Help me pick 10 back issues of Brave Writer's Arrow on HSBC

[umsami]

So, a few people recommended Brave Writer's program to me on a different thread I started...and one kind soul even mentioned that it's currently on HSBC (yippee skippy!) In looking at the back issues of Arrow, there are so many great books to choose from. Do you have favorites that you've done and loved?

 

https://www.homescho...e=Home-Page&c=1

 

My target audience will be two boys--3rd and 4th grade.

 

 

Thanks! :)

 

Oh...if you have any experience with their new Jot It Down program for 5-8 year olds... please chime in as well. :)

[Farrar]

I wouldn't do Jot It Down for those ages - from what I've seen, it skews younger. But I haven't seen it. Partnership Writing is due out soon and I'm VERY excited to see it. I was excited when Jot It Down came out, but seeing the samples and hearing the reviews, I felt like my third graders had already outgrown it. The partnership stage is definitely where they are right now.

 

Just pick the books you want to read or think you want to read. We did Farmer Boy - that was nice. But just pick a book... Henry Huggins, Because of Winn-Dixie, Homer Price, Frindle... all good 3rd grade boy books. I see she has Blood and Guts and I always thought that must be interesting (it's a fun science book).

 

Don't be surprised or put off when you see it because it's very thin - just a couple of pages. Basically, you read the book aloud and each week you have a lengthy dictation passage from it and you use it to teach some grammar elements. They're usually too long for my 3rd graders and I modify them a bit. We're working up to longer dictations. So I'll cut them or I'll have them do it with some words already there - like she describes in TWJ - or some words spelled out in front of them. Then she gives you some guidance about how to talk about a literary element in the book. And finally, it gives you a writing assignment tied in with the book. If you combine it with her other routines like poetry teas and freewriting, then it's a solid program, but I think it initially looks like not much, you know?

[umsami]

Thanks! No, I figured Jot it Down was too young, but I have a first grader it might be perfect for. :)

[LoveBaby]

We are working through A Long Way from Chicago right now. My boys think it is awesome. I shorten the dictations for them, but the grammar and literary elements have been perfect. We are really enjoying them a lot. Phantom Tollbooth is a great read as well as How to Train Your Dragon. These have all kept my boys attention!

[umsami]

We are working through A Long Way from Chicago right now. My boys think it is awesome. I shorten the dictations for them, but the grammar and literary elements have been perfect. We are really enjoying them a lot. Phantom Tollbooth is a great read as well as How to Train Your Dragon. These have all kept my boys attention!

 

Thanks! Great suggestions. I remember reading "Phantom Tollbooth" as summer reading before sixth grade. :)

[Walking-Iris]

I have used JotItDown with my Kinder and plan on using it with him in 1st. It's a great little book with ideas for monthly activities. I'm glad I got it. It gives a writing program to kids typically too young for any of the other writing programs out there. I know there's The Wand for that age group as well, but I don't have any experience with that. Still hoping to hear some reviews of it.

 

I just pick Arrows for books I want to read.

 

Harry Potter

Secret of the Andes

My Side of the Mountain

Tale of Despereaux

House at Pooh Corner

Wind in the Willows

A Long Way From Chicago

Midwife's Apprentice

Encyclopedia Brown

The Secret Garden

The Wheel on the School

 

Those are some we've read or plan on reading.

 

ETA: enabler!!! Now i just had to get a 5 book bundle

[Julie Smith]

I never heard of these before.

 

Does anyone have a link to a free one, or something with detailed samples. I just want to see what I would be getting if I buy a back issue for a book such as, "Phantom Tollbooth".

 

Thanks

[Walking-Iris]

I never heard of these before.

 

Does anyone have a link to a free one, or something with detailed samples. I just want to see what I would be getting if I buy a back issue for a book such as, "Phantom Tollbooth".

 

Thanks

 

http://www.bravewriter.com/program/language-arts-programs/the-arrow/

 

http://www.bravewriter.com/

 

In each guide you'll get a weekly dictation passage. Lesson plans to help you teach the passage. And a detail about the literary element for that book and how to teach that literary element and it concludes with a writing activity. I don't know if you get the Guidelines to the Arrow when you order from HSBC, but it comes with Arrows from BW. It has instructions in how to teach dictation and use the guide.

[cmac]

Thanks! I didn't know they were on sale.

[ByGrace3]

I went through my list for the year and picked any we planned on reading, and a few we would like to get to. I did notice there are two formats...perhaps there was an old format and new? The what I assume to be newer is a much nicer format. I don't know which is which, but of the ones I have Ginger Pye (which is available for free) is the nicer formatting, as is Frindle, the Cabin Faced West, Farmer Boy, Johnny Tremain, and Because of Winn Dixie are all older. They are all great, but I like the look of the newer.

