Language Arts-Senior A

Tuesday we focused on the "Literature" aspect of Language Arts.  Over the next few weeks, we will be reading and discussing the scriptures, in particular, the Bible, as a literary work of art. 


We started our discussion with the following principle: The greatest books you will ever read will be the scriptures.  The scriptures are the source and seedbed of literature and liberty.'


We then RESEARCHED the words "source" and "seedbed" so that we could discuss HOW the Bible was the source and seedbed of literature and liberty.


Next, we REASONED that "The Bible contains seven types of literature: poetry, prose, biography, letter, essay, drama and autobiography."  This is why (from a scholarly point of view) the bible is considered the highest standard of literary excellence of the world!


We next reasoned that "the Founding Fathers learned about God's system for representative government in the Bible.  The laws are recorded in the first 5 books of Moses in the Old Testament.  This is the only place in holy writ where God outlines in detail His plan for civil government." (Promises of the Constitution, p. 4-5; RELATE Alma 61:15)  This is HOW and WHY the Bible is/was the source and seedbed of Liberty.


Next, we transitioned to the study of the book of Proverbs and researched the words "didactic" and "proverb."  We reasoned that the book of Proverbs is a didactic form of literature, or one that teaches maxim's of wisdom and the principles of right living.  Then we read Proverbs 1:1 and learned that Solomon was the author of the book of Proverbs.   


We then discussed how certain parts of Proverbs were written in acrostic style poetry and learned about aspects of Hebrew poetry, including parallelism and reiteration.  We learned that Proverbs 10:31 is an acrostic poem using all of the letters of the Hebrew alphabet, thus conveying the meaning that that particular section of scriptures conveys all the breadth of that particular subject (or in our terms: A to Z). 


Homework: (pick and choose from the list below)
1) RECORD the theme and purpose of the book of Proverbs.
2) Read the following scriptures and identify and record the moral of each:
Proverbs 6:6-11 (done together in class)
Proverbs 17:9
Proverbs 20:22
3) Solomon, the writer of Proverbs was a wise, wise man.  Read I Kings 3 and record the story of how Solomon became wise.
4) Write an acrostic poem that tells a story.