WTM Press new "The Creative Writer" curricula

[EKT]

I just now saw that WTM Press recently released this new creative writing curriculum. (Has it been out for awhile and I just missed it? Is this old news to everyone else?!) I am very interested in checking it out, but, from a practical perspective, I am curious how I might work it in alongside WWE, etc. (With WWE, FLL, AAS, and everyday reading, I feel like our school day is already about 75% language arts, lol.)

 

Has anyone actually purchased it yet or looked through it? Anyone know anything else about it? (I tried searching for posts about it, but nothing came up. Feel free to direct me to a previous post if this has already been discussed.) Thanks!

[mamamoose]

I bought the first level. I was planning on using it next year or possibly this summer. It looks very well done but is written to the student and laid our much different than WWE or FLL. Is WWS written like WWE? On a 4 day schedule? I wonder if it would be possible to alternate days?

[desertflower]

I read somewhere that people usually pair WWS with TCW.  Monday - Thursday WWS and then TCW on Fridays. 

 

Unless WTM press came out with new books, I believe it's for grades 5th and up.  Just like WWS. 

[happypamama]

My rising ninth grader used TCW this past year and has loved it!  We have her do one week's worth of lessons from WWS, whether it takes her four days or six or whatever, and then she does a lesson from TCW before starting the next week of WWS.

[Um_2_4]

My rising ninth grader used TCW this past year and has loved it!  We have her do one week's worth of lessons from WWS, whether it takes her four days or six or whatever, and then she does a lesson from TCW before starting the next week of WWS.

 

I'm going to look at the sample, but would this be a good fit for a writer who despises "free writing"? Like "write a paragraph about your favorite trip" drives him loopy? 

 

DS will be doing WWS1 for next year (7th). But he despises that type of story writing or narrative writing. He did well with WWE and we have started the 1st 4 weeks of WWS1 and he likes it. 

 

We tried an essay program I got from teacherspayteachers, but it was too open ended and not enough scaffolding.

 

Thanks

[amsunshine]

I have a question: how do you determine what level your dc should use?  I'm thinking level 2 for my rising 8th grader next year, just from looking at the samples.  Does this seem about right?

[happypamama]

I'm going to look at the sample, but would this be a good fit for a writer who despises "free writing"? Like "write a paragraph about your favorite trip" drives him loopy? 

 

DS will be doing WWS1 for next year (7th). But he despises that type of story writing or narrative writing. He did well with WWE and we have started the 1st 4 weeks of WWS1 and he likes it. 

 

We tried an essay program I got from teacherspayteachers, but it was too open ended and not enough scaffolding.

 

Thanks

 

TCW seems to be more directed, like, "Think of a character, and list ten things about that character."  Not quite as open-ended.  WWS is very scripted.

I have a question: how do you determine what level your dc should use?  I'm thinking level 2 for my rising 8th grader next year, just from looking at the samples.  Does this seem about right?

Hmm, I haven't looked at TCW 2 much yet, but I thought they built on each other, so you might need to have done TCW 1 first.  I'm not sure.

[Haiku]

We used it last year. My dd did not like it. She said it felt rigid and like it sucked the creativity out of writing by giving you rules for how to write creatively.

 

I will say that my dd is an avid poet as well as a creative writer, and I do think TCW helped improve her poetry. I was very flexible in how she used and completed the lessons, though.

[Haiku]

I have a question: how do you determine what level your dc should use? I'm thinking level 2 for my rising 8th grader next year, just from looking at the samples. Does this seem about right?

Yes. Level 2 would be fine.

[amsunshine]

Yes. Level 2 would be fine.

Thanks so much!