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A Brave Writer's Life in Brief

Thoughts from my home to yours

Archive for the ‘Language Arts’ Category

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Dart, Arrow, and Boomerang: Oct. 2020

Dart, Arrow, and Boomerang: October 2020

Our Dart, Arrow, and Boomerang guides pair living literature with lively lessons to help make mundane writing mechanics come alive. And our October book selections promise adventure and lots of fuel for Big Juicy Conversations!

This month we’ll travel with a family of Moomintrolls on an exciting adventure; we’ll meet a kid who breaks the mold; we’ll solve the case with a clever detective and his sidekick; and we’ll learn the ins and outs of grammar and punctuation along the way.


[This post contains Amazon affiliate links. When you click on those links to make purchases, Brave Writer receives compensation at no extra cost to you. Thank you!]


Brave Writer Dart

Finn Family Moomintroll, Tove Jansson

It is spring in the valley and the Moomins are ready for adventure! Moomintroll and his friends Snufkin and Sniff find the Hobgoblin’s top hat, all shiny and new and just waiting to be taken home. They soon realize that his is no ordinary hat; it can turn anything―or anyone―into something else! ~Amazon

Get the Dart.

Purchase the book.


Brave Writer Arrow

Fish in a Tree, Lynda Mullaly Hunt

The author of the beloved One for the Murphys gives readers an emotionally-charged, uplifting novel that will speak to anyone who’s ever thought there was something wrong with them because they didn’t fit in.

“Everybody is smart in different ways. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its life believing it is stupid.”

Ally has been smart enough to fool a lot of smart people. Every time she lands in a new school, she is able to hide her inability to read by creating clever yet disruptive distractions. She is afraid to ask for help; after all, how can you cure dumb? However, her newest teacher Mr. Daniels sees the bright, creative kid underneath the trouble maker. With his help, Ally learns not to be so hard on herself and that dyslexia is nothing to be ashamed of. As her confidence grows, Ally feels free to be herself and the world starts opening up with possibilities. She discovers that there’s a lot more to her—and to everyone—than a label, and that great minds don’t always think alike. ~Amazon

Get the Arrow.

Purchase the book.


Brave Writer Boomerang

The Hound of the Baskervilles, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Excitement! Intrigue! Suspense! Horror!

The Hound of the Baskervilles is the third of the four crime novels written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle featuring the detective Sherlock Holmes. Originally serialized in The Strand Magazine from August 1901 to April 1902, it is set largely on Dartmoor in Devon in England’s West Country and tells the story of an attempted murder inspired by the legend of a fearsome, diabolical hound of supernatural origin. Sherlock Holmes and his companion Dr. Watson investigate the case. This was the first appearance of Holmes since his intended death in “The Final Problem”, and the success of The Hound of the Baskervilles led to the character’s eventual revival. ~Amazon

Get the Boomerang.

Purchase the book.


Brave Writer Language Arts

Posted in Arrow, Boomerang, BW products, Language Arts | Comments Off on Dart, Arrow, and Boomerang: Oct. 2020

Dart, Arrow, and Boomerang: Sept. 2020

September 2020 Dart Arrow Boomerang

What do a train, a hot-air balloon, and a magical creature called a brownie have in common?

If you guessed that they are all featured in the Brave Writer September book selections, you’re right!

While exploring grammar, punctuation, spelling, and literary devices, you can also

  • perform perilous stunts with Pearl,
  • solve magical mysteries with Louisa,
  • or travel home by train with Saroo.

The Brave Writer Dart, Arrow, and Boomerang guides pair living literature with lively lessons to help make mundane writing mechanics come alive.

Act out adjectives, fall over in a fit of giggles over comma usage, and break the “rules” by watching the movie first!

Read. Engage. Connect.


[This post contains Amazon affiliate links. When you click on those links to make purchases, Brave Writer receives compensation at no extra cost to you. Thank you!]


The Prairie Thief, Melissa Wiley

Louisa Brody’s life on the Colorado prairie is not at all what she expected. Her dear Pa, accused of thievery, is locked thirty miles away in jail. She’s living with the awful Smirches, her closest neighbors and the very family that accused her Pa of the horrendous crime. And now she’s discovered one very cantankerous—and magical—secret beneath the hazel grove. With her life flipped upside-down, it’s up to Louisa, her sassy friend Jessamine, and that cranky secret to save Pa from a guilty verdict.

