My DD and I have been trying Writing Strands 3 for the past6 weeks, and although she doesn't complain, I'm wondering if this is right for us or not. It seems that all we do is make lists of everything and then all of a sudden she has to write 4 sentences on each item, which she was not well prepared for. Has anyone used this before? Does it get better? It doesn't seem like she's learning a whole lot. Not sure if we should continue. Any thoughts?
Maybe you should slide back to level 2 for awhile? I've only ever used level 3, and when I did, it was with a small group of 9th graders who had not had much writing experience before. Since I only had one book, I *taught* it, and put salient points on the board, and we talked. Some of the "think about" and "list" items, we did aloud as a group and I wrote on the board. Whatever they were supposed to write, I had them write in a spiral notebook. They actually seemed to enjoy it, and it was gratifying to see the progress they made in one school year. Sorry, I haven't used any other levels, so ... Maybe you could "model" some sentences for her for a couple of assignments?
Hmmmm.....I've tried several times to use Writing Strands, and I can never seem to make it work with my kids! I like it at first, but, like you said, it starts asking them to make giant leaps after trying to hold their hand. I ended up using IEW. I've held onto my Writing Strands just in case it will work for my youngest, but I'm not holding out hope on that. Sorry I can't be a better reviewer.
We use Writing Strands and really like it. Ems is in 9th grade so we are further along that you are. I guarantee you, your kiddo will go from writing lists to writing stories, to argumentative high school papers. Eventually, if you stick with it, the books go into college level and university level writing and/or prep. We are also using the writing program that is worked into Notgrass history, not because Writing Strands lacks, but because we are working on Literature and Composition for high school and college credit. For us, both these books are accomplishing exactly what we are looking for.
I agree that you might want to go back to #2 for a while. I like WS, though. I love that it's ungraded, so you can slide up or down a book without worrying about it being the wrong "grade level".
Thank you so much! I think I'll take your suggestions and go with WS2 for this year. Thanks again everyone!
