New Look! The Arrow
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All New Look for the Arrow!
Check out the new look for the Arrow. We’re posting a “sneak peek” of Week One from the up-coming August 2010 issue. In it, you’ll find the single page view of the copywork/dictation passage, and the subsequent notes that go with that week’s passage. To see Weeks Two—Four, plus the detailed discussion of analogies (this month’s literary element), you’ll need to subscribe (See buttons on the right). Subscriptions (monthly payment plans) are now open. Or you can purchase the whole year at once for a reduced price!
This year’s Arrow is beautifully laid out and so easy to use! Keep reading to understand how it works.
What is the Arrow?
The Arrow is an indispensable tool for many Brave Writer parents. It is a language arts resource that equips you, the homeschooling parent, to fulfill your best intentions related to spelling, punctuation, grammar, literary elements and quality living literature. The Arrow features the practice of dictation and/or copywork as the primary method to teach your children the fundamentals of written communication. Dictation and copywork are practices that naturally facilitate the development of accurate mechanics in writing with the side benefit of savoring quality writing as revealed in those passages.
Each month, the Arrow features one classic novel. Four passages (one per week) are selected and included in full, from the novel. We offer a current, monthly version of the Arrow or Already Published Issues which can be purchased individually.
How do I use it?
You and your child will read the passage out loud to hear the musicality of the language, to notice the correct use of apostrophes or semi-colons, to note new vocabulary and tricky spellings, to pay attention to the grammatical structure or the special dialog punctuation. The Arrow supplies you with notes to help you notice what you might overlook in the passage. The Arrow helps you identify why the writing works and is enjoyable to read, as well as highlighting excellent uses of punctuation or alliteration or description.
After you’ve enjoyed the passage together, your child will either copy it into a copy book attempting to reproduce it exactly, paying close attention to all of the spelling and mechanical demands of the passage (copywork), or you will read the passage to your child and he or she will write it out onto a sheet of paper while listening to you, attempting to remember how to punctuate and spell the passage correctly. Copywork/dictation done about once a week over several years does more to increase your child’s ability to punctuate and spell correctly than any other practice I’ve ever run across. The French swear by it and use dictation from Kindergarten all the way through lycee (high school). I had to take dictation in college when I attended a French university! One other benefit to a steady diet of copywork and dictation is that eventually your kids will be able to take clear notes during lectures in high school and/or college. They will have developed an ear for really listening to the words and writing them quickly as well as accurately.
Consistent dictation practice allows you, the home educator, to use quality literature to cover the aspects of writing that you care most about without the tedium of workbook sentences isolated from the context of real writing.
What is in the Arrow?
In the Arrow, with dictation passages already selected, explanations for why the passages were chosen as well as teaching tips for grammar, spelling and punctuation, parents like you have discovered that they can cover the mechanics of writing through literature.
In addition to the dictation passages, the Arrow includes a monthly literary element to learn and discover with your child. One month we might look at onomatopeia and another, alliteration or rhyme. Each literary element is presented in understandable language with examples taken from literature and poetry so that you are able to teach the elements in context to your kids.
Lastly, each issue also features a writing exercise, game or prompt so that you don’t have to think of them yourself. These often relate to the literary element and sometimes to the season of the year.
The Arrow is a full-service language arts guide that enables you, the homeschooling parent, to execute your best intentions with regard to all the mechanics of writing.
How it Works
The Arrow is a language arts subscription program that provides support for development in spelling, punctuation and grammar for children ages 8-12.
Using the practices of copywork and dictation, each monthly issue of the Arrow includes:
Four dictation passages selected from one novel each month. These passages will highlight not only grammar and punctuation, but also beautiful, cogent writing. The Arrow explains why I selected the passages and what you can share with your kids when you use them, one per week.
One literary element of the month. Each issue defines and explains a literary element such as rhyme, alliteration, metaphor, characterization, opening hooks, dialog and so on. It includes four examples of that literary element in action taken from literature (various sources) that can be used as copywork during the month as well, if you like.
One writing tip, game or exercise to try with your kids.
The Arrow is a digital product only. We post each month’s issue in a private folder for subscribers. When you sign up, you are granted access to the private folder where the Arrow is housed. You may then open the folder, read the current issue and print it. You have a month to access and retrieve your issue of the Arrow. It does not exist in hard copy format.
A word about grammar: Brave Writer has a specific philosophy about grammar. A grasp of proper grammar is mostly developed through reading and speaking. To cover grammar as a subject in its own right, we recommend that you include a grammar program three times in your child’s academic life: one year in elementary school, one year in junior high and one year in high school (though foreign language can substitute for grammar at this point).
The Arrow (and Boomerang) are designed to support the intuitive development of proper usage and syntax, as well as adeptness with grammatical vocabulary. It is not a substitute for a systematic study of grammar as a subject by itself. We do offer an online grammar workshop in the winter quarter for families who would like to explore grammar in a truly novel, entertaining, imaginative way.
The dictation passages are appropriate for writers between the ages of 8-12. The Arrow includes instructions about how to execute copywork and dictation practice, as well as how to modify dictation based on the age and stage of your student. Download a sample Arrow by clicking on the “Download a sample PDF” button in the upper righthand portion of this page.
2010 - 2011 Arrow Book List
(This new list becomes available for whole-year purchase in July and monthly subscription at the end of July. All Writer’s Jungle Platinum orders in July will be subscribed to this new list.)
August: Encyclopedia Brown; Donald J. Sobol
(ISBN: 978-0-14-240888-9)Intrepid boy detective who investigates neighborhood mysteries and solves baffling crimes.
September: How to Train Your Dragon; Cressida Cowell
(ISBN: 978-0-316-08527-4)Hiccup, the protagonist, must capture and train a dragon in the days of the Vikings.
October: Esperanza Rising; Pam Munoz Ryan
(ISBN-13: 978-0-439-12042-5)Set in the Great Depression, Esperanza Rising is a lovely story of self-acceptance in a foreign environment.
November: Ginger Pye; Eleanor Estes
(ISBN: 978-0-15-202505-2)Newberry winner about the family called “Pye” and their “intellectual” dog, Ginger.
December: The Midwife’s Apprentice; Karen Cushman
(ISBN: 978-0-06-440630-7)The heroine is rescued from a dung heap by a greedy midwife during the Middle Ages. The story is especially known for its humor and is a Newberry Medalist.
January: The Tale of Despereaux; Kate DiCamillo
(ISBN: 978-0-7636-2529-0)Another Newberry winner featuring a mouse, a princess, some soup and a spool of thread.
February: Half Magic; Edward Eager
(ISBN: 978-0-15-202068-2)A tale about four children who encounter magical coins, time-travel herb gardens, and other unlikely devices.
March: My Side of the Mountain; Jean Craighead George
(ISBN: 0-14-131242-4)A coming-of-age story about a boy surviving alone in the Catskill Mountains.
April: The Hero and the Crown; Robin McKinley
(ISBN: 0-14-130981-4)This book features a heroine who must fulfill her destiny on behalf of her scornful homeland.
May: By the Shores of Silver Lake; Laura Ingalls Wilder
(Any version)Fifth in the “Little House” series, the Ingalls family travels by train to the Dakota Territory.
Each issue of the Arrow is $9.95.
If you’d like to purchase the whole year at once, you can do so by paying with a check or a one-time Paypal payment. Get all ten months for only $79.00 (that’s a savings of more than $20.00)! The discounted, year long price is a non-refundable subscription. If you aren’t sure whether or not the Arrow is for you, sign up for the monthly subscription at the end of July so that you can cancel if you choose to.
