James' Work

I am so proud of James!  We finally finished the unit on the Samurai's Tale.  (I chose this one because Mr. Stovall (7th grade) was one of my favorite teachers and thus this was one of my favorite [boy] books.)

Abstract thinking, analyzing, and writing are extremely hard for James.  I slowed down a LOT with his home school lessons during November and December, due to holidays and other distractions.  Even though he finished the book in early November, we didn't finish the essay till now.  You can view it here.  I know I gave him work that was much harder than an average 6th grader would do, but I figured if I cut it down into tiny pieces, he'd be able to do the whole thing.

I didn't even tell him at first that we were writing a 5 paragraph paper or he would have been too overwhelmed to even try.  I just divided it up per paragraph.  We did an outline one day, then only tackled one 3-sentence chunk per day, and finished up with an intro one day and a conclusion the next.  (Rex thinks it's weird I always wrote my introductions and conclusions last.  To each their own.  And I personally rarely use outlines at all.)

For a black-and-white thinker, analyzing literature in a formula like Jane Schaffer's was perfect!  And since my high school AP English teacher was known nationwide, finding her curriculum was a cinch!  In case anyone wants to brush up on her genius, here is a link.  (You can also find her on Wikipedia and elsewhere.)  I realize now how lucky I was to be taught by one of the greatest English teachers in the country; when I was in high school, she traveled and gave seminars and workshops all over the country, but I didn't know then quite how influential her work was.  And I am privileged now to pass on her teachings to my own children in a manner that makes it possible for even the weakest writers to create something masterful.  (RIP Mrs. Schaffer.  I am sorry cancer took down such a remarkable teacher!)

It was definitely hard having class discussions with James in a vacuum, and I desperately wished I had a co-op where I could have a handful of kids his age to bounce ideas off each other (and so that someone else could be in charge of the science curriculum).  Obviously, I helped him write the essay, but it is not actually written by me.  I gave him the prompt and let him decide his view on the idea. And then I helped him develop it with evidence from the book (like pulling teeth) and coming up with commentary (like a root canal).

HE also typed up the essay.  I just copied and pasted it into the blog.  (Typing and penmanship are part of his curriculum, even if they don't do it in public school.  MY son will be able to read/write cursive.  And his handwriting is beautiful, especially since he didn't know any cursive in August.)

Next up is Where the Red Fern Grows, another book I read in Mr. Stovall's class.  But considering how tedious it was for me to come up with questions (and my own answers) for each chapter in The Samurai's Tale, I decided to save myself some time and buy a $20 curriculum.