-page essays, and  4-8 creative writing pieces


Daily

40min over breakfast or on a walk: discuss literature/film

1.5 hour writing block (½ instruction, ½ writing):

          during creative writing weeks:

                                    instruction: poetry, 

                                    writing: creative stuff

          during nonfiction weeks

                (terms 1&2) instruction: They Say, I Say & analysis NYT’s essays.  

            writing: argumentative essays

                (terms 3&4) instruction: Common Thread and analysis of essays found within.

            writing: essays using method studying with common threads

1 hour literature before bed

Fridays: 2 hour reading block for books he will read serially

    2 hours for movie (rotating shakespeares, & movies as literature)

 

In addition, we are remediating some sort of dysgraphia, so he will do
dictation 30 min 4x/week

type 30 min 4x/week 

(both of these with a strong spelling focus)

read a 3 page essay in What Einstein told his cook (we are studying chemistry this year) and create a short oral report for dh. 2x per week

 

All that is left is violin and math!  History is read aloud with dad at night. Chemistry is Ellen McHenry's Carbon Chemistry. I'm coming in at 6 hours/day.

 

+++++

 

Well that is it.  I'm open to suggestions, but also hoping to give some people out there ideas for how to do a homegrown gifted LA program for middle school. This took me 2 weeks to really think about and lay out an annual schedule.  I have so many resources and I really needed to decide what I could fit in realistically, what was at the appropriate level, what would work for my holistic learner, and what we would do as a survey vs what we would only start but go in depth.  I'm sure it will have to be tweaked, and some stuff always gets dropped. But I thought long and hard about what was realistic, and this is for my boy. I think he will love it :hurray:

 

Ruth in NZ

 

Edited by lewelma
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Daily Time: 4x per week:

40min discuss literature/film

40min writing instruction/analysis of models/outlining

50min composition

1 hr everyday for literature

Weekly time

Film - 2 hours per week

serial literature - 2 hours every week

 

In addition, we are remediating some sort of dysgraphia, so he will do

dictation 30 min 4x/week

type 30 min 4x/week

 

Wow, do you have more hours per day in NZ?? ;)

 

That comes out to four hours per day for English skills. With that much time, I'm sure you'll accomplish a ton. How are you fitting the rest into 2 hours a day?

 

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Wow, do you have more hours per day in NZ?? ;)

 

That comes out to four hours per day for English skills. With that much time, I'm sure you'll accomplish a ton. How are you fitting the rest into 2 hours a day?

 

 

Fair question!  That is what I beat my head against a brick wall trying to figure out.  I have seen how focusing in maths has had broad implication to my older son's other subjects.  It has taught him how to write, manage time and assignments, study, etc, and when my ds asked to focus in literature and composition, I thought 'well, why not?'  So I am stealing from math and he is dropping mandarin (at least until he no longer needs to do typing as a separate subject).  I am also folding in history and science into a composition program, as he will write about history and do oral reports for science. All that is left is violin.

 

Based on all that I have read here, reading literature does not count towards the hours, so that is excluded:

 

Here is his actual schedule.  We don't do overwhelmingly well with actual times, but we do set buzzers to keep him moving:

 

Monday - Thursday

 

Block 1

8:30-9:00  Walk and talk literature/film

9-9:30 Dictation

9:30-9:50 violin (with me)

9:50-10:30 math

 

10:30-10:50 morning tea (must eat)

 

Block 2

10:50-11:30 writing instruction

11:30-12:15 composition

12:15-12:45 science with me

(during research weeks, this whole block will go to research paper)

 

12:45-1:30 Lunch

 

Block 3 (independent block, I work with older boy)

1:30-1:50 Violin independent

1:50-2:30 science reading and prep how he explains it to dad (kitchen chemistry)

2:30-3 typing

 

Fridays

Violin lessons

2 hour serial reading block

Dad reads history at night for 1 hour 3x/week

 

Not counting in 6 hour/day  time:

Friday night movie as a family: 2 hours (ds and I will do film analysis during school hours)

His activities

reading in bed at night 8:30-9:30

 

It's a bit more complicated than this because on certain days some activities are in the afternoon so we do work friday morning.  But this will give you a general feel for it. Came in at 29.5 hours over 5 days.

 

This boy needs structure!  So we are strict on the timing for the blocks, but if something over runs, the next subject will be shorter and he will do it first on the following day.  So the whole thing looks way more rigid than the fluid day that we typically have.  What is the phrase "planning is imperative, but plans are useless", something like that.

 

What I worked the hardest on, however, is getting a real holistic approach. We will spend most of our instruction time reading and analyzing essays, and I will spend quite a lot of time discussing literature. We won't be doing curriculum work.

 

I feel so much better having a plan.  (-: 

Edited by lewelma
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Thanks, Ruth, for sharing that.

I LOVE to see what others do and how you all manage your days, weeks, years.

Love it. It's inspiring.

 

Can you tell me a bit about MCT? I've seen that mentioned here and there and I'm just not familiar.

