littlebug42 Posted June 26, 2011 Share Posted June 26, 2011 For those that have used Jump In writing, what do you go to after that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pegasus Posted June 27, 2011 Share Posted June 27, 2011 We tried Wordsmith next, which was a mistake. It was like going backwards after Jump In. We then moved to EPS Writing Skills Book 3 and are about to start Jensen's Format Writing. Wordsmith Craftsman is in the queue after Jensen's. Pegasus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
littlebug42 Posted June 28, 2011 Author Share Posted June 28, 2011 Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HollyDay Posted June 28, 2011 Share Posted June 28, 2011 We used AG's Writing the Essay (I think that is the title). They have 2 programs, one for essay and one for research papers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori D. Posted June 28, 2011 Share Posted June 28, 2011 (edited) We haven't found any *one* thing that has been a good fit after Jump In, so we've cobbled together bits and pieces of different things each year. sigh... Scholastic Writing series (4 book series: Descriptive, Narrative, Persuasive, Expository) had some good tips and writing assignment ideas, but it is geared for middle school, is written for classroom use, and worked better for us as a supplement and extra practice. Jensen's Format Writing is very dry, but would work for a very logical/factual student -- it breaks writing into a format, a series of steps. It also has some helpful "real world" types of writing (business letters, for example). But it is dull. Wordsmith is at the same level as Jump In, but far less detailed, so it is not the program to go to after Jump In. Wordsmith Craftsman really requires a self-motivated student who is not a struggling writer. It is written to the student, is geared for a more creative student or one who doesn't mind writing, and covers several different types of writing. Stack the Deck has 4 programs for high school (Cut the Deck, Stack the Deck, Master the Deck, Fan the Deck); we have managed to put some of the last level (Fan the Deck) into our schooling. However, it is written for a classroom and takes effort to adjust it to the home school environment. And while it covers good material, it feels a bit "scattered", rather than having a logical progression of topics. Their cheap little pamphlet on How to Write an Essay Exam is worthwhile. Put That in Writing level 1 focuses on sentences and paragraphs, while level 2 focuses on essays. Our experience is only with level 1, and is mixed. PTIW1 (36-week program) is another program that probably works best for a "just the steps of the structure, ma'am" type of student. The first 12 weeks focus on writing sentences. While there are about 8-10 weeks with good explanation of specific types of writing, the program also incorporates repetitive grammar exercises, has dull examples of "good writing", and only has one uninteresting writing assignment idea per chapter. For us, the program was overpriced for the large amount of adaptation we had to do to make it work... Windows to the World is a literature program, but has a super chapter specifically on how to write a literary analysis. We found that helpful. The rest of the program teaches annotation, using your annotations as examples for the literary analysis, and then goes over about 8-10 specific literary elements. The program has exercises and some writing assignments based on the 6 short stories covered in depth in the program. What about just working your way through one of the WriteSource books -- for example, Write Source 2000; Writer's Inc; School to Work; or Write to College. In some ways, just practicing writing (timed essays from past SAT prompts; research papers for history; literary analysis essays or shorter literature responses; real-life types of writing; etc.) might be the way to go at this point. Check out the OWL (Online Writing Lab) at Purdue, with GREAT free writing tips, instruction, assignments, etc. BEST of luck! Warmly, Lori D. Edited June 28, 2011 by Lori D. added links Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HollyDay Posted June 29, 2011 Share Posted June 29, 2011 :iagree: with Lori about just practicing writing. Dd used Jump In for 7th and AG's program for 8th. But, last year in 9th, she just wrote and wrote and wrote and wrote. Writing does not come easily or naturally for her, it is a major chore. But, the more she wrote, the less challenging and faster the process became. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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