9th grade writing: Jensen's Format Writing or Put That in Writing?

[Christy B]

I want to use a writing program in 9th grade that will introduce pretty much every sort of writing we will need to use for high school -- essays, research papers, etc. This is for a writing-reluctant student who does well with grammar but has difficulty formulating and expressing opinions, and needs lots of hand-holding and specific instructions.

 

My thought is to do grammar and writing the first semester, then literature (Literary Lessons from Lord of the Rings) the second semester. In 10th, 11th, and 12th, we will most likely use Notgrass, which has writing assignments in it. My goal is to use a writing curriculum in 9th grade to review and cover the forms of writing, so that for future grades we can focus on writing across the curriculum. Is this a reasonable expectation?

 

I am open to other suggestions, but I am especially interested in Jensen's Format Writing and Put That in Writing. Of the programs I've reviewed, those are the ones that appeal to me most. If I'm not mistaken, though, PTIW is not a one-year program. Bravewriter really appeals to me, but I think this particular student may need more structure. I could be convinced otherwise, though!

 

Also, please don't suggest IEW. I truly don't care for it.

[xxxxxxxx]

Here is a post I wrote almost a year ago.............

 

Don't know if I can help much but will give you a little bit of my experience with my 13yo dd. She also has no interest in writing, spelling is better but not great and she always has her nose in a book. I always thought that because she was such an excellent reader that the writing would get easier sooner or later. Well, at the start of this year (8th grade) we started with Put that in Writing 1. We made it through the 1st 12 weeks and it just wasn't what I hoped it would be. For us it was too much picking apart sentences and not enough teaching her how to write a decent paragraph. After Christmas I ordered Jensen's Format Writing. It is simple and straightforward. For my reluctant writer it has been terrific. She can finally sit and write a decent paragraph in a few minutes with no tears! We are just starting the essay portion so hopefully that will go well. Also, I started doing Spelling Power with her and her spelling has improved quit a bit. I can't tell you anything about the other writing curriculums because we have never used them, Jensens is cheap compared to some, you might want to look into it. Hope this helps some!

 

 

 

Also, we now have started the essay portion and I can't believe the improvement.......I have given her 2 1/2 days to write a 5 paragraph essay........It actually was organized and with a few of my suggestions her final draft was great. Of course this is compared to what she could do 6 months ago, which was a disorganized paragraph with much complaining and usually tears. I was beginning to think she would never learn to write anything. Jensens Format Writing has helped us tremendously!

 

 

I have to say that my reluctant writer can now write a 5 paragraph essay with too much trouble.......and no tears! I still like Jensen's Writing (and the price was right)

Edited March 1, 2009 by ChocolatePrincess
typos

[Jean in Wisc]

I want to use a writing program in 9th grade that will introduce pretty much every sort of writing we will need to use for high school -- essays, research papers, etc. This is for a writing-reluctant student who does well with grammar but has difficulty formulating and expressing opinions, and needs lots of hand-holding and specific instructions.

 

My thought is to do grammar and writing the first semester, then literature (Literary Lessons from Lord of the Rings) the second semester. In 10th, 11th, and 12th, we will most likely use Notgrass, which has writing assignments in it. My goal is to use a writing curriculum in 9th grade to review and cover the forms of writing, so that for future grades we can focus on writing across the curriculum. Is this a reasonable expectation?

 

I am open to other suggestions, but I am especially interested in Jensen's Format Writing and Put That in Writing. Of the programs I've reviewed, those are the ones that appeal to me most. If I'm not mistaken, though, PTIW is not a one-year program. Bravewriter really appeals to me, but I think this particular student may need more structure. I could be convinced otherwise, though!

 

Also, please don't suggest IEW. I truly don't care for it.

 

I have both. For a reluctant writer, I'd go with Format Writing. My 9th grader likes to write, but he struggles to get his thoughts on paper. He struggled with PTIW, so I've moved back to Jump In by Apologia. Next year I'll do Format Writing (my older two did FW). Then I'll go back to PTIW.

 

Jean

[Lori D.]

Tried to use PTIW 1 two years ago with average writing son, then 8th grade -- we were both so frustrated with the very dull and uncreative examples of "good writing"; the unnecessarily elevated tone of the teaching information; and the repetitive grammar exercises, that it we dropped PTIW after persevering through the first 7 lessons. Then, we tried again last year (since it was so expensive!!) -- BUT with major modifications:

 

- skipped 11 of the first 12 lessons

- skipped all the repetitive grammar exercises

- replaced PTIW's boring writing assignment ideas with our own (often coming up with ideas from the literature or history)

 

Basically, we just read the information on a particular type of writing from PTIW -- and then practiced it on our own with assignments of our own making. I will say that the information on the variety of writing types is worthwhile. (It's just that having to drop/change everything else made PTIW extremely expensive for 2-3 pages of information on each of about 10-12 different types of paragraphs!)

 

That is about all we'll be able to use out of PTIW next year with younger brother who really struggles with writing. In fact, we may end up just going straight to Jensen's Format Writing for him and skip PTIW entirely... we'll have to see.

 

Just need to reiterate that this is not the case with PTIW with everyone -- a number of people on this board have had success with it and found it to be just the thing for their students. BEST of luck in finding what works well for your family! Warmest regards, Lori D.

[Anna]

Both my kids preferred Format Writing over Book 1 of PTIW . They found PTIW to be a bit too dull but it could be because the author spends a lot of time covering basic sentence structure/grammar and my kids were past that stage. I know some homeschoolers love PTIW so it really depends on how you like to teach and learn. My understanding is that Book 1 and 2 of PTIW are each designed as a 1-year course.

 

BTW-- Both my kids are in college now and I have a gently used copy of PTIW Book 1 and the answer key if anyone is interested but wants to save some bucks.

[Kathy in Richmond]

Another vote here for Format Writing with a reluctant writer - my son was very much this way and it got the ball rolling for him.

 

For the research paper, I'd recommend WriteAtHome's 10-week workshop. We were pleased that the structured instruction and weekly deadlines/comments were relatively painless and produced a nice paper.