Does anyone LOVE Writing Strands?

[bizzymomof5]

I have books3,4,and 5 but have never really used them. It seems like most everyone strongly dislikes it.

 

Is there anyone out there who likes or even loves it?

 

I have 4 children in 7th -10th grades. I own IEW SWI-C as well as the TWSS. I am just one of those people that while I love what I've seen so far with IEW (units 1-3) I don't love having to pop in a dvd, make sure they have their materials, watch the TWSS for myself, etc. It seems like to many components and things feel like they are just swirling around in my head. Because of my personality or whatever, it ends up not getting done. I was thinking Writing Strands would be more open and go. Maybe not exciting but would it get the job done?

 

So....anyone LOVE it?

 

Thanks,

Tracy

[Love2Smile]

I answered on the other thread

[Nan in Mass]

I like it. I had to alter the way we used it (you can't just give it to MY children and have them get the point of the lesson or even follow the directions - sigh). Somewhere floating around on the hive is a post I wrote that explains how we made it work. In high school, we used other things as well. I think it made my children's transition to doing great books much easier because of the awareness that it brought them about the choices an author makes and how exactly an author achieves a certain effect. I also noticed that they used the information about bias in science and constructing an argument when they were trying to convince us to do something. It set my children up well for high school literature and writing, although I didn't really realize the effects of using it until I began doing great books with them and they began doing comp1 at community college.

-nan

[dhudson]

We really like it. For my younger kids, I need to sit with them and help them get the idea and then edit after but I have really noticed their writing getting so much better. My oldest is now in WS 6 and his writing both creatively and in essays and papers has become very good. WS breaks writing up into maneageable chunks and helps them to think through not only what they should write but how they should write.

 

IEW seemed a lot more formulaic to me so combined with the price, I thought WS was a much better option. I am glad I made that decision as I think my oldest is going to be well-prepared for all the writing in high school.

[Julie in MN]

I think it made my children's transition to doing great books much easier because of the awareness that it brought them about the choices an author makes and how exactly an author achieves a certain effect. I also noticed that they used the information about bias in science and constructing an argument when they were trying to convince us to do something. It set my children up well for high school literature and writing, although I didn't really realize the effects of using it until I began doing great books with them and they began doing comp1 at community college.

-nan

 

:iagree:

 

I was just mentioning this to someone on another board, who said their child couldn't accept that an author has a bias or a point to make. WS really gives this perspective.

 

I also like that the assignments are small and focused. I think folks who don't like it are (a) giving it to their child to do on their own (which WS kind of implies can be done) or (b) getting too caught up in following instructions rather than encouraging writing.

 

Also, after reading a lot of writing threads, I realize I am of the belief that you can't hand a child a big workbook or program and expect the workbook or program to create a good writer. So that's my bias.

 

Julie

[bizzymomof5]

What level would you suggest I start my kids in? My oldest is 16 and writes great chapter summaries on books she reads. She uses her words well and the writing is interesting. Loves to write in her journal. However, if you told her to construct a paragraph-topic sentence, supporting sentences, conclusion, or a 5 paragraph essay etc, she would definitely need some instruction. I'm not thinking she would need level 3 but I don't want her to miss out on some of the things taught in those levels. Is it something where you could pick and choose some units to do?

 

My next oldest is 15 and is the type that I could tell her to go and write a short story about _____________ and she would come back with a story in no time. She is great at creative writing and has a good vocab, but doesn't care to read. Strange isn't it?

 

The other two are 13 and will most certainly need level three as they are still needing practice in reading fluently and one needs some intensive spelling practice. We are starting Megawords 1 with them on monday.

 

I would like it if my oldest two daughters could finish all the levels by the time they graduate. That leaves only this year (10th) and the next two school years for my oldest

 

Any suggestions?

 

Thank you!

