Help me Choose our Writing program for middle school co-op.....

[vlshort]

I need to choose our writing program for next year, and I'm struggling. We will be doing this with our co-op. It's for middle school students, 7/8th grade.

 

We have just completed two years of IEW (Ancients and Medieval Times). Writers are average skills. We will also doing Tapestry of Grace together in co-op.

 

I'm considering:

 

Another year of IEW (not my preference because my ds tends to remember the original passage, and copy it from memory).

 

TOG writing (a little worried that it won't provide enough instruction for improving writing techniques)

 

Classical Writing for Older Beginners - Aesop, Homer and Poetry (seems rigorous, I like how it teaches, but worried it will be boring for students)

 

Are there other choices that I should consider? What are your thoughts on the ones I'm considering? Your comments welcome!

 

-vanessa

[Free Indeed]

I have not taught writing in a co-op setting. However, there is a program called Hands on Essays http://www.handsonessays.com that I know several people ahve used and loved in a co-op setting. Not sure if this is what you are looking for because it is not really a classical program.

[johnandtinagilbert]

WriteShop...they will have to submit drafts online so you can edit and they can return, but it is easy to teach from (learning curve), thorough and is producing a great improvement in our home.

 

I was actually thinking in a couple of years, I will offer to teach it in a co-op setting....once I get rid of a few students here at home :)

[Leanna Tomlinson]

The Lost Tools of Writing http://circeinstitute.org/demo_ltw.shtml

 

I am currently teaching my fourth year of writing classes in our TOG co-op. I've used IEW, Writer's Inc., Writing Aids, and The Lost Tools of Writing. Here's my experience with each.

 

IEW- gave a decent foundation, and I'm still using some aspects with the younger group (4th&5th grades). However, 4 years later I am STILL trying to weed out some of those awkward "dress-ups" from my 10th graders' essays.

 

Writer's Inc. - Had some decent instruction, but I had to plan all assignments. I think this whole series is decent as a resource. It uses more modern writing methods.

 

Writing Aids- Has decent assignments and instruction sheets. It focuses on how to use a particular structure, but does not do a great job in addressing the thinking process or style. I still use some assignments and graphic organizers from WA.

 

The Lost Tools of Writing- This program has finally taught me HOW to teach writing. There are three "canons" of focus: Invention (thinking), Arrangement (structure), and Elocution (style).

The Invention or thinking process is what, IMHO, has been weak in the other programs. The other programs touch on it, but don't teach that painful process of STRETCHING the brain. The other programs teach how to organize what is already in your thinking or available from your resources, but LTOW teaches how to ask questions and go beyond your first thoughts.

 

The Arrangement canon helps to guide the student through more complex forms of the persuasive essay. I thought IEW and WA did not help me teach beyond the basic 5 paragraph/3 point essay. WA has rubrics for other forms of essays, but the instruction sheets just focused on the Arrangement. When the thinking process is weak, the Arrangement can be sound, but the essay falls apart.

 

The Elocution canon focuses on style. Style is graded on WA rubrics, but not explicitly taught. Style was addressed in IEW, but in a more formulaic manner. I was often frustrated with "dress-ups" like "ly" words etc. that just got thrown into writing because they were required. LTOW addresses elocution by working with and discussing similes, metaphors, parallelism, etc. and looking for ways to use these in our writing where appropriate. The way LTOW presents elocution is more natural to me and does not result in awkward phrasings like I experienced with IEW.

 

Some negatives about LTOW - It is not "open and go". It will require some teacher time. They have also been promising level 2 for 2 years, but it's still not available.

 

That being said, CW for older beginners may be the way to go. I haven't used it. However, the "Three Canons" from LTOW have given me clarity in evaluating any writing program. I now have standard and I know what I'm looking for. Maybe CW is a good place for our co-op to look since we are finishing LTOW?

 

BTW- My Rhetoric students have completed LTOW and we will be going through Thomas Kane's book as recommended by SWB in WTM.

 

HTH,

Leanna

[JudoMom]

I recently had someone highly recommend The Lost Tools of Writing to me for middle school age. She's teaching it to four 6th/7th grade boys and loves it. She also runs a TOG co-op.

[AngieW in Texas]

I haven't tried it for myself yet, but Essay Apprentice look intriguing.

[vlshort]

Thank you so much for your input. Your comments are confirming some of what I already thought! I will check out the LTOW - it sounds very similar to CW, with my limited knowledge of course.

 

-vanessa