sadiegirl Posted July 13, 2009 Share Posted July 13, 2009 I have a fear of teaching writing as I was "creatively constipated" as a student....the thought never flowed! As a result, I have not approached the task of creative writing with my boys(grades 7th and 8th). Hear lots on IEW...just saw Jump In on CBD's site and wondered if it is age appropriate. What helped you make the choice on your writing program? I don't want a huge investment this year and then fail so which would give us the greatest chance of success. They both dislike writing as much as I do. I do like the idea of themes like history, Aesop's fables etc but not sure which is for their grade levels. Thanks for any input. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sasharowan Posted July 13, 2009 Share Posted July 13, 2009 Well, I was in your shoes last year debating between Jump In, Classical Writing, and IEW. I ended up ordering classical writing first. Didn't work at all. Then we tried Jump In. It starts right in on writing a 5 paragraph paper on your opinion. My son hated it. He was 7th then. At the end of the year I caved and spent the money for IEW. We did the first 2 sections in the last 2 months of school and I have already seen an improvement in his writing. This is the boy that will spend 3 hours at the able trying to think of a way to shorten what he needs to write. So my advice is to spend the money for IEW and skip the rest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest CC in Ga Posted July 13, 2009 Share Posted July 13, 2009 I have 3 boys who do not like to write. We have done the first 3 or 4 lessons of IEW's Student Writing Intensive level A. My boys have not minded this. It is not creative writing, but teaches them how to write. I don't feel the need to teach my boys creative writing, but of course they need to learn how to write. This has been a good choice for us. There has been no complaining which is terrific! I talked with some people who said the Teaching Writing Structure and Style put them to sleep as they watched the DVD. I didn't buy that. Apparently, it teaches to the parent. HTH! Celia Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Free Indeed Posted July 13, 2009 Share Posted July 13, 2009 I also have tried both IEW and Jump in. Jump in seems it would be manageable if your child has no problem coming up with ideas and things to say. We did it, and it was OK, but I have seen more improvement with my sons writing by using IEW. We did not buy the expensive program, but use the Middle ages writing program, and it has given us just enough instruction that I do not feel we needed the dvd's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MerryAtHope Posted July 14, 2009 Share Posted July 14, 2009 If you go to Apologia's website, you can see the whole first chapter of Jump-In as a sample. That helped me to decide. Merry :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sadiegirl Posted July 14, 2009 Author Share Posted July 14, 2009 thanks for the input...I talked with my husband and he said order the one most recommended so I guess I'll bite the bullet and order IEW. Say a prayer I can do it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
living_2_learn Posted July 14, 2009 Share Posted July 14, 2009 I have a fear of teaching writing as I was "creatively constipated" as a student....the thought never flowed! As a result, I have not approached the task of creative writing with my boys(grades 7th and 8th). Hear lots on IEW...just saw Jump In on CBD's site and wondered if it is age appropriate. What helped you make the choice on your writing program? I don't want a huge investment this year and then fail so which would give us the greatest chance of success. They both dislike writing as much as I do. I do like the idea of themes like history, Aesop's fables etc but not sure which is for their grade levels. Thanks for any input. I'm glad you posted this. I was wondering about IEW and other writing programs as well. I have a 5th grade Aspie and a high school senior that I need to do a writing course with. The 5th grader hates to write (the physical part) and the senior hates to read, so I don't know if I'll get her to write either. I'm very interested in what others have to say about this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
living_2_learn Posted July 14, 2009 Share Posted July 14, 2009 thanks for the input...I talked with my husband and he said order the one most recommended so I guess I'll bite the bullet and order IEW. Say a prayer I can do it! Be sure to let us know what you think when you get it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sadiegirl Posted July 14, 2009 Author Share Posted July 14, 2009 one question about IEW...it appears to me on their website that they recommend B instead of A to start with for my boys' ages.(Grades 7th and 8th). What say you on this or how do those of you that have used it feel about the theme-based ones? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pbjmeyer Posted July 14, 2009 Share Posted July 14, 2009 The assignments they write from will be more age appropriate. I can't say enough about IEW - it is fun to watch the DVD's and the methods used help my very reluctant writer develop skills. We have been using it this summer, while we have no other classes to compete. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlockOfSillies Posted July 14, 2009 Share Posted July 14, 2009 We ping-ponged between SWI A and the Ancient History themed lessons. I liked the DVDs a little better, because sometimes we'd get to a lesson in the themed book that we hadn't covered on the DVD. They go in a different order. But my dd didn't seem to be bothered by it. I agree that you should start with B. It's designed for older kids who haven't been through the program at all, and it moves a little faster through the earliest units than level A does. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beth in IN Posted July 14, 2009 Share Posted July 14, 2009 You should definitely buy SWI-B, not A, for your children's ages. I had the same fears about teaching writing. I now own so much IEW stuff and year after year say it is the best homeschool money I spend. Also, have no fear about the money, they have 100% money back guaruntee if you decide you don't like it. And, if you do like it and use it (which I think you will), the resale on their stuff is great. So you can use it and still probably get at least 75% of your investment back if you want. Make sure you join the yahoo group IEWfamilies, it is so helpful if you have questions or problems. HTH! Beth Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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