In this course, students will learn writing in conjunction with critical thinking and speaking.
During the first half of the school year, students will be exposed to new genres of story, including historical narrative and legend. It will include a variety of culturally important examples. All of the skills practiced in Narrative I are extended and new skill sets are introduced, including identifying the difference between fact and opinion and learning to ask the five W’s of a historical narrative: who, what, when, where, why.
During the second-semester, students will study Chreia. The word “chreia” (cray-ă) comes from the Greek word chreiodes (cray-o-dees), which means “useful.” It is a short essay or remembrance that praises the author of a saying or proverb and shows why the saying is useful. This 4th book employs all the skills of the preceding books in the series and teaches students how to write a six-paragraph essay on the basis of a saying or an action. The thinking and exercises occur within the framework of the stories in this book, which include wonderful historical figures such as King Arthur, King Alfred, Lady Godiva, King Canute, Omar Khayyam, and more. The six-paragraph essay using the five Ws (who, what, when, where, why).
Using books 3 & 4 of Classical Academic Press’s “Writing and Rhetoric” curriculum, students will learn:
· How to outline stories
· How to define and identify types of narrative
· How to get a story off the ground
· How the protagonist and antagonist develop the central story conflict
· How to discern the difference between fact and opinion in historical narrative and legend
· How to identify the five W’s of an historical narrative—who, what, when, where, why
· How to summarize a longer narrative in writing
· Rewriting: what happens when you change the point of view and the protagonist
· How to apply storytelling skills
· Elocution skills and oration
· To praise the author of a proverb or saying used in their chreia
· To restate the saying in their own words
· To explain why this is useful
· To contrast their example with another person in history
· To compare their example with another similar example in history
· To write an epilogue—conclude their essay
