Could somebody review EIW for me?

[Sue G in PA]

I've heard good things about EIW and I am intrigued. I can't afford IEW and honestly just did not like the directed writing approach when we used the theme books. So...EIW. :) I am looking at this for a 3rd grader who LOVES to write (she will spend hours making books, writing letters, etc.), a 5th grader who is a struggling reader and has had absolutely NO formal writing as we've been concentrating on reading and spelling, a 7th grader who abhors writing (everything from the act of holding a pencil to moving it across a page to thinking about what to even write) and an 8th grader who has been using HOD and is familiar with narrations and some formal writing.

 

I am also looking at the high school programs for my 10th grader and 12th graders to really solidify the writing process and such. Could somebody please review any of the levels for me? Would I need separate grammar for the lower levels (1st-8th) b/c I see that grammar is included? Thanks!

[mama25angels]

http://goldengrasses...tos-review.html, Laughing Lioness' review. We are using the 10th grade program, but I can't review it yet because we've only used it a few days. HTH!

[mamato3 all-boy boys]

The Old Schoolhouse just did a comprehensive review of nearly ever level of Essentials in Writing, except 2nd grade (I don't know why). I reviewed the 8th grade program, and I thought it was solid, but my son prefers IEW, so we'll stick with that.

 

Here's a link the home page of the reviews: http://schoolhousereviewcrew.com/essentials-in-writing-review/ for a general introduction, but for all the linkys to the reviews themselves: TOS EiW review

[JudoMom]

Here's my Grade 7 review.

[Sue G in PA]

Thanks everyone! I'm reading mostly positive reviews. However, I also read that it is not a very challenging (rigorous) writing curriculum. For us, this is ok. I have 2 boys who really need basic writing instruction right now. We've been all over the board as far as type of program and instruction. Copywork, dictation, narrations (ala WWE), some creative writing, letter writing, etc. However, nothing that I feel has really instructed them. EIW seems to fit the bill. And it is affordable. Does anyone know about placement? I see on the website that he says you could probably place each child in the grade they are in at the time b/c there is enough review. I'm not certain this is going to work for my boys who are mostly behind in the la area. I'm thinking a year or even 2 behind. A rising 5th grader who reads at a late 2nd grade/early 3rd grade level and has little experience writing anything and a rising 7th grader whom I described above (writing phobic). Any thoughts?

[Dahliarw]

If you email them with questions about placement they are really really helpful. The customer service is just excellent. I emailed when we first started and I got an email back from Matthew within a couple of hours with a very thorough answer to my question.

 

I can't speak for how rigorous it is in the older grades, since I'm not there, but I'm using 2nd grade right now with the son and it is enough and he loves it (which is important). It would totally be easy to add to for kids to get more practice in writing too.

[Sue G in PA]

I just emailed Matthew but am not expecting an email back before Monday b/c tomorrow is Good Friday...not sure if the offices are open. I'm patient. :) I'm honestly torn btwn trying out EIW or using WWE/WWS or perhaps even using both and making next year a true focus on writing for all the kids. It is our "weak" area b/c I get the most flack from the kids and don't push it. :/ Next year I MUST focus on writing and getting them up to speed. Anyone use both EIW and WWE/WWS? I'm thinking of doing this for my 3rd, 5th and 7th graders...not my 8th grader. He's had sufficient practice with dictation and narrations and copywork while using HOD.

[mytwomonkeys]

I am using grade 3 with my son. I really like it so far, but there is little writing as of yet. It is mostly grammar right now. I'm fine with this & really like it, but wanted to mention it since your 3rd grader loves to write a lot. She won't be delving into that portion of it for quite a while if you start her on grade level. You could easily have her continue to write stories and such at her leisure though :) and to be clear, there is "writing" each day, it is just related to the grammar lessons (preparing the child for their written assignments later on).

[laughing lioness]

Thanks everyone! I'm reading mostly positive reviews. However, I also read that it is not a very challenging (rigorous) writing curriculum. Does anyone know about placement?

