Has anyone tried this writing program?

[Pen]

Writing Power:

 

 

http://www.amazon.com/Writing-power-prescriptive-skill-building-composition/dp/1888827238/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1401498658&sr=8-1&keywords=Writing+Power+Beverly

 

It is by the same author as Spelling Power. On someone else's thread about spelling problems, I asked a question about Spelling Power, and getting no answer, decided to buy a used copy. I was mightily impressed. It is everything I was trying to cobble together on my own, but all there for me!  Well, a little to do since we do not pronounce certain words such as to fit into the word groups she placed them in--but minor compared to starting from scratch.

 

So, I am wondering if her writing program might also be good.

[krismoose]

Bumping for you...curious as well. :)

[Tiramisu]

Spelling Power has been a good fit for us, too. Since the used copies are so inexpensive, I hope someone decides to buy it and do a nice review for the rest of us. :)

[Pen]

It is sounding like maybe the guinea pig will have to be me!

[OneStepAtATime]

It is sounding like maybe the guinea pig will have to be me!

:lol:  :lol:  :lol:

 

You are so kind to volunteer!  :)

[Χά�ων]

Tell me about spelling power.

[Tiramisu]

It is sounding like maybe the guinea pig will have to be me!

 

I did find two reviews on homeschoolreviews.com. Did you see those? They aren't particularly favorable.

[Tiramisu]

Tell me about spelling power.

 

Spelling Power is a book of lists of words divided into levels which are further divided into groups based on spelling rules.

 

There is a method to using the lists and there are long and short explanations of it in the book. Basically, you start out giving a series of placement tests that help you find the right level to start with. Then you proceed through the groups of words by testing word from the lists each day, going over the rule for each list. You stop when they get five wrong, I think. The author gives ideas to help practice the incorrect words for mastery. When the words are mastered, you continue start where you left off in the lists. I hope I have that right because we do it a bit differently.

 

What we do is do a group of words each day because dd usually only gets a couple wrong. She spells the words aloud most frequently but she will write them out if she's in the right mood. We go through and talk about what she got wrong, write out the word and underline the correct letters of the part of the word she got wrong. She may practice it a little but usually she then gets it right the next day. In other words, we have our own method to go through the lists and our own method for practicing, basically because of dd's needs. Dd doesn't like to write, spells well naturally, and gets bored easily.

 

Review is built into the program. I do find that the words that dd gets wrong often pop up on the review lists and that's very helpful.

 

I found traditional spelling books a waste of time and money. They are writing based which is not ideal for us. My kids would usually get most words right the first time and then have to practice those words all week if you used the book as directed, so it wasn't efficient. Then they would still get the words they got wrong the first time wrong again at the end of the week.

[Pen]

:lol:  :lol:  :lol:

 

You are so kind to volunteer!   :)

 

Yep! I'll let you all know...

 

I did find two reviews on homeschoolreviews.com. Did you see those? They aren't particularly favorable.

 

No--and can't seem to get it to come up now that I know to look. Anyway, I already ordered one of the used copies.  

 

Spelling Power is a book of lists of words divided into levels which are further divided into groups based on spelling rules.

 

There is a method to using the lists and there are long and short explanations of it in the book. Basically, you start out giving a series of placement tests that help you find the right level to start with. Then you proceed through the groups of words by testing word from the lists each day, going over the rule for each list. You stop when they get five wrong, I think.

 

There are varying ways depending on the child--the standard rule is 5 minutes, and then they work on whatever they got wrong. There are spaces for 10 words on the highest level of masters sheets, but you can stop sooner than 10 words if that would be too much for a child and the lower levels have fewer spaces.  Then there is a whole procedure to do with the words that were wrong to practice them, and then the next day the ones that had been wrong the day before get retested before any new words are given. If there is extra time on a day (none or almost none wrong) one uses it for spelling games, and about once a week one works on dictionary skills.

 

 

The author gives ideas to help practice the incorrect words for mastery. When the words are mastered, you continue start where you left off in the lists. I hope I have that right because we do it a bit differently.

 

What we do is do a group of words each day because dd usually only gets a couple wrong. She spells the words aloud most frequently but she will write them out if she's in the right mood. We go through and talk about what she got wrong, write out the word and underline the correct letters of the part of the word she got wrong. She may practice it a little but usually she then gets it right the next day. In other words, we have our own method to go through the lists and our own method for practicing, basically because of dd's needs. Dd doesn't like to write, spells well naturally, and gets bored easily.

 

Review is built into the program. I do find that the words that dd gets wrong often pop up on the review lists and that's very helpful.

 

I found traditional spelling books a waste of time and money. They are writing based which is not ideal for us. My kids would usually get most words right the first time and then have to practice those words all week if you used the book as directed, so it wasn't efficient. Then they would still get the words they got wrong the first time wrong again at the end of the week.

 

Basically I agree, and just put a clarification in one spot above.

 

The words are basically taken from lists to comprise the more or less 5000 most often used words (USA and Canada). And there are also procedures for working words from the child's own writing into the system. Teaching the child to proofread, and so on.

[Pen]

I did find two reviews on homeschoolreviews.com. Did you see those? They aren't particularly favorable.

 

 

Well, the book came. With regard to most posts I see about writing on this forum, I think the 10th chapter, "Becoming a Writing Coach," might be useful to many on here. It is similar, I think, to the ideas in both IEW and Bravewriter about how to work with children on their writing, but perhaps a bit more clear and accessible for someone who does not want to deal with TWSS video, or finds the style in Writer's Jungle too nebulous.

 

 

As far as being a whole writing program, I would say the reviews are pretty accurate: http://www.homeschoolreviews.com/reviews/curriculum/reviews.aspx?id=273

 

I cannot find a computer resource site at all -- likely would not be able to access it even if I could, because of buying used. But it may be defunct.

 

As a used book, and not too terribly expensive, I expect I will get something from it that will be helpful, maybe even a lot, time will tell. So, I think I am glad I got it. However, I think if I'd spent full price, I would be irritated.

 

It is a near miss, I think, from something that could have been great, but it needs, as the reviewers wrote:

 

-  a Quick Start guide,

 

- available resources such as Activity Cards, 

 

- what is supposed to be available as computer resources, but apparently is not,

 

- available Student Journals which have places for writing and record keeping, similar to what is available for the Spelling Power program,

 

- much more information with regard to starting the program with an older child, for those of us dealing with older children, and also whose children may not have been able to do what she thinks should be done from pre-school,

 

- much more, in general, devoted to the needs of older children--most of the suggested prompts, activities and reading lists, seem to be more appropriate to the pre-school to early elementary ages

 

- probably something like the Spelling Power placement tests, and then being able to fit into a program level and follow steps would be a great help, if it were feasible.

 

 

 

With Spelling Power, I felt that the book had all I needed to implement it, though the Student Record Book which I also ended up getting is a huge help compared to photocopying from the black-line masters.

 

With Writing Power, I feel like it is interesting to read, but the guts of the program seem to be in the extra materials that are referred to often in the text, but, so far as I can tell, not available.

 

I hope Beverly Adams-Gordon will do a revised version and make the extra materials so tantalizingly hinted at in the text into an obtainable reality.