Firefly65 Posted June 24, 2008 Share Posted June 24, 2008 I was just wondering if anyone here has any experience with the WriteShop program. I have ordered it for my upcoming eleventh grader and think it looks like a good program for her to finish in one year (both books). However, I am also thinking of using it as a two year program for my upcoming eighth grader. Anyone have any suggestions, opinions, etc? :bigear: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunshine State Sue Posted June 25, 2008 Share Posted June 25, 2008 I was just wondering if anyone here has any experience with the WriteShop program. I have ordered it for my upcoming eleventh grader and think it looks like a good program for her to finish in one year (both books). However, I am also thinking of using it as a two year program for my upcoming eighth grader. Anyone have any suggestions, opinions, etc? :bigear: Write Shop is billed for 6th-10th grade. It might be a little "beneath" your 11th grader. But, I don't know your 11th grader's writing ability. I think it's a great idea for a 2yr program for your 8th grader. Here is my review of Write Shop: 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, repetitive 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 Writing is not my favorite task. Teaching writing is not my favorite task. I spend more time preparing for each writing lesson than I do preparing for any other subject. Writing is not my son’s favorite task, either. We spend more time together working on writing than any other subject. 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 results have been worth the time and effort. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HollyDay Posted June 25, 2008 Share Posted June 25, 2008 I attempted this program 2 years ago for my 5th grader who struggled with writing. I planned on doing it for 2 years. It was a mistake for us. She bored quickly with the repetitive lessons. She became very tired of "concrete writing" and thinking up adjectives for the same style over and over and over. CW has been the only program that has worked for dd. She commented about half way through CW Homer A that she finally "got it". She explained that none of the other programs we had tried gave her a model to follow and also told her what was expected of her in enough detail to accomplish the task. She relished digging in and learning writing in the style of CW. I only include this part to show what did work for us. If you have looked at CW and WriteShop, then you know how different the programs are. So by telling you what worked for us (CW), you have an idea of the style of WriteShop (which didnt). If you think CW would drive you and your dc nuts, then WriteShop would prbably be a good fit. Dont you love all the options out there! You can fit a program to your dc! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kortney in AL Posted June 25, 2008 Share Posted June 25, 2008 This will probably be a little easy for your 11th grader. We used it a few years ago when my two oldest were in the 7th and 8th. We did both books and had very good success. My daughter did complain because she said "it stifled her creativity!" (She's dramatic) I was pleased with the results. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melinda TX Posted June 25, 2008 Share Posted June 25, 2008 I taught WS two years at a co-op. While the lessons may seem a bit easy or elementary for high school, there are valuable lessons to be learned - especially in the editing/drafting process. All my students improved over the course, and I, as a teacher, greatly appreciated how clear the grading and editing instructions were. I will say, I think writing is a subject that all my students enjoyed doing in a group setting - maybe that is one reason it doesn't work as well for some. We always enjoyed the "give and take" of class discussions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Firefly65 Posted June 25, 2008 Author Share Posted June 25, 2008 I'm glad to hear this. My daughter has never really completed a writing program before, so I was looking for something that would teach her the basics and give her confidence. I know she *can* write, but she has never really gone through a program that teaches the different types of writing and how to edit and polish her writing. It may be surprising that I have never had her take a traditional writing course, but I felt like years of public school writing instruction quashed much of my creativity. I have always wanted my girls to read really well-written books and have a solid understanding of grammar. I just didn't want to teach them strict forms of writing for fear that it would teach them that their writing had to conform to a preformed skeleton. Now that my eldest has read so many good books and has a strong foundation in grammar, I want to give her the tools to write confidently in a college setting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christine Posted June 25, 2008 Share Posted June 25, 2008 Cons: • Learning curve for the teacher I don't have time to read all the responses; however, I do have to comment about this particular tidbit. The learning curve was HUGE for me. So HUGE, in fact, that I had to put the program aside. The reason for this, is because it's a "global" system (mentally), and I'm very much a "linear" person. I could not get past the flipping of pages, etc. AND that was after the author CALLED me, and tried to help talk me through it (at least twice). (This would be another "pro" -- author involvement with customers.) Just my two cents. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2cents Posted June 25, 2008 Share Posted June 25, 2008 I did Write-Shop with a middle schooler and while he is very good at writing I thought he got a lot out of the program. I don't remember it being all that teacher intensive but perhaps they have changed it since I used it several years ago. While I liked it back then, it probably wouldn't be my first choice now because I like some of the other writing options that have come out since. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swimnactmom Posted June 26, 2008 Share Posted June 26, 2008 2cents, I have Write Shop at/near the top of my list right now for the fall (6th grade.) What other options would you suggest? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Firefly65 Posted June 26, 2008 Author Share Posted June 26, 2008 Yes, I am interested in what other options you like better now, 2cents. I tried looking at the Classical Writing curriculum and it just seemed confusing to me and I couldn't look at any sample pages in the student books. What other programs do you think highly of and why? Thanks in advance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2cents Posted June 26, 2008 Share Posted June 26, 2008 2cents, I have Write Shop at/near the top of my list right now for the fall (6th grade.) What other options would you suggest? I am using Apologia Jump-In this year and we really like it. I haven't personally tried these but they were on my list of interesting possibilities before I settled on Jump-In: Wordsmith Writing Tales (this seems like a easier to use and less intense form of Classical Writing) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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