Here's a lil' "topoi cheat sheet" I made...

[egao_gakari]

...for my kid who will be "writing across the curriculum" next year. He'll finish WWS1 finally at the end of this school year, but it was like blood from a stone, so i'm letting him wait a year before WWS2. Feel free to use/edit/whatever else if you feel it'll be helpful for your kid! For example, I added "response to an idea," which wasn't covered in WWS1 but which is a very natural way for my argumentative kid to write.

WRITING ACROSS THE CURRICULUM

After Writing With Skill Level 1

When Writing for History Class:

• Chronological Narrative of a Past Event (a battle, an election, the writing/signing of a law, the development of an art movement)

• Description of a Place (Versailles, Bunker Hill, the Forum, the Acropolis)

• Description of a Person (Socrates, John Lackland, Shakespeare; someone whose "life events" aren't very well-known or important, or someone who had striking physical characteristics)

• Biographical Sketch (George Washington, Marie Antoinette, Frederick Douglass; someone whose life was very eventful, or whose personality contributed greatly to the positive or negative events in his/her life)

• Response to an Idea: A brief summary of the argument presented in a persuasive work (Common Sense, Communist Manifesto) combined with one's own thoughts about the author's claims (agree or disagree, and why? what has the author missed? what can you add to the author's idea?)

When Writing for Science Class:

• Chronological Narrative of a Scientific Discovery (smallpox inoculation, penicillin, heliocentrism)

• Scientific Description (a molecule, an amoeba, centrifugal force)

• Biographical Sketch (Isaac Newton, George Washington Carver, Copernicus; focus on their scientific discoveries, and on personality traits associated with their scientific studies)

• Sequence: Natural Process (volcanic eruption, orbit of a planet, life cycle of a star, water cycle)

When Writing About Assigned Reading:

• Description of a Place (the setting of a certain event in a novel/story; the hometown of the author, or of the subject of a biography)

• Description of a Person (the main character in a novel; the subject of a biography or autobiography; the author of an essay [you can often judge this based on content and writing style!])

• Biographical Sketch (the main character in a novel; the subject of a biography or autobiography)

• Brief Literary Essay: A narrative summary of the text combined with analysis of the conflict (if the characters have real struggles) or of the "idea" (if the characters have simple wants)

• Brief Poem Essay: A summary of what the poem is about on the surface level (including any historical background) combined with analysis of the "change" in the poem and the poetic craft used to illustrate the "change" (rhyme, meter, vowel or consonant sounds, type of poetry, etc.)

• Response to an Idea: A brief summary of the argument presented in a persuasive work (essay, blog post, Declaration of Independence) combined with one's own thoughts about the author's conclusion (agree or disagree, and why? what has the author missed? what can you add to the author's idea?)

[juliegmom]

Looks great! Thanks for sharing. We are finishing up WWS1, too. 

[blue daisy]

I'm about to start WWS1 with my middle schooler.  Thank you for sharing!

[Miss Tick]

Thanks, that is an interesting idea.  We are 2/3 of the way through WWS2, so I'm thinking I will go through and update your sheet to include what we have done in WWS2.  It would be handy because I think the universal emotional response to any writing assignment here is Panic! and Defeatism! so after we get through that we can use the cheat sheet to find a starting point. 

[CAtoVA]

Awesome, thanks!!!!

[egao_gakari]

Glad people are finding it useful! Panic and Defeatism is what happens here as well, which is why we're waiting a year before jumping into WWS2. **eyeroll**

[Targhee]

I think it is especially useful to have something like this for more global learners.  My dd could *do* the assignments in WWS1 but she hated them because they made no sense to her.  I tried repeatedly to zoom out and show her the big picture, but she only saw tedium.  Something like this would have been very helpful for seeing the purpose of the topoi.

[egao_gakari]

On 4/19/2018 at 6:35 PM, Targhee said:

I think it is especially useful to have something like this for more global learners.  My dd could *do* the assignments in WWS1 but she hated them because they made no sense to her.  I tried repeatedly to zoom out and show her the big picture, but she only saw tedium.  Something like this would have been very helpful for seeing the purpose of the topoi.

 

"Global" is a good descriptor I think! My DS13 definitely needs to know "why he should have to learn this." (Of course, my reasons don't often convince him, e.g. "Poetry memorization will help you learn what's good, true, and beautiful!" DON'T CARE MOM I HAVE A MIND OF METAL AND WHEELS :P )

[Garga]

This list is wonderful!  I have used a few writing programs over the years, and I always have to write up something like this for myself at the end of the course to remember exactly what was covered to reference later.  I tend to get to the end of writing courses and it's hard to remember what exactly was taught. 

The Lively Art of Writing has a good summary list like yours in the back of their book.  Very helpful!

 

(Though, I have to admit, I never quite figured out what the word "topoi" means, or how to pronounce it.  I feel like I must have skimmed over the page where it was explained.)

[happypamama]

This is really great -- thanks!

[Targhee]

On 4/21/2018 at 6:55 PM, Garga said:

This list is wonderful!  I have used a few writing programs over the years, and I always have to write up something like this for myself at the end of the course to remember exactly what was covered to reference later.  I tend to get to the end of writing courses and it's hard to remember what exactly was taught. 

The Lively Art of Writing has a good summary list like yours in the back of their book.  Very helpful!

 

(Though, I have to admit, I never quite figured out what the word "topoi" means, or how to pronounce it.  I feel like I must have skimmed over the page where it was explained.)

It (topos is singular) means location but also form (it’s where the English “topic” comes from), and refers to Greek rhetorical methods. I am not sure but I always  made the first syllable sound like “toe” and second syllable rhyme with koi, like the fish. 

[annegables]

I know this is a zombie thread, but I have been reading up on teaching writing, and I found this summary to be immensely helpful! Thanks, @egao_gakari

[egao_gakari]

Glad people are still finding it helpful! It didn't actually help my DS very much, but it's been great for his younger sister 🙂

[annegables]

7 hours ago, Plum said:

Perfect timing! Thanks for bumping this! 

Plum, I think you and I are going through very similar teaching writing journeys based on our postings😁. Solidarity!