Class essay with Division added

(If you are looking for this week's assignments, scroll down to the next post.)

Here is our class essay with the division added in.  Its in bold print so you can spot it easily.

The Tempest Essay 5

“Oh, I have suffered with those that I saw suffer.  A brave vessel who had no doubt some noble creature in her dashed all to pieces. O, the cry did knock against my very heart.  Poor souls, they perished.” Miranda panicked about the shipwreck she saw happen before her.  What a tragic thing for her to have to witness.

Everyone agrees that Ariel wrecked the ship.  However, some believe Ariel should have wrecked the ship, while others believe he should not have wrecked the ship.  Ariel should not have wrecked the ship for three reasons: he destroyed the vessel, he harmed Caliban, and he frightened the sailors.

The first reason Ariel should not have wrecked the ship is that he destroyed the vessel.  It possessed lots of cargo.  It was valuable.  The ship rightfully belonged to Alonso. 

The second reason Ariel should not have wrecked the ship is that he harmed Caliban. Stephano and Trinculo led Caliban astray. Caliban consumed too much wine and became intoxicated. God says in Ephesians 5:18 that drunkenness is dissipation.

The third reason Ariel should not have wrecked the ship is that he frightened the sailors.  The wild sea might have drowned the sailors.  He terrorized the passengers.  Some of the people on the ship were innocent, such as Ferdinand who threw himself overboard shouting, “hell is empty and all the devils are here!”

Ariel should not have wrecked the ship because he destroyed the vessel, he harmed Caliban, and he frightened the sailors.  The sailors’ families should have cared about this because they might have lost their loved ones.  

Week 18

IMPORTANT REMINDER:
Next Thursday, February 27th, we will not have class.  I'll be attending the CiRCE Teacher Apprenticeship retreat.  We'll resume class on Thursday, March 6th.

Also, coming up March 14-15, Faith Bible Church is hosting a conference on Science and Faith.  They have a great low student rate of just $25!  Click on the image above the zombie to see the promo video. To register go to:
http://faithbibleonline.org/reasons2014
If you can't make it yourself, but would like to send your student, drop me an e-mail.  I'd be happy to fill my van!

This week we learned how changing verbs, adjectives, and other parts of speech into nouns can turn lively active writing into a lifeless mob of words from the crypt, certain to put readers to sleep.  We watched an entertaining video that explains how this can happen - and how the damage can be reversed.  To watch the video, click the picture of the zombie on the left.

The Lost Tools of Writing explores 4 predictable patterns in which nominalizations commonly lurk.  We learned to recognize the first pattern and repair the damage. Nominalization pattern I introduces the nominalized form with the words "there is/was" or "there are/were".

Nominalization pattern I example:
There was a rustling in the bushes.
The verb rustle has been nominalized in this sentence (changed to a rustling) and is hiding what should be the subject.
To fix it:
1) change the nominalized word back to its former self, in this case a verb - rustle
2) invent a subject - the Jabberwocky
3) rewrite the sentence: The Jabberwocky rustled in the bushes.

 The DVD lesson can be found on disk 3 of your set, under lesson 5, elocution A.  You may or may not need to refer to the video depending on how easily you can move through the worksheet exercises.

Assignments

Writing:

• complete pages 74-80 of your student workbook (Nominalizatoin pattern I)
• Write essay 5 using the checklist and your Tempest outline.  Yes, you really need to check each box.  Don't skip anything (except the simile).  
• Outline Adler's Aristotle chapter 3, Man's Three Dimensions

Reading

• Read all of The King of the Golden River
• Use pink highlighters to highlight characters
• Use a green highlighter to mark any transitions you notice (usually setting or time changes)

Week 18

This week we're moving into the cannon of arrangement for essay 5.  That means we'll be adding a new part to the essay.  The new element is called "division".  In division, we consider points of agreement between the two sides of the issue and state that agreement before stating the disagreement in the form of "thesis" followed by "counter thesis".  If you are confused on this lesson, please refer to the DVD lesson for clarification.  Also, don't hesitate to e-mail me with questions.

Writing assignment:

• Division worksheet
• Arrangement worksheet for lesson 5
• Create an outline for essay 5 following the essay 5 template

Reading (for writing portion of class):

• Read Aristotle for Everybody, ch 2 "The Great Divide"
• Outline the chapter (tips below)
• avoid complete sentences
• include new vocabulary
• use an indention structure to distinguish main points from sub points
• consider reading the whole chapter and using highlighters to find key ideas and vocabulary before you begin to outline

Reading (Western Literature):

• Act 5 of The Tempest (usual requriements)

Week 17

It finally feels as though our spring semester is in full swing.  Last week I gave the students an overview of the plan for the rest of the year.  Once we finish reading The Tempest we'll take a break from Elizabethan English and fast-forward to the Victorian era with a fairy tale written by John Ruskin; The King of the Golden River.  Meanwhile, we'll incorporate readings from Mortimer Adler's Aristotle for Everybody into the writing portion of our class.  It is my hope that reading Aristotle's ideas in Adler's lucid style will give them further insight into the topics of invention from which the ideas we write about naturally flow.

Then, in keeping with our theme of “virtue,” we’ll jump back in time about 2200 years to listen in on Socrates’ and Meno’s discussion of the nature of virtue, courtesy of the inimitable Plato.  We’ll have plenty of character examples to consider from our earlier readings.  If time remains, we’ll take a look at Plato’s famous Allegory of the Cave.

Be sure your student made it home with all three books; Aristotle for Everybody, The King of the Golden River, and Plato's Meno.

I do want to let you know that I’ll be traveling toward the end of February to attend the CiRCE Apprenticeship retreat in North Carolina.  Therefore we won’t have class on Thursday, Feb 27^th. 

Writing assignment

·                    -   Read Part 1, chapter 1 (Philosophical Games) in Aristotle for Everybody. 

·                     - To the best of your ability, try to produce an outline similar to what Adler might have used to write this chapter.

Reading Assignment

·                    -  Read Act 4 in The Tempest following the previous instructions for notes and highlighting

·                     - Read Hebrews 12: 18-24 two or three times.  List three similarities between this passage and the story of The Tempest