Shellydon Posted January 4, 2016 Share Posted January 4, 2016 Locally, everyone outsources high school English with either online or local classes. We are currently doing Potter's School English 1. It is a good course, but very grammar heavy. English 2 is grammar heavy also, and I don't really want that at this point. So-- if you have taught writing at home for high school, what resources did you use? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freesia Posted January 4, 2016 Share Posted January 4, 2016 We didn't outsource 9th. I used Windows to the World (loved it!) and lit and writing from Tapestry of Grace. For my upcoming 9th grader I am strongly considering Sharon Watson's books: Illuminating Literature and Power in Your Hands. She'll do Windows in 8th grade. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
perky Posted January 4, 2016 Share Posted January 4, 2016 (edited) For my 9th grader this year, we are using the following for English: Seton High School Grammar Seton Composition Abeka Vocabulary, Spelling and Poetry III Memoria Press guides for D'Aulaire's Greek Myths (fall semester) and Coolidge's Trojan War (spring semester) Figuratively Speaking (spring semester) We also read all the "ancient" related excerpts from Graphic Canon, and she wrote a tiny response paragraph on each. (fall semester) Lots of real books. For 10th grade, my current plan for English is: Abeka Grammar and Composition IV Abeka Vocabulary, Spelling and Poetry IV The "medieval" portions of Abeka English Literature. We will read all the "medieval" excerpts from Graphic Canon, and she will write a tiny response paragraph on each. Lots of real books. I may also throw Yoga for the Brain in there somewhere. Edited January 4, 2016 by perkybunch 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoodGrief Posted January 4, 2016 Share Posted January 4, 2016 Rod and Staff has good high school material, and I like Write at Home for comp (I guess that might be outsourcing though, lol.) I think a lot of people end up outsourcing because they want someone else evaluating writing. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hilltopmom Posted January 4, 2016 Share Posted January 4, 2016 (edited) We use Essentials in Writing for writing (& grammar review- included in middle school levels) Literature guides (free online from Glencoe ) for my own made up list of lit for each grade level. (I looked at Lightening Lit, but decided the free guides were almost as good & I could choose which books we used then) Plenty of child chosen reading Creative writing or journaling with prompts (gleaned from random online lists) Attendance at as many local theater productions as I can drag them to, & participation in one production per year. Oh, we did some spelling using the most commonly misspelled word list & most commonly used lists too. Next year though, I'm outsourcing writing only so someone else can critique;). Perhaps Bravewriter, Write at Home, or DE at CC, haven't decided. Edited January 4, 2016 by Hilltopmom 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katilac Posted January 4, 2016 Share Posted January 4, 2016 We match our literature period to our history period (over the year, not exactly). Our history text includes a lot of information on the literature, art, and music of each place and time, so it's easy to page through the chapter summaries and recommended reading to make a list to choose from. Some works we read and discuss, some works we go into more assignments and depth, and some works and styles I just make sure they are aware of for cultural literacy. We don't use a specific text or program, but I will use study guides and texts to pull explanations and context, and to get ideas for assignments. I like to have lots of resources on my shelf - for inspiration, but also so if I drop the ball with planning and creativity, we have a 'standard' backup and don't fall behind. I have lots of literature and writing texts that I pick up cheap at the library book fair. I also trawl the internet for ideas, because there are some amazing teachers out there. We don't do spelling, grammar, or vocabulary as separate components. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katilac Posted January 4, 2016 Share Posted January 4, 2016 Next year though, I'm outsourcing writing only so someone else can critique;). Perhaps Bravewriter, Write at Home, or DE at CC, haven't decided. Check with your library - mine has an online writing lab where you can submit papers (and what the assignment was) and get feedback within a couple of days. Very handy, and free! 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shellydon Posted January 4, 2016 Author Share Posted January 4, 2016 We will outsource again at some point... just looking at 9th grade. Perhaps doing Essentials in Writing American Literature and adding a specific writing course. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Butter Posted January 4, 2016 Share Posted January 4, 2016 My son will be in 9th grade next year. He'll be using Spelling You See Level E (he's got dyslexia and SYS helps him a lot - by high school my now-4th grader will not need spelling since he's doing level E of SYS right now), Analytical Grammar, Writing With Skill 3, and will be reading books from the list in WTM (he reads with immersion reading and then we discuss what he read each day). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MerryAtHope Posted January 5, 2016 Share Posted January 5, 2016 We mainly use Essentials in Writing. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melissa B Posted January 5, 2016 Share Posted January 5, 2016 Kolbe Literature (with Teaching Company lectures thrown in.) