What writing would you suggest after SWI-B?

[Guest]

My 5th and 7th grader just finished up SWI-B.  Before this they have done WWE 1 & 2, Writing Tales 1, and half of SWI-A.  Would you recommend IEW theme based Ancient History, the level B continuation course, or Writing with Skill?  I had also considered CAP's writing program.  We did a couple lessons of it a few months ago and loved it, but I dropped it to finish up SWI-B.  Would CAP be too much of a step backwards even if we planned to do at least two books a year?

 

They love writing, and are doing really good.  But sometimes their dressups in IEW seem forced, and their sentences don't make sense.  So, I am not sure if I want to do something else that allows for a little more creativity.

[Murrayshire]

👂I'm all ears! We will be finishing up swi-b soon with my 5th and 8th grader. I'm also wondering where to go next in IEW with my 8th grader. Bumping up for you....hope someone can chime in to help you so I can listen in. 😊

[5LittleMonkeys]

My older dc moved into WWS after IEW.  They also did work in Killgallon to help them polish and mature the skills they learned in IEW.  I love IEW to get dc comfortable doing writing other than copywork, but I don't like using it for more than 2 years back to back.  

[TarynB]

My older dc moved into WWS after IEW.  They also did work in Killgallon to help them polish and mature the skills they learned in IEW.  I love IEW to get dc comfortable doing writing other than copywork, but I don't like using it for more than 2 years back to back.  

 

Yep, exactly the same here. 

 

SWI-B gave my DS the confidence and step by step tools he needed to write and to know that he could be good at it.  WWS (the whole series, eventually) was/is my goal for him and it is going really well so far, but he needed SWI-B to get to this place.  He still incorporates the ideas and tools he learned from SWI-B into his current writing.  We do a bit of Killgallon Sentence Composing every couple of weeks when he needs a WWS break.

 

By the end of SWI-B, we used the checklists as a guide only, and I allowed him to decide how many dressups, etc., to use and where to place them.  He seems to have internalized the "forced" dress-ups and they've been replaced with much more interesting writing that seems to flow pretty naturally.  Well, at least as much as a previously writing-phobic but now more confident 6th grade boy can accomplish, anyway.  :coolgleamA:

 

I anticipate returning to IEW's products for high school when we get there.  Hopefully combining that with SWB's next (Writing With Style?) writing series for high school.

 

Both SWI-B and WWS1 break writing down into smaller, manageable chunks - parts to whole, rather than whole to parts, as I've seen it worded here on the boards.  So, OP, its likely that your kids will do well with WWS1 too if they've enjoyed SWI-B.  If you're worried that their writing still seems too forced, maybe its time for WWS1 or something else that isn't IEW.  But I also wouldn't worry too much about the forced writing for now.  After all, you said they love writing now and they are doing really well.  Isn't that awesome??!!  Perhaps try lessening any strict adherence to the SWI rubrics and see if you're happier with the results. 

 

FWIW, I ordered CAP's Narrative I (the highest level that's out right now) and, while I wish it had been available for my DS a year or two ago, I think he's way past that level now.  Sadly, I returned it.