Reviewing curriculum is so much fun especially when I get to use products from Classical Academic Press. We love and use a lot of their products in our everyday homeschooling so when The Art of Poetry was up for review I jumped at the chance!
This introductory program consists of a student text, teacher’s edition and DVD lessons all written by Christine Perrin, MFA. We received The Art of Poetry student text, teacher’s edition, and disc 1 with Chapters 1-2 about 6 weeks ago and have been going through it.
If you have ever felt mystified by, or unable to enjoy the significance of poetry, this book will lead you step by step to understanding and love of this branch of literature, guided by a gifted poet and teacher. The Art of Poetry is an excellent middle school or high school curriculum; it will teach the practice of reading a poem slowly and carefully, introduce students to the elements of poetry (such as imagery and metaphor) and the many forms that can make a poem, from sonnet to open verse. In the belief that practice is the best way to learn, this book is rich with explications, exercises, and activities. ~ from wesbite
The Student book is divided into three sections and includes 16 Chapters, The Elements of Poetry, The Formal History of Poetry and Application.
The Element section includes eight chapters dedicated to chapters on:
Images,
Metaphors
Symbols
Words
Sound & More Sound
Rhythm
Shape
Tone
The Formal History section includes chapters on:
The History of Form
Verse
Shaping
An Emily Dickinson Case Study in Form
Open Verse
Walt Whitman Case Study in Open Verse
An Anthology of Narrative Poems
The final chapter helps you growing your interest by suggesting was to start your own poetry group or hosting a Summer poetry camp. A handy section on how to schedule your Poetry learning is included, which is really helpful.
The teacher's edition is an absolute must if you are not a poetry buff. It includes a complete copy of the student text along with detailed explanations of all the poems, a poetry timeline, answer keys to the Anthology exercises and quizzes and lots of activities to make teaching poetry come alive.
The Art of Poetry DVD Set is a 15 hour series that showcases the author teaching four eighth-grade students through the entire student book. Capturing the “magic” of Socratic teaching this DVD set helps the child focus on becoming an accomplished close-reader and respond as an excellent writer.
Initially, I planned on using this review product with all of my girls, except McKenzie. However, it became clear to me that this is way over the head of Mikayla and Montana. So, I switched gears and just had Madison focus on poetry as she showed the most interest.
Classical Academic Press never lets me down and they will continue to be on the top of my curriculum list! While I thoroughly enjoyed going through this course with my 6th grader, Madison, I do not think she is quite ready for it. At least not to the full extent of what the program is geared for. For that reason, I plan on saving the rest of the material until 8th grade when she will be better equipped. However, I suggest you check out this program if you have a poetry loving child. Take a look at the PDF sample from the student book and the sample from the Teacher’s edition.
Also, be sure to check out what my Crew Mates thought of The Art of Poetry and the other product being reviewed, The Discovery of Deduction: An Introduction to Formal Logic by clicking the banner below.
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