Reefgazer Posted July 13, 2015 Share Posted July 13, 2015 Let me start off by saying I am no English teacher; I find English the most difficult subject to teach and get a handle on. That said, I've done OK with the Rod and Staff English book series because they are idiot proof, and our literature study has been OK because I've found some excellent online resources and Spark notes is wonderful. Writing is another story - I feel I have been spinning my wheels with writing since DD has come to homeschool and she needs something more coherent than I have been giving her. Some background: DD came to homeschool after 5th grade public school. She came out of public school knowing how to write a basic, formulaic 5-paragraph essay, but I am not exactly sure how well she was writing post-5th grade. I know her grammar, spelling, and punctuation needed intense work, which we have been satisfactorily addressing. She seems to have the basic idea of an essay down, knows what a thesis statement is, and understands the need for an introductory paragraph, body, and conclusion. Beyond those basics, I'm not sure. In the past, we have used: 1) Writing With Skill I (loved it and we are continuing with WWS II this upcoming year), 2) MCT Essay Voyage (hated the writing component because it did not have enough direct instruction on format and dropped it quickly), 3) WriteShop I (It was OK, but I she didn't like it and I wasn't sure it was giving her enough essay instruction so we dropped it), and 4) The Lively Art of Writing (It's an effective program, but was far more than I wanted and we got deep into the weeds really quick and we abandoned it). What the heck should I do?!?!? I feel like I am wasting time spinning our wheels with writing and curriculum-hopping. I am looking for a program that teaches basic essay writing, with an option to add in more detailed lessons and learn to finesse the essay as she gets older. I need something idiot-proof, so I can't even hope to "just write across the curriculum" or "throw together my own program"; not gonna happen. I want to make sure she is solid on essay writing and then incrementally learn more tricks of the trade as she gets older. I mentioned that we both liked WWS I and were continuing with WWS II this year. I liked how it taught her how to outline, how to merge notes, how to use quotes. We loved it, but I can't "see" where it's going and what the end game is going to be. Maybe that's all the curriculum we need? Can anyone suggest a basic essay writing program that builds incrementally, that even *I* can't screw up, and that isn't terribly time-consuming? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starr Posted July 13, 2015 Share Posted July 13, 2015 I would look through the contents of the Writing With Skill ll and lll to see what to expect. You don't jump from 7th grade to college writing overnight. It sounds like you are doing well. I wouldn't add in a second writing program. Get the basics together before you worry about a ten page paper. You have time. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hollyhock Posted July 13, 2015 Share Posted July 13, 2015 It sounds to me like the right thing for you would be to keep going with WWS 2, especially since you both liked it. I think by the end of 2, or perhaps in 3, the "end game" will become clear to you. I think what WWS does is explicitly teach all the parts of essays (different types of paragraphs, intros, citing sources, etc.) and by the end of the series the student can use all those different parts to construct essays. It's parts-to-whole, I believe. You can always save Lively Art of Writing for later and go through it again when she's older and that would give a more concise set of instructions for essays. Many people use it in high school. But, if she goes through WWS 2 and 3, she might not even need it at that point. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
birchbark Posted July 14, 2015 Share Posted July 14, 2015 You might like Maxwell's School Composition, a vintage text loved by some of the boardies here. There are some older threads on it, such as this one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MerryAtHope Posted July 14, 2015 Share Posted July 14, 2015 I really like Essentials in Writing, and for levels 7-10 (the levels I have done), you spend most of the year on essays. It starts out with some work on sentences, clauses, fragments/run-ons etc..., then has a unit on paragraphs, and then the rest is essays and a research paper. The lessons are very step-by-step. The author demonstrates a concept in a short video, and then the student works on that concept. Here's a review from when I did Level 7, several years ago (I've not had the sound issues in higher levels, so maybe that's better now). Anyway, HTH some! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sweetpea3829 Posted July 15, 2015 Share Posted July 15, 2015 We just started Essentials in Writing and are reviewing 2nd grade over the summer, with plans to jump into 3rd grade for the coming school year. So far, I really like it. It is pretty open and go and includes some grammar instruction, too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StartingOver Posted July 15, 2015 Share Posted July 15, 2015 We are also doing Essentials in Writing. Doing a quick review of level 3 before moving onto 4 for my son who needs explicit instructions. I can't speak to the long term as we are just getting into it. But I know that Writing Strands, CAP Writing and Rhetoric, and WWS are now working. He has finished WWE 1-4 with no issues. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.