Writing Strands

[Jan P.]

I think I have come full circle with this curriculum. I started out my oldest with Writing Strands because TWTM recommended it. Then after WS 4 I hit a plateau with my ds. He really just hates to write. Well, I branched out with Writing Shop 1. Nope, that didn't fit the bill. I eventually ended up at Writing Assessments (yea Cindy!). However, I'm still a writing curriculum junkie. I have also at home Put That In Writing which never got off the ground here (started with both older kids, but didn't get past the first week with either), several little books on writing (can't recall names, but one of them was a Scholastic book), and now I own IEW's famous video teaching program. I do have the Oxford writing book SWB recommends in her new book, but it is over my dd's head for now. She isn't ready for it.

 

To be honest, WS is the easiest to implement. Just hand it over to the kid and let her rip! I know that some of the assignments are boring and perhaps style isn't taught. Yet, it gets done. The only reason my youngest is writing is because she is in a co-op class. I so wish I had placed my older one in a writing class. She is the one that needs it, but no I wanted to save money since I already owned IEW which is what the instructor is using (reall the Student Intensive one). I am finding that I have very little time to watch videos so I can teach my children. I really need something to pick up and go with. I do think WS does that beautifully.

 

Has anyone come to these conclusions. Hey, I know lots of you hate WS, so I'm not interested in why you don't like it. Please don't flame me, but I've been there. I'm more interested in why any of you stick with WS or why you came back to it. Or does anyone use WS any more?

 

Now I have to figure out where to place dd. She's in 9th grade now. I'm thinking WS 5 since she has done WS 4. I may take a little of what I learned with IEW and incorporate that into her writing. Other than that, then maybe just copywork from great writers would help with style.

 

Thanks for plodding through this with me. I so much want my oldest dd to be writing, writing, writing. I see how important it is for our children to be able to communicate with the written word. I don't want my dds to be afraid to write an essay on an admission form or for the SAT/ACT.

 

Blessings,

[islandmama]

We've come back to WS too... Because we are so busy, I needed something that they could do mostly independently. They totally get the format of a basic essay, but I wanted them to expand on that. WS is easy to implement and provides a weekly writing assignment. It also gets them in the habit of editing, revising, and evaluating their work. My dd is in 9th and ds in 10th. They are both doing WS 5. They still do weekly copywork, from their literature, and dictation. I really want them to work up to the Exposition book before graduation, so they will be working through the summer. But I'm also thinking about buying The Lost Tools of Writing. Have you seen this? They have it at my local homeschool store. I keep going back and forth... I may try it, but I don't want to lose time bouncing them around, trying to find something.

 

Maybe over the summer you could do some of the IEW lessons? I opted not to go with IEW because I don't have the time and it seemed too time consuming to implement.

 

It sounds like WS could work for you. Go for it! :)

[mcconnellboys]

I used WS all the way through with my older son, in spite of not always loving it, myself. I will be using it beginning next year or in sixth grade, with my younger son, as well.

 

Regena

[ncmomo3]

I am among the very few WS fans. We have used books 3 and 4. I appreciate the straightforward step by step approach.

[Nan in Mass]

Occasionally we do something else for a bit, and then go back to it. The examples are so awful even my children noticed, and we have to do each excersize and then *practise* it, not just move on, but it seems to stick. I hear the children using the information. It laid a good foundation for the simple sort of literary analysis that we do (along with the list of terms in Reading Strands). I love that it doesn't teach style. That would never work with my children. I think it does a good job of teaching how to break the task of writing up into pieces.

 

I wrote a long post several years ago about how to make it work.

 

-Nan

[Jan P.]

Nan,

 

If you could resurrect that post then I would love to read it. Otherwise I'll try to search through the archives.

 

Blessings,

[Jan P.]

Yes,

 

I have read samples of The Lost Tools of Writing online. I actually went to the CIRCE conference this summer, but I didn't take the opportunity to look at it. I was afraid I would buy it, and I really didn't need to spend the money at the time.

[percytruffle]

Well, I am right there with you as a WS fan. Dd used them from 3 onward and also the Creating Fiction book. While I would not use them as our sole writing program, I think they do a great job with creative writing and with helping a student find their own voice. Dd, 19, is a wonderful writer and WS played a big part in that.

[Tammyla]

I put WS on the shelf years ago along with my RS & EW. Strangely, I've pulled the books back out for another look. :rolleyes:

 

My two kids are very different. Heck, a few years later and I'm different. I've grown to appreciate simplicity and greatly value programs or lessons that get consistently done day after day.

