....anyone use them? Writing is not going well in our house. My kids don't seem to come by it naturally (well, when asked to do it for schoolwork! LOL )... I would probably start my 4th grader on book 2 - even though it's for 2nd grade - simply because she's just a really reluctant writer. Thought maybe start my 2nd grader on book 1, just to be sure....or finish up First Language lessons and then hop to 2 when he's finished. AAAAAHHHHHHH!!! Already stressing choices for next yearl. Feeling like a big fat failure this year!
We are doing Writing Strands. The kids like it ok. I've heard about half of the people love it, and the other half hate it! lol. They have to be a little creative in coming up with their own ideas (at least in level 3) and they may cause problems with some writers.
This is our first year with Writing Strands (level 3). My dd initially enjoyed it and was flying through. Than she hit an area that she struggled with and we just haven't progressed at all in the last 3 months. We're taking some time off, and than will hopefully be ready to pick it back up. If it still doesn't work for her, I'll look for something else for next year.
One more option for a reluctant writer is Writing Tales. It uses imitation and it's pretty much open-and-go in terms of prep. They have sample lessons on their site ifyou wanted to look it over.
Writing Strands did not go well for us. It was too disjointed. I have MyAccess now and it's working well for us. . .but I like writing tales too! ;-)
Writing tales looks like it might be a better fit for us. I may have to check it out further. THanks for the info!
We use Writing Strands & my dd likes. However, what worked best for us with getting her to write more (and better) was allowing her to do her writing assignments on the computer. She types her assignments in Word, then uploads them to our wikis (one for us for school & one for family & close friends to see what we're doing for school). We also do a newsletter for the family members who don't have internet, and we're planning to have her write some articles for that. Between using Writing Strands & allowing her to type, instead of handwrite, her assignments, she's making a lot of progress.
As an FYI - the number on the book does not necessarily correspond to a certain grade - it is written to help students of all ages, and you start with the book for where you student is in writing. Level 2 is about ages 7-9 (I think) - and the site says that is only a recommendation. My ds has used 2, and started on 3. Then we moved to the Instititute for excellence in writing program (which is good, but not the end-all, be-all for us ). Next year, even though my ds is 12, we plan on using it as a bit of a aid for our writing program (I wrote modeled after LIngua Mater) and we will probably move on to level 4 after we finish it. I have not heard of writing tales, but good luck with your writing search!
A co-op friend just lent me Writing Strands 3 today. I'm wondering if I could start with this one - or if I should back up to 2....I know the first one (oral) would be way below...based on it's description. I might see if I can find it on Ebay or something.... Writing Tales looked cool too. She'll be 5th grade, technically, next year....and she is just not a writer...but that's MY fault b/c I have not really introduced it well. I do like the Writing Strands kind of "step by step" approach. It's JUST writing though. I think I'd get Easy Grammar or something just to reinforce the Grammar skills, too. Hmmmmm.... Thanks for the typing idea....i'm debating trying a typing program this summer so that maybe it would be an option. Sigh.
The writing strands philosophy would say that you don't need to teach formal grammar but rather the student learns it through writing and revising their writing.
