Essays – The Power in Your Hands or Epicardia Essay Styles

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  • January 20, 2015 at 7:38 pm
    missceegee
    Participant

    I know I’ve read some reviews of these here, but cannot search at the moment. If you have used one or both of these, please share. I am considering these for summer term 8th grade or possibly 9th grade. Thanks.

    January 21, 2015 at 6:22 am
    Bookworm
    Participant

    We are well into Power in Your Hands with my ninth grader.  It is going well.  I would use it again.  It is like Jump In but much, much more in depth, longer assignments, quite specific teaching at times.  No “Use a logical argument in an essay” or “Use an emotional appeal”–it gives a good, in-depth instruction on these things first.  I’m  happy with it.

    January 21, 2015 at 10:59 pm
    missceegee
    Participant

    Thanks, Michelle. Could you offer a bit more guidance? I welcome others to chime in as well.

    I have ideas swirling for the coming high school years. We have used Jump In covering Opinion, Persuasion Basics, Persuasion Cause & Effect last year spring term in 7th. We are currently doing the unit on Poetry and I hope to follow that in March or so with the Exposition unit. We have not practiced our persuasive writing since last year, bad mama, I know. I am thinking of assigning 1 writing persuasive or opinion prompt per week beginning next week for the rest of 8th grade. What do you think?

    I am torn between the following options:

    • The Power in Your Hands by Sharon Watson beginning 9th grade on our own.
    • Essay Styles by EpiKardia online class by Classes by Beth for Summer 2015 before 9th
    • The Lost Tools of Writing by Circe Institute for 9th grade either on our own or with a class for 2015-2016
    • Center for Lit Discussion with Writing for 2015-2016
    • Center for Lit Discussion Only with Lost Tools of Writing for 2015-2016

    I am not sure about leading the charge for writing through high school. I can do it, but I’m not sure I want to. I sort of like the idea of handing this one off. I have 3 others needing my attention, dd14 does well with online classes and likes them. She also likes Jump In and has enjoyed writing Haiku poems this week. Are you covering all of Power in Your Hands in one year? Thoughts on her Writing Fiction course?

    January 21, 2015 at 11:32 pm
    missceegee
    Participant

    Michelle, I thought of another question or two or ten.

    Using Power in Your Hands – help me know what hs credit to give. Do you use it daily? Is this the only writing your student does? Does he write written narrations? Are those narrations still, tell me all you know or are they more specific? If specific, can you give me examples? Do you integrate writing into literature or history or only do the assignments given? Could you give me an example of a week’s writing assignments you might expect from a 9th grader?

    Thanks.

    January 22, 2015 at 6:36 am
    Tristan
    Participant

    Christie,

    I have to say this post is right on point for me too.  I’ve been browsing writing and LA materials for Makayla for a few weeks now and several you mention are on my shortlist.  🙂  Unlike you, though, we’ve not spent a lot of time on nonfiction writing formally.  Makayla has done reports and newspaper articles but we’ve not done specifics for persuasive writing, opinion, etc. She’s a creative writing girl all the way.

    I’m even looking at something like Introduction to High School Literature and Composition Part A and B from 7 Sisters Homeschool.

    What will we end up with?  I have no idea.  I’m trying to remember I don’t need to teach everything in 9th grade and plot out a 4 year plan instead.  What that will look like remains to be seen.

    January 22, 2015 at 7:04 am
    missceegee
    Participant

    You’re right. We don’t need to teach it all in 9th, but  I need a high school plan for LA. It might change, but I need a plan.

    Right now in 8th – we will finish grammar, mechanics using Analytical GrammR seasons 2 & 3 with some from Get Smart; we will continue Narrations; we will finish the Jump In poetry unit. Dd is attending Center for Literary Education’s spring discussion class. She’s only been to one class, but really enjoyed the Socratic discussion.

    I will either finish Jump In using the chapters on exposition, compare/contrast, description, etc. or use Essay Styles either on our own or as a summer course. Upon, comparing the programs, doing both seems redundant at this point. Im leaning toward Essay Styles as a class because I can see value in having an outsider’s input from here on out with writing. Maybe.

    I am attending a Lost Tools of Writing seminar on Saturday. I’ll post my thoughts on that next week.