[Jean in Wisc]

Tossed with my oldest. Used it with my youngest. WS teaches a number of subjects that blend with literature study. My other dc missed that.

 

However, I stopped when we got to the last 2 books. I just felt he did not need more of that author--and he needed more of the basics of writing a paper for school. Format Writing does that job nicely--and it takes little work from mom.

 

We did get a good way into Put That In Writing this year, but my son needed more remedial help with the flow of his thoughts. We're bouncing around with many of the materials I have to try and solve that problem right now.

 

Cheers!

[Nan in Mass]

but I'm really busy this week. Next week I'll look, if you remind me. Or you can try searching. Someone also paraphrased it (and did a better more concise job), so if you run across that searching, don't bother going further grin.

[Nan in Mass]

We got to a point where my youngest needed to do Format Writing, too. Then we'll probably go back to WS6 and 7. I've never tried Expository Writing.

[swimnactmom]

This is our first year using WS. We're almost done with Book 3 and loved it. We will use Book 4 next year. However, we would not use it exclusively. I think it is too narrow in scope. This year we alternated between WS and WRITE!, IEW, Outlining, and How to Use the Thesaurus.

Why do people dislike it so much? I think it does a great job explaining how to approach a writing assignment. It really breaks down the steps and takes the mystery out of putting it all together.

[gardenschooler]

We float back and forth between WS & other writing assignments (BJU, writing for history, etc.). I think WS does get the job done, and if you break it up with other things, it's not going to bore them to death.

 

Thanks for the reminder. I knew there was a reason I'd never ditched it completely.

[Jan P.]

I think my dc bogged down with the descriptive paragraphs that were usually done near the beginning of the WS books. I think I remember my dc getting so fed up with having to describe every room in the house. My girls wanted to be writing fairy stories and my ds wanted to be outside playing ball!

 

But at least I was more consistent in getting my dc to write. Now I have to find the time to watch the IEW video, figure out an assignment, and then print it off which means scanning the pages, finding paper to put in the printer, and then printing it out. Then I have to hunt the child down to give the print-out to them. At least several steps would be knocked off with simply handing WS to the child. LOL!!

 

Blessings,

Jan

[Jan P.]

Jean,

 

I also used Format Writing with my ds after he had completed WS 5. I think I was frustrated with FW was that ds became bogged down in the beginning section of the paragraph writing. He struggled with writing about categories. I don't have my book before me, but it seemed like there was another type paragraph that was similar, but we couldn't see the differences. Therefore we didn't get far with this program and looked elsewhere. I also remember regretting that because I wanted to move my ds into the essay section and get to the precis writing. I did find that giving my ds over to an online instructor helped me tremendously with this child. Yet, my girls are writing fairly well for me. I even had one today tell me she would write a summary, and this was without me asking her to do so!!

 

Back to Format Writing: When do you suggest moving over to FW? After which WS? Do you start your dc with the first section (paragraph writing ) of FW or do you move your dc onto the actual essay writing?

 

Thanks,

Jan

[gardenschooler]

I think I remember my dc getting so fed up with having to describe every room in the house. My girls wanted to be writing fairy stories and my ds wanted to be outside playing ball!

 

 

That is the most boring assignment EVER. I just assigned a bunch of random descriptive paragraphs instead. One that was a hit earlier this year was to write 5 paragraphs describing the fair in sensory detail (so one paragraph about the sights, one about the smells, etc). Who wants to describe their own boring house that they spend all day in? :)

 

And fairy stories have merit! They'd better, because we've written plenty of those over the years!

[Free Indeed]

Here is Nan's post- I had to google to get it. I know this thread is old, but I thought maybe someone else would love to have this information:

 

Here is the post I wrote about it. I'm in a hurry, so I'm just copying it in here without reading it and it might not all be applicable to your situation. Sorry. And if I remember correctly, it is a bit of a muddle. Yes, I still like it and am using it. My high schooler is doing Writesmith Craftsman and assorted other things after having gone through WS3-6/7. We only did parts of 6 and 7. My younger one has gone from 3-5 and will do 6 next year. I didn't want him to do 6 too early. I think he'll get more out of it next year, when he is 12. Here is the post:

 

We're one of the people that like Writing Strands. My children apply what they've learned from it and it doesn't cause tears because it doesn't teach style. My children hate having their carefully thought out wording "messed with". They usually catch their own fuzzy wording or repetitiousness when they read their writing aloud to me. I know you might use something else, but I thought that you might like to hear what we did wrong at first and what I did to fix it, just in case you wind up having to use it. If not, just ignore this. ;)

 

If you can get hold of a copy of Evaluating Writing (the Writing Strands parent's (teacher's) guide, it is a good idea to read it. It has samples of conversations about papers that showed me how I was supposed to be discussing the writing with my children. We did all of WS3 before we read this and I go so much more out of the program after I read it. There was so much I wasn't doing. For instance, there is a sample conversation involving a paper that could use some elaboration (too short and simple). The author has the child shut his eyes and imagine the scene and describe aloud it in great detail as he asks questions like, "Where is the little girl standing? What is the weather like? What expression is on her face?" (Or something like that.) Then he has the child rewrite the paper adding in some of the details that he had pictured. In another example, he asks the child if there is a way to say the same thing more vividly.

