'The Art of Poetry' is Another Gem From Classical Academic Press

 

This is a product review of The Art of Poetry from Classical Academic Press.

I never cease to be pleased beyond expectations with yet another amazing product from Classical Academic Press.  My son and I got to review The Art of Poetry.

  The curriculum came as a bundled set with a thick paperback student book, a comprehensive and thick paperback teacher’s manual and a DVD.  They are also each sold separately to be purchased as needed.

The Art of Poetry bundle - $99.95

The books and DVD Set are also sold separately:

The Art of Poetry student book - $24.95 

The student book is also available in an e-book format on Amazon Kindle for $22.95  And Apple iBook for $22.99.

  

The Art of Poetry Teacher’s Edition - $29.95 

 
The Art of Poetry DVD Set - $69.95 

The DVD can be viewed on any DVD player, including a computer which makes it a portable lesson as well. We chose to view it on my son’s computer laptop that runs Windows 7.

The Art of Poetry is intended for Middle School to High School-aged students. My son is in the 7th grade, so I felt it was the perfect time to delve deeper into poetry with him.

Presented by Christine Perrin, The Art of Poetry, introduces middle and high school students to poetry in a way that will cause them to delve deeper into the meaning, structure and beauty behind poems as well as biographical studies about the poets who wrote the poems. 

 According to her bio, the author views writing as “the highest form of reading” and has taught literature and creative writing at the university level and at prestigious universities and colleges, such as Johns Hopkins. She is also an award-winning poet with her work appearing in several journals, like The New England Review.

The curriculum offers poetry readings on mp3 file format as a free download and also presents in-depth group discussions on the DVDs. If you just use the book, it’s quite comprehensive. The book has really fun exercises and activities that correspond to individual poetry pieces and poem structure. As the title implies, The Art of Poetry introduces poetry to students as a form of art that communicates to the reader.

The Art of Poetry student book and DVD set presents: 

· 39 poems
· Exercises and activities
· A poetry time line
· Chapter quizzes and a cumulative quiz at the end of the book
· Poet biographies

The activities at the end of each chapter are thought-provoking and very fun.  Some of them would work best in a small or large group setting, but many of them work just fine with one student.

Diagram of similar words

colorful drawing depiction of "Pied Beauty" poem

The Teacher Edition also includes detailed information about each poem and poet along with tips on how to teach pertinent information about poetry. It also contains answer keys to all of the quizzes and encompasses the student book in its entirety. Find recommended learning schedules from Classical Academic Press.

There are several suggested schedules:

-Use the curriculum for a full 32 weeks by taking two weeks to cover each chapter.
-Use the curriculum for a half year by covering one chapter every week for 16 weeks.
-Four-year schedule integrating a new poem every week or two and keeping a notebook.
-Elective or Co-Op study meeting for one to two hours per session for either a half-year, covering one chapter every week or for a full-year, covering one chapter every two weeks.

Since my son is a very visual and somewhat digital and auditory learner, I chose to start with the DVD. It didn’t take long into the first lesson that I was completely impressed. The DVD was filmed to be presented as if we were part of a classroom discussion among four students and the instructor who served to be more of a discussion guide as she asked questions to get the students talking about the poetry.


If you are wondering whether or not to buy the curriculum as a bundle, I would highly recommend ordering the DVD and watching it with your student for at least the first few lessons to help get you started to see all the creative directions you can go with each lesson.  Although, don't be surprised if you become completely enthralled with its presentation.

Check out what other Schoolhouse Review Crew members thought, or click on the picture below:

Why We Love 'God's Great Covenant Old Testament 1' from Classical Academic Press

We have recently uncovered a gem among Bible curriculum options. God’s Great Covenant Old Testament Book 1 from Classical Academic Press has become our new-found friend in understanding the Bible.

I received a thick paperback student worktext, a paperback teacher’s guide and an mp3 audio download for review. This is everything you need to use the curriculum and more. The mp3 audio really enhances the experience as the reader has an amazingly soothing voice that is easy to listen to and allows you and your student to sit back and soak in the words without having to read it yourself. However, my daughter did choose to read many lessons on her own without even my help.

I used the book with my daughter, who is in the 5th grade. She went to town with it, as she absolutely thrives on workbook style learning. We both found it extremely easy to jump in and learn from the format of the curriculum because it is very easy to use. The worktext presents the story and questions in an easy-to-read manner with a summary, a story and puzzles, worksheets, maps and vocabulary words all in one convenient location, between the covers of the student book.



I started off reading it to her and gave her the option to listen to it being read off of the mp3 download. She chose mostly to read it herself, answer the questions herself and then I stepped in with explaining the Catechism questions and answers.

As the name implies, Classical Academic Press provides curriculum that works well with those following the Classical education style or teaching the Trivium model.  We use a modified Classical education style, and it worked out perfectly for us.  If you don't currently teach in a Classical teaching/learning method, don't worry.  God's Great Covenant Old Testament 1 can easily be integrated into any homeschooling day.

The work text is designed with 32 chapters that covers the first sections of Genesis to Ruth and is intended to be used one chapter per week. It is further divided into five themed units of:

• Unit I – In the Beginning (God’s Power) 
• Unit II – By the Patriarchs (God’s Promises) 
• Unit III – Out of Egypt (God’s Redemption) 
• Unit IV – Through the Wilderness (God’s Provision) 
• Unit V – In the Promised Land (God’s Faithfulness) 

At the start of each new chapter, there is a Memory Page that provides a memory verse for the week, key learning facts and vocabulary words. Each chapter presents a worksheet and a quiz. Additionally, there are questions to cause the child to think about how God is real is his or her life, and at the end of each unit there is a summary along with more activities and puzzles to complete and enjoy.

A typical week with God’s Great Covenant looks like this:



Discover it for yourself at the Classical Academic Press website where you can find the curriculum as follows:

Student workbook - $22.95
Teacher Edition - $24.95
mp3 Audio Download - $9.95

God’s Great Covenant Old Testament 1 is intended for use with children in grades 3 through 6. Since the book addresses not only Bible stories but also how to apply it to your life, including an introduction to Catechism questions and answers, I think they have it appropriately aimed at this grade range. Though, older children and adults could very well find fun in learning things they might have missed in their study of the Old Testament along the way.




We are absolutely loving this curriculum. We not only learned from this curriculum, but have discovered that Classical Academic Press has been added to our new-found love list of publishers. The way they present lesson materials is right up our alley. In fact, we’re thirsty for more and can’t wait to use their curriculum in the future.

Read more reviews from The Old Schoolhouse Review team here, or click on the picture below:


Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this product through the Schoolhouse Review Crew in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way. All opinions I have expressed are my own or those of my family. I am disclosing this in accordance with the FTC Regulations.