{"id":786,"date":"2016-08-06T21:26:52","date_gmt":"2016-08-07T04:26:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/classic.powertactics.com\/product\/writing-rhetoric-book-4-chreia-proverb-2\/"},"modified":"2022-04-07T19:42:46","modified_gmt":"2022-04-08T02:42:46","slug":"writing-rhetoric-book-4-chreia-proverb-2","status":"publish","type":"product","link":"https:\/\/classic.powertactics.com\/product\/writing-rhetoric-book-4-chreia-proverb-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Writing and Rhetoric: Book 4 – Chreia & Proverb"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sample<\/a><\/p>\n

A one-semester course for grades 4 or 5 and up<\/strong><\/p>\n

A Creative Approach to the Classical Progymnasmata<\/em>\u2014Think of the<\/em> progymnasmata as a step-by-step apprenticeship in the art of writing and rhetoric. What is an apprentice? It is a young person who is learning a skill from a master teacher. Our students will serve as apprentices to the great writers and great stories of history.<\/em><\/p>\n

Students are often expected to write with no clear model before them. Modern composition scolds traditional writing instruction as rote and unimaginative. It takes imitation to task for a lack of freedom and personal expression. And yet, effective communication from writer to reader always requires some sort of form and structure. Many of history\u2019s greatest writers learned by imitation. In other words, writing takes the same kind of determined study as ballet or diving. Creativity uses conventional form as a stage or a springboard from which to launch grand jet\u00e9s<\/em> and somersaults. Too often students are expected to tackle complex writing assignments without learning the necessary intermediate steps. The assumption is that because most everyone can speak English well enough to be understood, and form letters with a pencil, that everyone should be able to write well. Yet how many of us would expect a child to sit at a piano, without piano lessons, and play a concerto? Writing is never automatic.<\/p>\n

The Writing & Rhetoric series method employs fluent reading, careful listening, models for imitation, and progressive steps. It assumes that students learn best by reading excellent, whole-story examples of literature and by growing their skills through imitation. Each exercise is intended to impart a skill (or tool) that can be employed in all kinds of writing and speaking. The exercises are arranged from simple to more complex. What\u2019s more, the exercises are cumulative, meaning that later exercises incorporate the skills acquired in preceding exercises. This series is a step-by-step apprenticeship in the art of writing and rhetoric.<\/p>\n

The word \u201cchreia\u201d (cray-\u0103) comes from the Greek word chreiodes<\/em> (cray-o-dees), which means\u00a0\u201cuseful.\u201d It is a short essay or remembrance that praises the author of a saying or proverb\u00a0and shows why the saying is useful. This book employs all the skills of the preceding\u00a0books in the series and teaches students how to write a six-paragraph essay on the basis\u00a0of a saying or an action. The thinking and exercises occur within the framework of the\u00a0stories which, in this book, include wonderful historical figures such as King Arthur,\u00a0King Alfred, Lady Godiva, King Canute, Omar Khayyam, and more.<\/p>\n

The six-paragraph essay using the five Ws (who, what, when, where, why) is arranged this\u00a0way:<\/p>\n