Writing

Writing is a skill which is developed and fostered across the curriculum. Along with writing being a part of all content instruction, it is also taught as a separate subject. Starting in First Grade, students begin the process of formal writing through organization, style, and content development. The general approach is a traditional classical approach. In this approach, the students are given content to react to rather than attempting to pull content from themselves.

Grammar is taught across the curriculum. In the lower grades, grammar is taught through reading selections and self-correction of writing. In Secondary, a formal grammar unit is presented on learning how to correct English grammar.

Unlike, History and Literature in Secondary, writing is scoped and sequenced based on grade-level rather than the normal Year Cycle.

Writing

First and Second Grade: Bible Heroes

In this part of the writing curriculum, the students learn short versions of Bible stories. The students are then asked to outline the stories, identify the important parts, and re-write portions to be more clear and understandable.

Third Grade: All Things Fun and Fascinating

As the writing curriculum develops, the students begin a series called All Things Fun and Fascinating. In this series, the students read short articles and biographies. The students respond by organizing and outlining the texts. They then work to improve the texts with better language and word-choice.

Fourth Grade: Fable

In this part of the writing curriculum, students work specifically with Fables. The students begin by identifying classical parts of a story (e.g. “reversal”). They then work the fable several times, rewriting and organizing until it is a better version of the story.

Fifth Grade: Narrative

Narrative extends the lesson from Fable. Instead of identifying three (3) classical elements of a story as with Fable, they have to identify nine (9). As with Fable, the students work the narrative with organization and re-writing until a final version is created which is stronger than the original text presented to them.

Sixth Grade: Chreia and Maxim

In Chreia and Maxim the students begin to learn how to respond to writing prompts. The students are given a Chreia or Maxim (i.e. wise saying). They are to respond to the truth of the statement using evidence from their personal lives, what they have read, and guidance from the lesson. Editing is an extended part of the lessons and the students are taught how to re-evaluate their writing.

Seventh Grade: Refutation and Confirmation

In Refutation and Confirmation the students learn how to refute and confirm arguments. The students are given a position on a topic, and they must respond to the topic. The students are not just taught how to interact with topics based on the merits of the content, but also how the argument is logically made. In this part of the curriculum, a particular focus is given to logical thinking and how it applies to writing.

Eighth Grade: Common Topics

In the final year, the students begin practicing with common writing topics. Only at this point have they learned enough about the writing process and consumed enough good “background material” to be able to respond to commonly given writing topics. The students will work on a range of topics, including persuasive, narrative, and expository topics.