![]() ![]() I shout about it to friends, I'm always recommending it in home school forums, and I feel after a year of using it with my own family, you will love it just as much as I do! It is for me, like a home educators teachers pack, encompassing guidance I would never have discovered, in so much more than just teaching writing. The Brave Writer programme and general home education lifestyle it teaches, has completely transformed my own home school practices over the past year, and I honestly don't think I'd still be standing here today had I not somehow discovered the world of Brave Writer.Įven though I have always felt I had clarity that home education is not the same as school-at-home, and have always certainly tried to keep away from that model (bar our first official day where I'm sure I remember standing over my 4 year old because that's what *teachers* do.cringe!), I don't think I could completely shake off "school" and give myself and my children the level of freedom home education truly gives.īrave Writer however, has gifted me a whole new perspective not only on kids writing, but on home schooling and family life in general. I will be so bold as to say, much of my home schooling joy has come by way of lessons from the Brave Writer education philosophy, if I can call it that! If you know me, or if you pay any attention to the FaceBook page, you might actually already know.Ī little over a year ago I stumbled upon the world of Julie Bogart and Brave Writer, completely revolutionising my home school. Next time I’ll post about J and I’s first experiences using Brave Writer’s The Wand.I have a little secret I've been sitting on, and its time I split the beans. More Brave Writer: Language Arts for Grade 1 Interestingly, we decided that the opening of “Heidi”, which we we have just finished, and enjoyed immensely, had the least effective opening hook (at least in the opening paragraph) out of our selection – which was a nice reminder of how authors use a variety of ways to appeal to readers. We haven’t yet read The Return of the Twelves but I’m sure we soon will – we want to find out what had happened to Max! “Max sat on the bare stairs below the attic, wondering whether to tell anyone.” I liked the start of “The Return of the Twelves”: This reminded C how much she loves Mr Gum, and she spent the rest of the day re-reading Mr Gum books! What he liked was snoozing in bed all day, being lonely and scowling at things.” He was a complete horror who hated children, animals, fun and corn on the cob. “Mr Gum was a fierce old man with a red beard and two bloodshot eyes that stared out at you like an octopus curled up in a bad cave. (C had the casting vote!)Ĭ”s favourite hook was from her old favourite, “You’re a Bad Man, Mr Gum!”: We piled the books in order of how effective their opening hooks were, with the most powerful at the top. We talked about how each opening introduced us to the flavour of the novel – humorous, magical, etc – and described characters, places or situations we wanted to find out more about. To look at more opening hooks in action we gathered a pile of novels – old favourites and some from my read-aloud wish list – and took turns reading the opening lines aloud. ![]() “There was once a boy named Milo who didn’t know what to do with himself - not just sometimes, but always.” Opening Hooks Exercise The Arrow points out how punctuation – in particular, the em dash – is used in the passage to create literary power, for example in the very first sentence: BRAVE WRITER GRAMMAR SERIESOur first novel (from August 2011’s The Arrow) is The Phantom Tollbooth, which grabs the reader’s attention in the opening paragraph with the magical words “There was once a boy named…” and then hooks us in with a series of contrasts using the literary element of surprise. Novel of the Month: The Phantom Tollbooth We’re are using The Arrow in combination with other aspects of the Brave Writer lifestyle, such as Poetry Tea. As she becomes more consciously aware of these literary elements, I think she will also begin to appreciate literature more deeply. ![]() I think The Arrow will help refine her grammar, punctuation and spelling skills while nurturing her unique writer’s “voice” and giving her the means to use, in her own writing, literary tools she enjoys in her reading. C has a great imagination and her writing is naturally crafted from vibrant language. It places strong emphasis on literary elements – elements which “make writing pop”. The Arrow uses one classic novel each month to teach language arts to children aged from 8 to 11. C and I had so much fun – and learned so much (yes, me too) – this week doing an exercise from Brave Writer’s The Arrow. ![]()
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