runningirl71 Posted May 14, 2008 Share Posted May 14, 2008 Hi! I am making a decision about writing programs for next year. I have bought CW to use with my kids, but have the opportunity to be a part of a co-op. The co-op uses Writeshop for writing. What are the benefits/strengths of this program? The cons? I have looked at samples and been to the website, but would appreciate opinions! TIA! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunshine State Sue Posted May 14, 2008 Share Posted May 14, 2008 I have used Write Shop this year with my 6th grade ds. We are on the 3 year plan and are on 11/11 assignments for this year. I like Write Shop. My ds's writing has really improved using it. Here is a thread with my impressions so far: http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=18614 I would LOVE to have my son use Write Shop in a co-op because then I wouldn't have to teach it. Writing is not my favorite subject. WS is good for me because it is extremely detailed, and I need that. That might be considered a con if it was easy for the teacher to teach writing. The only con that I can think of is that there is a learning curve for the teacher. That's why a co-op would be great. HTH! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Storm Bay Posted May 14, 2008 Share Posted May 14, 2008 We've just started it, but it is the very first writing program my dd has not balked at. I like the teacher's manual as it breaks down editing and marking (I tend to be too hard on my dd's). It includes writing samples from kids and other great resources. It's expensive, but you are allowed to copy the worksheets only for your family only (not for a coop, which I think is fair as the authors need to make a living, too.) I like the way it teaches different ways to brainstorm, so that your dc can gradually learn what works best for them. There are other things but we really haven't done this long. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kathleen in VA Posted May 14, 2008 Share Posted May 14, 2008 I taught 7th and 8th grade English at a University Model school using Writeshop. It was very easy to use and I liked the way it introduced stylistic tools one at a time. The evaluation forms helped the students prepare their papers making sure they had covered all the requirements before the papers were turned it. They also allowed me to be more objective in my evaluations. I have used IEW with with my own children and noticed that Writeshop seems to be very similar to IEW in content, but broken down into manageable and organized lessons. My only criticism is that it does encourage a kind of "canned" writing style. I suppose the goal is to supply the student with lots of writing tools that they can modify and embellish as they mature and write more. I liken the idea to that of sewing with a pattern. You get used to the limitations set by the pattern and as you develop your skill you can break away from the pattern and add a bow, lengthen the hem, add a different kind of sleeve, etc. You have to learn the basics and then you can create your own style. HTH, Kathleen in VA www.homeschoolblogger.com/lavendersblue.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunshine State Sue Posted May 14, 2008 Share Posted May 14, 2008 Write Shop website is https://www.writeshop.com/index.htm. We are using Write Shop 1 & 2 for 6th-7th-8th grade. We have completed the 6th grade portion of it. This consists of 11/30 lessons covering descriptive and informative writing. Pros: • Extremely detailed instructions for the teacher (this might be considered a con if the teacher didn’t need extremely detailed instructions) • Extremely detailed instructions for the student • Teaches a variety of methods for brainstorming • Teaches many ways to make writing more interesting and requires the student to use them over and over (ex. paired adjectives, participle sentence starters, similes, etc.) • Helps the student use vivid words by providing them with thorough lists of words to choose from • Strictly limits dull writing (to be verbs, weak words) • Guides the student to edit their own work by giving them a checklist • Guides the teacher to edit the student’s work by giving them a checklist • Nearly secular Cons: • Learning curve for the teacher Teaching writing is not my favorite task. Writing is not my son’s favorite task. I have seen his writing improve tremendously with Write Shop. I have been able to teach writing and help my son improve his writing through Write Shop. The thoroughness of the program has benn very beneficial for us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
runningirl71 Posted May 14, 2008 Author Share Posted May 14, 2008 Pros: • Extremely detailed instructions for the teacher (this might be considered a con if the teacher didn’t need extremely detailed instructions) • Extremely detailed instructions for the student • Teaches a variety of methods for brainstorming • Teaches many ways to make writing more interesting and requires the student to use them over and over (ex. paired adjectives, participle sentence starters, similes, etc.) • Helps the student use vivid words by providing them with thorough lists of words to choose from • Strictly limits dull writing (to be verbs, weak words) • Guides the student to edit their own work by giving them a checklist • Guides the teacher to edit the student’s work by giving them a checklist • Nearly secular Would you say a child who enjoys writing would like this program? My kids don't have a problem with writing per se, they write "books" all the time. In fact, my son is working on a "book" involving him and his neighbor friends traveling back to medieval times, but I would like their writing skills honed more. I think my kids are good writers, but I think they could have the potential to be great writers, if guided properly. Also, they have not been exposed to that many different forms of writing (opinion, persuasive, editorial, etc). Another question, it seems to me that the co-op my kids could attend uses Writeshop for grades 4-8. DD will be in 5th. Is Writeshop appropriate for her? I see that it is recommended for jr. high/highschool. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TraceyS/FL Posted May 14, 2008 Share Posted May 14, 2008 I have used IEW with with my own children and noticed that Writeshop seems to be very similar to IEW in content, but broken down into manageable and organized lessons. Would you buy IEW for your kids again OVER Writeshop? I love the video aspect of IEW, but the price of Writeshop. I'm not good at writing, and i keep hearing that Writeshop is more broken down, and sounds like it might be easier to teach?!?! ACK..... Thanks!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunshine State Sue Posted May 14, 2008 Share Posted May 14, 2008 Would you say a child who enjoys writing would like this program? My kids don't have a problem with writing per se, they write "books" all the time. In fact, my son is working on a "book" involving him and his neighbor friends traveling back to medieval times, but I would like their writing skills honed more. I think my kids are good writers, but I think they could have the potential to be great writers, if guided properly. Also, they have not been exposed to that many different forms of writing (opinion, persuasive, editorial, etc). I am not sure if a child who likes writing would like Write Shop. They may look at it as too much specific direction or they might like the fact that they are learning new ways to make their writing more interesting. I don't think that my son will ever be a great writer. My goal is that he be a competent writer. If I thought he could be a great writer, I would have used Classical Writing. I investigated and seriously considered CW and saw it's potential to build great writers. Another question, it seems to me that the co-op my kids could attend uses Writeshop for grades 4-8. DD will be in 5th. Is Writeshop appropriate for her? I see that it is recommended for jr. high/highschool. Almost every Write Shop assignment is 1 paragraph, generally 5-7 sentences long. If you think your 5th grader can handle that, she will be fine. Sometimes, I panic because when my son was doing Shurley 5, he was writing 5 paragraph essays. They were awful, but he was writing them. I guess Write Shop's goal is to teach the children to write 1 excellent paragraph. It has definitely succeeded with my son. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunshine State Sue Posted May 14, 2008 Share Posted May 14, 2008 Would you buy IEW for your kids again OVER Writeshop? I love the video aspect of IEW, but the price of Writeshop. I'm not good at writing, and i keep hearing that Writeshop is more broken down, and sounds like it might be easier to teach?!?! ACK..... Thanks!! ACK...I have a review written by a mom who used both IEW and Write Shop. Email me if you would like a copy to help you wrestle with your decision more. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christine Posted May 14, 2008 Share Posted May 14, 2008 I think I still have Write Shop on the shelves upstairs. . . I truly tried to give it a go, as I thought it would be a good program. As someone mentioned the "learning curve" for the teacher is great. . .and I couldn't get over that hump. The biggest issue I had is that it is written from a "global perspective"; whereas I'm very linear in nature. (I like my "roadmaps" and I felt I had just been dumped in a dense jungle.) I tried for 2 months, then gave it up. I will say this however. The author (one of them, and I can't recall her name right off, though I did write it down. . .somewhere) talked to me on the phone a number of HOURS (not all at once) trying to help me out. She was incredibly intelligent and I learned a lot from her. . .sadly, I did not learn how to go from my linear to her global thinking. You, are looking at a co-op class though, where you would not be doing the teaching. (Oh, and during one of our conversations, she told me that there where a great number of people that had issues such as I, and for that reason they were going to hire a person to "linear-ize" their program, as an option. I don't know if that has happened though.) I believe, the program is quite good overall (course, given my above problem you have to take that with a grain of salt). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kathleen in VA Posted May 14, 2008 Share Posted May 14, 2008 Would you buy IEW for your kids again OVER Writeshop? I love the video aspect of IEW, but the price of Writeshop. I'm not good at writing, and i keep hearing that Writeshop is more broken down, and sounds like it might be easier to teach?!?! ACK..... Thanks!! I am a scatterbrained sort of gal and need lots of structure. If I have to do too much thinking to use a curriculum, I just stop using it which was the case with IEW. I bought Level A for my 10yo son and because he needed a lot of direction from me, it just didn't get done. I would definitely use Writeshop. It is all laid out nicely and in order. I think they allow you to photocopy for your own personal use, but I would buy a separate student notebook for each child just to avoid the hassle. Again, if I have to put too much effort into something it just falls by the wayside. My son loves to write stories. He writes them and I help him improve them (spelling, subject/verb agreement, tense and point-of-view consistency, etc.). Because he takes the initiative to sit at the computer and type these stories up fairly regularly I am not using any extra writing program with him at present. When he is in 7th or 8th grade, I will probably buy Writeshop and use it with him, just so he can learn the stylistic techniques and to give him more structure as he approaches high school work. Oh, and since he likes to write adventure stories and his plots usually go around in circles, LOL, I plan to buy The One Year Adventure Curriculum, too. It is geared for high schoolers, but he saw the demo DVD and begged me to buy it for him. The background music sounds like the soundtrack to Pirates of the Caribbean - they really know how to grab a kid's interest:). HTH, Kathleen in VA www.homeschoolblogger.com/lavendersblue Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
runningirl71 Posted May 14, 2008 Author Share Posted May 14, 2008 Oh, and since he likes to write adventure stories and his plots usually go around in circles, LOL, I plan to buy The One Year Adventure Curriculum, too. Kathleen, Could you tell me what this is? Is it a writing program or a unit study that includes writing? I tried googling it, but didn't really find what I thought it was. Could you give me a link? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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