Favorite Writing Program

[Mynyel]

What is your favorite writing program and why? What makes you like it?

[Kfamily]

Classical Writing

 

Because it will help me be the kind of teacher I want to be for dds with regard to writing.

Because this is one academic area I don't want to get wrong.

Because I don't instinctively know how and in what way to grow dd's writing as she matures and CW will hold my hand and help me produce an outcome I otherwise would not have been capable. I want my girls to not only have a mind that knows and understands but also one that can express itself well to others.

[dhudson]

I had to pick other because I like WWE with younger kids and Writing Strands with Logic stage students.

[Michelle My Bell]

I picked "other" because my kids LOVE Igniting Your Writing and so do I!

[Woodland_Mom]

IEW works well for us. It was hard to understand before I had watched the videos, but after seeing the videos, I feel I can use it across our curriculum easily. It works especially well with the VP history cards.

[HollyDay]

I also love Ignite Your Writing.

 

Meaningful Composition worked very well for my 5th grader this year but NOT for my 8th grader

 

Jump In! was wonderful last year for my 7th grader

 

I like Jensen's Format as a reference tool. Also Wordsmith Craftsmen as a reference.

[Wildiris]

I picked other.

 

For my DD~6 I switched from WWE to English for the Thoughtful Child (ETC). I used ETC with my older children, but I thought I'd try WWE with my youngest. After five months I switched from WWE to ETC because the idea of a child formulating a complete sentence from her own thinking as a means of expressing her own ideas had greater value to me as a parent/teacher than copying another person's words. It struck me that that the self-confidence of knowing one's mind, even as a child, was worth pursuing. I am all for copy work, but I found in my DD's case it lead to her working on auto-pilot without learning.

 

With my older DD~12 I've used Thinking in Threes this year. This book is not a writing program so much as a book of strategies to use for in-class timed essay writing. Over the years I've found it better to find resources specific to the type of writing I want to teach rather than using an all-in-one type of text.

[Capt_Uhura]

It's so hard to pick b/c I use several things as I feel there are several components to learning to write. I love WWE for ease of use. My boys have learned so much spelling and punctuation and sentence structure through copywork and dictation. I also LOVE Bravewriter. WE're taking our 3rd class and my son's writing has really blossomed. I have learned so much about teaching writing. I also have Igniting Your WRiting and like it for working on a specific area when I needed rather than starting from lesson 1 and working to the end.

[specialmama]

I picked other, because I love Writing Aids, but recently purchased Classical Writing and am trying to love it just as much. Would love to swap them up weekly and fly with either.

 

WHY: I love Writing Aids because of the forms, the planning maps, the AMAZING rubrics that really help mom grade and show the student exactly what needs improving. Yet... I love Classical Writing because I think that in the high school years it will offer more hand holding than Writing Aids.... but I still hope to use both. ;) Oh, and I like the Writer's Jungle, just some of the tidbits sprinkled throughout dictation. Wow. I feel like such a writing sl*t! :lol:

[Sunshine State Sue]

You may read my review of Write Shop here. We are using it for 6th-7th-8th grade.

 

I investigated IEW (knew I wouldn't watch DVDs) and Classical Writing (intimidating). I chose Write Shop because it offers the hand-holding this math-oriented mom needed.

Edited February 2, 2010 by Sue in St Pete

[74Heaven]

because I have used it the most and incorporate it into many other programs.

 

But, we are loving WWE for my 1st and 4th gr. boys. Both are being neater in their penmanship (usually) and it is very easy to use. My 1st loves it; my 4th tolerates it, but is more enthusiastic once we get going on a lesson.

 

I am impressed with how my 4th gr. is learning it listen and better "summarize" his former don't-skip-any-detail narrations and that my 1st gr boy is picking up capitlization and punctuation so well. We are using Level 1 and Level 3, fyi.

 

lj, hsing 5

[SilverMoon]

Classical Writing. :) My kids love it and do well with it, *I* enjoy teaching this curriculum, and it made my oldest's writing skills absolutely blossom. I haven't found it as teacher intensive as it was made out to be (from reading reviews). We quickly found a comfortable groove and weekly pattern that worked well for us.

 

For my littles I do a WTM-ish writing on my own.

[elfinbaby]

I want to vote but I can't! We've only done IEW and, while it's a good, solid program, it has served it's purpose and we're moving on. I'm glad you posted the poll. Maybe I'll get some ideas. I'm looking at CW for next year.

[Sweetbabe]

:bigear:

[Verity]

We use IEW and WWE with my oldest and used CW for the first half of the year and now WWE with my middle son. Maybe I missed something with CW but it just didn't seem to be a fit for my kids. There was an imbalance in the comprehension level, spelling level, etc being quite low and then large quantities of copywork. On the other hand, IEW and WWE have both been stars this year. My oldest son has always been a very reluctant writer, couldn't summarize anything to save his life but he's really started to blossom. His language skills are really growing and I attribute it to the use of both of these programs.

[Stacy in NJ]

I used several for my current 7th grader, starting in about 3rd grade. For the younger, I'm using dictation, narration, and summaries from history and literature through 6th grade. Beginning in 7th he'll use Wordsmith, then Jump In, followed by Put That In Writing. We'll focus primarily on grammar, sentence structure, word usage, and punctuation until 6th grade.

Edited February 3, 2010 by Stacy in NJ
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[mama25angels]

I had to vote other as well, because I use IEW with my older two, WWE with my first grader and these work wonderfully for them. My middleschooler is using Wordsmith, he's just starting it this week and i'm hoping it's a fit for him.