Does anyone use Writing Strands...

[Kim in SouthGa]

and actually like it? Every year when I read SWB's recs for this I want to try it (actually have tried it 3 times, and ended up selling it each time...just levels 2 and 3). It is sooooo much cheaper than IEW. Levels 5 & 6 actually do look better. Has anyone used it successfully through Exposition as SWB recommends?

TIA

[Kris in Wis]

We used levels 3-5. Some of the work we liked, some we did not. I went with Write With the Best after Level 5, and Wordsmith Craftsman in high school.

 

I agree with you. I never purchased IEW because it is so expensive. I tend to agree with SWB's evaluation of IEW (which you can read on site here).

[Nan in Mass]

I've used 3-7 successfully. I had to alter some assignments, read the directions aloud and sometimes do some explaining, tell them that yes the examples are not well written, and make sure they practised the point of the lesson other places (like in history writing), but in general, it has been good and we have kept at it. It helps with great books. It doesn't teach style, which my children would have hated. They seem to remember and apply the lessons, even though writing isn't something they like very much. (It is probably one of the few curriculums I can say that about.) -Nan

[brownie]

I'm tending to agree with the OP. I picked up WS 3 for $2 which runs just a little cheaper than IEW :rolleyes: but looking through it last night to prepare for fall, I'm not even sure I understand the instructions. For all its focus on instructions, I find the instructions very confusing. For example lesson#1, day 2 tekks you to write a sentence with 2 words, then 3, then says "On other paper write 5 sentences". Do they want you to start over? No clue! The page only shows room for 5 sentences total.

 

Is there a yahoo group or something else helpful for this curriculum?

 

I like that it's written to the student and I think ds would appreciate the humor but I may have to just give the instructions myself to avoid confusion! Brownie

[cbollin]

I'm tending to agree with the OP. I picked up WS 3 for $2 which runs just a little cheaper than IEW :rolleyes: but looking through it last night to prepare for fall, I'm not even sure I understand the instructions. For all its focus on instructions, I find the instructions very confusing. For example lesson#1, day 2 tekks you to write a sentence with 2 words, then 3, then says "On other paper write 5 sentences". Do they want you to start over? No clue! The page only shows room for 5 sentences total.

 

Is there a yahoo group or something else helpful for this curriculum?

 

I like that it's written to the student and I think ds would appreciate the humor but I may have to just give the instructions myself to avoid confusion! Brownie

 

here are some ideas. I've used WS 3-5 and plan to do 6 next year. I don't know if there is a yahoo group for WS or not. I'm on some yahoo groups for MFW curriculum and some of us use WS and we talk about specific lessons and how to do them.

 

 

I read it as written to the student did not intend to mean "student does this alone". Think of it as "guided script written toward the student's attention while you coach the assignment". That helped me a lot when I did that.

 

I have a 2005 edition of WS 3. (blue cover, not spiral bound) In that edition, Lesson 1, Day 2, "on other paper write 5 sentences"... the instructions are very clear to me of what to do on those sentences when you read the instructions for each sentence. It is numbered to help you and says what the first sentence should be, what the 2nd one should be... etc. Yes, you do a new subject and verb from the sentence you did on day 1.

 

The idea is that you are expanding a sentence one word at a time and putting the new word in different places. Sometimes that means you are adding an adverb, sometime you are adding other parts of speech.

 

Example:

Sue ate.

Sue ate pizza.

Sue ate my pizza.

Yesterday Sue ate my pizza.

Yesterday Sue quickly ate my pizza.

 

****

 

so the idea is to have a basic start at expanding sentences to help your reader know more of what is going on. It's basic sentence structure and expanding a sentence with words and to encourage the student to add words in different places.

 

does that help any? That's how I've done that lesson. you could send me a PM for ideas for other lessons in WS 3. I keep my notes nearby when chatting on those mfwfamilies yahoo group about WS.

 

-crystal

[Mary in GA]

I have used parts of WS 4-7. I would think this program is best suited for kids who are not reluctant to write and will work independently. IEW offers more actual writing instruction. I value WS for the literary assignments: ones based on changing point of view, working with characters, controlling readers emotions, etc.

 

I did not like levels 2 or 3. I think levels 4 and up are much better. You might try again with level 4 and pick and choose from the asignments.

 

Mary

[Orthodox6]

We have tried several of the "WS" levels, and have fallen into a deep coma every time. There is nothing in the program to engage anybody's interest. I wish that it would work for us, but it won't.

[mcconnellboys]

My older son used it all the way through (beginning with level 3 - I don't think anyone suggests beginning with level 2). My younger son will do levels 3 and 4 next year. While I wasn't all that crazy with the author's tone, my son was fine with it, so I let him run with it. It wasn't about me; it was about him.