 

As for Jot it Down. I wasn't sure about it but went ahead and got it. I am so glad it did! First of all I think it gives a really good summary of the BW lifestyle and its components. If you life what you see you know you will want to read TWJ. Also, there are some really fun ideas and project ideas. I think my rising third grader will love some of them. I plan to do several of the writing projects with my rising 1st and 3rd graders next year. I think they will have a blast. They will be "extra" for my 3rd grader, on top of our regular wwe style narrations, and BW copywork and dictation, but I think it will be a lot of fun.

[mlktwins]

As for Jot it Down. I wasn't sure about it but went ahead and got it. I am so glad it did! First of all I think it gives a really good summary of the BW lifestyle and its components. If you life what you see you know you will want to read TWJ. Also, there are some really fun ideas and project ideas. I think my rising third grader will love some of them. I plan to do several of the writing projects with my rising 1st and 3rd graders next year. I think they will have a blast. They will be "extra" for my 3rd grader, on top of our regular wwe style narrations, and BW copywork and dictation, but I think it will be a lot of fun.

 

 

I agree on the Jot it Down. My twins are rising 3rd graders and one of them does not like creative writing -- AT ALL. He is an excellent reader, speller, dictation taker, and is great at copy work, but he DOES NOT LIKE creative writing. Jot it Down has some really fun activites that I think both my boys will enjoy next year.

[Sammish]

Okay, people who are familiar with this - can you tell me what the difference is between The Wand/The Arrow and Jot it Down? My DS is 6.5, and has been reading for three years, but just learned to write (cursive) this year. He read the Dr. Seuss books two years ago, so The Wand seems too young. But looking at The Arrow lessons plans, and that seems too advanced - we've never covered parts of speech or anything formal like that. So would Jot it Down work for us? Or something else? So confused!

[ByGrace3]

Okay, people who are familiar with this - can you tell me what the difference is between The Wand/The Arrow and Jot it Down? My DS is 6.5, and has been reading for three years, but just learned to write (cursive) this year. He read the Dr. Seuss books two years ago, so The Wand seems too young. But looking at The Arrow lessons plans, and that seems too advanced - we've never covered parts of speech or anything formal like that. So would Jot it Down work for us? Or something else? So confused!

 

 

I certainly am no expert on this, I am actually pretty new to BW...but for what I understand The Wand is a lot of phonics, so if they already read I wouldn't do that. The Arrow is copywork, dictation passages with literary elements and a writing project to go along with it-- one issue is for a month (I think it is suggested to start this in third grade). Jot it down is oral and written exercises for ages 5-8. It would not be the only writing I would want to use, but if you want a creative writing supplement, it is wonderful! I am looking forward to doing several of the projects.

[Farrar]

Okay, people who are familiar with this - can you tell me what the difference is between The Wand/The Arrow and Jot it Down? My DS is 6.5, and has been reading for three years, but just learned to write (cursive) this year. He read the Dr. Seuss books two years ago, so The Wand seems too young. But looking at The Arrow lessons plans, and that seems too advanced - we've never covered parts of speech or anything formal like that. So would Jot it Down work for us? Or something else? So confused!

 

 

The sample for The Wand is from the very first set of lessons and is therefore one of the easiest of them. If a child is still reading Henry and Mudge or other "easy reader" level books - even upper easy readers - then the upper levels of The Wand might be right. It does include some phonics, but there's language games and a lot more building up to dictation and learning about basic punctuation and grammar and so forth. We didn't do it and it's one of the things I wish I had discovered sooner. When I found BW, my kids were 7 and mostly writing sentences on their own and reading chapter books or even sometimes easier middle grade books. I think we maybe still could have done level three, but the sample lesson being Hop on Pop made me go, oh, forget that. I since got to see the whole thing and I think we really missed out!

 

I think there is a bit of a gap in between The Wand and The Arrow for kids who are 7-8 years old and you just have to make a guess as to what's right. You can always make The Arrow a little easier by supporting the dictations more or doing them as copywork or starting with them as copywork and then doing them in her "French dictation" style or doing just a little bit as dictation to start.

