I need opinions. I have two daughters in 5th and 7th grade and haven't really done a lot in writing with them except for journal writing and regular English curriculum. What do you all think is a good curriculum to teach them writing? I find writing more difficult than the other subjects to correct since it's not something you can use with an answer key and I'm not sure if I'm doing an accurate job for them.
Last year we used Institute for Excellence (IEW) in writing - which helped with stuff like notetaking and writing using "dress ups." It is a good intro to what more developed writing should look like. It is great for learning how to do research and pull info from outside sources. However, most of the writing is taken from the essays and writing samples THEY give you - the kids don't use as much of their own language as I would like. So this year, to get the kids to use more of their own words and ideas, we are using writing strands - it uses the students ideas and shows them how to develop those. Not a formulaic as IEW, so much of the writing comes straight from the student, not from the student's notes on the essays. Here are the links: http://www.excellenceinwriting.com/ http://www.writingstrands.com/home.asp Both sites have samples you can check out before you decide which you want to use. Finally, have your students do more writing with their other subjects (that is another thing I do). Discuss Biography writing, and have them write bios on famous people and scientists you study. As they read their literature, have them take chapter notes (similar to the Charlotte Mason method of narration, but in a written form - I don't really grade these. It is more like journaling about their literature - my ds age 12 (7th grade) wrote about 6 pages on the first book of Lord of the Rings. Here are some other writing ideas "across the curriculum" : Write a letter either to or from a famous person/scientist Compare/contrasts to points in history, two events, to scientific discoveries Write general informative reports - ie on Native Americans, assign one or two tribes to research, then write a few paragraphs on - my ds 12 (7th grade) wrote nearly 5 pages total on 3 different tribes - he focused each essay on their location, their housing, their clothing, and their tools/weapons. Have them write an argument or response essay: Give the topic and the student chooses a side to write about: ie How do you think religious differences impact the colonial era? Which invention do you think is more important: the car or the computer? Write a speech that might have been delivered during a certain period of history. Write a how to essay, or a sequence of events essay. Then, have them try creative writing (most people don't know this, but the more creative writing your student does, the better your student will write on a regular basis!) Have them write poems or short stories about different people or events. I am working on a text for a creative writing course that should be available in a few weeks. PM me if you want more info. All in all - there are lots of ways to have your kids do more writing. We did so much writing the first few months of school, I actually gave the kids a bit of a break these past few weeks. BUT, even when they had to do all the writing, they did not complain at all - to them, it was must another way to learn the material. Gook luck, and as I tell all my students, Happy Writing!
Gwenny, I would be interested in your creative writing course. We have done ziltch in the creative writing department.
My son HATES to write, he HATES the physical aspect of writing, he HATES the thought process involved.. he just simply HATES writing.. but we tried something new this year.. Writing Strands. He uses it, and though I know he still doesn't love writing, he does it without a constant fight.
Writing Strands! we are using the IEW for a co op as a outline, but we use Writing strands and ds is enjoying it! He is getting inspired and that is a good thing at this age (7th) they need to enjoy what they are ding because they are about half way there and need a push to get enough gumption to go on through highschool eventually!
Colorado mom, right now I only teach it locally, but if you want to buy the book for it, you can run it step by step at home: http://www.lulu.com/product/paperback/bibliophile/5942135 I am outright SHOCKED at what my son is writing - I didn't know he had such poesy in him! I created a whole curriculum for 7th grade and up, but this is the only segment I've worked on and completed in book form so far. It is just self published, so I will take all the word of mouth I can get!
cool! I publish through Lullu too Cmom! How cool! the book loks great! We may order it when we finish Writing strands if it goes as fast as he is doing it we will be done by second semester...
Lulu looks like so much fun... maybe one day I will write a book. There are free books there too! OOOoh cool!!! Maybe I'll start by making a photo book. If only there were more hours in the day. Can we have another daylight savings day tomorrow?
For anyone interested - November is National Novel writing month, or NaNo WriMo - just google it! And then you will have a book to publish through lulu when you are done! thanks for all the compliments ladies! And yes Teachermom - writing strands DOES go fast - at least for the earlier texts! My dd9 is more than halfway done!
We had a thread on this not too long ago...you may want to search back and check it out. There were additional ideas on there! I always liked the Write Source Curriculum. It's available through various sources, teaches all different types of writing and different views as well. Was the mainstay for my pretty comprehensive writing-based curriculum.
I will be watching this thread closely. This is one area I tend to over think and then get frustrated! Has anyone had any experience with Write Shop? I have had it recommended recently. Writing Strands is on my short list too! I guess, op, I am not really answering your question! But I am in the same boat.
Thank you all. Having them write for assignments is a good idea. Have any of you ever heard of Inspirations? It's a computer program. Also, the other problem I have is that I am not a creative writing type of person and I'm not sure how to add inspiration or ideas to their writing. I can correct the punctuation and spelling but that's about it.
Writing Strands walks them step by step through the creative thought process. I really do highly recommend it. It isn't an overload of work for the kids but it is thorough.
I don't buy curriculm for writing. There is a lot of free stuff online or at the library that its just not worth it to me. Here is the thread from July that talks about the same thing: http://www.homeschoolspot.com/showthread.php?p=265569#post265569
