8th grade LA?

[Aurelia]

I've got most of next year planned out, but English/LA is giving me trouble. I've got some ideas, but can't make up my mind, and I don't know if I'm overlooking something. Some background: DD is an asynchronous, accelerated VSL with mild-ish ADHD. She loves books, is capable of understanding at a high level, but hates having to create written output. She's good at creative writing, but her academic writing needs work. Grammar for the sake of grammar (diagramming and/or memorizing rules like FLL or R&S) does not work. At all. Grammar in the context of writing works much better. (Treasured Conversations was a hit, and ELTL is going pretty well.) We school year-round, so a typical 36 week curriculum usually ends up being finished in 42-50 weeks, depending on whatever crops up (illness, family issues, competitions). Because of this, she tends to "age out" (matures too much? she has big jumps in ability or understanding) of a certain level of a curriculum, so we rarely end up finishing anything.

 

This year, we are using ELTL4 and WWS1. The dictation in ELTL is too much because DD is a struggling speller, but the grammar is pretty much on target, and she likes most of the writing exercises. I got her a nice blank book, so she really tries her best on the copy work. She does WWS because she has to, not because she likes it. We were doing LL7 before starting ELTL, but we had too much on our plate (DD is a competitive tumbler and is in the gym 5 days a week), and we were just never getting to it. ELTL gets done because it's only scheduled 3 days a week and doesn't require multiple books to juggle. 

 

That said, this is what I'm looking at for next year:

 

RLTL for spelling (or Spelling You See if that doesn't work) and Build Your Library 8th grade (history of science) for literature. Still trying to figure out grammar and composition.

 

I considered ELTL5 for next year, but we've already read most of the books, so I'd have to make a lot of substitutions, and I'm not sure the writing is that much more advanced than level 4. I think I'd use ELTL6, if it comes out relatively soon, but I don't see any indications of that on the company's website. 

 

Another option is to do The Giggly Guide to Grammar and WWS2, since it looks like the type of grammar she would tolerate best. (She likes silly stuff, and it diffuses some of the stress she feels about the subject. We've had a lot of grammar fails in the past.) WWS just because it's the next level. I might have to find a way to work in some creative writing so she doesn't start hating the idea of composition.

 

I'm also considering Oak Meadow's 9th grade English. It would provide her the most "room to grow" of the curricula currently on my radar, and I know she would like the artistic component. I haven't been able to find a ton of reviews on it, though, since the current version is pretty new. Most people seem to like it, but I don't have  clear idea of the writing assignments, and it includes literature (6 books) that DD would have to read on top of the 25 or so for BYL. It makes me nervous because it's fairly expensive even if I just buy the OM exclusives. It is my current front-runner.

 

If you've made it this far, thanks for reading! Have I overlooked any really good resource for a child like mine? I research things to death, but I need to make up my mind by May, since that's when OM has their best sale. 

[laughing lioness]

I taught Lost Tools of Writing this year and totally love it. Two of the kids in my class are ADHD, with one having some processing disorders. They are cruising through LTW. It is very sequential, and builds steadily, but not too fast. You can definitely make the pace go as fast/ slow as you'd like. We are using it in Ch.A and we read a book and do an essay on a 3 week schedule. It's a good pace- the kids really get into the book and aren't rushed through the process. Also, there are new terms in the program and that pace allows them to really learn the terms. 10 persuasive essays/ yr for that age is a decent pace, imo.

 

Also, we've loved Spelling You See. Great visual program that "codes" the "sound chunks." I wrote a review here.

[KathyBC]

I had tentatively planned for my dd when she got to that age to pair WWS with The Creative Writer.

[Aurelia]

I taught Lost Tools of Writing this year and totally love it. Two of the kids in my class are ADHD, with one having some processing disorders. They are cruising through LTW. It is very sequential, and builds steadily, but not too fast. You can definitely make the pace go as fast/ slow as you'd like. We are using it in Ch.A and we read a book and do an essay on a 3 week schedule. It's a good pace- the kids really get into the book and aren't rushed through the process. Also, there are new terms in the program and that pace allows them to really learn the terms. 10 persuasive essays/ yr for that age is a decent pace, imo.

 

Also, we've loved Spelling You See. Great visual program that "codes" the "sound chunks." I wrote a review here.