[Walking-Iris]

 

The sample for The Wand is from the very first set of lessons and is therefore one of the easiest of them. If a child is still reading Henry and Mudge or other "easy reader" level books - even upper easy readers - then the upper levels of The Wand might be right. It does include some phonics, but there's language games and a lot more building up to dictation and learning about basic punctuation and grammar and so forth. We didn't do it and it's one of the things I wish I had discovered sooner. When I found BW, my kids were 7 and mostly writing sentences on their own and reading chapter books or even sometimes easier middle grade books. I think we maybe still could have done level three, but the sample lesson being Hop on Pop made me go, oh, forget that. I since got to see the whole thing and I think we really missed out!

 

I think there is a bit of a gap in between The Wand and The Arrow for kids who are 7-8 years old and you just have to make a guess as to what's right. You can always make The Arrow a little easier by supporting the dictations more or doing them as copywork or starting with them as copywork and then doing them in her "French dictation" style or doing just a little bit as dictation to start.

 

 

I've been thinking about The Wand. My 5 year old does OPGTR and I have quite a few other lang arts for that age (FLL, Peak With Books, JotItDown, WWE, and Caldecott Across the Curriculum) but I'm not sure how happy I am with OPGTR and I have thought about switching to WRTR. Farrar--would you say that The Wand would be overkill along with JotItDown or can it work with it? Did you use The Wand along with another phonics program? I'm just thinking about my 2 year old dd and any changes I may make for her. I've been really thinking about streamlining for her.

[Sammish]

Hmm.. My son has been reading chapter books for a bit now, so I think I'll stick with just getting The Writer's Jungle, reading and digesting that, and then see where I feel like going after that. I'm also trying to get WWE from my library, to see if that might be a good fit for us, for introducing some of the earlier grammar. And we might try Jot it Down, just because it looks like fun! Thanks for the help.

[Farrar]

 

 

 

I've been thinking about The Wand. My 5 year old does OPGTR and I have quite a few other lang arts for that age (FLL, Peak With Books, JotItDown, WWE, and Caldecott Across the Curriculum) but I'm not sure how happy I am with OPGTR and I have thought about switching to WRTR. Farrar--would you say that The Wand would be overkill along with JotItDown or can it work with it? Did you use The Wand along with another phonics program? I'm just thinking about my 2 year old dd and any changes I may make for her. I've been really thinking about streamlining for her.

 

 

I think The Wand is meant to go with Jot It Down. That's a LOT of language arts you've got going though. But it depends how you do things as to whether it's overkill - I mean, phonics and handwriting probably aren't strong enough for most parents in The Wand so you could use it with programs for those and Jot It Down is focused on those writing projects more.. Like I said, I've only looked through the big Wand binder, but I really wish I could go back and use it. We spent those years really unsure about how to proceed with writing and language arts and unhappy with everything we tried - except for handwriting and phonics which were fine. I think The Wand would have really helped us with the language mechanics and writing piece - getting ready to write.

[Walking-Iris]

I think The Wand is meant to go with Jot It Down. That's a LOT of language arts you've got going though. But it depends how you do things as to whether it's overkill - I mean, phonics and handwriting probably aren't strong enough for most parents in The Wand so you could use it with programs for those and Jot It Down is focused on those writing projects more.. Like I said, I've only looked through the big Wand binder, but I really wish I could go back and use it. We spent those years really unsure about how to proceed with writing and language arts and unhappy with everything we tried - except for handwriting and phonics which were fine. I think The Wand would have really helped us with the language mechanics and writing piece - getting ready to write.

 

 

 

Oh no I don't have all of that going!!! Right now just some pick and choose Peak With Book activities, a dabbling in JotItDown, but mostly it's been just phonics and handwriting and read alouds with my Kinder. He likes to do things. Can't just sit and listen to a read aloud. So the PWB and things like that give me ideas how to turn a read aloud into something more. Next year for 1st I have FLL (haven't done it before and I'm slightly skeptical of how it will go over) and I wanted to jump into JotItDown deeper (he didn't seem quite ready for the writing projects this time) and pick and choose some activities from the Caldecott book (to turn read alouds into an activity so I don't bore him to tears! ). I may see how he does with the WWE and some spelling, but I'm ready to drop it if it's not going over well.

 

I was interested in what the Wand offered mainly because I may want to do something different with my dd depending on how I like what I'm trying. Not feeling OPGTR too much. I like ETC just fine. Thinking about WRTR. I just wonder if The Wand is phonics? Meant to get them reading? Or if it would work best in conjunction with a regular phonics book? Do you remember what some of the activities or lessons were about? The sample doesn't really give me a good idea to be honest. For instance would it give some life to OPGTR? That's essentially why I pick and choose extra activities from some other books I mentioned. But it would be kind of nice to not have to do that if there was something that worked well.

