Another Lynn Posted March 1, 2015 Share Posted March 1, 2015 If you have used Maxwell's School Composition, did you do all the written exercises for each model? Or just select one or some of them? Thanks :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Haiku Posted March 1, 2015 Share Posted March 1, 2015 I LOVE SCHOOL COMPOSITION! Sorry, just had to get that out of the way. Seriously, School Composition makes me all :001_tt1: . Over a writing curriculum. To answer your question ... generally, no. School Composition has ample exercises for each concept, and with my working one-on-one with my daughter, we didn't need to do all of them. Believe it or not, Writing in English (the late grammar/high school book) is EVEN BETTER than School Composition!! Eta: I was all excited when I saw a thread about School Composition, and I was hoping I could type quickly enough to be the first to respond. Yeah. I'm that big of a dork. 13 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Another Lynn Posted March 1, 2015 Author Share Posted March 1, 2015 I'm so glad you replied. I almost just pm'ed you instead of a starting a thread. :001_smile: Any curriculum that inspires that kind of love, in February no less, has got to be good, lol! I'm glad to see you didn't do all the exercises. I don't know that the ones re-writing the original model would go over well. And, sometimes several exercises sounded very similar to one another, and I wasn't sure we would want to do that many repeats. Thanks!! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
g1234 Posted March 2, 2015 Share Posted March 2, 2015 More Maxwell puppy love over here. Maxwell has actually given my kid the breakthrough that she desperately needed. We do 1-2 exercises per lesson. Writing the model is actually being very good for my daughter, but I think it would depend on the kid. If my older were using this, I think we might skip those and go right to the other exercises. Use it however works best for your kid. And enjoy! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Another Lynn Posted March 3, 2015 Author Share Posted March 3, 2015 Have you all used it online or hard copy? Do you know anything about the hard copies available on amazon? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Haiku Posted March 3, 2015 Share Posted March 3, 2015 We originally used the free download from Google Books. My dd had it on an old Kindle. She prefers real books, so I bought this version for $8 on Amazon. We have had a few issues with pictures not being reproduced well enough for picture study, but that's easily remedied by a) pulling up the relevant page online, b) substituting a different picture, or c) skipping the picture study (which we're inclined to do anyway). Other than that the hard copy has been great. I had no issues with the downloaded version, either, and I think now that dd has a Nook tablet she would find it easier to use. You can get Writing in English as a reprint, too. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
g1234 Posted March 3, 2015 Share Posted March 3, 2015 Well, I seem destined to follow behind Tara saying, "Me, too!" We started with the online free one. The one we used had a ton of formatting issues. Not pretty at all. Once we determined it was a keeper, we bought the very version Tara links. It is very nice. Same comments about a few picture issues (not many, though), and same remedies. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Another Lynn Posted March 3, 2015 Author Share Posted March 3, 2015 Thank you both!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilverMoon Posted March 20, 2015 Share Posted March 20, 2015 May I piggyback with a placement question? I LOVE SCHOOL COMPOSITION! Sorry, just had to get that out of the way. Seriously, School Composition makes me all :001_tt1: . Over a writing curriculum. To answer your question ... generally, no. School Composition has ample exercises for each concept, and with my working one-on-one with my daughter, we didn't need to do all of them. Believe it or not, Writing in English (the late grammar/high school book) is EVEN BETTER than School Composition!! Eta: I was all excited when I saw a thread about School Composition, and I was hoping I could type quickly enough to be the first to respond. Yeah. I'm that big of a dork. Having worked through/into these books, what grade levels would you consider them to be? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Twain Posted March 20, 2015 Share Posted March 20, 2015 May I piggyback with a placement question? Having worked through/into these books, what grade levels would you consider them to be? I would say middle school age for School Composition. ETA: 5th-8th grades Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilverMoon Posted March 20, 2015 Share Posted March 20, 2015 Thanks. :001_smile: I have a rising 7th grader that's a pretty stereotypical STEM guy. He can make a paragraph that includes all the important details in a sensible order, with very little stylistics. He never balks to write about something he's already familiar with, but something that requires creative license will have him avoiding it like the plague. I was debating whether to go through School Comp quickly and then Writing in English, or just start with something like Writing in English. (He'll do some targeted paragraph work over the summer.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeAndTheBoys Posted April 24, 2015 Share Posted April 24, 2015 Reviving a month-old thread--so that's not too bad, right?? Last year, I downloaded and printed out Maxwell's Progressive Composition, Grade 5. Started it, life got in the way, really liked it--but we haven't picked it up again past the first few lessons. We were doing Grade 5. Someone on here recommended it-- I picked it up again today and really want to get back into it. So I came to search the threads, but what ya'll are recommending is "School Composition". What is the difference, do you know? Which one should I use? I went ahead and ordered the Amazon hard copy of School Composition for $8 because I do NOT want to print a book out again, but I'm just confused about the differences between the books. There are a LOT of Maxwell books and I don't really understand the scope and sequence-- Thanks for any help, Betsy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tjlcc Posted April 24, 2015 Share Posted April 24, 2015 Reviving a month-old thread--so that's not too bad, right?? Last year, I downloaded and printed out Maxwell's Progressive Composition, Grade 5. Started it, life got in the way, really liked it--but we haven't picked it up again past the first few lessons. We were doing Grade 5. Someone on here recommended it-- I picked it up again today and really want to get back into it. So I came to search the threads, but what ya'll are recommending is "School Composition". What is the difference, do you know? Which one should I use? I went ahead and ordered the Amazon hard copy of School Composition for $8 because I do NOT want to