 

Are you using the new version of LTW? I looked at the website and apparently they recently came out with a new edition. I haven't personally seen either version, so I have no idea what the differences are.

Do you do the essays on your own book choices, or do they have a list that you're supposed to use?

 

I've seriously considered Spelling You See, but with shipping and everything, one level is almost $60! I think I'll give RLTL a go, since I just ordered it, and maybe try color-coding along with it. If that doesn't work, I'll look at SYS again. I'm still trying to recover from the sticker shock, because I was going to order it, until I got the total with more than $10 for shipping at the slowest speed, plus tax. I bit the bullet and ordered SYS. If it doesn't work, I'll try RLTL, otherwise I'll hold on to RLTL until my niece is old enough to use it. Still, the price, though. For spelling.

Edited March 4, 2016 by Aurelia

[Targhee]

My ADHD kids (two very VSL) have all liked MCT grammar. We used ML 1 in 8th.

 

My oldest also loves to read, hates output, and would prefer writing a descriptive piece over any form of academic writing. WWS 1/2 has given her some structural guidance on basic building blocks of academic writing, but I'm looking to do LToW, Writing with a Thesis, or Lively Art of Writing for next year.

[Aurelia]

We used the first level (Island) of MCT several years ago, and DD liked it, but she didn't seem to retain much. Even rereading a year or two later didn't seem to add a lot to her knowledge base, and it is pretty pricey. 

 

I've also been looking at Lively Art of Writing, Writing with a Thesis and Thinking in Threes, but can't seem to find anything that both lights my fire to teach it and is something DD would tolerate. I've got Maxwell's School Composition, too, but we only made it to lesson 8 last year before dropping it because I had no idea what kind of output to expect, and I grade too hard without a guideline. I'm a bit of a perfectionist. DD is not.

[laughing lioness]

Are you using the new version of LTW? I looked at the website and apparently they recently came out with a new edition. I haven't personally seen either version, so I have no idea what the differences are.

Do you do the essays on your own book choices, or do they have a list that you're supposed to use?

 

 

I did buy the new version and it's my first go-around with LTW. (I did go to the Circe conference last summer and fell in love with all things Circe, btw)

LTW has created great explanatory videos. We are using the book list from CC's Challenge A but it would be super easy to use it with any book that you wanted. My 15 and 12 yo are both using it with completely different books. 

[Another Lynn]

We used the first level (Island) of MCT several years ago, and DD liked it, but she didn't seem to retain much. Even rereading a year or two later didn't seem to add a lot to her knowledge base, and it is pretty pricey. 

 

I've also been looking at Lively Art of Writing, Writing with a Thesis and Thinking in Threes, but can't seem to find anything that both lights my fire to teach it and is something DD would tolerate. I've got Maxwell's School Composition, too, but we only made it to lesson 8 last year before dropping it because I had no idea what kind of output to expect, and I grade too hard without a guideline. I'm a bit of a perfectionist. DD is not.

 

Thinking in Threes is worth trying - for one it's not very expensive and two, it's very common sense - not convoluted at all.  I've been going through some of the lessons from Thinking in Threes in our morning time (ages 14, 12, 10 and 7) and we are enjoying it.  The 14yo has had a couple years of LTW so there is nothing new in it for him, but he adds his opinion about it which is nice.  I have seen both my 10yo and 7yo apply ideas from Thinking in Threes in their written and oral narrations respectively.  I really like it!  For my 12yo, who will be 8th next year, I'm thinking of coming up with 6 topics that will roughly correspond to history and have her write a basic report type paper on each one (three weeks for each paper - 1st week, research, 2nd week organize info and begin rough draft, 3rd week finish rough draft and edit) for Fall semester.  My complaint with many writing programs is that they jump from one type of writing to another without enough repetition.  I want writing a 5 or more paragraph paper to be automatic and easy to her.  Then for Spring I'll decide if we're ready to branch out to more persuasive or literary essays. I'm undecided what to use to cover grammar with her.  We did more spelling (really vocab.) than grammar this year, so I think we should focus more on grammar next year.  But I don't want it to take a great chunk of time (that would be Analytical Grammar, imho.)  Maybe sentence analysis with a resource from MCT.