[Farrar]

I was interested in what the Wand offered mainly because I may want to do something different with my dd depending on how I like what I'm trying. Not feeling OPGTR too much. I like ETC just fine. Thinking about WRTR. I just wonder if The Wand is phonics? Meant to get them reading? Or if it would work best in conjunction with a regular phonics book? Do you remember what some of the activities or lessons were about? The sample doesn't really give me a good idea to be honest. For instance would it give some life to OPGTR? That's essentially why I pick and choose extra activities from some other books I mentioned. But it would be kind of nice to not have to do that if there was something that worked well.

 

 

The phonics and early reading stuff in there seemed to be really minor overall. There seemed to be a lot more about language mechanics as it went on, but in a light way. Everything she does is so spiral. Like, dictation in The Arrow is meant to teach grammar and spelling and writing constructions and vocabulary and so forth but it's not in a progressive way - it's in a holistic way where you jump in wherever and repeat as much as you like just with new content. The Wand, when I looked through it, struck me as being the same thing, just at a much easier level. And, keeping in mind that kids at that level aren't always reading much, it included some phonics - as you can see in that sample lesson pages about Hop on Pop. But it wasn't a progressive program like OPGTR or ETC or anything, you know?

 

ETA: But someone who has used it should jump in. Surely there are *some* Wand users in these parts?

[Walking-Iris]

Thanks for that. So for right now I'm still keeping The Wand on the back burner. Unless someone (anyone?) has attempted it and can give more input.

[umsami]

OP here. I just have to give a GIGANTIC thank you to everybody who suggested different books and brave writer itself.

 

:hurray:

 

I thought the HSBC deal was already over, but it goes until the end of May. Last night, I bit the bullet and bought "The Writer's Jungle" as well as five of the Arrow issues. ("Detectives in Togas", "Harriet the Spy", "How to Train Your Dragon", "Because of Winn-Dixie", and "By the Great Horn Spoon.")

 

The book is wonderful. I was up half the night reading it. I kept nodding my head and thinking, "Yes! This is how writing should be taught." (And how I wish I had been taught.)

 

Truly truly wonderful.

 

Thanks!

[TraceyS/FL]

OP here. I just have to give a GIGANTIC thank you to everybody who suggested different books and brave writer itself.

 

:hurray:

 

I thought the HSBC deal was already over, but it goes until the end of May. Last night, I bit the bullet and bought "The Writer's Jungle" as well as five of the Arrow issues. ("Detectives in Togas", "Harriet the Spy", "How to Train Your Dragon", "Because of Winn-Dixie", and "By the Great Horn Spoon.")

 

The book is wonderful. I was up half the night reading it. I kept nodding my head and thinking, "Yes! This is how writing should be taught." (And how I wish I had been taught.)

 

Truly truly wonderful.

 

Thanks!

And here I was just thinking.... it is Wednesday and THEY haven't convinced me to try to shop this week yet..... :p

 

I was interested in trying some of the back issues, but I also thought it ended already. Guess I still have time to sort out my wishlist!

[ItoLina]

Thanks for that. So for right now I'm still keeping The Wand on the back burner. Unless someone (anyone?) has attempted it and can give more input.

 

 

We have been using The Wand for the second half of K. we are about a third of the way through it (just finished up level 1 of the 3 levels) and will continue to use it for first grade. I don't think you could use it as your only phonics component. There is some phonics in there, but not enough for a kid that is not already reading. The phonics lessons focus on a something from the book the lesson uses, like rhyming for Hop on Pop, of the ck sound for Fox in Socks, and doubling letters at the end of words for A Kiss for Little Bear, etc. But it doesnt seem like a complete phonics program to me. it doesnt cover all the rules, and there is not enough built in practice for fluency.

 

It also moves very fast, at least for my son. For example, the phonics part of the first Hop on Pop lesson was super easy for him, and the lessons in for A Kiss for Little Bear were just right, but after that it quickly became a bit too advanced phonics wise. So, I right now I am using ETC and the readers from SSRW as well as other library books for phonics. I use The Wand for the writing component. We also do the phonics and spelling stuff in there, but I don't worry about it too much if ds doesn't get it. I just like that it is at least exposure, and I like that everything is related to one book, which I feel makes it more relevant.

 

I have Jot it Down as well and we just completed our first writing project from there. The Wand is more the machanics of writing, and Jot it Down is ideas for longer writing assignments to put those things into practice. The ideas in Jot it Down look so fun and I am really excited to do them. The two are definately meant to go together though.

 

I hope that helps. Let me know if you have any other specific questions and I will do my best to answer.