    9th – I am not at all sure, but I’m leaning toward Center for Lit 9th grade discussion plus writing OR discussion only plus either Power in Your Hands (which looks really good) or Lost Tools of Writing with online class. Again, I can see value in outsider input.  And I’m feeling the need to plan less and have an easier year for myself next year.

    High school? How did we get here so soon?

    January 22, 2015 at 9:35 am
    Tristan
    Participant

    Makayla did one of the Center for Lit discussions (The Hobbit) this summer and enjoyed it.  She’s got a Mythology class scheduled for the end of May with Landry Academy next.

    I have no idea how we got here so soon!  I think time is speeding up the older each child gets. It becomes unreal to think about how if her life goes the way mine did she could be married in 4.5 years and having a baby in 5.5.  High school is going to go by way too quickly!

    January 22, 2015 at 11:05 am
    Bookworm
    Participant

    We are doing Power in Your Hands daily, and it will likely take more than 1 year.  I am not requiring a lot of written narration otherwise, but he sometimes narrates orally or written to “fix” things.  I am going to skip the SAT essay sections for now and do the others; he won’t be taking the SAT until junior year at least.  Also the whole SAT essay thing is a load of baloney.  🙂  We will spend minimal time on it, just so it doesn’t hurt the rest of the score.  (My oldest son prepared, and then his prompt the first time he took the SAT was something about the effect of reality TV on society.  LOL.  He’d never SEEN any reality TV.)  Noah is typically doing 1-2 papers every two weeks. His topics have been all over the place, from literature to current events to history.  With my older two, they went straight from Jump In to high school classes (one used TLP, the other Lightning Lit) and we did a research paper senior year with, um, not a lot of success.  🙁 Oldest son: I actually think he is the better writer, but not as well organized, and his freshman college writing was spotty (occasionally good, occasionally not so good).  My second son has exceeded my expectations in his first year in college so far, even having one professor ask him if he could use one of his papers in future classes as a “model” of how it should be done.  Neither of them had any outside input really during high school.  Third son just isn’t producing the quality of essays I had come to expect yet; jury is still out on whether the Power in your Hands will fix it or whether he just needs lots more practice.  He may need to take some time next year to finish this but I also want to get one Lightning Lit in and see how he does on those papers.  I have not used any of the other things that have been mentioned in the thread.

    February 4, 2015 at 9:33 am
    Melanie32
    Participant

    Bookworm-I am considering using the power in your hands for my daughters high school years. Do you think it’s doable without any prior writing instruction other than written narrations?

    February 4, 2015 at 12:21 pm
    Bookworm
    Participant

    Yes.

    February 5, 2015 at 5:33 am
    jeaninpa
    Participant

    I’ll be teaching high school creative writing in our co-op next year.  The Power in Your Hands is on my short list.  Any thoughts about how it will work in a co-op setting?

    February 5, 2015 at 6:18 am
    Melanie32
    Participant

    Thanks Bookworm. That was very helpful. 🙂

    February 7, 2015 at 12:27 pm
    pjssully
    Participant

    I just want to chime in here. My daughter took Essay Styles from Beth online class her freshman year. It was a year long class and while she did not enjoy the class, she learned a lot and really improved in her writing. I feel very confident in what she learned. Now she just needs more practice with it,but she has the basics down pat!

    I am also in the same boat as deciding what to do for next year with my 13 year old boys. I have the Lost Tools for Writing and we did start it, but then I decided to wait until next year (mostly for my own health reasons). Now, I am not sure we will use it after all once I heard about Power in Your Hands. I will be following this discussion closely, and I really want to know what missceegee thinks about Lost Tools after the seminar.
    pam

    February 7, 2015 at 12:33 pm
    missceegee
    Participant

    Unfortunately, due to awful weather and road conditions that weekend, I had to cancel.  I have signed dd14 up for the Essay Styles with Beth Hempton online as an 8 week summer intensive. For next year, I am debating Lost Tools and Power in Your Hands.


    @Jeaninpa     – I have taught and am currently teaching from Jump In in a coop setting. It is working well.  I think PiYH would work well, too based on the sample and my experience with Jump In.

    February 10, 2015 at 11:27 am
    jeaninpa
    Participant

    Thanks!

     

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