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Following Narnia Writing Curriculum

Shmatterson
(@shmatterson)
NarniaWeb Newbie

I was homeschooled from 4th grade through high-school and my Mom had me go through a writing course during middle school that was supposedly based on Narnia. Instead of actually basing it on Narnia, the authors of the curriculum grasped at straws to find anything they could stretch into a writing prompt for students. For example: The Magian's Nephew briefly mentions Sherlock Holmes and Atlantis, so the course writing prompts had you write a paragraph about Sherlock Holmes and another about Atlantis. It just got more and more absurd and had me writing about things that aren't related to Narnia at all like the crown jewels of England and primroses. It had you compare and contrast Jadis with Hitler of all things! 🤔 

It also had a writing prompt where you had a story based on what might happen if Jadis said the wrong thing instead of the Deplorable Word. My story involved a couple mad scientists traveling to Charn and accidently tripping Jadis, making her fall and bite her tongue in the middle of the Deplorable Word, making her disintegrate herself. That was the only Narnia fanfiction I have ever written and it was far from my finest work. 😀 

Yes, the curriculum really exists and it was absolute garbage. Here's the link to it. https://iew.com/shop/products/following-narnia%C2%AE-volume-1-lions-song-teacherstudent-combo

If you love Narnia and are homeschooling your kids, please don't make them use this trash.

"Patterson! You're alive!" "No, I'm not Patterson. I'm his uh... brother, uh... Shmatterson!"

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Topic starter Posted : January 18, 2022 8:35 pm
Courtenay
(@courtenay)
NarniaWeb Fanatic Hospitality Committee
Posted by: @shmatterson

Instead of actually basing it on Narnia, the authors of the curriculum grasped at straws to find anything they could stretch into a writing prompt for students. For example: The Magian's Nephew briefly mentions Sherlock Holmes and Atlantis, so the course writing prompts had you write a paragraph about Sherlock Holmes and another about Atlantis. It just got more and more absurd and had me writing about things that aren't related to Narnia at all like the crown jewels of England and primroses. It had you compare and contrast Jadis with Hitler of all things! 🤔 

Oh dear, that sounds pretty sad... mind you, primroses do get a mention in the chapter "Aslan is Nearer" in LWW, when the Witch's winter begins to end and spring comes in a matter of hours rather than weeks! Wink  

It's a bit ironic, since Lewis himself regularly encouraged young fans, when they wrote letters to him, to try writing their own Narnia stories based on his. A course that was genuinely based on Narnia could have great potential for lots of interesting creative writing topics!

"Now you are a lioness," said Aslan. "And now all Narnia will be renewed."
(Prince Caspian)

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Posted : January 20, 2022 2:38 pm
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