Deb in NJ Posted January 26, 2017 Share Posted January 26, 2017 Any suggestions for an online writing program/class. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie of KY Posted January 26, 2017 Share Posted January 26, 2017 I love Brave Writer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taffnus Posted January 26, 2017 Share Posted January 26, 2017 I love Brave Writer. I don't mean to sabotage the post but I have the same question. Can you please explain how the Brave Writer classes work? I've been to the site, read the info but I'm still a bit unclear. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie of KY Posted January 26, 2017 Share Posted January 26, 2017 I don't mean to sabotage the post but I have the same question. Can you please explain how the Brave Writer classes work? I've been to the site, read the info but I'm still a bit unclear. I'll try to answer what I think you are asking. Brave Writer classes are usually 4-6 weeks long. They do not have any live/video portions. Each day, or at least many days of the week, assignments are posted. Withing a week there are usually some reading assignments (how to... or samples), some shorter easy assignments and a longer harder assignment. Teacher feedback is given on all the assignments and this is what is so worth paying for. I find the teachers fabulous at both being encouraging while constructively moving the student along toward much better writing. Students can see the other students writing and the teacher critique for all the students. All the different 4-6 week classes have a different focus. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taffnus Posted January 26, 2017 Share Posted January 26, 2017 (edited) I'll try to answer what I think you are asking. Brave Writer classes are usually 4-6 weeks long. They do not have any live/video portions. Each day, or at least many days of the week, assignments are posted. Withing a week there are usually some reading assignments (how to... or samples), some shorter easy assignments and a longer harder assignment. Teacher feedback is given on all the assignments and this is what is so worth paying for. I find the teachers fabulous at both being encouraging while constructively moving the student along toward much better writing. Students can see the other students writing and the teacher critique for all the students. All the different 4-6 week classes have a different focus. Thanks so much! I hope the OP doesn't mind me asking on her post! What would a year look like? Does your child take multiple classes during the year? What do you do for writing when not taking BW classes? They're quite expensive so I can't see us doing more than 3 in one year. If we go this route though, I'm uncertain what we'd do in the time between classes, especially if I'm not aware of what instruction she's received. Make sense? Edited January 26, 2017 by taffnus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tess in the Burbs Posted January 26, 2017 Share Posted January 26, 2017 my son is just finishing up an essay class with So Verbose. They do 9 week classes and I'm very pleased with the information given and his progress this class. We are planning on using them again next year to flesh out our English plans. It is emailed lessons with weekly assignments that are graded and returned with comments. My son started off AWFUL and has finished great. Let's just say the rubric section with follow directions has been a challenge the entire time, but ti's a good lesson to learn. It's very affordable too. They offer a full year English class as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie of KY Posted January 26, 2017 Share Posted January 26, 2017 Thanks so much! I have the OP doesn't mind me asking on her post! What would a year look like? Does your child take multiple classes during the year? What do you do for writing when not taking BW classes? They're quite expensive so I can't see us doing more than 3 in one year. If we go this route though, I'm uncertain what we'd do in the time between classes, especially if I'm not aware of what instruction she's received. Make sense? A year of English at my home might include about 2 Brave Writer courses, some other writing assigned by me as well as literature assigned by me or otherwise outsourced. I am aware of what is taught in Brave Writer as I read all of the assignments and the feedback. It's not too hard for me to keep up with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wenti Posted January 26, 2017 Share Posted January 26, 2017 So Verbose​ essay class is not a good fit for my DS. He thought it was too easy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KimberlyI Posted January 26, 2017 Share Posted January 26, 2017 My daughter enjoyed Bravewriter. She is currently taking a class at Center for Lit. Although she is not doing the writing portion this year we are planning to add that for next year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TarynB Posted January 26, 2017 Share Posted January 26, 2017 We're having a good experience with Write At Home. Has previously received positive reviews here on the board too. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coloradomomof5 Posted January 27, 2017 Share Posted January 27, 2017 I used write at home for two sessions. I felt like the expectations could have been greater and the edits could have been more thought provoking rather than spoon fed. I didn't feel like it was much help. My kids could write 3-5 paragraph essays and they asked for weekly paragraphs. Classes were reading a live strand online. No picture. No voice. Kids found it boring. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TarynB Posted January 27, 2017 Share Posted January 27, 2017 (edited) I used write at home for two sessions. I felt like the expectations could have been greater and the edits could have been more thought provoking rather than spoon fed. I didn't feel like it was much help. My kids could write 3-5 paragraph essays and they asked for weekly paragraphs. Classes were reading a live strand online. No picture. No voice. Kids found it boring. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Are you sure it was Write At Home? If so, things must have changed a lot, because that's not how they conduct their classes at all. It is taught asynchronously (no live component) and the teacher's feedback on my son's papers has been extensive and in-depth. In fact, the feedback has been much more detailed than any feedback he ever received in other writing classes frequently mentioned around here (CLRC, WTMA, and Circe's LToW). Our experience thus far is that the teacher's expectations seem to stay just above the level at which my son is writing . . . that is, there is always room for improvement, and DS is enjoying rising to the challenge each week. Definitely not spoon-fed, more of a Socratic style that can also be applied to future papers, not just the current one. ETA - Maybe you are thinking of Home 2 Teach? What you described sounds like how they run their classes. Edited January 27, 2017 by TarynB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zebra Posted January 27, 2017 Share Posted January 27, 2017 Are you sure it was Write At Home? If so, things must have changed a lot, because that's not how they conduct their classes at all. It is taught asynchronously (no live component) and the teacher's feedback on my son's papers has been extensive and in-depth. In fact, the feedback has been much more detailed than any feedback he ever received in other writing classes frequently mentioned around here (CLRC, WTMA, and Circe's LToW). Our experience thus far is that the teacher's expectations seem to stay just above the level at which my son is writing . . . that is, there is always room for improvement, and DS is enjoying rising to the challenge each week. Definitely not spoon-fed, more of a Socratic style that can also be applied to future papers, not just the current one. ETA - Maybe you are thinking of Home 2 Teach? What you described sounds like how they run their classes. My experience with WAH has been similar to the above. We tried an 8 week course last year, and are using a full year course for 8th grade. I feel like the coach is pushing my dd the exact right amount, and the feedback has been perfect. I have absolutely no complaints, and I don't say that lightly! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mirabillis Posted January 28, 2017 Share Posted January 28, 2017 We are just starting WAH (only 2 weeks in) so jury is out. I heard rave reviews from them here, specifically from someone who used them right before AP Eng Lang in 11th grade and said how helpful it was ahead of that. So that's our impetus. My son is writing better than he would for me, but right now, it doesn't quite seem like 'teaching' as it is just a sheet per week of the week's expectations. But we weren't looking for teaching, as he already has learned writing. He needs the practice and the feedback. And the feedback has been pretty good so far. I'm hoping to like it and continue with a full year next year. 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.