Question about beginning to study Logic.....

[Momof3Maidens]

Would Fallacy Detective and Thinking Toolbox be age appropriate to use for a 9th grade Logic course or should I go with a text like Introductory Logic? My daughter has never studied logic before, this will be her first year. I don't want to overwhelm her just starting out but do want a good solid course for her to be able to count it as a high school credit too. Just wondering :o)

[Momof3Maidens]

Forgot to mention, she will also be joining a local debate team as well for the first semester.

[Jean in Wisc]

Would Fallacy Detective and Thinking Toolbox be age appropriate to use for a 9th grade Logic course or should I go with a text like Introductory Logic? My daughter has never studied logic before, this will be her first year. I don't want to overwhelm her just starting out but do want a good solid course for her to be able to count it as a high school credit too. Just wondering :o)


Fallacy and Thinking, together, would at most be .5 credit of informal logic. That is not a bad way to start your logic program. I used those in Junior High and then in high school we did Traditional Logic for our formal logic study. You could do TL book I the 2nd semester of this year and save TL book 2 for next year (although I'd have her review book 1 in the fall before starting book 2). Together, book I and book II make one full credit, and it is hard to get book 2 done in one semester, so doing it this way would allow you to spend as much time on book 2 as needed next year. On your transcript you could put Informal Logic .5 and Formal Logic 1.

One idea...
Jean

[Momof3Maidens]

Thanks Jean for that suggestion. That sounds like a good plan. I was thinking that Fallacy Detective and TT probally wouldn't be sufficient enough for a full credit but wasn't for sure. I think we may just go with this plan.

[Faithr]

The Art of Argument is more appropriate for high schoolers. It is meatier than the Fallacy Detective and better written. If you combined it with The Argument Builder which has a writing component to it and also folds in an intro to philosophy, you could come up with 1 credit year long course. My rising 9th grader read The Art of Argument over the summer (it is very user friendly and well written) and he's going to use the Argument Builder this coming year.

[Amy in CO]

are Art of Argument and Argument Builder both considered informal logic? Are they a work by yourself kind of program, or would they need to do them with me? Would you then follow them with Traditional Logic 1 and 2?

[Faithr]

Hi Amy,

I'm on vacation right now so I can't put my hands on the books, but Art of Argument is informal logic (or fallacies) and The Argument Builder talks about informal logic, ties it into formal logic (like an intro) and also has the student reading and learning about philosophy. Probably you could follow it with Trad Logic I and II. There might be another book put out by Classical Academic Press that addresses Trad Logic. CAP has a different approach than Memoria Press. I seem to find CAP stuff much clearer and more interestingly presented.

[Faithr]

I was wrong, CAP doesn't have another logic text beyond The Argument Builder.

[Julie in MN]

Fallacy and Thinking, together, would at most be .5 credit of informal logic.

:iagree:

Or you could call it "introductory logic" etc.

[Momof3Maidens]

The Art of Argument is more appropriate for high schoolers. It is meatier than the Fallacy Detective and better written. If you combined it with The Argument Builder which has a writing component to it and also folds in an intro to philosophy, you could come up with 1 credit year long course. My rising 9th grader read The Art of Argument over the summer (it is very user friendly and well written) and he's going to use the Argument Builder this coming year.



I think this sounds like a better choice and more appropriate for 9th grade. Thank you for the suggestion, I've homeschooled for 9 years now but haven't gotten the nerve up to try and teach logic. This is the year. Thank you all for taking the time to read my post, Blessings!