Tracy

[Nan in Mass]

I think the ones who don't like it might also be expecting to be able to do a lesson and then have their children know how to do that skill well. I found that the lesson demonstrated something, but that in order for my chidlren to be able to do it on their own and remember it, they had to practise it. That meant finding other opportunities to do whatever WS taught. For example, it teaches how to do a book report, but my children then had to keep doing book reports the rest of the year and I had to keep working with them to make sure they remembered how to do it and improved each time.

 

I like it because it didn't teach "style". My children carefully picked their words to achieve a certain effect. If they had done a writing program that forced them to use the active voice, for example, they would have hated it. They knew about using mostly the active voice, but there were times when they wanted to use the passive to emphasize something or to make it funny or whatever. Writing Strands taught them loose formulas for different sorts of writing (a book report or letter of complaint or scientific report must include the following information - you write a story by picking a character and setting, giving the character a problem, and then having the character solve the problem - etc.). It also taught them to keep their pov consistent, how to make their characters more real, how to write dialogue, and other author-ly things.

-Nan

[Nan in Mass]

Hmm...

Most of my books are packed away so I don't think I am going to be very helpful. I think your idea of going through and doing some of the lessons is good, but I would have to unpack the books and look through them to see which bits I thought were most helpful. I think you would definately want to do 6 or 7, but you might not have to do both since they repeat quite a bit. For one of mine, I went through and picked out which lesson, 6 or 7, I liked better on each subject. That bit of paper is probably what you want, along with my notes on what to review each year, but I have no idea where they are now. I'm sorry. Unfortunately, too, I remember thinking that the list of what is taught in each lesson at each level wasn't very helpful because it often didn't mention the part of the lesson that we found the most helpful, since many times, several things were taught at once. It might be worth your while to look at all the lessons and pick out which look helpful. I think it would teach your older ones to organize their non-fiction and improve their fiction writing, without making them hate writing forever. Just beware that the examples are awful (even my young children could tell there was something wrong with them) and don't be afraid to tweak the assignments.

Sorry to be so unhelpful.

Nan

[swimmermom3]

I like it. I had to alter the way we used it (you can't just give it to MY children and have them get the point of the lesson or even follow the directions - sigh). Somewhere floating around on the hive is a post I wrote that explains how we made it work. In high school, we used other things as well. I think it made my children's transition to doing great books much easier because of the awareness that it brought them about the choices an author makes and how exactly an author achieves a certain effect. I also noticed that they used the information about bias in science and constructing an argument when they were trying to convince us to do something. It set my children up well for high school literature and writing, although I didn't really realize the effects of using it until I began doing great books with them and they began doing comp1 at community college.

-nan

 

:lol:Nan, will you forgive me if your comment in bold makes me roll around on the floor laughing. We must meet someday and our children, well, our children MUST NEVER meet. The world is not ready for that.:D

[cbollin]

I like it. I had to alter the way we used it (you can't just give it to MY children and have them get the point of the lesson or even follow the directions - sigh).

 

agreeing !

 

I found WS worked well for us when I thought of "written to the student" to mean "use this as a guided script when talking to your child" instead of "hand it over to them". I didn't quite understand the difference until I read Evaluating Writing and saw that level of one on one coaching/tutoring expected.

 

I like the tutoring style in WS. I like the short assignments. I like all of the little things that are hidden in the instructions about point of view, character development, etc. It's almost as if WS has some literature analysis foundations built into it, but from the point of view of learning how to build the analysis (by writing) instead of just looking at another author's work and taking it apart. I don't know if that analogy makes or not... but it's one of the hidden gems in WS that we discovered.

 

I had to learn how to be a writing coach and then WS clicked for us. My oldest used WS 3, 4, 5, and parts of 6. In 9th grade, we didn't add WS to her base program in MFW as writing was already in there.

 

I like the hints boxes at the end of lessons to help me know various style and mechanics to evaluate for long term progress. I like the appendix pages for helps.

