Hewitt Homeschooling - Speeches {TOS REVIEW}

A few years ago I was excited to review a 1st grade curriculum by Hewitt Homeschooling we really enjoyed it and so was thrilled to hear Jam and I were chosen to review Speeches.


We also had a great opportunity to use their writing evaluation service which any home-school mom knows that not being the only one to mark their kids writing is an amazing perk! However, I'll talk more about that later.

We received;

Lightning Literature and Composition Speech: Student Guide
Lightning Literature and Composition Speech: Teacher Guide
and
Lend Me Your Ears Great Speeches in History - This book contains a selection of speeches from around the world, and from different time periods. It's a great reference for anyone who will have to speak in public whether teaching, preaching, or performing in public speaking. Each of the speeches have been selected and introduced by William Safire.

Jam really likes the book Lend Me Your Ears. There is so much content in it. Of course the book starts with a preface and an introductory address. However, after that there are the following sections;

Memorials and Patriotic Speeches

These speeches vary greatly from 'Pericles Extols the Glory That is Greece at the Funeral of it's Fallen Son's to General Douglas MacArthur Reminds West Point Cadets of Duty, Honor, Country.

War and Revolution Speeches 

These speeches include Catiline the Conspirator Turns and Fights, Queen Elizabeth Inveighs against the Spanish Armada, Churchill Rallies the British People after the 'Miracle of Deliverance' and Dunkirk, and Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher Acts to Defend the Falkland Islands.

Tributes and Eulogies

This selection contains speeches like; Mark Anthony Urges Mourners to Vengeance over the Body of Julius Caesar, Jane Adams Praises George Washington, and Secretary Jack Kemp, Saluting Winston Churchill.

Debates and Arguments

A Youthful William Pit the Elder debates the Merits of Age, First Televised Presidential Debate, and Colonel E.D Baker's Charge of Treason.

Trials 

Job Pleases the Record of a Good Life against God's Inexplicable Punishment, Martin Luther Addresses the Diet of Worms, and Gandi Defends His Beliefs.

Gallows and Farewell Speeches

Socrates, Condemned to Death, Addresses His Judges, President George Washington Delivers his Farewell and General Douglas MacArthur Moves Congress with "Old Soldiers Never Die".

Sermons

Jesus of Nazareth Delivers the Sermon on the Mount, Methodist John Wesley Asserts "Free Grace", and Chief Red Jacket Rejects a Change of Religion.

Inspirational Speeches

Chemist Louis Pasteur Praises the Rise of Scientific Education, Mark Twain Reveals Stage Fright, and General Patton Motivates the 3rd Army on the Eve of the Invasion of Europe.

Lectures and Instructive Speeches

Philosopher-Poet Ralph Waldo Emerson Defines the Duties of the American Scholar.

I could go on and on but it would take a long time to discuss all the different types of speeches and all the different people included in the book. It is an excellent book in itself. However, that's not what I'm here to tell you about. So lets take a look at the Student's Speech Guide. This course is designed for grades 9th -12th. The goal of the course is to acquire College-Level Composition Skills by Responding to Great Literature. Of course in this case the great Literature is a huge variety of Speeches that have been given over a huge span of time.

The course is broken down into 4 units containing 8 lessons. This course is a lot different from the other courses being reviewed. It is not tied down to any one time period, region of the world or even author. This is the main reason Jam was interested in this course in the beginning. that and the fact that he has to write talks (speeches) to give in Church in front of the whole congregation regularly. The focus of this course is on reading great speeches and learning to write them!

Each of the lessons are divided into different sections. Each section has a description and information to help the student understand it and get the most out of it.
Each lesson is divided into different sections.

The Selections - These are the reading assignments. The reading assignments for the whole lesson are listed here.

While You Read - This section is really important. Jam found it helpful when completing the reading, and refers back to this section often. It has a list of questions for the student to think about while reading the selections. Jam said when he does this he is better prepared for the literary questions.

Comprehension Questions - This is a section with a mixture of questions. Either short answer questions or multiple choice. The answers to this section can be found in the teacher's guide. Jam would encourage other students to answer the questions relevant to each selection as you read it so it is fresh in your mind, rather than waiting until the end.

Literary Lessons - This covers one major topic. This is taught in this section using examples from each reading selection. It is designed to help increase reading comprehension and writing skills.

Writing Exercises - The writing exercises are based on the topic in the Literary Lesson. There are choices so the student has a selection to choose from.

This program is really easy to follow. Jam really enjoys the reading selections. They do take quite a long time to read but they are very interesting.

If you remember at the beginning I mentioned that we have the opportunity to use Hewitt Homeschooling paper evaluation service. I teach ESL and really enjoy all forms of writing and reading. However, when it comes to grading your kids written work it's SO hard. I have really enjoyed having someone else look at Jam's papers. They recommend allowing 2 weeks turnaround for the paper to be evaluated. It was really easy to submit and the teacher has been available for all my questions. I have not had to wait more than a couple of hours to get a reply to any email I have sent. Jam sends his essay via email, it's very easy to attach. The teacher returned the email with comments, highlights, and hints directly on the document. Some of them are small but when the document is downloaded they are clickable. There is a summary of his notes and how they affect the essay as a whole. The teacher also commented on the parts of the essay that relate to the literary lesson and whether or not Jam had met the requirements. Jam and I really liked the format it was easy to understand and read. Jam found iit very informative and used the comments and suggestions when working on the next assignment.

We both feel that the evaluation service is a great experience. For some reason when someone else tell Jam he doesn't use enough commas he listens - when I tell him it goes in one ear and out of the other!

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