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Jump In, Wordsmith, IEW, Writing Srands, Writeshop
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I would appreciate any help from you ladies with this topic. Just to give you information.. I do not feel very confident in teaching my child writing. My child is Gr 7 and fairly ok with writing.She can work independently, but she really needs help with the finishing touches. For instance how to use verbs, to be specific, how to use active and passive voices, how to implement the Thesuarus, adjectives, similis ect. So I suppose she needs help with style-if I am correct? I have been looking at few options and read a lot of reviews, but reviews can be so contradicting.
1. Writing Strand 4 – I am unsure if this will be the solution because I don’t see any of these topics mentioned above in their table of contents.
2. Jump In- I really like the looks of it but also couln’t see from contents that these topics will be dealt with. My child can do paragraphs, but needs help to write a good paragraph.
3. IEW- We have this, and tried it before but got bored with the outlining all the time. Then there isn’t notes to go back to like in a book or something, so we had to watch dvd’s again to remember where we stopped.
4. Wordsmith-This one I also like, but topics that are mentioned above are in the Craftman book and I think my child will be too young for this.
5. Writeshop- This one seems to be the answer for my problems. BUT is it as good as it looks? Will my child’s writing improve? I am a bit scared of the teacher involvement. How much and how long does it take? Please any thought on this..
Please any thought will help- I prefer something that she can do independently but I also realise that maybe she needs my help to improve her writing although I do feel very incompetent.
I am looking at Writing With Skill by Peace Hill Press. My other thought is just using the writing lessons out of Rod & Staff English. I have looked into the programs you have listed and just not seen them a fit for us, so I can’t advise there. I am not a fan of programs like IEW and WriteShop that are teacher intensive, or steer off Charlotte’s model too far. I can use R&S in a CM friendly way by keeping the lesson time shorter, mixing in oral narration here and there, and using good literature examples when say, outlining or poetry lessons pop up.
So, ignore my post if it just adds confusion. Writing is a tricky subject as it is so flexible in how you can teach it. But by searching out what you enjoy teaching and think she will respond to, will hold more success than any review or rating could.
” IEW- We have this, and tried it before but got bored with the outlining all the time. Then there isn’t notes to go back to like in a book or something, so we had to watch dvd’s again to remember where we stopped.”
Do you only have the DVDs for TWSS? If so, have you watched all of them? Do you have the course syllabus? If not, you need to know that she is ready for the next stage/unit. Units 1&2 are focussed on outlining. Yes, you will still use outlining for other units, but she will learn to use a thesaurus (or sections of the Student Resource Notebook.) The SRN is available as a download or now as a spiral bound book.
Adjectives, verb usage, use of senses and emotions, grammar, and proof reading are all addressed in the SRN. Other topics covered in various papers you may assign would include alliteration,using three short sentences to grab the reader’s attention, and imperative/interrogative types of sentences (referred to as questions and commands.) Similes and metaphors are demonstrated with Scripture and an exerpt from Rascal, by Sterling North. Then, follow up practice would bring understanding of their use. Use of personification and anecdotes are also covered. Punctuation, a variety of clauses, and proof reading skills are included in the SRN, too. It’s an invaluable tool for employing IEW methods.
I’d be able to give more details on the TWSS course syllabus, but a friend is borrowing it to decide if she will have her children participate in our co-op in the fall. We usually use IEW theme based writing lessons that tie to the historical time period or science topic we are studying. I am creating lessons based on IEW methods for co-op this fall that tie to Texas history (studied with living books and a timeline.) it took me a while to have the confidence to create my own lessons. I started with only the TWSS DVDs. I wasn’t certain how to implement them on my own, but the tbwl’s took the confusion out of the process. We’ve used both the US history vol.1 and the medieval lessons. Both tie well with SCM modules that cover the corresponding time periods.
I’m not familiar with any of the other resources you’ve listed. I’m only writing these details in order to help you see what IEW has to offer since you already own the main part of the program.
