CM/Classical Lesson Plans

A CM Series member linked to this PDF of the CHild Light newsletter
One of the articles, by Carroll Smith, discusses a Charlotte Mason type lesson plan which goes as follows:

1. Teacher introduces the new text
2. Student recreation of old text (imaginative review)
3. Reading of living book text
4. Narration of living book text
5. Grand conversation
6. Closing

The article goes on to discuss these steps in more detail, so if you are interested, check out the PDF. I first noticed that CM proposed more complicated lesson plans than simply: Read/Narrate when I was reading this section of Home Education. If you scroll down to the pictorial arts sections, you see some sample art lessons that include basically these same components. Also, this Parent's Review article called "A Rational Lesson" has similar components.

What interests me about this is that the process used is so similar to the Ignatian Method. Often when you read about the Ratio Studiorum (the Ignatian Method in practice, written in the 16th century) it sounds very formal and teacher-directed. I think this is true to some extent, but I also know that it is common understanding that the Ignatian Method depends upon the self-activity of the student. Also, that the Ignatian Method is based on Ignatius's Spiritual Exercises.


Here is a summary that I wrote of the Ignatian method, several years ago, using several different sources -- it is a bit different than CM's, but has a fair amount of overlap:

Recalling the past lesson -- forging a link between past work and present


Introducing new lesson, clearing away possible obstacles and preparing child's mind and imagination to work on the reading.


The Reading itself.


A brief review (narration)

Recitation (discussion, etc)

Extensions: writing a theme, a memory lesson, sometimes a "contest" (students would debate or take different sides of an issue), or erudition (researching a related topic to present to the class on the next day)

Anyway, being familiar with this format is helping me do a bit more preparation ahead of time.

Calculations

Hey! I'm 10 % through the academic year! (see sidebar). That went fast.

I made out this little chart to satisfy my OCD tendencies:

• 5 days = 1 week
• 20 days = 1 month
• 3 months = 1 semester
• 3 semesters = 1 academic year.
• 9 months = 36 weeks = 180 days = 1 academic year

I am sure most people don't spend their free time doing these rather useless little calculations, but for me, they are comforting.

The reason I did this is because I was rereading the Kolbe booklet -- Implementation of Ignatian Education in the Home -- probably my all time most thumbed through homeschool book. This year is taking a more Ignatian turn than the past couple of years. Anyway, IIEH discusses review -- this is a very important concept in Ignatian education, and not to be confused with mere kill n drill. There should be a review after each lesson introduction (covering the most crucial concepts), a review of the independent study (reading, working), a review each week, a monthly review which is sort of a "step back and look at the big picture" and then a term-end cumulative review that is associated with exams. You can see some of this in Charlotte Mason's method, too.

Again, the reviews are not meant to be just rote drills -- they are meant to broaden connections, look at the picture from a new angle, consolidate, reinforce.

So I made my little schedule because I want to eventually have a routine for these reviews -- I did this years ago but not with this same set of kids, and not with the materials I am using now. If I get one completed, I will upload it to my sidebar.

(There are some articles I wrote about the Ignatian method over here). ... there are two about repetition.

By the way, there is a nice article on Ignatian classical education here -- including some information on teaching a language arts course that is quite compatible with the progymnasmata. )

In my most recent Lesson Planner, (PDF) I have a space to jot down things that I want to remember to review -- that's something that always used to slip by).