print a book out again, but I'm just confused about the differences between the books. There are a LOT of Maxwell books and I don't really understand the scope and sequence-- Thanks for any help, Betsy I'm looking at Maxwell's books too. I found this after a quick google search. From the blog, Your Free Homeschool. Maxwell's English Series Primary Lessons in Language and Composition (1-4) First Book in English (3-5) Introductory Lessons in English Grammar (5-8) Maxwell's School Composition (5-8) Advanced Lessons in English Grammar (Middle-High School) Writing in English (Middle-High School) 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeAndTheBoys Posted April 24, 2015 Share Posted April 24, 2015 THANK YOU!! I'll have to look at this. I just realized that somehow I ended up printing and starting to use Ida Brautigum's Progressive Composition, but i filed it in a folder on my computer that said "Maxwell Writing" and had some Maxwell, some Brautigum :) I was so confused!!!!! I like the Brautigum, and we'll work through that for a while, then I think we'll go into School Composition when I get the hard copy. Thanks for taking the time to show that to me; I'm going to take a look at this sequence tomorrow. Betsy I'm looking at Maxwell's books too. I found this after a quick google search. From the blog, Your Free Homeschool. Maxwell's English SeriesPrimary Lessons in Language and Composition (1-4)First Book in English (3-5)Introductory Lessons in English Grammar (5-8)Maxwell's School Composition (5-8)Advanced Lessons in English Grammar (Middle-High School)Writing in English (Middle-High School) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Haiku Posted April 26, 2015 Share Posted April 26, 2015 Maxwell's Progressive Composition, Grade 5. Are you talking about Progressive Composition Lessons by Ida Brautigam? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeAndTheBoys Posted April 27, 2015 Share Posted April 27, 2015 Are you talking about Progressive Composition Lessons by Ida Brautigam? YES, ha ha. I remembered researching Maxwell last year after a post on WTM here, and we had used Prog Comp a few times after I printed it last year. I just "remembered" that it was by Maxwell--incorrectly. I realized after posting here that I must have printed the Brautigam book, someone probably said it was a good 5th grade level, then School Comp was 6-8--so I guess I was going to do it "next". Whew, glad that's cleared up!!! We started back in Prog Comp, love it--and I ordered a hard copy of School Comp--came in the mail today and I really like the look of it. Very excited. Would love to use the two Maxwell books--they look like what Jump In is trying to do, but in a neater, less "cool" format--just right to the point and pleasant. B 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Haiku Posted April 27, 2015 Share Posted April 27, 2015 Yes, we have thoroughly enjoyed the Maxwell books. My dd complained near the end of School Composition that she was tired of writing descriptions, which is a valid complaint. It was easily remedied by just skipping ahead to the last few chapters, which covered poetry and a few other things. Then we dove into Writing in English which, as I mentioned upthread, is EVEN BETTER than School Comp. We are currently taking a break from WIE to do a unit on poetry, at dd's request, but we will get back to WIE when we are finished with the poetry stuff. I have to say that Maxwell's books are one of the best things we have used in our homeschool. I plan to follow them up with The Lively Art of Writing and then Writing With a Thesis. I actually had the Brautigam books saved for many years because I wanted to use them with my son, but he has dyslexia and some other learning issues and ended up needing something extremely straight-forward and geared toward kids with learning issues, so I never used them. But they did look nice. :) 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tjlcc Posted May 21, 2015 Share Posted May 21, 2015 Tara, a few questions for you if you don't mind. How long did it take your daughter to complete School Composition? Which grades did she use it for and how often per week? How long do you intend Writing in English to take? And which grades for The Lively Art of Writing and Writing With a Thesis? Are you using any of Maxwell's Grammar books? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Haiku Posted June 15, 2015 Share Posted June 15, 2015 Tara, a few questions for you if you don't mind. How long did it take your daughter to complete School Composition? Which grades did she use it for and how often per week? How long do you intend Writing in English to take? And which grades for The Lively Art of Writing and Writing With a Thesis? Are you using any of Maxwell's Grammar books? Sorry to just get to this now. I haven't been on TWTM much lately. It took my dd almost two years to complete School Composition, but that is because we didn't do it every day and also took breaks to work on other types of writing. For example, on Fridays we use Igniting Your Writing, and one year we took of about 3 months to work on NaNoWriMo. My daughter is a prolific writer, and occasionally she will say, "I had an idea for xxxx, can I write that today?" and I let her do it. If we had worked on SC four or five days a week straight through, it could have been completed in about 10-12 months, I think. I expect that WIE will take about 18 months, mostly for the same reasons. I have already gone through and decided which exercises we will use and which we will skip. I expect her to complete WIE by the end of 8th grade, which for us will be next June. I'm going to use LAoW in 9th grade and WWaT after that. I haven't looked planned ahead in enough detail to decide how long I want to spend on WWaT. I am not using Maxwell's grammar books. Grammar is an ongoing source of contention with dd and me. The programs I find excellent are ones she hates. She told me recently that she wants grammar where she is creating something, not just marking someone else's sentences. I bought Grammar for Middle School from Killgallon. I'm not convinced it's the best program, but I'm also not willing to torture my daughter with a grammar program she hates. My heart is already broken that my children do not love grammar. I have failed as a parent and a human being in this regard, so I've just buried my head in the sand and moved on. :sad: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tjlcc Posted June 15, 2015 Share Posted June 15, 2015 Thanks, Tara. Your explanations were helpful. My 6th grader has been working on SC for about 6 weeks or so. He is learning more than when we just did written narrations from History or Science. I had tried a few modern programs, but they just weren't what I was looking for. SC will be a keeper. I'm sorry about your grammar dilemma. I'm hoping Maxwell's grammar books will be keepers for us too. We shall see. Thanks again! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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