Acadie Posted February 26, 2013 Share Posted February 26, 2013 My dd10 is working on WWE4 and outlining to get ready to start WWS. I'd like to do more work on paragraphs with her, but all I'm seeing is workbooks for younger students. Could we jump into Paragraph Town without having done other MCT materials, and would it be a good fit for her age? Any other favorite paragraphing resources for a 10 year old who is a fairly natural writer, but needs more formal work? Thank you! Amy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrysalis Academy Posted February 26, 2013 Share Posted February 26, 2013 I was just coming to suggest paragraph town! You can definitely use it alone, and it's perfect for a 10 yo 5th grader, and it's a great thing to do before you start WWS. Good plan! It's how I would have done it, in retrospect - we ended up doing PT concurrently with the first 20 weeks of WWS, and it was ok, but with my next dd I will complete PT first. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TarynB Posted February 26, 2013 Share Posted February 26, 2013 Thanks for asking this question, and for the response. I've been wondering about doing this myself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crimson Wife Posted February 27, 2013 Share Posted February 27, 2013 I have WAAAAAAY too many writing programs on my shelf. Paragraph Town is very "open-ended", which depending on you and your child's preferences is either a pro or a con. I find it not structured enough for my tastes. If you want something that is very structured and will teach the basics of paragraph-writing, look into EPS' The Paragraph Book series. Don't let the remedial label scare you off, as IMHO the book deserves a wider audience. Paragraph Writing Made Easy is what my DD did the semester before starting WWS1 and I think it was a good lead-in. That said, WWS1 got too difficult for my DD about week 12 and I shelved it to do more work on the skills covered in the first part of the book using my own source material. I do plan on picking WWS1 back up once we finish some of the LA books we are doing now (I have a "loop" schedule for LA). The new Killgallon Paragraphs for Middle School book looks very interesting but I haven't gotten my hands on a copy yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbmamaz Posted February 27, 2013 Share Posted February 27, 2013 paragraph town was the first thing we used from MCT - for a new-to-homeschooling 2E 8th grader who coudlnt write a paragraph. it was great for us! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TarynB Posted February 27, 2013 Share Posted February 27, 2013 If you want something that is very structured and will teach the basics of paragraph-writing, look into EPS' The Paragraph Book series. Don't let the remedial label scare you off, as IMHO the book deserves a wider audience. Paragraph Writing Made Easy is what my DD did the semester before starting WWS1 and I think it was a good lead-in. That said, WWS1 got too difficult for my DD about week 12 and I shelved it to do more work on the skills covered in the first part of the book using my own source material. I do plan on picking WWS1 back up once we finish some of the LA books we are doing now (I have a "loop" schedule for LA). Thank you for mentioning The Paragraph Book series. I added the link for anyone else who might want to check it out. I had not heard of it before, and I do like the looks of it. I see Christianbook has both the student and teacher books listed for sale. If you don't mind me asking, can you explain what skills you've worked on with your DD using your own material after doing Paragraph Writing Made Easy? I ask because I'm thinking I may need to add some foundational paragraph skills to my DS's plate along with the style techniques he's learned in IEW. We're looking to start WWS this fall. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crimson Wife Posted February 27, 2013 Share Posted February 27, 2013 If you don't mind me asking, can you explain what skills you've worked on with your DD using your own material after doing Paragraph Writing Made Easy? I ask because I'm thinking I may need to add some foundational paragraph skills to my DS's plate along with the style techniques he's learned in IEW. We're looking to start WWS this fall. Sorry for being unclear above- I actually meant that we have been working on the skills covered in the first section of WWS1 using other source material (mostly selections from what DD has been reading for science and the world geography course we're doing this year). This section in WWS1 covers outlining, chronological narratives of historical events, chronological narratives of scientific discoveries, and description of places. Week 12 is where we will be picking up WWS1 again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TarynB Posted February 27, 2013 Share Posted February 27, 2013 Sorry for being unclear above- I actually meant that we have been working on the skills covered in the first section of WWS1 using other source material (mostly selections from what DD has been reading for science and the world geography course we're doing this year). This section in WWS1 covers outlining, chronological narratives of historical events, chronological narratives of scientific discoveries, and description of places. Week 12 is where we will be picking up WWS1 again. Ah, I see now. Thank you for explaining that. Based on your suggestion, I'm going to think about adding Paragraph Writing Made Easy. I personally would love to use MCT's Paragraph Town, but I don't think my DS would take to it. (As you said, some of us need less open-ended and more structure. DS is like that, LOL.) Thanks again! Great thread! ETA: Yikes! Paragraph Writing Made Easy is apparently out of print and quite pricey now! Hmmm. ETA2: I found the ebook version, currently $11.95. Much more reasonable! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Acadie Posted February 27, 2013 Author Share Posted February 27, 2013 Thank you for the suggestions! I think a friend has Paragraph Town so I'll be able to check it out. Now I'm trying to decide between The Paragraph Books 3 & 4 and Paragraph Writing Made Easy.... Amy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crimson Wife Posted February 27, 2013 Share Posted February 27, 2013 I have heard that PWME periodically gets included in the Scholastic $1 deals, so you may want to check the next time they run one of those. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.