TheApprentice Posted April 28, 2016 Share Posted April 28, 2016 That's my question. Ds will be in 8th grade next year, but the following year; he will be going to high school. We've done Essentials In Writing this year, with ok results, but it's not something I want to continue. If not WWS, what other options do I have for it to be more student led and still get a solid writing program? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KeriJ Posted April 28, 2016 Share Posted April 28, 2016 My opinion is, yes, it is definitely good prep. for high school. We may even continue using it through high school. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redsquirrel Posted April 28, 2016 Share Posted April 28, 2016 Well, my son got through WWS3 in 8th grade and he has done fine in high school. But, YMMV of course. We worked through WWE 1-4 and he also had a very strong grounding in grammar, we used FLL 1-4 and then R&S. We also did a lot of outlining in history and writing from the outline. So, his writing wasn't just WWS. We studied composition consistently throughout his schooling. I'm not convinced it's so much any one program as it is a consistency and a method that works for your student. And, again, YMMV, I am not convinced that WWS is really all that student led. You have to stay on top of it as the teacher. It's important to go through the assignment with the student and make sure s/he understands the instructions. It's also good if you know the program and understand where each step is heading. DS2 is taking the class through WTMA and it has been wonderful. They do offer a class for older kids who haven't done WWS 1-3 to get them ready for high school writing. It's sort of a WWS bootcamp...well..bootcamp might be overstating things. It's called "crashcourse for rhetoric writing" and it's for kids who didn't have WWS 1-3 before high school. It might also work as an 8th grade course to get a kid ready for 9th grade. If you aren't interested in the class, where would you start him with WWS? Would you just have him jump into WWS3? Or start with WWS1? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheApprentice Posted April 28, 2016 Author Share Posted April 28, 2016 It would be WWS1, and looking at the sample, it doesn't look like it would be enough at this late date. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Butter Posted April 28, 2016 Share Posted April 28, 2016 Yes. More than enough. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
texasmama Posted April 28, 2016 Share Posted April 28, 2016 (edited) I have two sons who are writing phobic. One did most of WWS1 over several years in grades 6-8. (No, that is not a typo.) The other resisted every writing program I gave him and essentially avoided doing much formal writing at all. Both are doing just fine in their co-op English class this year. I am the teacher so I look at their writing and am aware of exactly how much parental help they are receiving (almost none for the first son mentioned and minimal help for the second son). We have done Windows to the World with the Jill Pike syllabus. Both sons are squarely in the middle of the pack or better in my class of 10 as far as their writing ability goes. Neither has any interest at all in creative writing or in writing beyond what is required for academics. They have been exposed to good literature, both read aloud for many years and read by them. The vast majority of one son's exposure was through read alouds, as he didn't care to read for pleasure. They have been taught grammar, literary devices, and literature analysis, mostly by me and mostly in context. Language arts is in my wheelhouse. I can't tell if the OP's plan is to put her son in brick and mortar school in high school. If that is the plan, then all bets are off because I don't know. But I share my experience because it appears different from others. Edited April 28, 2016 by texasmama Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susie in CA Posted April 30, 2016 Share Posted April 30, 2016 Yes. We did WWS 1 and WWS 2 (not finished). Both my boys were fine in high school. In fact, one of them wrote far better than most of his peers in school. He is going back to homeschooling because high school is moving too slow (his words). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2_girls_mommy Posted May 3, 2016 Share Posted May 3, 2016 Its going to be enough here. We haven't even worked all of the way through WWS yet and are about to start 9th in the fall. I am putting off WTM rhetoric writing til 10th grade, and we are going to finish up WWS over this summer and into the beginning of 9th grade. We also are a year behind in R&S grammar, so she'll be working through its writing assignments as they come up. But like others said, this isn't the only writing she's had. We've done a co-op speech and drama class that required a lot. She's always done the WTM style writing in history: copywork, then narrations and dictations, summaries, outlines, and reports, etc. So after we finish up WWS and R&S 8 as a freshman, we'll start rhetoric writing and she'll be ready I'm sure. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlsdMama Posted May 5, 2016 Share Posted May 5, 2016 (edited) For the record, DS did WWS 1, part of WWS 2 and then straight into Comp I at community college. He got an A last semester as a junior in high school. He's running at about a 93% currently in Comp II with one paper left to go.Yes, it's enough. Edited May 5, 2016 by BlsdMama 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HomeAgain Posted May 5, 2016 Share Posted May 5, 2016 It's enough. Mine did WWS 1 in 8th, pulled straight A's in English comp in high school, and is pulling A's in his cc course. This was my reluctant writer who hated the whole process, but WWS helped him learn how to write and organize his thoughts better than anything else we ever tried. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Girls' Mom Posted May 5, 2016 Share Posted May 5, 2016 It is enough, IMO. It helped my younger two polish up their writing quite a lot before high school. They've both taken outside classes in which they've had to write papers, and have made As across the board. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheApprentice Posted May 5, 2016 Author Share Posted May 5, 2016 Thanks for your responses. It looks like I'll go with this. I'm a bit behind in my purchases this year for all the indecision. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
umsami Posted May 9, 2016 Share Posted May 9, 2016 My son just started WWS this year, but in my opinion, yes. It is leaps and bounds above what the typical middle schooler is doing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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