Blessings,
Becca<><
Cedargirl, I have looked at Writing with Skill. My only concern with it was that it does seem to not cover everything and that there are still levels to come. I would prefer to get something that we can complete and covers everything. My other thought on that was, what about original writing and ideas? I have looked at Rod and Staff a lot but are unsure about levels. Can we just go into Level 7 for instance in Grade 7? It does seem to get high credits for their Grammar part but what about the writing? Will it help with the style aspect of what I am looking for?
TailorMade, no I do not have the TWSS course Syllabus, only the A level IEW dvd’s. That might be the problem. It has been extremely helpful to read what you have listed on what topics are covered. That is exactly what I am looking for, but it does seem to me that I would prefer lessons that have a more day to day layout. The whole system feels a bit overwhelming to implement. Although I love the teachings of Andrew Peduwa, I do not want to plan my own lessons. That is really hard work.
Does anyone knows if Jump IN covers the topics that IEW covers for style???
IMO, the theme based writing lessons are the easiest way to implement IEW. The student books (at least those I’ve used) are so well written that they are ALMOST a self teaching tool. The teacher’s guides keep you on track with assignment accountability (scheduling,) and little extras that help you stay ahead in understanding of the writing process as taught by IEW. Both are basically scripted. You don’t have to come up with assignments/lesson plans. Some of the lessons are optional. The tbwl’s that I’ve used have even had more than one level (A&B) making it useful for students at different levels to cover the same topic.
We finished our writing co-op in April using the medieval lessons. Some students began as level A and finished there. Others progressed to level B. Others began at level B (even without prior experience with IEW) and finished prepared for level C assignments. Still other B students had some assignments that were dropped back to level A requirements based on either skill level, or home life time constraints at the time.
Homeschool Classifieds often has IEW resources (some used, some unused). Be sure you are buying what you really want though aak good questions of the seller before agree to buy.
IEW offers a no questions asked money back policy if you purchase directly from them, no time limit. Check in your level A for info in the SRN download. It may/may not be included.
The lessons can be short. Small amounts of new info are practiced before adding new info. A background in copywork and narration/dictation has built a foundation for writing at our house. These have made this program fit nicely into our CM style of learning.
Hth,
Becca<><
Helene, You are right, WWE does not get more on par with output from students until Level 5 called WWSkill. Most of the original sentences are trained though the oral narration, dictation, and written narration work. It is slowly incremental but there. It is the continuous exposure to well written sentences that are it’s meat. But it is not for everyone. Many find it too respective and not moving fast enough. I find it firm in block building. In WWSkill, they more in to writing for various purposes. They also have their companion book, The Creative Writer series that they recommend compliments the WWS. I think that is their answer to the style portion.
R&S however, has the students writing original works much earlier. It is said to be at least 1 year ahead academically. have read that on many reviews and message boards, as well as been told that at the R&S booth at convention. I have also found it to be VERY true with my own children. So DS g3 is in the English 2 zone and DD g5 is in the English 4 book. Especially where writing is concerned. The writing lessons are starred in the teachers guide table of contents. The writing lessons are varied and helpful. We tried English 5 with my DD and the grammar was fine but she was not ready for the writing expectations in it. She had done all 4 levels of First Language Lessons which enabled her to have better grammar that her father or I ever did. She can diagram a sentence like nobody’s business. R&S English was recommended to me by Peace Hill Press when I asked the what to move on to now that she had finished all the 1LL levels. They recommended R&S English, and I can see why. I have also seen many comment that R&S English 9 gave them high school grade level credit. I would have a good look at R&S English 6 & 7 and see where you feel your daughter would root in and grow from best. I think it excellent grammar and writing material, full of good moral, scripture rich. Probably the only company I would venture to say that avoids the twaddle factor. I like to think, if Charlotte Mason was stuck on a desert island classroom that she would not turn her nose up at this series of text, lol.
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