A Brave Writer's Life in Brief

Two beloved books now have fresh literature and grammar handbooks! Teach grammar, punctuation, spelling, and literary devices through these engaging stories (books not included).

Arrow (ages 11-12): The Penderwicks 

by Jeanne Birdsall

Join Rosalind, Skye, Jane, and Batty Penderwick as they set off for a summer in the country and enjoy unexpected adventures. This heartwarming story celebrates family, curiosity, and the magic of an ordinary summer.

Boomerang (ages 13-14): Beowulf 

translated by Seamus Heaney

Journey alongside the legendary warrior Beowulf as your family encounters fearsome monsters, daring battles, and timeless questions about courage, honor, and sacrifice. This unforgettable epic has captivated readers for over a thousand years and offers rich opportunities for big juicy conversations.

Brave Writer’s literature and grammar handbooks feature:

• 4 Passages (one per week) for copywork/dictation practices
• Lessons on grammar, punctuation, spelling, vocabulary, and literary devices
• Planner and Skills Tracker
• Weekly Reading Guide
• Writing Activity
• Discussion Questions
• Family Book Club Party Ideas
• Guidelines explaining copywork & dictation practices

We are cheering you on, one book at a time! 

We’re in a bit of an AI crisis for writing in public high schools and colleges. Students are letting ChatGPT write their essays for them. Instructors are using ChatGPT to help them grade those essays. In some cases, we literally have AI writing and grading itself!

The current solution being offered by many people who are from the previous generation is a return to Blue Books (or handwritten, timed essay writing in class). Many of us remember the tiring practice of clutching a pencil, gripping it tightly, writing as quickly as possible, for sixty to ninety minutes in a classroom.

This generation? Not so much.

Sure, there are some classrooms and schools that prioritize handwriting and penmanship, but that is not true for the many students today. Worse: solving a tech crisis by rolling back to an earlier technology rarely lasts.

Still, we love handwriting at Brave Writer, and we train students to freewrite by hand for copywork and dictation (we even have a FREE Copywork Guide). Your kids should be prepared for whatever may come.

But, also, keep in mind that today’s kids want two things: a challenge and an audience! They like to work hard (for instance, the amount of time they spend learning editing tools to make a compelling short video for social media is proof), and they want to be heard. So watch a make-up tutorial on TikTok or a political rant by a teen on YouTube. Read their screeds about tech, religion, and gaming.

Rethink how students demonstrate learning.

• Can they produce short films and upload them online?
• Can they create a “zine”—an analog magazine with pages, artwork, and a variety of article types?
• Can they give oral presentations or host debates?

Humans love learning, and they love sharing what they learn.

Technology moves us forward, and the solution for how to manage technology can’t be moving backwards. Blame and shame never work. Catching cheaters never works. Comparing the era you went to college to today’s college students misses the mark.

It’s time to adapt.