Blue Tent Intro to Lit & Comp vs. WHA Fundamentals of Expo Writing?

[fourisenough]

I am looking for an all-around English class for my DD12 (turning 13/8th next fall). She is a very strong reader, will have finished AG with full mastery, is a solid, but not great writer, and has very strong executive function skills/motivation.

 

She has done Expo Writing 1 & 2 at WTMA which we have loved. But, I feel like we are drowning in language arts classes. She is currently taking: Expo 2, JH Lit at Center for Lit, Socratic Discussion and is doing grammar and vocabulary at home with me. For the sake of time and money, but mostly time, I need to economize next year and enroll her in one course that will hit more than just one aspect of English.

 

I think I have narrowed it down to:

(1)  Blue Tent Online's Intro to Literature and Composition 

http://teacherweb.com/USA/BlueTent/Thompson/apt34.aspx

 

or 

(2) WHA's Fundamentals of Expository Writing 

https://www.wilsonhillacademy.com/academics/fundamentals-of-expository-writing/

 

Anyone want to weigh in and give me your thoughts? In a perfect world, I prefer a secular class, but am willing to forgo this for a high-quality class that meets our other goals.

 

Thanks in advance!

[fourisenough]

Has ANYONE taken Blue Tent's Intro to Lit & Comp?

[Random]

Both courses look great to me, as far as content. The only thing that would make me choose Wilson Hill is the fact that it's live and twice per week. My children would get a lot more out of the WHA course for that reason, even though I slightly favor the content of the Blue Tent course.

 

I see your daughter has fabulous executive function & motivation, but would she prefer the live class?

[fourisenough]

Both courses look great to me, as far as content. The only thing that would make me choose Wilson Hill is the fact that it's live and twice per week. My children would get a lot more out of the WHA course for that reason, even though I slightly favor the content of the Blue Tent course.

 

I see your daughter has fabulous executive function & motivation, but would she prefer the live class?

She does really enjoy connecting with the other kids in her online classes. To my surprise, they really seem to get to know one another and she benefits from that (albeit small) social outlet. She is an introvert, so maybe it's just the right amount of socializing! I haven't presented the options to her yet; I'll be sure to point out the difference between synchronous and asynchronous classes. We're actually taking out first asynchronous class beginning this week via Outschool so she'll have a good sense of how they work. Thanks for your input.

[crazyforlatin]

DD is in WHA FOEW and loves it, but she likes dynamic teachers and opportunities to speak up. The books seem a bit more difficult than Blue Tent's, but that's not really important. Blue Tent teaches SAT words? In FOEW, the kids have read morbid short stories from Little Worlds, The Odyssey, currently reading Canterbury Tales, and then a couple of more books such as Julius Caesar and To Kill a Mockingbird. I was debating between WTMA Expo 2 (difficult decision for me to not continue with the series) and FOEW last year, but after emailing the teacher and reading the reviews here, I thought we would give FOEW a try, knowing that it could be challenging for DD who is on the younger side for this class. It moves slowly at first, quite deceptive in its pace, but ramps up by the end of the first semester. Mrs. Lange incorporates poetry, grammar, short weekly quizzes, and fun online discussions. There is a prayer read by a volunteer at the beginning of each class.

 

FOEW is persuasive writing, eventually leading to the 5 paragraph essay.

 

Asynchronous may or may not work for DD, but she does best when she is in a live class with a magnetic teacher. One of the reasons why Expo 1 didn't work well was that she couldn't keep her focus in class. I liked her teacher, serious with her teaching, but sometimes that's not enough to draw in certain kids.

[fourisenough]

DD is in WHA FOEW and loves it, but she likes dynamic teachers and opportunities to speak up. The books seem a bit more difficult than Blue Tent's, but that's not really important. Blue Tent teaches SAT words? In FOEW, the kids have read morbid short stories from Little Worlds, The Odyssey, currently reading Canterbury Tales, and then a couple of more books such as Julius Caesar and To Kill a Mockingbird. I was debating between WTMA Expo 2 (difficult decision for me to not continue with the series) and FOEW last year, but after emailing the teacher and reading the reviews here, I thought we would give FOEW a try, knowing that it could be challenging for DD who is on the younger side for this class. It moves slowly at first, quite deceptive in its pace, but ramps up by the end of the first semester. Mrs. Lange incorporates poetry, grammar, short weekly quizzes, and fun online discussions. There is a prayer read by a volunteer at the beginning of each class.

 

FOEW is persuasive writing, eventually leading to the 5 paragraph essay.

 

Asynchronous may or may not work for DD, but she does best when she is in a live class with a magnetic teacher. One of the reasons why Expo 1 didn't work well was that she couldn't keep her focus in class. I liked her teacher, serious with her teaching, but sometimes that's not enough to draw in certain kids.

Thanks for sharing your daughter's experience in FOEW. Do you mind sharing how hold your daughter is? Mine is turning 13 this fall, so maybe a bit on the young end, but is very motivated/capable and will have completed expo 2. I love everything I've read about Mrs. Lange.

[h2bh]

I had a12 year old 7th grader take FOEW. She worked hard for the class, loved it and grew through the experience. It was a stretch though. If I had known, I might have waited til 13. I think 13 should work for the child you describe.

[crazyforlatin]

Thanks for sharing your daughter's experience in FOEW. Do you mind sharing how hold your daughter is? Mine is turning 13 this fall, so maybe a bit on the young end, but is very motivated/capable and will have completed expo 2. I love everything I've read about Mrs. Lange.

13 is a good age, and Mrs. Lange mentioned that her class is more appropriate for older kids since older kids are more capable of making persuasive arguments. Mine is 11, and I remember reading Blue Tent's requirement that the student has to be 13 years old. I didn't want to go through the hassle of asking for an exemption. Blue Tent teaches different types of writing. FOEW only focuses on persuasive writing, at least so far. Mrs. Lange does discuss the content of the books in preparation for the essays. Having 2 classes per week, 1.5 hours each class, does help with learning to write. Given DD's age and personality and my reluctance to be her writing teacher, I'm glad we went with FOEW.

 

I forgot to mention that there is some vocabulary but they come from Canterbury Tales. Not sure what Mrs. Lange will do with the rest of the books. She seems to give different assignments depending on the book. Overall, it's actually a fun class; for Odysseus, Mrs. Lange asked kids to dress up as Greeks, and show up on the webcam if they didn't mind.

 

I know that luckymama enrolled her DD in Blue Tent for a higher-level course and has great things to say about Blue Tent. Really, I think either provider will be fine.

 

There is some grammar, just not advanced grammar.

[yvonne]

We haven't used BT's Intro to Lit class, so I can't compare, but my daughter took Mrs. Lange's FoEW class last year, in 8th grade. She turned 13 in October of that year. It was an excellent class for her, & we both appreciated Mrs. Lange as a teacher.

 

 

 

[RootAnn]

WHA is opening some of their classes up next week for prospective families to sit in on. Here is a link to the announcement. I think you have to use the link in the post to request the list of classes/times.

Edited January 18, 2017 by RootAnn

[fourisenough]

WHA is opening some of their classes up next week for prospective families to sit in on. Here is a link to the announcement. I think you have to use the link in the post to request the list of classes/times.

 

Thanks! I plan to sit in on (?) FOEW with Mrs. Lange and a math class or two. I wish all providers would do this!