 

It felt really good to write it all down.  The accelerated board has a habit of focusing on math and science and minimizing language arts.  So I thought it would be great to start a LA thread.   :001_smile:

 

MCT is a program for gifted kids, but is actually quite good for lots of kids.  It is a whole to parts LA program with books for grammar, writing, vocabulary, poetry, and recently literature. The books work together synergistically.  The books are written to the student, but you can also do them together (which we do).  The poetry books are particularly good as are the second 2 vocab books. There is not a lot of instruction in the writing books, but they are quite good for a global learner.  

 

I don't know anything about the high school books.

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Ruth, what do you use for creative writing?  Or did I miss that?

 

I'm not going to use anything for creative writing. For those 3 weeks per term we will use our instructional time for poetry, at first for the structural/language elements using MCT and then for the analysis/interpretation using Perrine's.  I'm just going to let him write what he wants as he seems to have some skill already.  Most recent piece (untouched by me, but he did discuss his ideas with older ds who also plays D&D):

 

Laughter rang out in the tavern as Kristryd finished her story. Brin turned to face Heskon saying, “Now that we’ve heard Kristryd’s tale, I would like to hear yours. You seem far from home.† â€œOk, but mine is a long one,†replied Heskon. He stood up and started to speak.

 

My clan claimed to be descended from royal family of the empire of Arcosiya who escaped when capital was sacked and burned. We lived in an ancient forest on top of the ruins of the palace, and where there was once grandeur now there is only an occasional fallen pillar barely visible between the dense undergrowth. The actual capital is a few miles from where we lived and is now a just blackened crater in the ground, and even after over 750 summers a pall of death still hangs over it. Behind it are plains that stretch nearly as far as the eye can see, and just visible in the distance are massive spires of rock, like giant fingers reaching up from the earth. Once in awhile a caravan would stop at our home, and we would trade our goods for necessary items. After we finished, the caravan would once again disappear into the wilderness.

 

It happened while I was hunting. I had just killed a large boar and was carrying it back on my broad shoulders when I heard screams and saw fire flickering above the trees. Dropping the boar, I swiftly dashed forwards. Through the smoke red figures with grotesque visages and wicked swords were silhouetted against the flames. I knew none would live. I turned and fled into the forest, the blood red sun setting over my scorched village. Demons had killed my brethren, and I vowed revenge.

 

For three moons I wandered aimlessly through the wilderness, living off of wild berries and the occasional deer. Then one day saw me once again tracking a boar when I stumbled upon a clearing. The clearing was about a stone’s throw across, the ground being made of packed earth with a light covering of leaves. In the center there was an ancient beech tree of immense size, gnarled with age. Leaning against it was a small hut made of wood, and thatched with fern fronds. By the door there sat a venerable dragonborn, scales dulled by time. He turned to me and spoke, “You look like one who has seen death. What happened my friend?†I told him my story, and he replied, “My name is Torinn. I can train you in the ways of the sword but only you can fulfill your destiny.â€

 

Three summers past, and Torinn told me that my training was complete, for now, and  that it was time to investigate why the demons had desecrated my home. I set off in the direction of my village, and after a week’s march I finally arrived at blackened ruins. Even after all the time I was away, nature had still not reclaimed the desolate area. No birds twittered, no plants grew, not even a blade of grass. Only an eerie silence welcomed me. When I first beheld my childhood home, a feeling of nostalgia past over me, but it quickly disappeared when I noticed a gaping hole in the center of my village. Surrounding it, were runes carved into the blackened earth. A dull red glow emanated from them.

 

When I peered over the edge, I saw that the hole disappeared into the gloom and that the only way to discern what was at the base was to descend. I quickly secured my rope to a large boulder that was near to the edge of the chasm and easily scrambled down the rough surface. When I lit my torch, what I saw at the base astounded me. Rows upon rows of book shelves stretched farther than I could see with my feeble light, but all were ransacked. I chose one of the many corridors and started to walk. After a long while the old tomes were once again in perfect order as if whoever pillaged the library had found what they were looking for. I quickly scampered up the rope and started the trek back to Torinn.

 

When I told him what I saw, his eyes opened wide with fear, and he asked me, “Can you describe those runes more precisely.†When I did so, he stood agast whispering, “Those are the runes of Orcus. The empire of Arcosiya had much lore. Some of it would be very dangerous if in the wrong hands, so they made a secret library underneath the palace.†At this point he paused as if it were painful to remember, but after a moment he continued, “They did their job well, for even you who lived above it did not even have a hint that it existed.†He paused again. “When the capital was besieged, I was one of the heroes sent to close the doors to the library. I completed the ritual and sealed the gate so that no tiefling, human, or dragonborn would find its entrance. However, when the army came, I was one of those cut down. After the battle some magic resurrected me. Perhaps the Raven Queen judged I still had work to do on this world. That was almost a thousand harvests ago, and I have still not withered. Unfortunately, I cannot leave this forest otherwise I would have righted many wrongs done to this world. Those animalistic abominations must have heard a rumor that there was information in the library on how to destroy demons permanently. But what I puzzle over is why Orcus has gone to such lengths to make his army invincible. You must discover his plan.â€

 

For many moons I have wandered this world searching for signs of Orcus. When I heard a rumor of a cult near Winterhaven, I was quick to travel here. That is why I am among you.

