Classical Academic Press - Art of Argument

     The Art of Argument an Introduction to the Informal Fallacies includes 28 fallacies to teach your children how to recognize when words are used to manipulate or influence. You may think that your don't want to teach your child how to argue. That is far from the intent, instead this program helps them learn how to distinguish the reasoning behind an argument.

     Along with the 230 page student text and new and expanded 286 page version of the teacher's guide, we received a sample DVD which covers the first six lessons. The bundle price for this set is $88.95. The DVD includes an introduction and an observation of two adults and four students discussing the first six lessons. As fallacies are introduced, the terms and definitions are written on the screen. The program is set up as a sort of round table discussion on the DVD which coordinate with the 28 workbook lessons. The lessons were understood by my 12 and 14 year old daughters.

From the website:

"Students master 28 fallacies (such as begging the question, the straw man, ad hominen, et al) by studying many pertinent examples. The text features a variety of:

• Dialogues
• Worksheets
• Real-World Applications
• Phony Advertisements
• Dialectic Discussion Questions
• Tests
• Fun extras such as a humorous skit for students to perform, and the famous short story, Love is a Fallacy by Max Shulman"

     You can also view pdf sample pages from The Art of Argument and The Teacher's Edition.

     Disclaimer: I was given the books and sample DVD as mentioned above for the purpose of this review. I was not compensated in any other way and all opinions shared are my own.