Kidlit Posted September 1, 2017 Share Posted September 1, 2017 My eighth grade daughter is one month into EIL year one. The first module is short stories, and so far it is has been good. However, this week she is supposed to write her first essay, a comparison/contrast literary analysis of two of the stories. This has really thrown her for a loop. She has done a fair amount of writing, though it has all been narration, summary, etc.--nothing critical or analytical. I feel like I need to provide her with some scaffolding for this leap. I have always avoided IEW writing curricula due to my own personal prejudice against it, but now I'm beginning to wonder if I missed to boat for this particular child. She balks at writing and loves math, so I think the IEW formula might appeal to her. I am considering jumping in with The Elegant Essay to help her move into essay writing. However, I am open to suggestion and would love to hear from anyone who has successfully navigated these late middle/early high school waters. (I'm cross-posting to the K-8 board.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RootAnn Posted September 1, 2017 Share Posted September 1, 2017 The Elegant Essay was no help here to my reluctant writer (who loves math). I think you are on the right track with the scaffolding. I can't help you with the process, but I hope someone else will chime in. I'd definitely start with talking out the assignment & getting her to brainstorm ideas out loud before even touching pen to paper. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Momto6inIN Posted September 1, 2017 Share Posted September 1, 2017 It doesn't have to be IEW (although I wish I had found it for my disorganized 2nd DS) but you definitely need some type of essay instruction before beginning EIL. The literature units are wonderful, but they do assume you know how to write a basic analytical essay. My oldest DS did Wordsmith Craftsman, then Windows to the World, then he was ready for whatever EIL units appealed to us. Windows to the World is often recommended before EIL - it assumes they know how to write a basic 5 paragraph essay but walks them step by step through the analysis process. Sent from my Z988 using Tapatalk 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori D. Posted September 1, 2017 Share Posted September 1, 2017 (edited) I was also going to suggest doing Windows to the World program before EIL -- or at least the first few units, which teach annotation, and then how to use your annotations as support in writing a literary analysis essay. The step-by-step instruction of how to write a literary analysis essay is some of the clearest and most easy to grasp writing instruction I've seen. :) It worked very well for both my math-y / logical / black & white thinker (DS#1), and my visual-spatial intuitive thinker-but-struggling-writer (DS#2). WttW was written by Leisha Myers, who also wrote The Elegant Essay. WttW focuses on 6 short stories, and is a 1-semester high school program, but you could make it a 1-year program for 8th grade just by adding a few novels of your choice, or add the Jill Pike Syllabus, which schedules WttW, but also schedules Teaching the Classics -- but you could skip doing Teaching the Classics and just use the material for the adding of the 3 longer works: To Kill a Mockingbird, Jane Eyre, and Hamlet. Another option is to set aside just the *writing* in EIL entirely for a few months and use a solid writing program to learn how to write essays of various types, and then start incorporating the EIL assignments. Sharon Watson's The Power in Your Hands is written to the student, and has clear step--by-step instruction, and doesn't move too quickly. It is a 1-year program, but you could go for just the essay-writing units for this year and intersperse with assignments from EIL, and then complete the program next year. Power in Your Hands covers: process thinking/planning essay structure proof-editing persuasive persuasive essay tools and structure 3 types of persuasive essay (logical; emotional appeal; moral-ethical appeal) persuasive compare/contrast essay a devotional literary analysis essay expository letters/email process essay (how-to) position paper newspaer writing definition essay expository compare and contrast descriptive descriptive essay narrative biography personal testimony interview into narrative personal narrative DS#2 here was a struggling writer (mild LDs in spelling, writing, math), and he did very well with Sharon Watson's middle school program, Jump In. Power in Your Hands is her very thorough high school program, written in a similar style -- it came out too late for us to use with DS#2, so I don't have any personal experience with the high school program. Another possibility, similar to The Elegant Essay in that it is about general essay writing rather than specifically literary analysis essay writing -- is The Lively Art of Writing and the free workpages created by WTM board members StillWaters and mjbucks1 Edited September 2, 2017 by Lori D. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kidlit Posted September 2, 2017 Author Share Posted September 2, 2017 The Elegant Essay was no help here to my reluctant writer (who loves math). I think you are on the right track with the scaffolding. I can't help you with the process, but I hope someone else will chime in. I'd definitely start with talking out the assignment & getting her to brainstorm ideas out loud before even touching pen to paper. Thank you for weighing in. This is sort of my fear--that she'll completely balk at the whole notion even with another resource. We've tried Write Shop and it was a bust. I've always just put her back into Writing with Skill but we have yet to finish year one! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kidlit Posted September 2, 2017 Author Share Posted September 2, 2017 Lori, Thank you SO much for your lengthy response. I'm always amazed by your responses when I read here to try to solve my homeschooling dilemmas. You are so generous with your time and knowledge! I have decided to purchase WttW with the Pike syllabus and Power in Your Hands and work toward doing them both over the next year to year-and-a-half. How does that sound? Overkill? I was also going to suggest doing Windows to the World program before EIL -- or at least the first few units, which teach annotation, and then how to use your annotations as support in writing a literary analysis essay. The step-by-step instruction of how to write a literary analysis essay is some of the clearest and most easy to grasp writing instruction I've seen. :) It worked very well for both my math-y / logical / black & white thinker (DS#1), and my visual-spatial intuitive thinker-but-struggling-writer (DS#2). WttW was written by Leisha Myers, who also wrote The Elegant Essay. WttW focuses on 6 short stories, and is a 1-semester high school program, but you could make it a 1-year program for 8th grade just by adding a few novels of your choice, or add the Jill Pike Syllabus, which schedules WttW, but also schedules Teaching the Classics -- but you could skip doing Teaching the Classics and just use the material for the adding of the 3 longer works: To Kill a Mockingbird, Jane Eyre, and Hamlet. Another option is to set aside just the *writing* in EIL entirely for a few months and use a solid writing program to learn how to write essays of various types, and then start incorporating the EIL assignments. Sharon Watson's The Power in Your Hands is written to the student, and has clear step--by-step instruction, and doesn't move too quickly. It is a 1-year program, but you could go for just the essay-writing units for this year and intersperse with assignments from EIL, and then complete the program next year. Power in Your Hands covers: process thinking/planning essay structure proof-editing persuasive persuasive essay tools and structure 3 types of persuasive essay (logical; emotional appeal; moral-ethical appeal) persuasive compare/contrast essay a devotional literary analysis essay expository letters/email process essay (how-to) position paper newspaer writing definition essay expository compare and contrast descriptive descriptive essay narrative biography personal testimony interview into narrative personal narrative DS#2 here was a struggling writer (mild LDs in spelling, writing, math), and he did very well with Sharon Watson's middle school program, Jump In. Power in Your Hands is her very thorough high school program, written in a similar style -- it came out too late for us to use with DS#2, so I don't have any personal experience with the high school program. Another possibility, similar to The Elegant Essay in that it is about general essay writing rather than specifically literary analysis essay writing -- is The Lively Art of Writing and the free workpages created by WTM board members StillWaters and mjbucks1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom22ns Posted September 3, 2017 Share Posted September 3, 2017 Have you had her look at the sample paper included in EIL? There is a sample of each type of paper required (at least there was when we did it). Using a website which overviews Compare/Contrast papers, along with the sample might be enough without jumping to another curriculum (we never did any of the others being suggested and loved EIL). I frequently suggest this website to college age writers. However, just a Wiki like this might be a little more user friendly in high school. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori D. Posted September 3, 2017 Share Posted September 3, 2017 ...I have decided to purchase WttW with the Pike syllabus and Power in Your Hands and work toward doing them both over the next year to year-and-a-half. How does that sound? Overkill? WttW + Pike syllabus would be plenty of writing, and a bit "light" on overall amount of Literature (6 short stories + 1 play + 2 novels) for a typical credit. Sounds like you've already done 1 unit of EiL -- perhaps add in a 3-4 books of high interest to your student, and that should be *plenty* for your 8th grade English. Then the following year, you could do the parts of The Power in Your Hands that you want/need, and finish the other 8 units of EiL (but DON'T do all of the writing assignments if you're also doing a writing program!! -- just pick and choose a few from EiL). That should be plenty for 1.0 credit of English for 9th grade. :) 2 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.