Prairie~Phlox Posted April 14, 2016 Share Posted April 14, 2016 My friend said her son is struggling with writing, I'm not sure what she's used, any suggestions to get him up to speed? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foxbridgeacademy Posted April 14, 2016 Share Posted April 14, 2016 IEW help my then 13 y.o. tremendously. Very exact, step by step program. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie of KY Posted April 14, 2016 Share Posted April 14, 2016 My struggling writer (high school) was tremendously helped by Brave Writer online classes. They are not cheap, but well worth the money here. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freesia Posted April 14, 2016 Share Posted April 14, 2016 We like IEW for kids who struggle with writing. I've heard that EIW is good for the same population. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori D. Posted April 14, 2016 Share Posted April 14, 2016 (edited) Other than just tossing out random guesses of programs, I really think it is next to impossible to suggest something that really would "click" for this family and help this young man. To make suggestions that might really help, we'd need to know what was used in the past that didn't work (and why). We'd need to know *why* the teen is struggling (LDs? poor grammar? writing resistant? didn't click with the form of instruction?). And we need to know what specific areas of writing he struggles with (translating thoughts to paper? basic sentence structure? organizing thoughts and the overall structure? how to support his points and write "commentary" explaining how/why his examples support his points?). From the Lit & Comp co-op classes for grades 7-12 I've been running for the past few years, I see a wide variety of reasons why students struggle with writing, and highly structured/incremental approaches do not work for all of these students. Some need a mentor to ask a series of specific questions and walk them through the process. Some are whole-to-parts learners who need the big picture first and need to actually write until they figure out what they are trying to say. Some struggle with just one aspect of writing -- how to stay on topic for a paragraph; what goes into a thesis statement and how to come up with one; how to write "commentary"… Some flat out have LDs and are still at the stage of struggling with basic sentence formation, capitalization and punctuation. I've had to take a completely different approach for each struggler and basically one-on-one mentor them, using ideas from a LOT of different writing programs. So, without knowing any of his specifics, the only thing I would be able to suggest that would be targeted and most effective is that mom hire a local tutor who is skilled in helping high school students who struggle with writing, to be able to walk alongside this student to teach composition to him and help strengthen his weak areas. Very kind of you wanting to help! BEST of luck to the family in finding what works! :) Warmest regards, Lori D. Edited April 14, 2016 by Lori D. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denise in IN Posted April 14, 2016 Share Posted April 14, 2016 For my reluctant writer boys, IEW and Meaningful Composition have been great resources. For that age, I would look at one of the SWI or SICC video courses (depending on what kind of writing instruction he's already had). If cost is an issue, the Meaning Composition books are only $35, and the instruction and assignments are clearly explained and incremental. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foxbridgeacademy Posted April 14, 2016 Share Posted April 14, 2016 Another really nice thing about IEW is that they offer a full refund. Which isn't really necessary since resale value is so high. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OneStepAtATime Posted April 14, 2016 Share Posted April 14, 2016 Agree with Lori upthread on needing more info but if more info isn't available then off the top of my head I would have to agree that IEW might be the best option. If he needs some grammar review I would add in Fix-It Grammar (new, not old). Short, sweet, non-intimidating. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kendall Posted April 15, 2016 Share Posted April 15, 2016 For my struggling writer I feel the need for extra time on the subject so my plan, which I am only partially executing right now, is to use something for essay writing for about an hour a day and spend another 30 minutes later in the day on writing exercises. For the writing exercises we are using Writing in English by Maxwell, free on google books. I haven't gotten very far, but it starts out with imitation. They read and analyze a paragraph and then imitate it with their own similar topic. My daughter has written some really nice paragraphs doing this and I think it gives some confidence, in addition to being a valuable thing to do for other reasons. She is pleased with what she has written and it really forces her to think hard. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kewb Posted April 15, 2016 Share Posted April 15, 2016 For my reluctant writers outsourcing was what worked for us. I havr used laurel tree and bravewriter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
housemouse Posted April 15, 2016 Share Posted April 15, 2016 Essentials in Writing has been good for my reluctant writer. It worked better than IEW. 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.