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shellydon Posted January 5, 2016 Author Share Posted January 5, 2016 We mainly use Essentials in Writing. Can you link this for me so I know we are talking about the same thing? :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theelfqueen Posted January 5, 2016 Share Posted January 5, 2016 (edited) OK I have no experience beyond the last quarter and today LOL So, I'm no expert.... My 9th grader and I are making it up. He's a little bit of a reluctant homeschooler so I'm very focused on appealing to him right now. He's working his way through " The Best Grammar Workbook Ever" We're choosing Lit for ourselves. It's not a very classical list, nor even as challenging as it might be... but it's in keeping with what the PS is doing and everything on the list appealed to my kid. So far, we've done Animal Farm (carryover from his PS), The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, The Once and Future King, and this week we're starting with The Secret Life of Walter Mitty.... for Spring we've also got on tap: "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County", The Martian Chronicles, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Night, October Sky, Call of the Wild and a small poetry unit. (or at least that's the current plan) (He also read: To Kill a Mockingbird, Of Mice and Men and a few other selections of short stories in PS before he left.) He reads eclectically for pleasure and has other readings for other topics. He does a vocab list on vocabulary.com to correspond with each piece of selected literature. When he's mastered that list, he works on an SAT prep list. He's doing an additional creative writing credit this quarter with help of his Writing group at the local library and some additional resources for fiction writing. Edited January 5, 2016 by theelfqueen 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MerryAtHope Posted January 5, 2016 Share Posted January 5, 2016 Can you link this for me so I know we are talking about the same thing? :) Essentials in Writing by Matthew Stephens. HTH! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hilltopmom Posted January 5, 2016 Share Posted January 5, 2016 Essentials in Writing by Matthew Stephens. HTH! It is confusing;) EIW not IEW. Two completely different programs. We love EIW with Mr. Stevens! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Haiku Posted January 5, 2016 Share Posted January 5, 2016 My dd will be in 9th next year, and I plan to use either Oak Meadow English 9 or Lightning Lit+Lively Art of Writing+Grammar for College Writing. I want to use the former; dd wants to use the latter. ;) 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan in SC Posted January 5, 2016 Share Posted January 5, 2016 My 9th grader is using Oak Meadow English 1- A Hero's Journey. He is really enjoying it. He's also using a separate vocabulary book, and reads (and sees) several plays each semester for an acting class. (He's going to take a refresher grammar class this semester because of an ld. I think it will help his writing.) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Girls' Mom Posted January 5, 2016 Share Posted January 5, 2016 By 9th grade, if they've got grammar down, we focus solely on writing. I've used Excellence in Literature, Power in Your Hands, and research projects for science and history. My #1 goal for my high schoolers in English is to be able to write papers well, and to be able to express themselves clearly in all of their writing. The focus has been a bit different for each of them. My oldest is a creative writer and we often worked on fiction writing with her, with a push for formal essay writing the last two years. One of my twins does not do well with the creative side of writing at all (she just doesn't operate that way) and we've focused mainly on literature analysis and formal essays. My other twin has done well with a mix of writing assignments. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laughing lioness Posted January 5, 2016 Share Posted January 5, 2016 We've used IEW, WWS and currently Lost Tools of Writing. LTW is not only a terrific writing program but a fantastic critical thinking program. It incorporates whatever lit you are using. I also created a Creative Writing class I taught in a co-op, incorporating the Grammar of Poetry, reading about creative writing and many creative writing assignments. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shellydon Posted January 5, 2016 Author Share Posted January 5, 2016 Essentials in Writing by Matthew Stephens. HTH! Okay, super. We use the 7th grade program of this in 6th grade, but have never done beyond it. I'll take a look. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shellydon Posted January 5, 2016 Author Share Posted January 5, 2016 By 9th grade, if they've got grammar down, we focus solely on writing. I've used Excellence in Literature, Power in Your Hands, and research projects for science and history. My #1 goal for my high schoolers in English is to be able to write papers well, and to be able to express themselves clearly in all of their writing. The focus has been a bit different for each of them. My oldest is a creative writer and we often worked on fiction writing with her, with a push for formal essay writing the last two years. One of my twins does not do well with the creative side of writing at all (she just doesn't operate that way) and we've focused mainly on literature analysis and formal essays. My other twin has done well with a mix of writing assignments. This is my goal as well. Grammar is important, but I don't want the emphasis to be grammar. Do you feel like Excellence in Literature teaches *how* to write, or just provides good prompts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Haiku Posted January 5, 2016 Share Posted January 5, 2016 My 9th grader is using Oak Meadow English 1- A Hero's Journey. He is really enjoying it. Can you (or your son) tell me what he's enjoying about it? I'm trying to sell it to my dd, but she's reluctant to try something new. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan in SC Posted January 5, 2016 Share Posted January 5, 2016 Can you (or your son) tell me what he's enjoying about it? I'm trying to sell it to my dd, but she's reluctant to try something new. I'll ask him when he returns from his afternoon class. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mschickie Posted January 5, 2016 Share Posted January 5, 2016 We mainly did literature guides (either Progeny Press or Novel Units). I would do between 4-5 a year depending on the books. I also used Jensen's Vocabulary. For sd's senior year we used Movies As Literature and that was an amazing program. Sd said it helped her in some of her college courses. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katilac Posted January 5, 2016 Share Posted January 5, 2016 (with Teaching Company lectures thrown in.) We use lots of Teaching Company lectures as well. For English, we loved The Art of Reading and really liked Analysis and Critique: How to Engage and Write About Anything. Also used and enjoyed The Western Literary Canon in Context and The English Novel. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom22ns Posted January 5, 2016 Share Posted January 5, 2016 We used Excellence in Literature for all non-outsourced high school English. There is no explicit writing instruction though. They do write papers and there are examples and grading rubrics. My oldest went from that to AP English and from there to college with no problems. My youngest went from there to Blue Tent Honors English 2 (which we didn't like) and then to College Composition at the CC. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodland Mist Academy Posted January 5, 2016 Share Posted January 5, 2016 We used Excellence in Literature for all non-outsourced high school English. There is no explicit writing instruction though. They do write papers and there are examples and grading rubrics. My oldest went from that to AP English and from there to college with no problems. My youngest went from there to Blue Tent Honors English 2 (which we didn't like) and then to College Composition at the CC. Would you mind sharing what you didn't like? Feel free to PM me. Thanks! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shellydon Posted January 5, 2016 Author Share Posted January 5, 2016 Thanks everyone, I feel encouraged! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan in SC Posted January 6, 2016 Share Posted January 6, 2016 Can you (or your son) tell me what he's enjoying about it? I'm trying to sell it to my dd, but she's reluctant to try something new. He said that he enjoys the reading selections and casual tone of the program. I think that means that he has no idea why he likes it, but he does. It doesn't provide as much hand holding with writing as he needs, so he's also going to read and implement The Lively Art of Writing. (I think that's the correct title.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LindaOz Posted January 6, 2016 Share Posted January 6, 2016 Locally, everyone outsources high school English with either online or local classes. We are currently doing Potter's School English 1. It is a good course, but very grammar heavy. English 2 is grammar heavy also, and I don't really want that at this point. So-- if you have taught writing at home for high school, what resources did you use? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LindaOz Posted January 6, 2016 Share Posted January 6, 2016 (edited) Locally, everyone outsources high school English with either online or local classes. We are currently doing Potter's School English 1. It is a good course, but very grammar heavy. English 2 is grammar heavy also, and I don't really want that at this point. So-- if you have taught writing at home for high school, what resources did you use?[/quote We have done a couple of Bravewriter classes but, other than that, mostly Sonlight writing assignments and writing assignments for Understanding the Times. On top of that both older girls have done own writing - one creative/novels and the other poetry. I also have then complete 'Our Mother Tongue' for grammar. Edited January 6, 2016 by LindaOz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaz Posted January 7, 2016 Share Posted January 7, 2016 Figuratively Speaking Garlic Press The Giver, To Kill a Mockingbird (9th grade) Windows to the World IEW Level C and Continuation Excellence in Literature Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JumpedIntoTheDeepEndFirst Posted January 7, 2016 Share Posted January 7, 2016 For English related topics we've used: Witty Wordsmith and Barbarian Diagrammarian through the Lukeion Project Easy Grammar and Daily Grams series Worldly Wise 3000 Excellence in Literature Crafting the Essay and Writing Analysis & Persuasion through CTY Online Muse on the Loose/Reloosed through the Lukeion Project Introduction to Literary Analysis by Jill Pike (using Widows to the World) Various literature lectures from The Teaching Company/Great Courses We've also constructed literature courses either using units from EiL or of our own creation. We've used poetry