 

-crystal

[Nan in Mass]

No no! I say they MUST meet. The world as we know it (very less than perfect) would immediately unravel and a new world would show up in its place, almost but not quite entirely unlike the old world. I expect the oceans and the snowy mountains to snowboard and woods to play in would remain, as well as any sunny beaches with scantily clad women. Those bits I expect we would recognize. : )

-Nan

[Nan in Mass]

It makes lots of sense. My children learn better by trying to do something themselves than by trying to spot how someone else, an expert who is trying to do it invisibly, does it. Evaluating Writing was enlightening for me, too.

-Nan

[Kareni]

Somewhere floating around on the hive is a post I wrote that explains how we made it work.

 

In a previous thread, Free Indeed located what might have been the post Nan is referring to above. Recopying it here.

 

By Nan in Mass: "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?"

 

 

 

Regards,

Kareni

[bizzymomof5]

I can't find my evaluating writing book!!! I think I may have sold it when I tried to sell my WS stuff at a used curriculum fair last spring. I just realized it is missing. :crying: Should I repurchase this? Arghhh.....more money spent. kicking myself. i just hadn't really used WS at the time so thought I should just get rid of it. (I was one of the ones who just handed it to the kids and they got frustrated.)

 

Live and learn. (i hope :))

 

Thanks

Tracy

[bizzymomof5]

Thank you to everyone! I am printing off replies.

 

Kareni, thank you so much for finding that post and reposting it here for me. Printing that as well. :)

 

Thanks again!

Tracy

[Nan in Mass]

Wow. That is it. It is weird to read it now, when the older one is in college and the younger one is 16. I reread it and I still agree with it all. Writesmith wasn't all that helpful. We wound up using a whole lot of things. Mostly, I read the things and then try to reteach it to my sons. The older one has been getting As on his Humanities 2 papers.

[Nan in Mass]

Thinking about high school writing. What I should have done (I think) is have my children go through the Oxford book recommended in TWTM. That would have been helpful, I think. I got a copy recently. I really like A Rulebook for Argument, which I only recently got around to reading. My youngest will be reading that. I think the thing that helped the most in high school was just plain doing lots of writing, enough that my children finally started being able to write fast enough that they could write enough to improve. It is sort of a hump that you have to get over.

-Nan

[mcconnellboys]

I loved it for my natural writer. It has not worked well for my langauge arts challenged younger son.

[Nan in Mass]

That is interesting. Writing has been a struggle for mine and WS worked well for us. Perhaps it depends on which bit of writing was the problem.

[bizzymomof5]

Thank you everyone! We went ahead and started this week and so far so good. My two oldest are actually doing really well with no complaints. :)

The WS people advised me to start my two oldest in WS 3 so as not to miss important parts of the program. She said to have them go through it quickly and move on to book 4, slowing down when they get to book 5. I have them doing one full lesson/unit per day. (They are 15 and 16 and enjoy writing creatively but haven't had to do much with structured writing.) They are doing great! :D

 

I purchased Evaluating Writing and anxiously awaiting its arrival.

 

Thank you again for all your encouragement.

Tracy

[Nan in Mass]

That sounds like it will work well. Keep your eye out for the organizing techniques (like making a list and numbering it) and for the formats for things like the different types of book reports, and encourage your children to write those things down so they can refer to them later. There are usually a few points to every lesson and I think if you kept a list of what you've learned, WS might work better because then you can remember what you are supposed to be able to do now. WS is cyclical in that many of the skills are practised at a higher level in later years, but it doesn't have any review within each year. To make it work, you need to keep track of what the student has supposedly learned and remind them to keep working on those things when you sit down with them to talk about their paper. They will be things like keeping the point of view consistent, getting the quotations right, writing longer descriptions, using the present tense when talking about a book, ..., things like that. I'm glad it is working for you so far. : )

-Nan

[Lainey]

We're using it this year for the first time and it's okay, but I don't love it. Of course, I don't love teaching any writing curriculum. It's something I can do, but have a difficult time teaching. I haven't found a writing curriculum yet that I love.

[bizzymomof5]

Nan,

Thanks for the heads up about making sure we are review things previously taught and having them note what they are learning.

Tracy