High School Writing...I'm failing my son miserably on this one...help...

[Colleen in NS]

Awesome. I love reading how creative and resourceful Moms MAKE it work somehow. Rock on, Robin!

[Abbeygurl4]

 

 

~Have any of you used Brave Writer's Help for High School? I only ask because I bought this ages ago and it's been sitting on the shelf. If you used it, was it helpful?

 

 

 

 

Robin

 

I've used everything you mentioned and was paralyzed just like you. I actually didn't make him do any real writing assignments for the past few years because I just couldn't figure out what to make him write.

 

Anyways, I finally bought Brave Writer and BW Help For High School. I sat down, read it, emailed Julie at BW for help and my ds is writing! I was able to put him in a BW online class called Kids Write Intermediate, but it just covers what's in the last couple chapters of BW and the first few in Help For High School. I just needed extra handholding and I wanted feedback from a neutral party. BW really makes a lot of sense if you read it and use it. She also has a section in the back to help schedule writing assignments. You can get back issues of BW's Boomerang which is a months worth of LA and literary analysis from homeschoolbuyerscoop.com, 5 for 24.95. You can download a free issue from the BW website, just make sure you read how to use it because it looks deceptively lacking but it's a great resource.

 

I could never get my head around WWS, Classical Comp, IEW, Writing Strands and so forth. Brave Writer just makes sense to me and has help simplify school and has kept ds from hating writing.

 

 

What is the Boomerang?

The Boomerang is a monthly digital downloadable product that features copywork and dictation passages from a specific read aloud novel. You may download a sample issue to view (and use!) by clicking on the “Download a Sample†button on the right.

It is the indispensable tool for Brave Writer parents who want to teach language arts in a natural, literature-bathed context, using copywork and dictation. It is a language arts resource that equips you, the homeschooling parent, to fulfill your best intentions related to:

• Spelling
  
• Punctuation
  
• Grammar
  
• Literary elements
  
• Quality living literature
  
• Literary analysis
  

The practices of copywork and dictation teach your children the fundamentals of written communication. These practices naturally facilitate the development of accurate mechanics in the context of quality literature (the best words, in the best style, accurately edited).

[sandalwood]

I know this is an old thread, but found it today while looking up some posts on Apologia (how did that happen, lol ;-)

 

Anyhow, Understanding Writing by Susan Bradrick http://www.amazon.co...64985771&sr=1-1 and

 

http://www.amazon.com/Understanding-Writing/dp/B000GUNOL6/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1364986283&sr=1-2&keywords=understanding+writing+by+susan+bradrick

 

has helped fill in some gaps with us. My son has simply despised writing from day one. He can write but doesn' t like it and it is painful for us to do that subject. Anyhow, this was in the "free" box at a homeschool book sale last year and it has really helped. Not only was it in the "free" box, when inside the curr. sale I saw several of these for under $10. So, if you see a used book homeschool sale they are still floating around. I know she sells it on her website still. We still are not where we need to be with writing but this book has helped tremendously this year.

 

Just in case you haven't seen this one........

[Live2Ride]

Good morning.

 

Well, yesterday I decided to just have him do it. I gave him an assignment on a History topic---explain the importance of the Magna Carta---an essay prompt from a History syllabus my dd20 used some years ago. He made an outline of sorts...not traditional, but more as an organizing help. Anyway, I looked over his points last night and he did a great job.

 

We did have a "meeting" yesterday. He told me how he wants to approach writing and I offered him some ways of doing that. He seemed pleased with the dicussion and the reference materials I provided for him...Writer's Inc. Handbook, some handouts from OWL and a brief guide to writing from Keystone National High School that my dd used. It is exactly what he likes...short, to the point, no fluff...just git 'er done...I told him if he needs to refresh his memory, he is responsible for doing so. If he needs help afterwards, I will be available to help...but he needs to read the material first so he knows what he needs to address.

 

I told him I felt we've covered writing organization and types of writing used for various purposes many times over the years. He agreed and said he would just like to get an assignment as it pertains to his studies and work on it. I made him daily task cards...prewriting, drafting, revising, editing, publishing (each one has the specifics for the task on it)...one for Monday through Friday...one task each day...no more, no less. He has a personalized writing folder (multiple folders bound together with a pocket for each phase...it's called a spolder...found it on a writing workshop site). I told him he needed to devote his attention to doing his very best on that one task assigned for the day. He likes the idea...well, actually, it's 8filltheheart's...I dug around and re-found that post of hers about how she does writing with her children---one essay per week going through the phases.

 

I have plenty of essay prompts for each type of academic writing and I am hoping to have him do a short research paper on a topic of his choosing. He has many interests and I'm sure another "meeting" can produce a suitable topic. Of course, I won't suggest this until he has written a few papers for each essay type. As he finishes The Last of the Mohicans, I will introduce the idea of writing a literary analysis paper of some sort. He is using a Progeny Press guide for this book and it has many essay suggestions.

 

He was very proud of his work and left it out on his desk for me to see.

 

He's such a good kid.

 

Have a great day and THANK YOU for all the support and kind words.

Robin

 

Could you give me some more specifics about your task cards for him. My son too needs a no frills approach and needs it written out step by step until it becomes easy to remember. I think this could really help him. Thanks!