Ten bold illustrations from Erwin Madrid accompany seasoned storyteller Melissa Wiley’s vibrant and enchanting tale of life on the prairie—with one magical twist. ~Amazon

Get the Dart.

Purchase the book.


The Nerviest Girl in the World, Melissa Wiley

Pearl lives on a ranch where her chores include collecting eggs and feeding ornery ostriches. She has three older brothers, who don’t coddle her at all. And she knows a thing or two about horses, too.

One day, Pearl’s brothers get cushy jobs doing stunts for this new form of entertainment called “moving pictures.” They’re the Daredevil Donnelly Brothers, a Death-Defying Cowboy Trio. Before she knows it, Pearl has stumbled into being a stunt girl herself—and dreams of becoming a star. The only problem is, her mother has no idea what she’s up to. And let’s just say she wouldn’t be too happy to find out that Pearl’s been jumping out of burning buildings in her spare time. Filled with action, humor, and heart–not to mention those pesky ostriches—The Nerviest Girl in the World introduces a spunky heroine whose adventures will have kids on the edge of their seats and whose sense of humor will have them laughing until the very last line. ~Amazon

Get the Arrow.

Purchase the book.


A Long Way Home: A Memoir, Saroo Brierley

This is the miraculous and triumphant story of Saroo Brierley, a young man who used Google Earth to rediscover his childhood life and home in an incredible journey from India to Australia and back again.

At only five years old, Saroo Brierley got lost on a train in India. Unable to read or write or recall the name of his hometown or even his own last name, he survived alone for weeks on the rough streets of Calcutta before ultimately being transferred to an agency and adopted by a couple in Australia.

Despite his gratitude, Brierley always wondered about his origins. Eventually, with the advent of Google Earth, he had the opportunity to look for the needle in a haystack he once called home and pore over satellite images for landmarks he might recognize or mathematical equations that might further narrow down the labyrinthine map of India. One day, after years of searching, he miraculously found what he was looking for and set off to find his family.

A Long Way Home is a moving, poignant, and inspirational true story of survival and triumph against incredible odds. It celebrates the importance of never letting go of what drives the human spirit: Hope. ~Amazon

Get the Boomerang.

Purchase the book.


Posted in Arrow, Boomerang, BW products, Language Arts | Comments Off on Dart, Arrow, and Boomerang: Sept. 2020

2020-2021 Arrows and Boomerangs

2020-2021 Arrows and Boomerangs plus the Dart

Did you miss the Book Reveal Party? Or would you like to watch it again? 

Don’t worry. We’ve got you covered!

Grab your tea and a treat. Pull your kids over to watch with you. Make a list of books you are looking forward to reading next year. 

Watch here!


Pressed for time?

Go directly to the Dart, Arrow and Boomerang pages on our website for the book lists and links to their pages on Amazon.

ETA: We have replaced Cricket in Times Square with The Prairie Thief by Melissa Wiley for the Dart in September.


What’s included in our year-long language arts programs? 

  • The Dart is designed for kids 8-10 years of age.
  • The Arrow is for children 11-12 years of age.
  • The Boomerang is teens 13-15 years of age.

Each Mechanics and Literature program includes:

  • Four expertly selected copywork and dictation passages
  • Lively, clearly worded notes about spelling, punctuation, grammar, and literary elements related to the passages
  • Discussion of literary craft
  • Big Juicy Questions to inspire conversation and writing
  • Book Club Party ideas to celebrate the completion of the book and guide
  • Guidelines that teach you how to use copywork and dictation to teach the mechanics of writing (Look for the separate guidelines PDF in the after-purchase email from Brave Writer.

Posted in Arrow, Boomerang, BW products, Language Arts | Comments Off on 2020-2021 Arrows and Boomerangs

A Surprise Package of New Ideas

A Surprise Package of New Ideas

Back in 2002, I dreaded opening a big thick textbook for any school subject. There’s something heavy about knowing you have 200+ pages of any program to get through, delivered all at once, to be parsed out correctly over ten months.

I had been using Family Fun magazine as my primary schooling inspiration in the 1990s, and loved it! Each month came fresh. Felt like a surprise package of good new ideas!

It dawned on me that we could do something similar for writing and education at home.

  • What if we picked one read aloud per month for the whole family?
  • What if all the language arts activities and practices were included in one package?
  • What if the practices could be modified up or down for a variety of ages and skills?

