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Guidelines for Placing Students in Classical Writing
| Typical Course of Study | Intermediate Books |
| Foundational Books | Advanced Books |
| Starting Classical Writing with Older Students | |
Because of its sequential nature,
students need to cover the levels of the Progymnasmata in order. The table below shows the typical course of study for students
who start this curriculum around 3rd grade. "Grade levels" do not always fit
individual students, but they may be helpful in giving a feel for where
to place a student.
If your beginning Classical Writing student is older than 3rd grade, do
not worry! We have designed the foundational levels to be flexible
enough to accommodate varying grade and skill levels, and we offer many
helps and much advice below and on our
Message Boards to help you properly place your student in Classical
Writing.
Beginning
Aesop
students should be spelling comfortably at a 2nd grade
level and reading beginning chapter books
independently. Primer
is the perfect preparation for younger students who have basic spelling
and phonics skills, but who are not yet ready to begin Aesop.
| Typical Course of Study for Classical Writing | |||
| Grade Level | Basic Course | Content | Poetry/Fiction |
| 2nd grade | Primer | Copywork, Narration, Nature Study, Picture Study | read aloud often! |
| 3rd & 4th grade | Aesop | Short Narratives | read aloud often! |
| 5th & 6th grade | Homer | Longer Narratives | Poetry for Beginners |
| 7th grade | Diogenes: Maxim | Expository Essays | Intermediate Poetry |
| 8th grade | Diogenes: Chreia | ||
| 9th grade | Herodotus | Argumentative Essays |
Advanced Poetry Shakespeare |
| 10th grade | Plutarch | Descriptive Essays | |
| 11th & 12th grade | Demosthenes | Research Papers | |
Additional factors may play a role in when to
begin writing instruction and how quickly to proceed through the
Classical Writing series. Our course outline is structured so that you
can easily adapt the Classical Writing methodology to the needs of your
student, classroom, or homeschool.
The
Progymnasmata
is a sequential approach, with each level building on the skills learned
in previous levels. No matter how old your students are when they start
out in Classical Writing, they need to master the skills of each level
before moving to the next level. For middle school students and older we
offer an
Older Beginners series
to cover the foundational levels of Classical Writing in one school year
or less.
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Starting With Students Older Than 3rd Grade
| Student Level | Placement |
| 4th or 5th grade | Begin in Aesop Student Workbook B, if they have had basic instruction in capitalization and punctuation, write in complete sentences, can accurately retell short narratives, and can identify basic parts of speech. |
| 5th or 6th grade | Begin in Homer Workbook A if they can accurately retell longer narrative and have mastered the grammar skills covered Aesop. A bright 6th grade student may be able to cover all of Homer Workbooks A and B in one school year. |
| *7th grade & up | Use Aesop and Homer for Older Beginners, covering the material in both books in one year. |
Students should be in 7th grade (around age 12-13) or up
before beginning
Diogenes: Maxim,
Diogenes: Chreia, and
Intermediate Poetry. These books move the student into serious
analytical thinking about essays and literature, and will be difficult
for younger students. The material in these books is on a level with
many high school courses and could be counted as high school credits in
composition, grammar, and literature.
*Online recorded
tutorials are available for Maxim and for Chreia at
Classical Writing Tutorials. Also, recorded tutorials
at an accelerated pace are now available for Aesop & Homer and
Maxim & Chreia. These courses are designed to help high school
students complete the foundational and intermediate levels of Classical
Writing before beginning our high school courses.
Herodotus (2 semesters), Plutarch (1 semester), and Demosthenes (2 semesters) are sequential high school level composition, grammar, and literature courses, although students can take Plutarch before Herodotus if necessary. Advanced Poetry, and Shakespeare are one semester high school literature electives. Advanced Poetry can be studied after your students complete Intermediate Poetry. Shakespeare should be done after your students complete Advanced Poetry and Plutarch.
*Online recorded tutorials are available for Herodotus at Classical Writing Tutorials.
More guidance about placement can be found in our FAQ and on our Message Boards. Please post your question, and we will answer you as quickly as possible. You may also get valuable help from those who are currently using Classical Writing and can answer you from in the trenches by subscribing to the Classical Writing email loop.