[Walking-Iris]

We have been using The Wand for the second half of K. we are about a third of the way through it (just finished up level 1 of the 3 levels) and will continue to use it for first grade. I don't think you could use it as your only phonics component. There is some phonics in there, but not enough for a kid that is not already reading. The phonics lessons focus on a something from the book the lesson uses, like rhyming for Hop on Pop, of the ck sound for Fox in Socks, and doubling letters at the end of words for A Kiss for Little Bear, etc. But it doesnt seem like a complete phonics program to me. it doesnt cover all the rules, and there is not enough built in practice for fluency.

 

It also moves very fast, at least for my son. For example, the phonics part of the first Hop on Pop lesson was super easy for him, and the lessons in for A Kiss for Little Bear were just right, but after that it quickly became a bit too advanced phonics wise. So, I right now I am using ETC and the readers from SSRW as well as other library books for phonics. I use The Wand for the writing component. We also do the phonics and spelling stuff in there, but I don't worry about it too much if ds doesn't get it. I just like that it is at least exposure, and I like that everything is related to one book, which I feel makes it more relevant.

 

I have Jot it Down as well and we just completed our first writing project from there. The Wand is more the machanics of writing, and Jot it Down is ideas for longer writing assignments to put those things into practice. The ideas in Jot it Down look so fun and I am really excited to do them. The two are definately meant to go together though.

 

I hope that helps. Let me know if you have any other specific questions and I will do my best to answer.

 

 

Thank you for that. So from this I'm taking it that you could get through all 3 levels of The Wand by end of 1st grade (or beginning of 2nd)? and that you should use it along with a phonics program (I use OPGTR and ETC--sort of thinking of using WRTR) and beginning readers? So I know that you can use JotItDown without The Wand, but maybe Wand would be a bit overkill along with it and all the other lang arts (phonics, HWT, JotItDown, PWB lit activities etc) that one may be doing in K and 1st?

 

I think I'll pass this time on The Wand and revisit it when my dd is older. Thanks.

[ItoLina]

Yes, I think we will likely finish The Wand by the end of first grade, and I wouldn't feel comfortable not using a more structured phonics program along with it, maybe if I had a really natural/early reader, but not for my ds. I do have my son practice reading the readers that go along with The Wand program, but I just also feel like he needs to read more than just those few books to really work on fluency, which is his main issue right now.

 

I do think using Jot it Down with all those other things might be a bit much for k, i didn't really plan on adding it in until first grade, but i am impatient like that so i decided to "try out" one project to see how we liked it. There is basically one writing project to complete each month. Within each project there is one task to complete each week. It is fairly simple, and we just did it one day a week for this first one and it worked out well. So, it isn't a ton of time, and my son does like it. The first week is just reading a few books and talkng about what you might write about, and the 4th week seems like it is usually publishing, so that is usually some fun thing like at art project to make a cover for their story or something.

 

The things I think The Wand has been great for are: getting ds in the habit of doing copy work and beginning to do dictation in a relaxed and fun way, playing with words to experiment with word choice, rhyming words, etc, and understanding how to put a sentence together (capitalization and basic punctuation). At the start of kindergarten he definately was not ready for these things as we were still working on forming letters and basic blending, but now I feel he is ready to start practicing these pre writing skills.

 

Hope that helps.

[Walking-Iris]

Yes, I think we will likely finish The Wand by the end of first grade, and I wouldn't feel comfortable not using a more structured phonics program along with it, maybe if I had a really natural/early reader, but not for my ds. I do have my son practice reading the readers that go along with The Wand program, but I just also feel like he needs to read more than just those few books to really work on fluency, which is his main issue right now.

 

I do think using Jot it Down with all those other things might be a bit much for k, i didn't really plan on adding it in until first grade, but i am impatient like that so i decided to "try out" one project to see how we liked it. There is basically one writing project to complete each month. Within each project there is one task to complete each week. It is fairly simple, and we just did it one day a week for this first one and it worked out well. So, it isn't a ton of time, and my son does like it. The first week is just reading a few books and talkng about what you might write about, and the 4th week seems like it is usually publishing, so that is usually some fun thing like at art project to make a cover for their story or something.

 

The things I think The Wand has been great for are: getting ds in the habit of doing copy work and beginning to do dictation in a relaxed and fun way, playing with words to experiment with word choice, rhyming words, etc, and understanding how to put a sentence together (capitalization and basic punctuation). At the start of kindergarten he definately was not ready for these things as we were still working on forming letters and basic blending, but now I feel he is ready to start practicing these pre writing skills.

 

Hope that helps.

 

 

yes that helps. I plan on using JID in more depth for 1st. I just wasn't really sure about The Wand.