larkette Posted January 20, 2012 Share Posted January 20, 2012 My dd, age 11, loves to write and has since she could pick up a pen and make words. She loves to tell stories and her siblings are always begging her to tell them another story. She has a vivid imagination and I leave her writing alone. Without any formal spelling or grammar schooling she does very, very well. So I am looking for a writing program that teaches specifically, editing, proofing, any program that will help her perfect her writing, I am not looking for creative writing so much because she is already pretty darn creative on her own, but if it is part of the program that is okay too. I do not know enough about writing to help her with this or come up with something on my own. Thanks for your help:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lionfamily1999 Posted January 20, 2012 Share Posted January 20, 2012 A good grammar course and either vocabulary or spelling would help. Some grammar courses teach proofing, some spelling courses do as well. A natural writer can coast, but knowing the rules is a real relief (that's why that sounds/felt wrong). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
larkette Posted January 20, 2012 Author Share Posted January 20, 2012 A good grammar course and either vocabulary or spelling would help. Some grammar courses teach proofing, some spelling courses do as well. A natural writer can coast, but knowing the rules is a real relief (that's why that sounds/felt wrong). She just started Easy Grammar 3, she also does Daily Grams, Megawords and Sequential Spelling, she has been working in those programs for a little over a year. I should have mentioned that, she had previously had no formal LA curriculum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lionfamily1999 Posted January 20, 2012 Share Posted January 20, 2012 Then narration, copywork and dictation should work for writing. :D The grammar lessons and spelling should clean up the majority of any issues. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
larkette Posted January 20, 2012 Author Share Posted January 20, 2012 Then narration, copywork and dictation should work for writing. :D The grammar lessons and spelling should clean up the majority of any issues. Thank you. Do you have any recommendations? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Twain Posted January 20, 2012 Share Posted January 20, 2012 I really like IEW for the way it teaches style techniques. In the Teaching Writing Structure and Style (TWSS) DVD's, Mr. Pudewa talks about how the program helps kids who are natural writers and who love to write pages and pages. IEW can help them to organize their thoughts and improve their writing techniques in ways that they probably would not have recognized on their own. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TKDmom Posted January 20, 2012 Share Posted January 20, 2012 Have you ever looked at Bravewriter? You might want to poke around her site a little to get a feel for her philosophy. The introductory text for Bravewriter is called The Writer's Jungle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momto2blessings Posted January 20, 2012 Share Posted January 20, 2012 I'm pretty sure I'll be using Apologia's Jump In for 7th grade for dd: http://apologia.securesites.net/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=34&products_id=87. I wouldn't say she's a reluctant writer, but I like all it teaches (different types of essays, bibliographies, compare and contrast, etc.). And in a fun way. For 6th, we're focusing on written narrations of books read, copywork, and dictation. She also does a grammar and spelling program. And she'd probably enjoy Bravewriter, too. I just had trouble myself not having a scripted lesson plan to follow...and didn't do enough!! But if you're organized and make a plan, it's a neat program. And they may have made changes...it's been a while for me. Blessings, Gina Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pen Posted January 20, 2012 Share Posted January 20, 2012 I'm going to 2nd IEW!!! Also Zaner-Bloser Strategies for Writers. I also liked the Brave Writer material and have incorporated some of it, but from what you are asking, IEW especially, and ZB perhaps, seem more to the point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
larkette Posted January 20, 2012 Author Share Posted January 20, 2012 Wow, there is a lot to read on the Brave Writer website, that is going to take more then one night:tongue_smilie: IEW is expensive! But I am off to read more about it, thank you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuperDad Posted January 20, 2012 Share Posted January 20, 2012 (edited) I would recommend looking into Bravewriter and CW. I definitely agree that IEW is a strong program, but I'd recommend it more for a reluctant and/or struggling writers. Edited January 20, 2012 by SuperDad Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lionfamily1999 Posted January 20, 2012 Share Posted January 20, 2012 If you look up Susan Wise Bauer's writing videos on youtube you'll get a good idea how copywork/narration/dictation work. Then you don't have to use anything, or at least buy anything, because you can use any books you want. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pen Posted January 20, 2012 Share Posted January 20, 2012 (edited) Wow, there is a lot to read on the Brave Writer website, that is going to take more then one night:tongue_smilie:IEW is expensive! But I am off to read more about it, thank you. I have found that in my homeschooling often more than one thing is needed because they have different things to offer. Perhaps especially so if writing is perhaps an area of either particular strength or particular weakness more than one thing makes sense, though for different reasons. We now have, uh, wow, WWE/WWS, IEW, ZB, and I plan to be adding Brave Writer soon...! Sometimes it is for my son directly, and sometimes more functions as tools for me to work with him. I was a "natural writer" type, and every one of these would still have probably helped me if they'd been available (or anyway known about--maybe they were available) when I was still in school. Possibly I favor the IEW right now b/c it seems like what would have helped me the most in those times (many) when something had to be written that was not necessarily from the heart or passionately felt, and where there was not a lot of time for it. This included much of school writing, such as college papers, but also much of "life" writing, be that journalism, law, science related writing or the like. The majority of us who need to do much writing in our lives need to be able to do it and not always with a great deal of self expression: and often on tight deadlines. What I see with any of these programs is a need for the parent to be very careful in approach so that writing can remain, or become, as the case may be, a task that seems manageable, and maybe even fun, not stressful. Perhaps for that, Brave Writer with its poetry teatimes, free-writing, and so on helps particularly well. The Brave Writer system in some ways reminds me of what my favorite English teacher used to do. So, perhaps it was that in my life what I was most lacking was anything along the IEW lines--a way to approach something when it needed to be approached, regardless of personal feelings about the matter. I think my child needs to have many tools in his toolkit. So...I think each has its own contribution to make. They are definitely expensive though. I looked also at return policies and so on as part of my decision of what to try in what order. Edited January 20, 2012 by Pen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8filltheheart Posted January 20, 2012 Share Posted January 20, 2012 I am going to disagree about IEW. I would not use IEW w/a natural writer. I do not know of a program that focuses strictly on editing/revising. Most writing programs integrate the revision process. FWIW, I would not leave an 11 yo to edit/revise their own paper and that be the end of it. There is far too much that they will miss, regardless of how well they write. (everything from parallel construction to proper mechanics_ If you don't feel qualified to help her, perhaps you could enroll her in a course or find online sources that provide feedback? (I have never used one, so I don't have any recommendations, but surely someone will. If not, ask on the high school board, b/c I know they will.) FWIW, she is probably well equipped to write essays. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Twain Posted January 20, 2012 Share Posted January 20, 2012 Just a reason why I recommended IEW-- I have not seen all of the programs out there, but what IEW offers is a systematic program for teaching stylistic techniques. These include "dress-ups" (who-which clauses, because clauses, strong verbs, quality adjectives, etc.) and "sentence openers" (variation in sentence structure (i.e. not every sentence being subject-predicate), very short sentences, etc.), as well as more advanced techniques. I did not learn these types of writing techniques until I was in twelfth grade. I wish I had learned them much sooner. I think natural writers could benefit greatly by learning these techniques and incorporating them into their personal writing. I don't think many people would pick up on these writing strategies without explicit instruction. Perhaps there are other writing programs that teach the same techniques at a cheaper price, but I have not come across them yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8filltheheart Posted January 20, 2012 Share Posted January 20, 2012 Many people love IEW, don't get me wrong. I just don't happen to be one of them. Most writing programs teach those concepts. My personal POV is that the way he teaches them in IEW is formulaic and for natural writers, the approach will seem contrived. Put That in Writing is a program that does offer heavy editing instruction and covers the ideas of simple, compound, complex, and compound-complex in a way that is easily accessible to a fifth grader. She also does a good job of teaching active vs. passive voice. The writing assignments are lame and I only pick and choose portions of the book to use at various times. It might be an option for the OP, though it sounds like direct feedback might be a better route. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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