Writing programs, pros and cons please

[momto2Cs]

I am trying to nail down the writing portion of English for my ds14, for ninth grade this fall. I have narrowed it down to the following possibilities, so would LOVE some feedback that may help me reach a conclusion before fall actually gets here! Fwiw, he did Thinking in Threes and some across the curriculum writing, plus some Brave Writer Lifestyle stuff, this past year.

 

Lively Art of Writing, followed by Writing with a Thesis

 

Brave Writer's Help for High School

 

Lost Tools of Writing, level 1

 

My goal is to have him really focused on writing solid essays by the end of the year. I am a reader for a college professor, and have seen more than a few very poorly written essays -- I don't want him to be lacking in those skills!

 

Thanks!

[Sunnybuddy]

Lively Art of Writing - great book! Enjoyed reading, learned a lot, unbeatable price.

 

Lost Tools of Writing - wow! Just started using it with my daughter, so we've only done the first two essays, but it definitely makes the student THINK. This curriculum shows how much really goes into an essay before you even start writing it. The lady who does the assessments for my kids, just did year 1 with her son this past year and is now recommending it to everyone. She also said she spoke with her brother, who is a lawyer, and he said the way this curriculum teaches writing is the same way he learned in law school.

 

If you have more questions just let me know.

[Julie of KY]

Bravewriter -Help for High school - great teaching and it is written to the student. The student has to be fairly independent or have a good editor. I decided that I couldn't help edit, so I signed my kids up for Kidswriter Int. followed by Expository Essay. The teaching is very similar to the pdf of Help for High School, but the feedback on how to revise is awesome for the online courses.