The Grammar of Poetry DVD curriculum/giveaway

Roses are red,
Violets are blue,
Sugar is sweet,
and so are you.

    I'm thankful I don't have to admit that the Roses are Red poem is the only poetry to which my daughters have been exposed.  If that was the case, I think they'd have thrown The Grammar of Poetry books directly at me as hard as they could, when it arrived in the mail.

    Kelsi and Brittany have actually read some poetry over the years:  Shel Silverstein (although I doubt they remember that, it was so many years ago), folk rhymes like Little Miss Muffet...biblical poetry found in the Bible, and other little poems we've come across now and then. 

    Of course, there's also the poetry they've found in greeting cards, and in some of the literature books they've read (Lord of the Rings, etc.). 

    But as far as studying poetry together in an academic sense, we've done nothing - nada. 

    When I came across The Grammar of Poetry, I was intrigued. 

    DVD lessons?  Yes! 

    Professionally produced materials?  Yes!

    Poetry taught in a classical form of education?  Yes!

    At the junior high and high school level?  Yes!

    From a Christian perspective?  Yes!

    The girls and I are thrilled to let you know about The Grammar of Poetry.  I feel SO blessed by being able to use this fantastic classical poetry curriculum!

    We could have used the teacher's guide and workbook on their own, without the DVD, but we would have missed out.  This Grade 6 to High School curriculum revolves around 30 DVD lessons with Matt Whitling.  And when I use the word "revolves", I mean that with the DVDs, this one-semester program is captivating and interesting!


Email subscribers will want to click back to the original post (click the title of this blog post) to view the YouTube videos of the teacher in The Grammar of Poetry and to enter the giveaway!

   

    We've used several DVD curriculum programs in our homeschooling over the last 10 years.  The Grammar of Poetry - by far - is the most professionally produced set of DVDs that we've seen developed for homeschoolers.  It really is that good. 

    All of the little issues we've had over the years with different DVD and online programs we've used have been completely eliminated from The Grammar of Poetry DVDs.  These folks really know what it takes to make a professional looking program!

•  The instructor speaks clearly, at a normal speed.  He doesn't have a strong accent that makes it tough to follow.  He doesn't speak too quickly, or drag on and on by speaking too slowly.  Even the student with audio challenges should be able to focus on these lessons because of the professionalism we have seen here.  Matt Whitling doesn't hem and haw and say "um" a hundred million times.  :)
  
• Matt's use of technology is not distracting at all.  We've rarely seen him click to a new page on his computer.  Like, like, like!
• The DVDs are not filled with views of horrible handwriting.  Seriously, this has been a big problem with many DVD and online curriculum programs we've viewed over the years.  The PowerPoint presentation is shown on a SMART Board, so when Mr. Whitling does make notations on the screen, it's not visually distracting or sloppy.
• When something needed to be cut from the video while filming, it has been cut.  We've only seen a couple of little spelling errors on the SMART Board, and in the text, but other than that, the presentation has been excellent.
  
• Even if I had a very small budget for our homeschooling (which is my family's situation), I believe that this program is worth it, every penny.

Here's my 14-year-old's first attempt ever at writing a poem, after viewing Lesson 5:

Here's a better description of some of the goals of The Grammar of Poetry:    

    This is the ideal introductory poetry course for students and teachers discovering the art of poetry. As a "grammar," it teaches the fundamentals of poetry from scansion and rhyme to more advanced concepts like spatial poetry and synecdoche.

    Using the classical methodology of imitation (advocated by educators like Quintilian and Benjamin Franklin), this text helps students become active participants as they learn the craft of writing poems. It also offers practical tips and helps, including:

•  how to use a rhyming dictionary
• how great writers use figures of speech effectively
• when to break the rules of poetry
• how to capably interact not just with poems, but with language in any situation

     The thirty lessons in The Grammar of Poetry contain instruction on ten powerful tropes, student activities for every chapter, riddles to solve, a glossary of terms, a list of over 150 quality poems to integrate, and real-life examples from Shakespeare to traditional tongue twisters. It is designed for a semester at the 6th-9th grade level, but is perfectly appropriate for anyone with basic writing skills and the desire to learn poetry.

    After one of the lessons on rhyming, we learned that it can be very helpful to have a rhyming dictionary.  Since we don't have one (yet!), we found this site online that will help would-be poets:

    The presentation of The Grammar of Poetry, lesson by lesson, does contain poems and concepts from Christianity.  As a Christian, desiring to hand down the Christian faith to my children, I welcome curricula that includes a Christian focus.

    Mr. Whitling also encourages creativity among the student audience.  When the girls were learning about rhyming schemes, Kelsi decided to use the Tengwar (Elvish) language found in the Lord of the Rings books!  Here's a close up of some of her assignment.  Instead of writing:  A, B, A, B to describe the rhyming schemes of the first stanza, etc., she chose to use Tengwar.  Silly girl!  :)

Rhyming Scheme in Tengwar (Elvish)

    Ha!  She thought she was so funny when she showed this to me.  I think she expected me to make her erase and start over, but while I don't know Tengwar, I could tell why she was ordering her rhyming lines in the way that she chose to do this.   :)


    Here's another preview of The Grammar of Poetry:

    If you have some questions about The Grammar of Poetry, click here for some answers!

What did my daughters think of The Grammar of Poetry?

    Kelsi (age 14 - ninth grade) has been ecstatic about each lesson of The Grammar of Poetry!  She loves the professionalism, the classical approach, method of explanation, and the accompanying student workbook.  She is already using some of the new concepts in her NaNoWriMo novel that she has been writing!

    Brittany (age 12 - seventh grade) would rather be outside taking photos of friends than sitting inside doing schoolwork, but even she would admit that the lessons are easy to follow, are enjoyable to view, and the assignments demand some creativity but aren't overwhelming. 

What you've been waiting for:  the GIVEAWAY!

    Roman Roads Media is sponsoring a fabulous giveaway here at Joy In Our Journey.com for a complete DVD set of their newer poetry curriculum, The Grammar of Poetry!

    One winner will receive one complete package of The Grammar of Poetry, including the complete DVD set, one teacher's edition with answer key, and one student textbook - normally priced at $131 if purchased separately. For more info, feel free to take a look at this fantastic poetry set on Roman Roads Media's website

http://www.romanroadsmedia.com/store/grammar_of_poetry.php 


    To enter the giveaway, just click on the entries that appeal to you.  This giveaway is open to United States residents ages 18 and older.  Click on the Rafflecopter form, below, for any other rules for the contest.  Giveaway will be held on December 16, 2012 at midnight (Pacific time).  Please let your homeschool friends know about this - it's really a wonderful program!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Julieanne
Joy In Our Journey.com

    Roman Roads Media has provided two complete sets of The Grammar of Poetry (including one set for the giveaway!) in exchange for my honest review of their curriculum here on Joy In Our Journey.com. 

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