How do you learn? If you wanted to learn about architecture, invention, drawing, painting, sculpture, science, music, mathematics, engineering, literature, anatomy, geology, astronomy, botany, paleontology, or cartography, how would you begin? Long before textbooks and workbooks were invented, people of...
Reading, Comprehension, and Knowledge Do you enjoy reading? I do. I grew up reading voraciously — new books, old books, books set in the city, the country, in foreign lands, and many books that featured characters that lived lives very...
Do you read poetry and share it with your children? I’d like to prescribe a dose of poetry every single day, but I know that might seem daunting. How about poetry every week instead? Start with simple poems, laying a solid...
Choosing books for boys isn’t all that hard. Give them adventure — the kind with blood and courage, dirt and ingenuity — and watch their imaginations soar, assuming they haven’t been “Eustaced”* by the sort of twaddle mentioned in Martin...
Springtime puts me into a poetic frame of mind, so by the time April arrives — it’s Poetry Month, you know — I have a stack of poetry by my chair and favorite lines running through my head. Most of the...
Is there any reason for an ordinary person to learn decent penmanship? I believe there is, even if handwriting seems difficult or unnecessary. Clear italic or cursive penmanship is an art form that virtually anyone can master. Because handwriting is...
I’m at that giddy moment just after I’ve uploaded book and cover files to the printer, and am waiting for the proof copy. Let’s just say, cartwheels are happening somewhere, even as I sit here, soberly typing. This particular book has...
In honor of Independence Day 2015, here is a classic poem about the nickname of the American flag. Use it as copywork or just enjoy it! I’ve also included a stirring rendition of America the Beautiful and few pithy quotes....
Memory is the storehouse of whatever knowledge we possess; and it is upon the fact of the stores lodged in the memory that we take rank as intelligent beings. Charlotte Mason, Home Education, p. 151 I’ve been thinking about memory...
When I teach essay writing for high school or college exams, I encourage students to beware of using absolutes such as “always” or “never,” because these are rarely true — there are exceptions to almost everything, and those absolutes...
In honor of United States of America’s Independence Day on the 4th of July, here are are two thought-provoking, classic poems, plus one of my all-time favorite marches. The first poem, Ralph Waldo Emerson’s “A Nation’s Strength,” would make an excellent...
If you’ve ever wondered whether Excellence in Literature needed a few multiple choice questions to make it “better,” this delightful essay by my friend and publisher Andrew Pudewa will make our position clear. Like comprehension questions, another pernicious evil, multiple-choice...
Essay writing is not the only tool for studying literature. Students can benefit from the occasional opportunity to approach the great books in a fresh way, so here are a few alternatives to writing a literary analysis.
How to use the correct word when peeking at a peak.
Reading and teaching literature in context is a bit like studying a map before you set out for a walk in a strange city. Context helps you find significant intersections, decipher archaic language, and find a path through old-fashioned rhetoric. Here’s how to do it.
Charlotte Mason said that “Education is an atmosphere, a discipline, and a life,” and she was right. A study published in 2010 on “Family Scholarly Culture and Educational Success” (PDF), reports that a family’s “scholarly culture – the way of life in homes where books are numerous, esteemed, read, and enjoyed” matters. Here’s how!
A look at the literature portion of the the Common Core Standards (CCS), with an excerpt from Hard Times by Charles Dickens.
I love wordy holidays. We spend time teaching our children that words matter, and how to read, write, and speak correctly (or at least I hope we do), and I think those home lessons are reinforced by national holidays that...
One of the best ways you can teach writing is to share good models. I especially like working with excellent essays, as they tend to expand not only vocabulary and usage skills, but also because they expand thought. Here’s an example.
Today’s guest post is from Celia Blue Johnson, the author of Dancing with Mrs. Dalloway: Stories of the Inspiration Behind Great Works of Literature. It’s a book I thoroughly enjoyed.
Why study literature in the context of art, music, history, and worldview? Context — the history, art, and music related to a particular piece of literature — helps to bring a book to life and make it more understandable, especially...
Here is a biographical approach paper format you may use to write about authors or other significant people. Approach papers help students think through the things they study in a deeper way, so this can be useful not only for Excellence in Literature, but also for any subject.
The Keyhole Essay Organizer appears in many forms across the Web. It can be a very helpful visual reminder of what goes into a basic essay–introduction, body, conclusion, plus some helpful tips.
High School, College, and Alternatives / Home School / Inspiration and encouragement / Language Arts and Literature / Organization
The Blog Carnival offers inspiration and encouragement as summer winds down and school begins. Enjoy!
There are five stages in learning language arts, and each stage has a different focus. This graphic will help you remember what to do when.
Writing fatigue and writers cramp are the inevitable result of holding the pen too tightly or in an awkward grip, and often students don’t even realize why writing is so hard. The physical act of penmanship is such a necessary part of school, it just seems wise to make it as painless as possible. Here’s help.
Charlotte Mason recommended copywork, which she called “transcription,” as an early step in teaching language arts. In Home Education, she wrote about the value of copywork, as well as what and how to copy. I have provided her instructions and added a few notes of my own.
I’ve seen good results from students who have used these writing programs. Choose based on the student’s learning style for best results.
By using classics and models and learning by doing, it’s natural and possible to learn to write well while using Excellence in Literature.
![Adams' Illustrated Panorama of History. By Sebastian C. Adams [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons](https://i0.wp.com/doingwhatmatters.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/1878_Adams_Monumental_Illustrated_Panorama_of_History_-_Geographicus_-_WorldHistory-adams-1871-sm-pd.jpeg?fit=520%2C220&ssl=1)
How important it is to study history and literature in chronological order? Here’s what we did, and why a timeline makes whatever you do work better.
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