mazakaal Posted November 24, 2010 Share Posted November 24, 2010 12yo ds had only sporadic writing instruction in elementary. We tried several programs, but none were very successful. Last year he did IEW US History Based Writing Lessons. It was a challenge, but he did pretty well. This year he's doing IEW Ancient History Based Writing Lessons and is doing very well with it. He's already learned the dress-ups so he can integrate them into his writing quite well. I'm wondering what I should use next year, though. I had planned on doing IEW Medieval History Based Writing Lessons, but I don't know that he needs more of 'the same', more practice with the exact same instructions. Is there something else that would better prepare him for high school? What skills does he need to master beyond what IEW presents in their history based writing books? And what program would teach those skills? Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keniki Posted November 25, 2010 Share Posted November 25, 2010 :bigear: I'm mostly lurking here as I have a 7th/8th grader using IEW for the first time this year. She is a strong writer anyway, but has enjoyed learning from this. I intend to just move on to the high school level materials from here. Do you feel your ds has improved enough to do that, or do you feel he needs more work first? I really feel IEW covers about all the types of writing there are, but I'll be interested in learning more if anyone else feels otherwise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom31257 Posted November 25, 2010 Share Posted November 25, 2010 Have you looked at Jump In by Apologia? It is a great program that offers instruction a wide variety of writing genres. It is quite a bit cheaper right now through CBD than through Apologia, but I thought Apologia's website might have better samples. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mazakaal Posted November 25, 2010 Author Share Posted November 25, 2010 Keniki, I'm not familiar with IEW's other materials. On the high school board, The Elegant Essay was recommended. I have Jump In, but found it to be more of a series of assignments without the instruction on how to improve one's writing. The thing I like about IEW is that it tells students to add prepositional phrases, strong verbs, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LunaLee Posted November 25, 2010 Share Posted November 25, 2010 I know it's expensive, but you might want to get TWSS from IEW. It teaches you how to teach the program and then makes it easier for you to make assignments across the curriculum. So it really wouldn't be more of the same, but an extention of what he's been doing in other subjects: science, english, current events... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mazakaal Posted November 25, 2010 Author Share Posted November 25, 2010 Does it teach more advanced writing? So far he's good with putting in prepositional openers, strong verbs, adverbs, adjectives, who/which clauses, etc. Does the TWSS teach other 'dress-ups' and ways to refine one's writing? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom22ns Posted November 26, 2010 Share Posted November 26, 2010 Have you looked at Jump In by Apologia? It is a great program that offers instruction a wide variety of writing genres. It is quite a bit cheaper right now through CBD than through Apologia, but I thought Apologia's website might have better samples. :iagree: My ds did Jump In in 7th grade. I loved it, he liked better than most writing. I disagree with Megan about it being a series of assignments without instruction. Each assignment comes with days of instruction and preparation. You often spend more time on the instruction than on the actual writing of each essay. It does concentrate heavily on 5 paragraph essays. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mazakaal Posted November 26, 2010 Author Share Posted November 26, 2010 You know what? I stand corrected. I got the book off the shelf and looked at it again, and I have to say, I was totally wrong. It was a while ago that we tried it (with my oldest), and I guess that I was completely mis-remembering. It must have been another program that we tried that was assignments with little instruction. I think I'll try it out next year with the 12yo. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom22ns Posted November 26, 2010 Share Posted November 26, 2010 You know what? I stand corrected. I got the book off the shelf and looked at it again, and I have to say, I was totally wrong. It was a while ago that we tried it (with my oldest), and I guess that I was completely mis-remembering. It must have been another program that we tried that was assignments with little instruction. I think I'll try it out next year with the 12yo. Thanks. :lol::lol: I'm glad I was able save you from buying another writing curriculum - oh wait, is that good or bad:001_huh:. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mazakaal Posted November 26, 2010 Author Share Posted November 26, 2010 Definitely good! :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beth in SW WA Posted November 26, 2010 Share Posted November 26, 2010 Dd 8th is taking English (writing) via The Potters School online. It is fantastic. Mrs. Frederick is a wonderful teacher. The class is rigorous and not a typical homeschool writing program. It requires parental involvement as well as hours of composition work. I highly recommend it. On my blog below, feel free to click on the tab 'Anna's Writing Assignments' for a sample of the writing projects Anna did in Sept & Oct. I haven't added her Nov assignments yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mazakaal Posted November 26, 2010 Author Share Posted November 26, 2010 Beth, I have been browsing around The Potter's School website with high school in mind. It's a bit pricey, though. I love your blog btw. You have a beautiful family. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beth in SW WA Posted November 27, 2010 Share Posted November 27, 2010 Beth, I have been browsing around The Potter's School website with high school in mind. It's a bit pricey, though. I love your blog btw. You have a beautiful family. Thank you!! TPS is worth every penny. I promise!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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