lanabug Posted May 4, 2017 Share Posted May 4, 2017 I'm completely stuck when it comes to choosing a writing curriculum for my upcoming 6th grade daughter. She is what I'd consider a reluctant writer. I feel like she needs a lot of scaffolding, and yet, she'd prefer to work independently without too much direct instruction from me.We started out with WWE 1-3, then moved to Treasured Conversations and the Most Wonderful Writing Lessons Ever for 4th grade. This year, she's done Wordsmith Apprentice and some of the journal entries from Saxon Grammar. Here are some that I'm considering. I'd love input on if these would fit her personality and needs, or just general reviews if you've used the curriculum. Writing comes naturally to me, and I'm having a hard time figuring out how to teach her.Writing Strands (Level 3?)Jump In!IEWWriteShop (not sure whether to use Junior series or Book 1?)Essentials in WritingThanks,Lana Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Momto6inIN Posted May 4, 2017 Share Posted May 4, 2017 If she needs explicit instruction but not from you, the IEW swi videos would fit the bill. Mr. Pudewa does the teaching for you. Sent from my Z988 using Tapatalk 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tmstranger Posted May 4, 2017 Share Posted May 4, 2017 I am using WriteShop1 with my 7th grade reluctant writer. It DOES require teacher time, but it has been working well for him. It is very explicit and has plenty of examples. The teacher guide also has sample essays with examples of 1st draft vs. 2nd draft and the teacher feedback. I love that it gives me plenty of examples of the feedback I can give my son...it keeps me balanced, so I can give him instruction, but also praise. As far as the teacher time, I go over the lesson with him one day. Another day, I'll brainstorm and work with him on a practice paragraph. He has skill builders he can do in the meantime before he starts on his sloppy copy and rough draft. The process has worked well for us, but I do have to make the time to teach. It is short, though! And I think he likes watching me work through the process for my own practice paragraph. It's more like we're working "together" on it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freesia Posted May 4, 2017 Share Posted May 4, 2017 I've used IEW and Jump In. Both--if you use the SWI videos for instruction--would meet your criteria. If she is reluctant and has difficulty writing coherent sentences and paragraphs I think IEW is a bit stronger bc of its structure. If she's run of the mill reluctant and developing as a writer either would work. If she writes strong sentences using a variety of sentences and strong words, I would lean toward Jump In. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Momto6inIN Posted May 4, 2017 Share Posted May 4, 2017 I'll also add that I am a natural writer too. My 1st DS was too, and writing was no big deal and just fell into place with him. But 2nd DS came along and needed explicit instructions and I found that I just could not articulate into words and lessons what comes naturally to me about how I organize and put words to my thoughts. IEW has helped sooooo much with this DS to learn how to organize his words. We don't follow the "style" rules of IEW hardly at all because that comes more naturally to him, but the "structure" portion of IEW has been invaluable! Sent from my Z988 using Tapatalk 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lanabug Posted May 4, 2017 Author Share Posted May 4, 2017 I actually have the TWSS videos, although I haven't watched them yet. For those who suggested IEW, would you do SWI B? How does IEW differ from EIW? They're both video instruction, and the price of EIW is much more appealing... Lana 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luuknam Posted May 4, 2017 Share Posted May 4, 2017 I suspect it really depends on what parts of writing she needs to work on most, but anyway... My reluctant writer upcoming 5th grader did CAP W&R Fable this year, and after that he's started Killgallon Elementary Sentence Composing, and thus far he likes that one better. The way the book is, it doesn't require a lot of instruction from me, but does have quite a bit of scaffolding. There's a whole series - Sentence Composing, Grammar (which is not a grammar course but more like sentence composing), Paragraph Composing, and Nonfiction (which I think is like paragraph composing), and each of those come in Elementary, Middle School, High School, and College versions. IIRC, the rec is to do them in the order I listed, but I think most people do only some of the books. IIRC the Middle School Sentence Composing one is a bit of an outlier in using more grown-up quotes than the other Elementary and Middle School books, which use sentences from children's literature (yes, I spent way too much time looking at these books before deciding which one to buy). 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clementine Posted May 4, 2017 Share Posted May 4, 2017 We used Meaningful Composition. It really worked well for us up to high school - then we switched to something different. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cintinative Posted May 4, 2017 Share Posted May 4, 2017 (edited) I actually have the TWSS videos, although I haven't watched them yet. For those who suggested IEW, would you do SWI B? Yes, start with SWI-B. You can look for it used on FB groups or on their Yahoo group IEW Items for Sale or the forum on their website. Unfortunately I cannot speak to the difference between EIW and IEW. ETA: someone posted SWI-B today on VegSource http://www.vegsource.com/homeschool/fs36/messages/804.html Edited May 4, 2017 by cintinative 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.