by Donna | Dec 6, 2017
Which came first–the chicken or the egg? Or which comes first–the body or the opening paragraph? I have some strong opinions about this that I answer in today’s blog video/live class! 🙂 Additionally, this post contains a video lesson on creating opening and closing paragraphs for research reports. I teach my students (and I use this approach in my books) that there are over a dozen ways to create an opening paragraph. (See idea list below.) I also teach them that in upper level writing, they should be very specific in their opening and closing paragraphs. No more summarizing here and there (or restating everything you say in the paper!). I teach them HOW to write the various opening and closing types so that they can use them in their writing. Watch today’s video and follow along with a few pages of the text we used. (Jump Start II–coming out this month!)
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by Donna | Sep 2, 2017
By Zac Kieser and Donna Reish
Welcome to another Punctuation Puzzle! Yep… a puzzle that you solve by putting in the correct punctuation and words/usage fixes—along with explanations and answers about each error!
Perfect for students and teachers alike!
Today’s Puzzle is about Commas with Adverb Openers and Which Clauses at End of Sentence… and it uses an interesting sentence from one of our Write-for-a-Month/Write On books .
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by Donna | Aug 26, 2017
It’s the end of August. Might seem like an odd time for a curriculum sale—but we’re doing it anyway! And it’s a good one! Use coupon code MC10 to get 10% off your order!!! (more…)
by Donna | Aug 24, 2017
With our Cottage Classes starting in all of our locations, we have been busy bees around here! Part of that has been creating teaching materials that our new teachers can use in the first few weeks of teaching (and that parents can use at home to reinforce what they are learning in our classes). So this post is going to introduce you to one of our new downloadable lessons (with a video lesson!) that you can use at home to teach Sentence-by-Sentence Outlining Over Given Material. Just watch the video with your student and have fun learning to write from an interesting given passage. Completely directed. Totally fun. Easy peasy.
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by Donna | Aug 22, 2017
Wish you had lessons on how to outline, edit, create stories, learn grammar concepts, and grasp new (and lifelong!) vocabulary tools? Wish you had lessons for all of these things AND videos to go with the said lessons? Wish these lessons were fun and easy for students to grasp—possibly even taught in a directed format by an author of over fifty thousand pages and one hundred curriculum books?
Well, you must have rubbed the right magic lamp—because Character Ink Press is opening a Membership Site with all of those things at your fingertips! And for the months of August and September, you can join this site (while we are getting it off the ground and starting to add to it!) for only $10 (for six weeks!).
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by Donna | Jul 20, 2017
Most local students have heard the sad news that Joshua is no longer teaching with us at Character Ink. He stewed about the decision for weeks, but he has decided to take on more responsibilities and year-round work with the paint company that he has been working for twenty years at least part time/summers, etc. (since he was fourteen!). We are so sad that we will not be teaching together, but we are happily spending more family time with him than ever before with his extra free time. (He used to be tied up most evenings preparing for classes—he was truly the most dedicated teacher I have ever seen!)
And while we’re on sad/happy announcements, Jonathan will also be leaving our cottage classes as he has just accepted his first pastorate in Fort Wayne, Indiana. These two teacher losses have resulted in no social sciences (except for Economics by Ray), literature, Greek, and some specialty writing classes. Donna continues to teach many CQLA and writing classes (including a few online live ones!) and will keep her private students going full force. Kayla (lead nurse, former missionary, M-Div student) will keep teaching our sciences/labs and Spanish. Your students will still be in great hands! 🙂
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