Cultivating Writers & The Barnes Foundation

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On today's episode you are treated in our TRUE and GOOD segments to a sweeping vision of what an ideal PreK-12 Writing program looks like according to my special guest, teacher, and mentor, Linda Cerynik of Roots to Wings Educational Support. We touch on writing methods from Charlotte Mason to Classical, an eclectic mix of our favorite things. Linda takes us from grade to grade highlighting some of the touchstones students can strive for and some activities we can do as parents and teachers to help them develop and succeed as writers. 

Some principles of Narration (not mentioned in the podcast):

• should be done from high-quality literary books
• retell after one reading
• recall past material before each narration
• do not interupt or question the student during narration
• let the student's personality and interests shine
• ask synthetic or Socratic questions to cultivate deep thinking, other connections and knowledge in students after the narration
• advance to silent narration with older students

The Progymnasmata (an ancient Greek and Roman program that teaches Rhetoric in stages):

1. fable
2. narrative
3. anecdote
4. maxim 
5. refutation
6. confirmation
7. commonplace
8. encomium 
9. invective
10. comparison
11. personification
12. description
13. argument/thesis 

Four Rhetorical Devices high schoolers can use or look for in an essay or speech:

1. Logos - appeal to logic
2. Ethos - appeal to ethics and credibility
3. Pathos - appeal to emotions
4. Kairos - appeal to time

On the BEAUTIFUL segment of the show, I end with sharing my field trip to  The Barnes Foundation  in Philadelphia, PA, and its amazing decorative arts collection from all around the world. You will be in awe at the famous artists represented and the various arts and crafts displayed next to old European oil paintings. It is a sight to behold and a wonderful expression of the divinely-inspired creative nature of humans. See photos below!

Some favorite resources:

• Know and Tell: The Art of Narration by Karen Glass
• The Elements of Style by William Strunk Jr. and E. B. White
• On Writing Well by William Zinsser
• IEW (Institute of Excellence in Writing) Portable Walls Grammar on the Go
• The Lost Tools of Writing by the Circe Institute

 . . . give a child a single valuable idea, and you have done more for his education than if you had laid upon his mind the burden of bushels of information . . . - Charlotte Mason, Volume 1: Home Education, p. 174 

1. For early Elementary students, be sure to have lots of play time to build strength and dexterity for holding and manipulating a writing instrument. Such toys and activies can include play doh, marbles, pick-up sticks, clay, watercoloring, dry erase markers/regular markers, chalk, collecting things in nature, playing in sand and mud, weaving with Rainbow looms, crafting with scissors and glue, practicing letters on lined paper, Lego/block building, playing with little figures like Squinkie Do Drops, Calico Critters, and Star Wars action figures. Begin oral narrations with 6+ year olds naturally, with retellings of their day, TV show, or family read aloud.
2. For late Elementary and Middle School students, continue oral narrations. Begin written narrations slowly -- one per week and build up to daily narrations -- 150-300 words per day.  Begin practicing more technical aspects of composition, like developing a full 5-paragraph essay, with an introduction and conclusion. Introduce guided poetry writing.
3. For High School students, continue oral narrations and try writing some creative narrations  -- like a newspaper account or screen play of what occured in their literature or history book, learn how to edit their own work, and try to cover all four kinds of essays -- descriptive, narrative, persuasive, and expository. Consider using the four Rhetorical appeals Linda mentioned: Logos, Ethos, Pathos, and Kairos.