Jump In for 8th grade?

[athomemom]

We are currently using Writing Strands. My boys like WS well enough but saw Jump In at our local homeschool store and would like to try it next year. We will most likely return to WS when we finish Jump In.

 

Any thoughts on this program? Is it meaty enough for 8th grade?

[chirowife]

I think that depends on your writer. My 8th grader breezed right through it (she LOVES to write). We really like the book. It is fun and easy and breaks down the assignments into managable chunks. I will use it for my 7th grader next year. I also have a friend that used it for her boys this year (7th and 8th) and they have enjoyed writing for the first time. I would say it is fine for 8th grade. I have never used writing strands so I cannot compare them.

[Lori D.]

Agreeing with Chirowife -- it really depends on the student, and on what you want to get out of an 8th grade writing program as prep for high school. Some families have used Jump In as late as 9th grade with a struggling writer. I do think it's a great program for walking the student through the steps of *thinking* of what to write, coming up with *supporting details*, and how to *organize* their writing. I think it works best for a student who is fairly confident in writing sentences, and is ready, with a little hand-holding (which the written-to-the-student text does), to step into the next stage of writing (multi-paragraph essays).

 

I think Jump In would probably be "lite" and unnecessary if you have a natural writer, or student who loves writing.

 

In case it is of help, I'm linking a past thread with my longer review, but you might also want to look for my second post in that thread which was an answer to that original poster's question about what to cover in 8th grade writing to be prepared for writing in high school -- and since you will have an 8th grader, you may also find that helpful. BEST of luck, whatever you go with! Warmest regards, Lori D.

[athomemom]

Agreeing with Chirowife -- it really depends on the student, and on what you want to get out of an 8th grade writing program as prep for high school. Some families have used Jump In as late as 9th grade with a struggling writer. I do think it's a great program for walking the student through the steps of *thinking* of what to write, coming up with *supporting details*, and how to *organize* their writing. I think it works best for a student who is fairly confident in writing sentences, and is ready, with a little hand-holding (which the written-to-the-student text does), to step into the next stage of writing (multi-paragraph essays).

 

I think Jump In would probably be "lite" and unnecessary if you have a natural writer, or student who loves writing.

 

In case it is of help, I'm linking a past thread with my longer review, but you might also want to look for my second post in that thread which was an answer to that original poster's question about what to cover in 8th grade writing to be prepared for writing in high school -- and since you will have an 8th grader, you may also find that helpful. BEST of luck, whatever you go with! Warmest regards, Lori D.

 

Thanks for your input. I think both of my boys have come a long way in their writing. Writing Strands works wonderfully, but they want to give this a try. Jump In seems to have a good variety of things to write about which I like and I think they will too. Just from what I saw, I think it should prepare them well enough for high school writing with a variety of methods having been learned. I will go back to WS most likely when we finish.

[Trish]

I think you will really enjoy Jump In.