Wordsmith Craftsman in 7th grade?

[Paige]

Would it be crazy to do Wordsmith Craftsman with a 7th grader? I have mostly been giving my DS my own assignments and editing them myself this year. I have MCT's Advanced Academic Writing, but disliked it and ditched it early in the year. I would like something a little easier for me next year for DS. I am tired of coming up with my own stuff. I have no idea how his writing compares to others his age and if he is average, behind, or advanced. He has made good progress. 

 

Looking at the samples online, I think the regular Wordsmith seems much too easy for DS and Wordsmith Craftsman seems about the right level and maybe even gently paced. I know samples can be misleading, so I wanted to ask the Hive. DS tends to be a little ahead but is not what I consider accelerated or highly gifted or anything. He is used to writing 3-6 page papers, outlining, revising, and citations. His grammar is good when he pays attention, and he is starting to develop his own voice and style. Would it be a mistake to skip the regular Wordsmith? 

[Lori D.]

Most middle school / early high school writing programs focus on solid paragraph writing, and then step up to 5-paragraph essays and end with a 2-3 page paper. Your DS sounds like he is already very solid with all of that, and is easily writing at a high school level. Would DS *need* and benefit from a review the basics, or would that be a waste of time and a frustration to DS? 

 

I definitely think Wordsmith would be a step back-to-basics for DS -- the focus for most of Wordsmith is single paragraphs.

 

Wordsmith Craftsman may also be too basic or a lot of review for DS. However, it does cover some things that other writing programs don't: section one covers outlines and note-taking tips, and various types of letters (personal and business); section two is the basics of sentences, paragraphs, word choice and transitions (which you could speed through or skip); section three is writing the essay (with info on descriptive, narrative, expository and persuasive essays). Again, you could speed through the "repeat" parts for DS and just focus on what is new or helpful.

 

As the teacher, you could go through Craftsman this summer and mark for DS what does and doesn't need to be covered, in order to make the program pretty independent of you next school year.

 

Another self-directed option at the high school level (which is sounds like where your DS is working) is The Elegant Essay.

 

My other thought would be to outsource writing at this stage, which would be easier for you, would challenge DS at his level, and would give DS an opportunity to practice the skills for learning from someone else, self-discipline and scheduling, technical aspects of how to upload or interact via online computer course…

 

Brave Writer has short session options (1 month sessions, and 1 semester sessions) with the Boomerang Book Club, which also has your student reading and discussing literature in addition to writing about the literature. That might be a great way to fill out doing Wordsmith Craftsman (which I really think you would complete in about half a year, due to DS's advanced level of writing).

 

 

BEST of luck in finding what works best for your family! Warmest regards, Lori D.

[Paige]

Thank you for the detailed information. I really hadn't considered my DS very advanced at all. He's my oldest, and that can make things more difficult. I think I'll try Craftsman since it seems cheap, easy, and will help me to feel confident there are no gaping holes. 

[Lori D.]

Thank you for the detailed information. I really hadn't considered my DS very advanced at all. He's my oldest, and that can make things more difficult. I think I'll try Craftsman since it seems cheap, easy, and will help me to feel confident there are no gaping holes. 

 

 

And, since it's pretty inexpensive, if you find it IS too advanced for him, you can always pick up a copy of Wordsmith pretty cheaply and drop back to that… ;) But, I think that is unlikely, based on the amount of writing output your DS is producing at this age! :)