Does anyone use Lost Tools of Writing?

[happykids]

I am looking into this curriculum and would like your opinion, how you have used it, and anything else you can share about it. Any info. would be greatly appreciated!
Thank you,
Sabrina

[Martha in NM]

I used LTOW with my son during his last year in our home school. He had some trouble developing his main themes in sufficient detail when writing essays for the SAT and ACT, so we found the invention modules the most useful part of the curriculum. If you're looking for a stand-alone composition program written from a classical perspective, this would be a good possibility. I found it well organized and got plenty of support from the author and through the Yahoo group set up for folks using LT.

IMO, the best feature is the detailed scripting for the Q&A sessions which begin with concrete examples and move on to more abstract discussions. Since my son is older than the targeted age group, I usually substituted examples from his current reading list instead of using the examples given in the teaching modules.

The elocution modules were mostly review for my son, but he did enjoy the suggestions for how to compose your own schemes and tropes as opposed to reading and recognizing them in works of literature.

My son tells me that the arrangement modules helped him really understand the process of crafting a good thesis and cemented the importance of deferring the writing the introduction and conclusion until after the body of the paper is finished. He took a community college course in analytic and argumentative writing this past semester, and was able to refine his writing skills without worrying about the basics.

[FWIW, we used a combination of Classical Writing, Write Shop, and LTOW during his high school years.]

[Patty Joanna]

My son is in a small classical school. They are working through the progymnasmata right now, and the idea is that LTOW will be the writing class for the senior high. The school is somewhat fragile, however, and if they do not make it, and I end teaching my son at home, this is what I will use.

I do NOT have experience with this program, but I did teach high school English lo these many years ago, and so I am not inexperienced all together.

I like LToW because it is focused on quality of thought more than on speed of writing;
because it identifies and addresses without adding "mystery to" the problems people have in writing;
because it is interactive by its nature--it keeps you in dialogue, and teaches you how to do this;
because it had guidance for both teaching and evaluating;
because of the underlying philosophy of its author and the reflection of that philosophy in the curriculum.

YMMV. Heck, MY mileage may vary...please God let this school stay open.

[FlockOfSillies]

I took a seminar taught by Andrew Kern (we were the guinea pigs as he filmed his DVD). I like that it's very step-by-step and seeks to make the process manageable and easy to understand for the student. Bite-size chunks, lots of review, and he only adds one new little skill to practice at a time. I ended up buying the curriculum and I plan to use it when my dd graduates out of IEW. Andrew Pudewa was at the seminar and highly recommended it. He and Kern are like-minded when it comes to teaching writing, although LTW allows more room for the student's individual style to come through.

[Karenciavo]

I used The Lost Tools of Writing for a couple of years when ds14 was home (he went to Christian school this year.) My ds16 is taking a LToW class through the Memoria Press online classes this year. It was a fantastic fit for ds14, he has trouble coming up with things to say and expressing himself eloquently, it moves a little slow for ds16 who has no trouble coming up with something to say (although LToW has helped because he usually has too much to say) and he expresses himself wonderfully. If I was doing the program with him we would move a little faster. Going through the canons of rhetoric at the pace that LToW sets is very helpful. We're not signing up for the 2nd semester and we'll simply use Corbett's book Classical Rhetoric for the Modern Student along with some of the LToW work sheets.

Here's a post I wrote last February (http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=82112&highlight=Lost+Tools+Writing):

From the teacher guide: "This curriculum is geared to the 7th to 9th grade student with a little writing background. Middle school students who have experienced basic writing exercises and who know the elements of grammar are prepared for this program. The practiced teacher can use the ideas contained in this curriculum for children at any age level, and The Lost Tools of Writing has been used as early as third grade."

I will go through the pros and cons using the LTOW method of brain-storming during the invention process; the ANI method:

Affirmative:


Incrementally teaches writing starting with the persuasive essay via 3 of the 5 canons of rhetoric (http://rhetoric.byu.edu/canons/Canons.htm) - Invention, Arrangement, and Elocution or Style.
My man-of-few-words 13 yo's writing has thrived using the LTOW because once he masters the tools taught he is able to overcome his hurdles.
Scripted lessons at first till you get your feet wet then you write you own using forms provided. There are master teachers who write lessons and post them on the web site and yahoo group too in case you need more hand holding (like me :001_smile:)

Negative:


Very teacher intensive (which isn't really a con for me, but it is for some people)
Program is not complete and I believe is behind schedule. I thought level 2 was supposed to be out Fall 2008 and it's still not out. (this is still true)

Interesting:


There are three basic problems people have with writing; coming up with something to say, putting you ideas in the proper order, expressing your ideas appropriately. LTOW helps students and teachers get passed these problems using the canons mentioned above.
Students use Aristotle's Common Topics during the Invention process.
Students are taught outlining during the arrangement process.
Students are trained to use various schemes and tropes during the elocution process.
Teachers are trained to teach via the didactic mode i.e. teaching through discourse.

Basically students write an essay every 3 weeks. A week on invention, a week on arrangement, and a week on elocution. They start off very basic, painstakingly so for some, and build from there.

I'll try to stop back later to see if you have any questions. Wednesday is crazy day around here.

[happykids]

Looks like LTW will work well for us. We use and love IEW and would like to add LTW because we need more practice with persuasive essays, especially the invention part. Looks like it will complement IEW perfectly!

[happykids]

your answer with an example of how ANI works. What a great way of explaining it!