Cottage Press' Fable & Song student book is designed to be used alongside the (not-included) Fable & Song Teaching Helps Book (which is required to use this curriculum). In the "Fable & Song" course, grammar and composition lessons are structured around the fable stage of the progymnasmata. Twenty-eight week-long lessons are centered on a timeless literary or poetry selection-twelve fables from Aesop, twelve poems (mostly from Robert Louis Stevenson), and four parables of Jesus from the Bible. This course introduces basic sentence diagramming and beginning studies in poetry, literary terms, and figures of speech.
Worksheets are organized by week with lesson segments clearly labeled and directions written directly to the student.
Every lesson includes the following sections:
- Poetry & Prose-literary analysis: reading and comprehending the basic components of a story or poem, including characters, conflict, and resolution.
- Language Logic-grammar and word usage: spelling analysis, homonyms, synonyms, antonyms, capitalization, punctuation, parts of speech, sentence diagramming, and dictation.
- Eloquent Expression-style development: paraphrasing, figures of speech, poetry rhyme & meter
- Classical Composition-imitation of a worthy literary model: retelling a fable or parable, inventing new characters and settings for a fable, and the writing sequence (plan, write, revise).
- Copybook-an invaluable exercise for all ages and stages: careful and precise reproduction of a worthy literary selection
Cottage Press is a classical liberal arts curriculum that immerses students in the great books and great ideas of Western Civilization.
The timing of the lessons is flexible to suit a variety of student and classroom needs. Each of the twenty-eight lessons may be covered in a week, or over several weeks. Fable & Song is generally appropriate for 4th-6th grade students but could be used effectively by older students as well.
The full Cottage Press "Fable & Song" course is comprised of the Fable & Song 1 Teaching Helps Book,Fable & Song Student Book, free PDF flashcards, a dictionary, and two composition books (all sold-separately); The Aesop for Children illustrated by Milo Winter and A Child's Garden of Verses by Robert Louis Stevenson are recommended literature (either print versions or free online versions).
Softcover. NKJV Scripture used. Grades 4-6.
