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I have to say we are really enjoying RTR's Medieval History-Based Writing lessons! Because it links so well with the history we are studying especially, this has been a wonderful writing program to be paired with RTR. The outlining has helped my ds better organize his thoughts, and the varied assignments have helped him grow in many different types of writing. I will say that I think my ds would balk at doing IEW every year, as the key word outlining and format for noting various writing techniques in the margins could get redundant - doing a different kind of writing program that suits different academic needs from year to year with HOD has kept writing fresh. BUT, for this year, I'm super excited about the growth I see in Wyatt's writing!!! Just for fun, I thought I'd share his literary critique of "Genghis Khan and His Hawk". This was a totally new thing for him to do, and he began by trying to retell the story with his own twist on it. I caught it pretty quickly though, and we discussed how this assignment was different in that the purpose was not to tell a story but to critique a story. What a good lesson to learn! Oh, and for those of you using CTC, the Storytime "ad" dc give to "sell you" on their book provided good training for this writing lesson in RTR!

Genghis Khan and His Loyal Hawk

"Genghis Khan and His Hawk" is retold by Lori Verstegen and was published by the Institute for Excellence in Writing in 2007. The original author is unknown. This story is a classic tale based on a true legend. It takes place in Mongolia with Genghis Khan as its ruler in the 1200's. The main setting is a mountain stream coming out of a rocky outcropping. Gengis Khan is a lot wiser at the end of the day than he is at the start of the day. Khan is an antagonist and dominant character who is a massively wicked rich man who often acts hastily without thinking. He loves falconing. His favorite friend is his hawk. The protagonist, the hawk, is a perfect hunter.

One day the Great Khan hunted too far with his hawk and was extremely thirsty, so they started seeking for a stream. The one he found had an "unknown" water source. When he raised his cup full of water to his lips, his hawk dived and spilled all the water. The hawk swooped down and knocked the cup over again. The next time the hawk dived the Great Khan killed him and turned his best friend into a lifeless bird. In doing so, he knocked his cup up and over the rocky outcropping. Around the rocky outcropping he went to retrieve his cup. When he reached the water source, who should he see but a dead viper with all of its deadly poison emptied into the water. The Great Khan realized that the hawk had saved his life.

"Genghis Khan and His Hawk" is a fascinating story filled with life and death, loyalty and betrayal. Genghis is a tragically wicked man that is disliked by a great many people. His hawk is loyal to the end because he loves his master. The Khan is cruel. For his many faults, his worst is a rash temper. When he and the reader realize that the hawk gave his life for the Khan's, it makes the story's surprise ending captivating and sorrowful. The theme of the story is to think before you act and to check the facts before you kill. The hawk is a likeable character, as the story makes him a hero, and the Khan, who is cruel, the villain.


Hope you enjoyed it, and are either having your own fun and success with RTR's IEW, or are now looking forward to it!
In Christ,
Julie

Okay - I just have to share one more - this is fun! Here is Wyatt's one paragraph response to the writing prompt "Seven in One Blow". Here he was asked to respond to the writing prompt if the tailor was admirable or not.

A Crafty Boaster and Liar

The Tailor is not admirable, but he is very crafty. The tailor has two faults. The first fault is that he boasted about killing seven flies with one whack of his broom! His second fault is that he started telling people that he had killed seven giants! Because the king had heard how he had supposedly killed seven giants, he was sent to trap a man-eating boar. Hastily he ran into an empty cottage and quickly jumped out the window to lock the door and trap the boar. The Bible, which is always right, specifically says that you should not boast. Before he acted he should have remembered that it is in the rule of God and the rule of man to not lie! Being crafty helped him to catch a boar and to earn the king's favor. As for me, I find nothing to admire about lying and boasting. In my mind, lying and boasting outweigh the intelligence of being crafty. The Tailor is sinful, like all of us, but he did sins that other people and he could have avoided, so while he is crafty, he his not admirable.

