Lost Tools of Writing I

Writing is a skill that requires coaching and practice. During this course your student will learn how to conquer the three challenges every writer faces: what to write, how to arrange their thoughts, and how to express their thoughts well. Students will learn to overcome these challenges by using three canons of Classical Rhetoric: Invention, Arrangement, and Elocution. Your student will be equipped with tools, or the five common topics of invention, that they can utilize to gather information.

At the end of this course, your student will be able to write a persuasive essay that will include: thesis, counter thesis, proofs and sub-proofs, exordium, amplification, refutation, narration, and schemes and tropes.

While Lost Tools of Writing is a writing program; it is also a thinking program. Your student will gain insight in how to think logically; therefore, gaining life skills in the process.

In Lost Tools of Writing 1: Short-ish Stories, scholars will read books and short stories that may appear easier to read and which allow them to focus their attention on learning the new thought processes for writing. Young scholars will learn to ask good questions about the choices of the characters in the books and stories we will read. The scholars will wrestle with the consequences of those character's choices to learn about the process of making good decisions. Through the tools of invention, arrangement, and elocution, scholars will learn to organize and communicate their thoughts well and begin to discover the beauty of discussing literature.

• The Selfish Giant
• St. George and the Dragon
• The Princess and the Goblin
• The Door in the Wall
• The King of the Golden River
• The Golden Key
• The Story of Rolf and the Viking Bow
• "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"
• "The Mansion"
• "The Red-Headed League"
• "The Hammer of God"
• The Man Who was Thursday

The Lost Tools of Writing student workbook, published by CiRCE

Students should:

• Have a basic knowledge of the eight parts of speech
• Be able to write a basic paragraph
• Be familiar with verb tenses.

Younger students can prepare for this course by using IEW and/or composing written narrations.

While this course is most suitable for ages 13 and above, it can be taken by as early as 12 years old. It is recommended that those taking the Lost Tools of Writing 1 in 8th grade move on to LTW 1 Advanced with Comparison Essay in 9th grade.

Chris Wilson

Chris Wilson has devoted his life to the evangelization and education of children for over twenty years. He received his BA from St. Joseph’s Seminary College in 2002 and his MTS from the John Paul II Institute at the Catholic University of America in 2007. A fire was lit in Chris’ heart for Catholic classical education in 2012 and has steadily grown stronger with each passing year. In 2022 he completed CiRCE Institute’s three year Latin Apprenticeship and is currently in his second year of CiRCE’s Lost Tools of Writing Apprenticeship. Chris lives in Carencro, LA with his wife Becky and their five beautiful children.