anthology and literature anthology plus novels and plays to pull together lit courses. We've also created, submitted, and received approval for an AP Lit course of our own design. I have two kids in high school and both have used combinations of these elements, they may not have used all of them throughout every grade but these are the resources we have drawn on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momto2Cs Posted January 14, 2016 Share Posted January 14, 2016 Currently, for 9th grade: Lively Art of Writing I might use The Great Grammar Book with him as well, since I was just given a copy for tutoring. Plans for 10th: Writing With a Thesis Writing across the curriculum Maybe: Excavating English, for fun 11th-12th: Writing across the curriculum, maybe a cc class (I know...that's outsourcing. But he's planning on working toward an AA bit by bit.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
My3girls Posted January 14, 2016 Share Posted January 14, 2016 9th Grade: Literature: Literary Lessons from Lord of the Rings & Units on Beowulf, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, A Connecticut Yankee.. from Excellence in Literature Composition: Lively Art of Writing Grammar: Reviews every other week from Analytical Grammar Vocabulary: Vocabulary from Classical Roots 10th Grade (tentative plans): Literature: Excellence in Literature Composition: IEW SICC-B? Grammar: Reviews every other week from Analytical Grammar Vocabulary: Vocabulary from Classical Roots Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin in DFW Posted January 14, 2016 Share Posted January 14, 2016 (edited) nm Edited January 15, 2016 by bye-bye birdie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OnMyOwn Posted January 15, 2016 Share Posted January 15, 2016 We used Excellence in Literature for all non-outsourced high school English. There is no explicit writing instruction though. They do write papers and there are examples and grading rubrics. My oldest went from that to AP English and from there to college with no problems. My youngest went from there to Blue Tent Honors English 2 (which we didn't like) and then to College Composition at the CC. I'd love to hear what wasn't a good fit for your son with this class, too. It's on my short list of online English classes for dd. Thank you! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lisabees Posted January 15, 2016 Share Posted January 15, 2016 My dd will be in 9th next year, and I plan to use either Oak Meadow English 9 or Lightning Lit+Lively Art of Writing+Grammar for College Writing. I want to use the former; dd wants to use the latter. ;) Tara - have you seen Lightning Lit? I found it to be a lot of busywork. Not enough depth for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Haiku Posted January 15, 2016 Share Posted January 15, 2016 I have not seen the whole program. I have only seen the samples they have online for 9th grade and some of what my friend's 8th grader is doing. I'm willing to tweak and modify if I feel like there is busywork. I'm mainly just tired of trying to figure out how to schedule three different LA programs (lit, grammar, writing) and want someone else to do it for me. But I would love to hear what types of things you felt were busywork-y about it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie of KY Posted January 16, 2016 Share Posted January 16, 2016 I've done a mix of outsourcing a little and doing much at home through high school English. Teaching the classics (dvd program) teaches mom well on how to discuss literature Lots of literature and discussions They Say, I Say Grammar Various poetry Shakespeare unit and plays Writing (much of the initial writing instruction has been outsourced to Bravewriter and then we take it from there) Excellence in Literature - mostly for the rabbit trails with whatever we are reading As my boys write, I evaluate what they still need to learn about grammar (and writing) and go from there. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Momto6inIN Posted January 16, 2016 Share Posted January 16, 2016 We haven't finished high school yet, so take this with a grain of salt and all ... ;) But this is what we've done so far and what we are planning for the next couple years. At this point he is planning on possibly taking a CC course or 2, but likely for fun electives and the experience, not for a core class. And our budget/not always reliable internet connection make outsourcing undesirable. 9th - WttW over about 26 weeks and then EiL units on the Odyssey and Julius Caesar (to go along with our ancient history studies) - AG review book to keep grammar skills sharp - VCR for vocab 10th - 6 misc. EiL units of his choice, some go with our medieval history studies and some don't - some misc. writing assignments from the Student Writing Handbook - another AG review book - finish up VCR 11th - I'm nervous about this, but so far we're looking at trying for a homecooked AP Eng Lang and Comp course - I've got the IEW book and the Cliff's Notes book and Thank You for Arguing - he'll also read about 7 classics - his grammar is solid and so we'll drop AG 12th - not completely sure, but looking at some modern lit units from EiL and a speech class and maybe a poetry unit from Progeny Press 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brookspr Posted January 26, 2016 Share Posted January 26, 2016 DD is in 10th grade this year and we have been using a mix of different curricula. Main literature studies come from Excellence in Literature, I purchased all 5 years used, so we pick and choose which books to read based on interest in the subject or time period. We also use Fix-It grammar since she didn't have much formal grammar instruction in public school, where she was thru grade 7. She writes papers from the EIL lessons and occasionally takes a Bravewriter class online. We have Lost Tools of Writing and Expository Essay (IEW) on the shelf, so if she needs help with a paper she uses them as resources, but isn't working her way through the whole program. Last year she also did some lit discussion with Center for Lit class. They had an option where you could pick books from any of the lit classes they were offering and kind of make your own class. I don't think they are offering that option this year, though. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Haiku Posted January 26, 2016 Share Posted January 26, 2016 (edited) Tara - have you seen Lightning Lit? I found it to be a lot of busywork. Not enough depth for me. Sorry, totally misread that. In my mind you were speaking of OM, not LL. I have not seen the complete program for LL 9th grade, but my dd currently uses and enjoys LL8 after also using and enjoying LL7. I'd like to hear what you think is busyworkish about LL. Edited January 27, 2016 by TaraTheLiberator 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StillStanding Posted January 26, 2016 Share Posted January 26, 2016 Sorry, totally misread that. In my mind you were speaking of OM, not LL. I have not seen the complete program for LL 9th grade, but my dd currently uses and enjoys LL8 after also using and enjoying LL9. I'd like to hear what you think is busyworkish about LL. You didn't ask me but I will answer you anyway: We did LL 7 and LL8 and enjoyed them both.The LL high school guide we are using now is not at all like LL7 and LL8 (a lot of instruction and practice). We are doing LL American to add to the ½ credit of literature from BF and basically it is a list of comprehension questions and essays to write (no writing instruction). Some literary terms are explained but not in detail. There aren’t any exercises to practice them either. I am almost sure we will use “When Worlds Collide†next year. We need more guidance. I am a math and science person (and English is not my native language). So maybe that is why it is not a good fit for us. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Haiku Posted January 27, 2016 Share Posted January 27, 2016 This is good information to have. Thank you. I'm leaning more and more in the direction of OM. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elegantlion Posted January 27, 2016 Share Posted January 27, 2016 One resource we used was Workbook for Arguments. This is an extended study of the Rulebook for Arguments listed in the WTM. It was a portion of our English credit. We also tied literature to history or some other theme, mostly using individual guides or reading according to one of the literary lectures from SWB - which one escapes me right now. My son was a reluctant writer - so something like Essentials in Writing worked well for him. We did a grammar refresher at the beginning of high school with Rod & Staff 7. We used Great Courses for some of the heavier literature selections, definitely for Iliad and Odyssey. We also pulled from one of their short story lecture series and the book itself was inexpensive (older used copy) on Amazon. One program never worked as ds had varying abilities across the English spectrum. Component products worked better for us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
................... Posted January 27, 2016 Share Posted January 27, 2016 The grammar is one of the reasons we aren't doing TPS. For ring language will be covering grammar for the purpose of teaching it. It's ridiculous IMO to cover so much grammar in high school. Another reason is that the reviews of TPsS writing is that if is **extremely** formulaic. It sounds like a frustration. Anyway, for 9th grade my son will be using MFW's 10th grade Writing and Lit program, and I will be grading all of his writing using a rubric. I am a tough grader when it comes to writing but not an overly formulaic one :) rubrics are helpful but taking a point off for every word that doesn't match a detailed formula isn't my thang. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shellydon Posted January 28, 2016 Author Share Posted January 28, 2016 The grammar is one of the reasons we aren't doing TPS. For ring language will be covering grammar for the purpose of teaching it. It's ridiculous IMO to cover so much grammar in high school. Another reason is that the reviews of TPsS writing is that if is **extremely** formulaic. It sounds like a frustration. Anyway, for 9th grade my son will be using MFW's 10th grade Writing and Lit program, and I will be grading all of his writing using a rubric. I am a tough grader when it comes to writing but not an overly formulaic one :) rubrics are helpful but taking a point off for every word that doesn't match a detailed formula isn't my thang. We won't use Potter's School English again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 28, 2016 Share Posted January 28, 2016 (edited) .... Edited June 22, 2016 by Guest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Homeschoolmom3 Posted January 28, 2016 Share Posted January 28, 2016 Check with your library - mine has an online writing lab where you can submit papers (and what the assignment was) and get feedback within a couple of days. Very handy, and free! How awesome, never knew of it and researched and we have it at our library as well. Great resource, thanks for sharing! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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