[Julie in MN]

and actually like it? Every year when I read SWB's recs for this I want to try it (actually have tried it 3 times, and ended up selling it each time...just levels 2 and 3). It is sooooo much cheaper than IEW. Levels 5 & 6 actually do look better. Has anyone used it successfully through Exposition as SWB recommends?

TIA

 

:thumbup: Okay, that was as close as I could find to "raising my hand" -- I like Writing Strands.

 

WS covers all the "strands" of writing that my ds needs to work on outside of his regular notebooking etc. And it's flexible enough that we've been able to go in & out of using it over 5 years and still build his skills. The skills are very specific and focused, and although he tries to be conversational & give examples, the author doesn't waste time on lengthy writing that has no way to usefully move specific skills ahead.

 

Here is a comparison I put together on another forum about IEW vs. WS. It is from the point of view of someone who prefers WS but has used IEW in specific situations...

 

********************

I have used IEW & WS. I used IEW with my older daughter, and then one semester co-op class for my younger son. I've used WS with my son for 5 years (2.5 levels). I am copying my (very wordy) comparison that I wrote a long while back on a different forum, in case it will help you think it thru. Basically, I think WS gets the job done in the most focused way, but here's some more about why.

 

 

IEW: Using a specific formula, IEW teaches the child to "take notes" from a piece of writing, and then "rewrite" it using only their notes. They gradually expand on this rewrite to "dress it up" with added words & more powerful words, which teaches them a bit of grammar as well. Eventually they will write their own stuff and the focus will be on producing variety in their sentences -- listing/marking each sentence as to whether it begins with an adverbial clause & such (very few simple subject openers are allowed).

 

IEW was good for dd because it helps...

- the student who can't think of anything to write

- the student who needs a specific boost into writing more than Dick & Jane type sentences

- the student who is petrified to put their own thoughts & methods into a report, & needs to be pulled away from just repeating the encyclopedia

- IEW could be my dd's teacher, since she seemed to feel *mom* was just criticizing her writing all the time :o)

- didn't apply to us, but IEW *might* also be good for a sudent who needs work on some grammar in their own writing, rather than in a workbook which they aren't applying to their own writing.

 

 

 

WS is a series of writing exercises that teach a variety of writing skills. For instance, when you are learning about 1st, 2nd, & 3rd person, you start by finding a bit of text in a book you are reading & changing the tense. Then you do a few lessons about how to organize your writing. Then you do an organized writing about a topic and change your product into different tenses. It is a "workbook" format but contrasts with other workbook type programs in several ways. I prefer WS for my son because it is especially good for...

 

- the student who wants some freedom grabbing onto a topic to write about - many examples are given & students who don't want freedom can use those, but some students love being free to go off into their own story

- the parent who wants to funnel the writer into developing specific writing skills, and skip skills already mastered

- the student who can "wing-it" if necessary, and does not panic without step-by-step instructions or checklists or fill-in-the-blanks for every detail

- the student who is ready to dig into a writing skill, rather than the many programs which are just writing prompts to generate free writing

- the parent who is okay with using real student writing - without an answer key - with specific tasks & some guidance but the wide amount of variation that is necessary in real writing

- and of course it's a hugely smaller (love that oxymoron?) time and money investment (tho that may work itself out a bit if you use IEW over years/kids).

********************

[mommix3]

Hmmmm... We are starting WS this year. I've been wanting to do it for a while now. We are starting with book 3. How long does a book actually last??

 

Angela

[mcconnellboys]

Well, you could stretch it out over a year. Or you could compress it and do it in a semester, which is what I plan to do this year with book 3 and 4. My son will be covering just one book per year after that.... I did the same thing with my older son.

[Guest Robersonlass]

We were reccomended Complete Writing Lessons for the Primary Grades by Marjorie Frank by our evaluator who has a masters in english literature.

[Julie in MN]

Hmmmm... We are starting WS this year. I've been wanting to do it for a while now. We are starting with book 3. How long does a book actually last??

 

Angela

 

It's designed to be done every-other-week for a year (with literature study using Reading Strands on the opposite weeks).

 

MFW schedules it about 2 days a week, every week for a year.

 

We've used it at about half-time because of other writing, including a co-op class, and family interruptions. It's been very easy for me to pick up where I left off.

 

Julie

[KarenNC]

I am considering trying WS 3 with my daughter. She is capable of writing a pretty involved, mostly grammatically correct one page story with correctly spelled rich vocabulary (for her age) *if she wants to do so* because I have seen her do it. What is killing me is getting her to write something reasonable for other things.

 

I looked at both 3 and 4 on the website. It says that 4 is for 13-14 yos---is that accurate in your experience?

[Quad Shot Academy]

 

I looked at both 3 and 4 on the website. It says that 4 is for 13-14 yos---is that accurate in your experience?

 

I think the grade/age level recommendations are on the easy side.