I wrote these comments to his paragraph, as I think comments show I care and really read what he wrote:
You thoroughly answered the prompt, and you did so in a concise, creative way! Your title and topic sentence give a clear solid start to your paragraph. The supporting details make a strong case against the tailor, and I find myself taking your position that indeed the tailor is crafty, but admirable he is not. I especially appreciated your choosing the Bible as a supporting detail, as a goal of Christians is to be known as Christians by what others see in them and not by just saying "I am a Christian". Your writing style was entertaining as well, and you took time to edit carefully. Well done, Wyatt!

I don't always write such lengthy comments, sometimes I don't write any as we've talked about it enough for him to know what I thought he did well with and what he could improve upon. But once and awhile, I like to do it up big!

In Christ,
Julie

Very well-done Wyatt! I hate to even say it, but some of my college-level students would not be able to accomplish that.

Julie,

Thank you for sharing this, especially your comments that you added to his writing. It offered me great guidance on how I can improve my interaction with my children's work!

Thanks Julie, these posts help me see where we are going and what to look for in my children's writings/narrations.

Nancy

Thanks Julie for posting this. I have really been on the fence about whether Noah can handle this writing program next year. This gives me some insight into it and more things to ponder. I hope to look at it and talk to you and Carrie about it when you are here in Cincinnati.

Wow! Great work Wyatt! It makes me excited for the years to come. Right now I really can't imagine my dc writing that well, but we have several years and several guides to get there. Thanks for sharing.

Way to go Wyatt!! Excellent writing. I'll have to let Grant read these tomorrow.

I have to say that I am absolutely loving the guidance given in the HOD guides for teaching writing! I would be floundering on my own, but I feel like we're learning it well with HOD's hand-holding here! Grant loves the writing he's doing in CTC this year, too. He went from loving the creative part of writing (and composing it in his mind) to actually not minding getting it on paper...and well at that. He's been taking a notepad to our homeschool playgroup here and getting input from his friends for the book he's planning to write - that has grown out of his WWTB assignments. Thanks for sharing Wyatt's work and your comments Julie. I like seeing where we're headed.

Kathleen

WOW, I'm thoroughly impressed!! And he's only 10yo??

I hope we can have such wonderful results next year with RTR and the Medieval Based Writing Lessons. This is awesome--thanks for sharing!

I'll just pop-in to agree that we are also really enjoying the Medieval History-Based Writing Lessons paired with RTR this year too! My son is thriving, and I am enjoying seeing the difference in my boys (as this is our second time through the program, this time with a different child).

The skills of oral and written narration that we've practiced for years are paying off, as I'm finding my kiddos write easily and consequently don't find the more formal writing lessons daunting.

Blessings,
Carrie

Yeah Wyatt! You rock! Great job! Enjoyed reading your writing. We are loving the Medieval writing program too! It's so easy to use! And that is saying a lot for a wring program! My daughter loves it.

I've been wondering what to think about this writing program, and whether or not I would pick something else when my daughter does this next year. I have never been attracted to (to put it mildly) the IEW writing curriculum. I was surprised to see that HOD used it. I didn't like all of the ways they had the student just rewrite things and add "dress-ups", it just seems like fake writing. I did notice Carrie say that they used different writing programs each year to mix it up, which I think is a good idea. That sure looks great what Julie posted though. I'll have to look at it and give it a chance.

Nancy

Thanks so much, ladies! As writing is not naturally a favorite subject for Wyatt, the growth I am seeing is especially meaningful to me. Just last Friday when I was gone at a book fair, he did not try as hard as he did on these assignments I shared though. Two steps forward, one step back... but progress yet the same. We talked about him doing his best whether it is me by his side or someone else (in this case dh) or whether no one is by his side. I think it was a good thing to have happen, as I will not always be overseeing his work. There will be a time when he is his own man, with his own responsibilities - I am thankful HOD is training him to become better and better at diligently working without me hovering over him. I can see he'll continue to need practice that to truly develop good work habits. Thanks for celebrating the growth I am seeing with me here, ladies!

In Christ,
Julie

Wow...that is excellent! Julie, how old is your son Wyatt? Someone posted that he was 10 years old? Is that true? If so, my son has a LONG WAY to go... If he is 10, then I think I must be doing something very wrong...

My now 10 year old is only using Beyond!!!!! Now what is wrong with this picture? He would be like light years behind yours, Julie! Help!