 

First say several positive things about the paper, then offer suggestions. I thought probably the last thing I said would be what stuck in my children's minds, so I saved the good for last, but that was a disaster.

 

Separate the technical part (spelling and punctuation) from the discussion of the rest and discuss it last. Say something like, "You got a few small technical details wrong, " and pick only a few to correct. Try to work on the same few for awhile until your child "gets" them. The years we did dictation, I corrected the technical details on their dictation and ignored them on WS assignments. Some years I ignored everything but content and organization for history and science reports. I try not to correct everything every paper because that makes my children not want to write anything. I do ask them to do their best, but then ignore the mistakes that don't have to do with the subject (dication, writing, history, or science).

 

Don't assume that because the book is written to the child and appears to be self-teaching, it is. Read the instructions aloud and make sure that they are understood. I usually read the purpose, discuss it a little, if I can figure it out. Sometimes I can't and have to read the directions and examples to understand what it is before I can explain it. Then I read the directions for the whole lesson. Then I reemphasize the purpose and we practise the lesson orally a few times. Then I reread the first day's assignment and have them do it. I check that before letting them procede to the next day's. For example, for the lesson for writing book reports, I gave a few orally and then had my children give a few. We used Peter Rabbit and other Beatrix Potter books because we knew them well without having to reread them first and they were short. Then we tried a few full length books together. Then they did a few alone for me. THEN I had them go through and do the lesson. Or for the assignment on "person", we thought of books that were in the first person, ones in the second person, etc., and then read aloud paragraphs switching the person. If it seems like my children had trouble with the object of the lesson, I have them do it again. It has been easy for me to make up another example for them to try. The way the lessons are spaced, there is time to do this.

 

I try to discuss the writing right away after it is written. I make notes on the paper about what they want to fix. If there is time, they rewrite it right away, but often they rewrite it the next day. The notes seem to be enough for them to remember what they want to fix.

 

Teach your children to type. It is much nice to rewrite something if you can use a word processor. If you want them to practise hand writing things (and I can see why you might), you can make them write everything else by hand and just do WS on the computer. Before mine could type, I was their scribe for the rewrites.

 

My main goal with the WS assignments was to make sure that the children were following the directions. That is how I decided on what to focus on for each paper. Writing is a big subject and everyone, including you, will get overwhelmed if you try to correct every aspect of writing every paper.

 

If an assignment isn't appearing to work, skip it. We usually give up on one or two a level. The "describing the house from different angles" lesson was a dud with us. Not every lesson will work for every person. We skipped the one on aging fruit, also.

 

Ignore the writing in the examples. Even my children could see that the writing isn't very good in some of the examples. I agreed with them and we talked about what struck us as wrong and left it at that. We still learned a lot from the program. I also pointed out that the author uses the informal style to try to make it more appealing to children, and that our family prefers a more formal style. Years of use hasn't made my children sound like the author, thankfully LOL.

 

Ignore the part about skipping every other week. That only applies if you are using the program along with Reading Strands to make a whole English course. There being only half a year's worth of assignments in each book means that you will have plenty of time to rewrite and discuss things. Or you can skip WS on days when you are working on a report or project for another subject. Or you can do another example for the lesson to make sure that your children really understand the purpose or to give them a little more practice.

 

Many of the lessons cycle each year, repeating with more depth or complexity, so if a concept doesn't "click" even after extra practice, skip it. You'll probably get it again later. The exception is the "formats" like the format for a book report. Those you probably want to return to later.

 

Hope this helps someone. I like Writing Strands very much, but it took a year for me to figure out how to use it. Maybe this will save someone else some time. Don't you wish we could practise all this homeschooling stuff on someone else's children?

[Nan in Mass]

Thank you! I'm so sorry I forgot. That is right about when my youngest was saying he was going to Europe, my husband was saying I had better go with him. Our spring got very complicated. And then my computer died and I lost everything and it took quite a while to get it back and ... and then it was summer and we disappeared... Anyway, thank you for finding it.