 

I think to say that it's NOT rigorous is misleading. Mr. Matthews is a p.s. Jr. High teacher so I'm assuming that he is going with what a general p.s. curriculum would be. It's a good, basic program and you'll get all of the basics and then some. We've used IEW for years and my main complaint was that it seemed like EIW wanted to say what IEW had already said so very well, but lacked the clarity and vocabulary. It bothered me that he said, "I like that sentence" rather than telling the kids what made a good sentence, which IEW does (and yes, not everyone agrees with IEW about what makes a good sentence...)

It sounds like it would be a great fit for your kids, and honestly, we thought Mr. Matthews was a very engaging presenter (which can't always be said of Pudewa's calm, non-anxious presence ; )

My 12th grader used the 11th grade program. Much of what they covered in 11th grade, we went through in WWS with 5-9th graders if that gives you some perspective- it's slow and steady so i think you could certainly choose the grade your kids are in.

 

Thanks for linking GG, Mama!

[Sue G in PA]

Thanks, Lisa! I had read your review before it was linked here. :) Could you tell me your thoughts about combining WWE and EIW? As I said, we are lacking in the writing department as we've jumped around from program to program and my 2 middle boys just aren't really up to speed in the la area. I see that EIW has grammar so I could ditch R&S. They weren't fond of it anyway. I'm thinking of perhaps doing EIW (which starts out with just grammar) and adding in WWE.

[laughing lioness]

I'm not a big one on combining stuff- that's just me. I am pretty simple and if things get too confusing for me- I quit doing it. If it were ME in your shoes, I would go with EIW, get rid of R & S and just be consistant with the one program and do it so many days a week all year long. Consistancy with a simple, basic, GOOD program will get your kids caught up. WWS isn't going anywhere, and the 9th grader in my WWS class last year was still very engaged and learning with it.

[JudoMom]

Another vote for picking one program and sticking with it. EIW is so easy to do, and both my boys enjoyed it. My oldest is taking an outside class that includes writing next year, but I'm going to continue EIW with my reluctant writer (at his request).

[DragonFaerie]

I bought it EIW for 4th grade. DS really liked the videos, but the corresponding worksheets did not offer enough repetition for him, so he wasn't grasping or retaining the concepts.

[Murrayshire]

I just emailed Matthew but am not expecting an email back before Monday b/c tomorrow is Good Friday...not sure if the offices are open. I'm patient. :) I'm honestly torn btwn trying out EIW or using WWE/WWS or perhaps even using both and making next year a true focus on writing for all the kids. It is our "weak" area b/c I get the most flack from the kids and don't push it. :/ Next year I MUST focus on writing and getting them up to speed. Anyone use both EIW and WWE/WWS? I'm thinking of doing this for my 3rd, 5th and 7th graders...not my 8th grader. He's had sufficient practice with dictation and narrations and copywork while using HOD.

We just finished EIW 7 and EIW 4.....We would have probably finished a bit earlier if we had not taken so much time off this year. I gave my girls a short break from writing (structured writing) and now my dd7th is on Week 2 of WWS. Dd 4th is going to start WWE next week. They will continue with this until fall. I am trying to decide if I am going to switch over to IEW with both girls, one, or the other.....or stick with EIW! I don't know if I would have tried to do WWE/WWS with EIW. We do a lot of copywork, narrations, and dictations with history and science. Doing it with writing too on top of another writing program probably would have been way too much for my girls.

[MerryAtHope]

Essentials has worked very well here, and I wonder if it depends on the level as far as the description he gives. When I talked with him, he did say that he does a lot more incremental teaching in the levels before 11th grade. We've used the 7th-9th grade levels. I've found that he gives lots of instruction on how to make writing come alive with vivid verbs, description, and various literary devices. For us, he broke things down into doable parts and gave my kids something specific to focus on each time. Here's a link to my review from last year. HTH!

[Sue G in PA]

I think you all have sold me on EIW. :) I'm ordering 3 and 6 now and will order 8 closer to the start of next year. Dd7 will start 3 (slowly) and ds10 will also start 3...moving more quickly if he can. Ds11 will start 6 (which is grade level for this year) and we will see how it goes. I'm excited! Not sure how WWE will fit in there. I might just keep up with the copy work, dictation and narrations from other subjects and call it done. :)