Silence reigned in the Tavern.

 
 
+++++++
 
Problem is, he can write like this, but still spells at maybe a 5th grade level, and can only handwrite at 12 words a minute after working on it for a full year.  Major asynchrony.  So I have decided to feed the gift this year while remediating the problems.  I do not plan/hope to bring them into alignment anytime soon.  
Edited by lewelma
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Fabulous, Ruth!  Thank you for sharing!

 

Can you elaborate on NYT Room for Debate and how you're going to use it?

 

I like Room for Debate because 1) it is real, not made for school, 2) there are 5-6 essays on the same topic to compare, 3) some of the essays are great and others are really terrible.

 

Our goal is to sort out the good from the bad using the knowledge we are gaining from They Say, I Say which we will be reading concurrently.  They Say I Say has a lot of essays in it, but they are long, often creative nonfiction, and often above his level or on topic he is completely unfamiliar with. Plus they are all great, so no examples of problems we want to avoid.  Poor essays really help to highlight why good essays are good.  In addition, Room for Debate is not creative nonfiction, not that I don't want ds to read any, but more that I feel he needs to get down basic argumentation first.  I ran into this trouble with my older when we studied the essays in They Say I Say and Common Threads, and ds started wanting to write argumentative pieces where the thesis was more subtle.  Problem was that he did not have the skill to do it, so it just sounded like an essay that wondered around.  So with my second boy we will avoid studying/mimicking creative nonfiction essays for a few years.

 

With that said, we will pick a topic from Room for Debate that ds knows something about and is interested in.  We will read the essays out loud, and paragraph by paragraph see if we can find the main point.  This is a bit like outlining, but these essays are not typically written in the very clear cut school style, and sometimes the point of the paragraph is very subtle or even nonexistant in the poorly written ones.  We will talk about what is good and what is bad, and *how* specifically the authors achieve success.  We will note different intros, conclusions, and means of supporting the thesis.  Then, he will write an persuasive essay about the topic as if he was the 7th author in the Room for Debate, and he will practice using the ideas in They Say I Say of entering the conversation.  If this goes well, we will continue it all year and skip Common Threads, or reduce our reliance on it.  Time will tell.  I have trialed this a couple of times and it was both really fun and very educational. It is a great holistic approach to learning how to write persuasive essays.  This boy is definitely whole to parts so I am really trying to leverage his approach, which means very little reliance on pre-made curricula.

Edited by lewelma
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He is an example of his first essay after we reach chapter 1 in They Say I Say last month.  He made an effort to determine audience and 'enter the conversation'. This allowed him to maintain his tone and assume certain knowledge.  He did that on his own, so I was pretty pleased.  We are working on supporting every point with logic or examples, and including commentary. So for each paragraph I had to encourage him to come up with examples or augment his point. It is clear that my next job is to work on intro and conclusions. (I'm sure you are starting to see an ongoing theme in his writing.  :001_smile: )


 


On Blue Dragons


 


 


To my fellow D&D gamers: I have serious reasons to believe that Blue Dragons are significantly more powerful than their Red Dragon counterparts even though the Red Dragons are of a higher level than the the former.


 


Firstly, the Blue Dragons have a ranged at-will attack which does half damage on a miss. This is incredibly useful against enemies with higher than normal Reflex, meaning that Blue Dragons are effective even against ranged combatants, such as, archers, warlocks, and wizards. This makes it feasible to take down the controllers leaving the defenders helpless to its ranged attacks. Overall this power is incredibly useful.


 


Secondly, the Blue Dragon deals lightning damage. And unlike the Red Dragon’s fire damage, few characters are resistant to lightning damage allowing the Blue to massacre its opponents with impunity using its breath, gore, and lightning burst attacks to great effect. The outcome of this is that the net damage coming from the Blue Dragon, including the resistance, is higher than that of the Red’s.


 


Of course, many would disagree with these arguments on the grounds that Red Dragons are of a higher level and have a significantly more AC than the Blues. I would respond to these doubters by bringing to light the fact that most dragons have kobolt servants almost all of which are melee. These servants would be able to engage attackers long enough for the Blue Dragonto deal a large amount of damage. In contrast, the Red Dragon’s servants would simply get in its way because it is a melee combatant.


 


Finally, even if the Blue Dragon was forced to the ground, it can still muster a formidable defence. Its dragonic fury can keep anything at bay long enough for it to escape. This is especially easy for Elder and Ancient Blue Dragons, because they have thunderclap which can stun any creatures around them, making escape effortless. These are my reasons why I think Blue Dragons should the most feared dragons of all.


Edited by lewelma
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  • 8 months later...

Bumping this because I missed it the first time, and there's good stuff here. (It's always nice to see some language arts on this board.)

 

Ruth, I'm wondering how this is going?  I know you are doing typing for the dysgraphia, and have followed your other posts, so I guess I'm just checking in. :)  My DS sounds similar to your younger.  He's not dysgraphic, but we definitely have some other stuff going on that we are contemplating labeling at the moment.

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