The Arrow was born—one book to read aloud, one family to listen, four copywork/dictation passages to adapt to all levels + notes in conversational English, one literary element explored, one writing activity to try. The Arrow spread like wildfire. I think you all felt relieved, just like I did. One month at a time.

I must have tapped into something because the Arrow quickly became our best-selling product (still is). We expanded to create similar products for other levels (the Boomerang is the higher level). And we’ve expanded the contents to include discussion questions and book club party ideas.

Today, the monthly Arrow and Boomerang run some 40 pages! We don’t leave you to figure out how to use them either. We provide detailed, user-friendly guidelines, too.

What’s cool is we’ve been at it for 18 years so we have a slew of single issues for a wide variety of titles. You can pick a book you want to read and buy an Arrow or Boomerang to go with it.

For under $12.00 (!), you will purchase a month’s worth of reading, writing, and language arts for multiple ages of kids, complete with guidance for how to grow your writers.

Check out the Single Issues of the Arrow and Boomerang in our store.

We have free samples (click on single issues pages) for you as well. All products are digital and can be printed at home or via any print shop if you prefer.

Posted in Arrow, Boomerang, BW products, Language Arts | Comments Off on A Surprise Package of New Ideas

2019-2020 Arrows and Boomerangs

Brave Writer 2019-2020 Arrows and Boomerangs

The new Arrow and Boomerang book lists have dropped! What a party!

If you did not catch the big reveal live, you can watch the REPLAY here or on the Brave Writer Facebook page.

Why the big party?

The big reveal is exciting because these are:

  • Books your family will read aloud together and treasure all year.
  • Books that naturally teach writing mechanics and introduce literary elements.

Here at Brave Writer, we take the selection of these 20 book titles Very Seriously! All year, we read, discuss, and delight in the year’s latest fiction as well as relishing the classics. We:

  • aim for diversity of authorship and protagonists.
  • incorporate a variety of genres: fantasy to the classics.
  • carefully orchestrate the sequence of the books.
  • balance book length against the holiday demands of a given month.
  • alternate moving, poignant books with silly, lighthearted books.
  • launch the year with a sure-fire winner and end with a warmhearted one.

By the time we’ve settled on a book list, we’re chomping at the bit to share it with you!

This year’s Arrow list is all brand new, and the Boomerang list features only two re-boots. You can expect a lively, inspired reading journey!

About the Arrow and Boomerang

The Arrow (3rd-6th) and the Boomerang (8th-11th) are your specially crafted monthly guides to teaching literature and the mechanics of writing.

These programs include 10 month-long guides that feature:

  • exciting read aloud novels each month,
  • copywork and dictation,
  • literary elements,
  • Big Juicy Discussion/Think Piece questions,
  • and Book Club Party School ideas.

A year’s worth of curriculum (10 month-long guides) for one low price!
When you purchase, you will be invited to a Private Facebook Group for year-long members.

The Brave Writer Arrow and Boomerang guides use living literature to bring writing mechanics to life.

A year of adventure, heart-break, humor, tenderness, history, and fantasy await you!

2019-2020 Titles


[This post contains Amazon affiliate links. When you click on those links to make purchases, Brave Writer receives compensation at no extra cost to you. Thank you!]


Arrows

August: Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert C. O’Brien
September: The Wild Robot by Peter Brown
October: Merci Suárez Changes Gears by Meg Medina
November: Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer
December: The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street by Karina Yan Glaser
January: PIE by Sarah Weeks
February: Stella by Starlight by Sharon Draper
March: Book Scavenger by Jennifer Chambliss Bertman
April: Bronze and Sunflower by Cao Wenxuan
May: The Boy Who Saved Baseball by John H. Ritter

Purchase the 2019-2020 Arrow Subscription

Boomerangs

August: The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien (reboot)
September: Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli
October: The Red Umbrella by Christina Diaz Gonzalez
November: A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin
December: Little Women by Louisa May Alcott (reboot)
January: A Separate Peace by John Knowles
February: Unbound: A Novel in Verse by Ann E. Burg
March: Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne
April: The Night Diary by Veera Hiranandani
May: The Wednesday Wars by Gary D. Schmidt

Purchase the 2019-2020 Boomerang Subscription

Posted in Arrow, Boomerang, BW products, Language Arts | Comments Off on 2019-2020 Arrows and Boomerangs

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