Could we talk about writing, please?

[Jenny in Florida]

We've had a few threads lately about what constitutes an English class at the high school level. But one thing I noticed we haven't talked about much is how much and what kind of writing your high schoolers do at each grade level.

 

I'd be very curious to compare notes on this front. Writing is one of those things that gets done here kind of off the cuff, because it's an area in which I am most comfortable. I always feel like we don't do as much as other people, and yet my daughter had no trouble in college, writing better and more easily than many of her classmates.

 

To start the ball rolling, here's what's going on with my son:

 

9th Grade - He's working through Classical Writing: Greek Myths, which is technically too young for him. He really enjoyed the one we did a few years ago, though. So, when I saw this one used, I grabbed it. He reads, writes and revises one myth per week. In addition, in this second half of the year, he writes a five-paragraph report about each literature book he reads (about 10 in this semester). He also did a couple of longer papers for history earlier in the year.

 

10th Grade - Next year, I plan to continue having him write about each book he reads, still mostly in report format. In addition, I want him to start doing more analysis. So, the idea is to draw writing topics from the study guides we'll use for literature and have him do longer papers at least four times during the year. I currently have 20-ish books on the reading list, meaning he should write 16-ish short reviews and four longer essays.

 

11th Grade - I have no idea yet. We'll see how next year goes, and then I'll figure out what we need to do to make sure he's ready for college.

 

So, how about you? How much and what kind of writing do your high schoolers do each year?

[elegantlion]

My ds is a delayed writer, we're starting 9th in the fall. We'll be finishing up WWS I and moving into WWS 2. It's the right level for him. I really like the detail put into the books, and know he is learning more than the previous years of floundering we've done with other programs. He'll be writing in history and philosophy as well.

 

I'm hoping to add more literature analysis next year. I haven't decided how yet, although I'll probably use resources from MsEffie's Page. I don't want another full program, because I want to pick the books.

 

WWS 2 will take us into 10th, which I *hope* at that point he'll be able to handle more difficult assignments. If not we'll use WWS 3 when it's available.

 

Ds and I do better with a writing program to bridge our communication gap. I have several freshman level writing books that I picked up cheap. I have one on research papers, which we will probably go through at some point. I have grand plans, but they all hinge upon ds's development. So we're sticking with WWS for now because it's actually working.

[TippyCanoe]

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[mumto2]

I don't have a lot to contribute except the part of the plan is for dd13 to start doing the Greek myth book too. We have it already and we are planning on the mythology exam so it seems like a good combination. She will do the SL weekly writing assignments for core 200. I am also planning to print the essay portions of the AP exams for the classes she is taking and mix it up -- biology, art history, etc. She won't be taking the ap exams just doing essays on subjects she is studying. I need help thinking of topics and this seems like a good way to get them. One every week. 30 minutes or so.

[Jenny in Florida]

I don't have a lot to contribute except the part of the plan is for dd13 to start doing the Greek myth book too. We have it already and we are planning on the mythology exam so it seems like a good combination.

 

My son took the exam this year, too. I think it was a good experience for him. I hope it works out for your daughter, too!

[Jenny in Florida]

So, I've been doing my yearly booster shot of re-reading the WTM rhetoric sections. We don't follow the plan strictly anymore, but I do like to remind myself yearly of the goals and to pull ideas that I might have forgotten.

 

It looks to me like the instructions in the book suggest doing a grammar and composition curriculum and writing about the Great Books the student reads.

 

I'm not familiar with the grammar and comp programs recommended and so can't get a good feel for how much work (how many essays, etc.) each one requires. Can anyone help me with that?

 

Then, the student is supposed to write a context page before reading each book and an essay or report afterwards. Since the Great Books approach covers both history and literature, I'll assume that one paper per book "counts" towards the English credit. Since eight books is the WTM minimum and 18 "stellar," we'll assume an average of about 13 short essays per year?

 

And then one longer paper is suggested in ninth and tenth grades.

 

Is that more or less what you all are doing?

[EKS]

Here is what my son did writing-wise in 9th and the first semester of 10th grade. Now that he is in school (a selective private school even), I'm coming to understand just how much writing I was actually expecting of him. What's funny is that I thought I wasn't expecting enough.

 

9th:

 

English:

7 750 word literary essays where he analyzed something literary (ie. not a report)

8 300 word biographies of writers with an eye towards how their life affected their writing

 

History:

35 500 word chapter summaries where he extracted and linked important ideas and events

1 1000 word research paper

 

Astronomy:

1 1000 word research paper

 

Meteorology:

1 lengthy lab report (discussing a year's worth of data from his weather station)

1 1000 word research paper

 

Health:

1 500 word book report

 

10th grade 1st semester (that lasted only 15 weeks):

 

English:

4 750 word essays

 

History:

12 500 word chapter summaries

1 1000 word paper (report-ish)

 

Biology:

1 book report

2 detailed lab reports

 

By way of comparison, here is what has been assigned so far this semester at the private school:

 

English:

1 500 word literary essay

1 500 word essay (not literary)

 

History:

1 500 word essay

 

Biology:

1 250 word report

1 extremely short lab report

[Nscribe]

Dd will be taking a locally offered composition course. I wanted her to have the opportunity to write for another audience, with another view and another set of expectations. Until we are into it I am not sure what to expect. I wanted to try this at 9th grade to help me know where to go for the following three years.

[jamajo]

ElegantLion....thanks for posting that link to Ms. Effie's page. I got lost over there for a while. I wonder how much of that she assigns in a school year.

 

I was going to answer the OP question now I forgot what I as going to say once I got back from following the link.:lol:

[Jenny in Florida]

Here is what my son did writing-wise in 9th and the first semester of 10th grade.

 

Thank you so much for sharing all of that! It's exactly the kind of information I'm trying to gather and absorb.

 

I was telling my daughter about this question, and she reminded me that her college courses required five three- to five-page papers per semester in order to be tagged "writing intensive." If we assume that one semester of college is equivalent to one year of high school, that means I can feel comfortable with having my son write 25 or more pages.

 

I haven't actually added it up yet, but I'm fairly sure he's writting more than that this year (about 15 myth rewrites, 10 book reports, two two- or three-page essays).

 

Of couse, I plan to up the ante next year, but it's nice to know we haven't been too far off the mark.