Toolbox: Progym

Scenes

This week we are onto longer narratives. From what I can see in the previous weeks writing projects we could also do with spending a little bit of time reviewing outlining proper.

• Day 1: Read through the narrative and see how it fits together. Who wrote it, who did they write it too, what is its message.
  
  Discuss scenes and what makes a scene break. Outline the story showing the scene breaks. Then complete Theons 6 on each scene. (What is the authors emphasis on each scene.) If we get extra time look at the sentence work for "To the Sea" start to play with one sentence. Finish the day working on the sentence analysis for this lesson. Keep it fun.
  
  
• Day 2: Repeat day 1 using the Parable of the Good Samaritan, if time allows work through synonym substitutions and diagramming exercise.
  
  
• Day 3: Repeat day 1 using the Parable of the Workers in the vineyard. Complete the day with the six sentence shuffle exercise for this assignment.
  
  
• Day 4: Select one of the three stories we have studied this week to imitate. Retell the story in a way that keeps the scenes separate from each other and shows the changes when moving from one scene to another.
  

Toolbox Studies: Progym 2

It seems like ages since we have had a writing toolbox. And I have to admit that I was very tempted to change this one as well we are still waiting for the mountain to clear and the skis to come out for day two on the mountain.

But I don't want to keep juggling things back, so its a progym toolbox. Additional detail for adding in description could be found in Classical composition.

• Day 1 Belling the Cat by Aesop. Review: basic questions, outline and Theon's six (person, place, action, time, cause, manner).
  
  In response to the writing exercise from week one of the Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe it would be fun to expand what we are doing by breaking a simple story into its Theon's categories and then work on describing in detail the person, place, action and time. For today outline the story and analyze for Theon's 6 then retell it emphasising the time.
  
  
• Day 2 For a warm up discuss how we can describe people. Get each child to write a description of someone that we all know and then read it out to everyone.
  
  Continue with yesterdays story. This time in the retelling describe the characters in order to give emphasis.
  
  
• Day 3 Warm up - have each cild describe the setting in front of them, or a setting within the house in as much detail as they can. Have the older ones ting about making it a warm friendly place, or a cold scary place. ( I porbably wont have any takers for the latter. )
  
  Then retell Mondays story this time describing the setting.
  
  
• Day 4 Warm up - think of an action that you did this morning and describe it. Read it out loud and see if anyone can recognise the action.
  
  Imitate the model this time describing the action.

Character study - praising or blaming

In progym terms this is taken from the Encomium and is a praise of a person, the same format looking at the negative or a person is known as an Invective, or the blame of a person.

In putting all of my kids together we have chosen to work through a free form progym rather than spending a year on each form. My goal is to integrate writing and humanities so that using the right form for an essay becomes second nature. I'm also hoping that a more free form approach will remove the focus from just getting through the book to enjoying our writing and being able to have fun while we do so. classical writing seems to leave all of us scrambling to get it done rather than learning better ways of writing. As you will have noticed I need to learn better ways of writing.

By looking at a person both through Encomium and Invective we have the ability to see both sides of a person, the fallen side and the side that reflects the image of God. We haven't yet reached the point where we will run these exercised together - but I can see the point in doing so and will probably introduce this when we study Plutarch.


Encomium

Discovery / Research

• The persons background, what nation, city, ancestry, and parents.
  
  
• The person's education, both formal and informal, their life experiences and natural abilities. What moral training did they have, what was their inclination to study.
  
  
• The persons virtues. Qualities of mind body and spirit.
  
  
• Their achievements - holding public office, helping others, serving in the military, making a living, making a home, raising children etc.
  

The Pattern of Arrangement.

• Introduction to the person, a quick overview of who they are. You can include anything that you want although the aim should be to support the rest of your essay.
  
  
• Narrative a description of their background leading to their virtues and or deeds. This section of the essay would include most of the findings of the essay relevant to your conclusions. In some cases the detail from this section is spread throughout the essay in support of various achievements of the person.
  
  
• An amplification or added detail about their virtues and deeds. this is the main portion of praise of the achievements of the person under consideration.
  
  
• A comparison to other people who have been recognized for these deeds / virtues or who form a contrast with the person being praised.
  
  
• A conclusion or their contribution to our society and usually an appeal for other to incorporate these virtues in their own lives.