Writing question

[StaceyinLA]

Okay, please don't throw anything at me! I have really been TERRIBLE with getting my kids writing, and I mean TERRIBLE!! I tend to be a natural writer and, therefore, have had difficulty finding a writing program I like. Therefore, as of now, we just really don't have a program at all.

 

My oldest still left at home is doing 10th/11th grade work and really needs to be putting in some heavy writing. Should I just get her to write, and go from there? If so, what? How do I just come up with things for her to write about? I tend to write editorials and things of that nature. I am just at a loss.

 

9th grade dd - same situation.

 

7th grade ds - same situation. Of course, with this one, I feel like I can start now and really have him doing well by high school, but with what? Is there some beginning writing instruction found anywhere online? Can I find some basic instruction for things like short research reports/papers, book reports, etc.?

 

Please give me some ideas. I am just feeling so much like a failure with school this year. I have no motivation. My kids are very unenthusiastic. Oldest dd is already struggling with math and we are really trying to push that at this point.

 

I just need something to get me going here!

[StaceyL in Canada]

Could you be a little more specific re what you're looking for? Do you want a writing "program" which tells the student what topics to write about after giving instruction on a certain aspect of style or structure? Or do you just want the style or structure instruction? Do you need to start with paragraph writing or go right into essay writing? Are you looking for instruction in literary analysis papers as well, or research writing for, say, history?

 

Depending on what you want, there are (far, far!) too many options out there. LIke you, I have always been a "natural writer" yet was paralyzed at the thought of *teaching* writing to my children. Way back when, I opted for IEW because the student learned structure and style based on given source texts (our writing has always been tied to history, geography, science, or literature; never used a "stand-alone" composition program). Mind you, I never followed IEW exactly as it was laid out, and combined its approach with material from Wordsmith and some other sources. Extra practice in sentence styles and construction has come from the Sentence Composing series. That combination worked well for my older sons.

 

Now,however, I have an 8 yr old who is cannot remain indefinitely at the narration stage, and a 13 yr old who, although writing well-crafted sentences, doesn't quite seem to have a grasp on paragraphing. For him, I thought I would try PTIW but the sheer volume of the tome has oppressed me and we never got off the ground with it. Also, since we have been using Analytical Grammar, I really did not want to wade through the grammar review in PTIW. Lo and behold, I found on my shelves a slim IEW publication, A Writer's Guide to Powerful Paragraphs, along with a syllabus of suggested assignments (Also from IEW). WGTPP presents 30 different types of paragraphs with analysis of them in bite-sized chapters. We will zip through that before moving on to real essay writing for that son.

 

As for son #4-- as my Last Great Homeschooling Hope, he will (I can only pray) receive the benefit of my learning from all previous mistakes!

[StaceyinLA]

I feel like I can help them do the organizational part of writing, but I just don't know where to begin. My older two can certainly write paragraphs, but they need to work on developing strong paragraphs and organizing them into essays. I do have, "Teaching the Essay," here on hand. I guess I should actually pull it out and USE it...

[StaceyL in Canada]

...the one by Robin Finley (of AG)? I have that too, but found it too skimpy to be of real use. I also was not impressed by the sample essay produced.

 

Didn't someone just post a link to a website re essay writing? I did bookmark it, so can find it again for you. It sounds as though your children can already write paragraphs but you want them to be able to link those together into a coherent essay. Sounds as thought hey are already more than halfway there! That book I mentioned, A Writer's Guide to Powerful Paragraphs, may be helpful in terms of coming up with different paragraph formats (eg, chronological, comparative, contrast, narrative, etc.). It ends with sections on introductory, transitional, and concluding paragraphs, so that may be all you really need to help your students see how to combine paras. into an essay.

 

You also asked re finding topics for students to write on. If you want to link their writing to academic subject matter, then a text such as Human Odyssey will provide ample suggestions for history writing; and SparkNotes online, or Writing About Literature--or any lit text--will provide lit analysis topics.

 

I sympathise, though! Why is it that we writing types often are stymied when it comes to passing on what we know to our kids!?:) I do have the say that the IEW/ Wordsmith combo really jump-started me so that I ended up spending several years teaching writing to different classes of hs'ed kids. Not sure what I would have done otherwise!

[FloridaLisa]

Stacey,

 

The short version: another plug for IEW.

 

The long version: Until last year, our writing had also consisted mostly of narrations and hit-and-miss reports. I used the Lively Art of Writing last year with my oldest and while I found the explanations right on the mark, I found the assignments lacking.

 

This year, we joined a co-op which was to use IEW. In August, my oldest three dc and I worked through SWI-C DVD (the intensive course for highschoolers which covers all basic writing including paragraphs, topic sentences, essays and reports). While I had shunned IEW for years, I ended up really liking it. Not perfect, but highly useful. IEW's two strong points are, first, that Pudewa breaks the writing process down into meaningful parts and, second, that Pudewa does the teaching. :) While I think my kids were a bit specious of my writing advice/instruction, they bought it wholesale from Pudewa. Pudewa teaches the lesson step by step in the DVD, gives the assigment and reads some illustrative samples. He's very encouraging. It was easy for me to implement this year with a baby, as I didn't have to conjure up an assignment and pull together resources or books or samples. I do tweak IEW a bit and am not a stickler for every single dress-up/opener. My kids have been writing more this year than any single year yet.

 

Also, I *hope* that our year with IEW will be a springboard. Now that my dc know the basic structures of topic sentence, paragraphs, various essays and report-writing, I'm planning to roll much of what they've learned into writing assignments next year. I do not, at this point, plan to stick to a formulaic IEW method every year.

 

IEW is a bit expensive, but you can find it used on the swap board or IEW buy/sale Yahoo board and it has solid resale value.

 

HTH. And, FWIW, I don't think you're too late with your 10th/11th grader. I had little to no writing instruction in high school. Shift some things, make writing a priority, find a program that y'all can use consistently and I think you'll see great progress.

 

Lisa

[Michelle in GA]

I would try IEW if I were you. I am going to be using it myself this year. We are using Wordsmith, and although I like it, I feel my kids need more instruction. Andrew Pudewa is so enthusiastic about writing that I think my kids will really respond. I am going to order it any day now, and can't wait to get started.

[Storm Bay]

We're similar here. I'm having my dd use Jensen's Format Writing. It's not exciting, but it's inexpensive (IEW was way to costly and also my dd doesn't want me to teach her writing, or math, or a few other subjects, but to learn it on her own.) What I like about this program is that it breaks down the process in a way that natural writers might not think of, such as how to do sentence flow, how to write different types of paragraphs (such as definition paragraph, etc) then 5 paragraph essays and a variety of other non-fiction formats. I do believe there is some information on research papers. I find that the less interesting writing makes it much easier to see the structure behind it. She has to finish up to the end of the 5 paragraph essay to finish gr. 8, but it's really for older students and she may do that part again. Or simply move on.

[Linda in NM]

I'm a professional editor (among the many hats I wear), and I've co-written many textbooks and software manuals, etc...I was worried about teaching my son (13) writing; I love IEW. We started last year with the Student Workshop and moved to the assignments that accompany Trisms (HistoryMakers). I'd suggest either the workshops or a theme-based study...