RootAnn Posted March 5, 2017 Share Posted March 5, 2017 I really want to outsource DD#3's writing next year. I've done some preliminary back-of-the-napkin planning for all five kids, and I think time-wise, she'll be better served with an outsourced class. Back when, I was thinking of a one semester writing class that started with a review of how to write strong paragraphs and rolled into beginning to write essays. (Landry used to have one called "Writing Ropes.") I've considered WTMA's EW1, but we've worked through about ten weeks of it so far & she's not feeling the love. I've considered CLRC's Upper Elem Language Arts 1, but a two hour class seems rather excessive. If she could just take the lit/writing hour, I'd definitely still consider it. I'm currently looking at TPS's Journey to Narnia or Jessica Shao's (Coram Deo Tutorial) Intro to Essay Writing. She's my promote-in-January child, so she'll be halfway through 6th grade in the fall. I have one kid who is allergic to the pencil & another who is a highly gifted writer. This kid is way better than the former, but not in the same category as the latter. I'm not sure how she'll do on the TPS placement test. I've never used TPS and don't know how "Christian" the class will be. I don't want this class to be killer. I'd prefer it to be a gentle introduction to online classes. I'm looking for solid writing instruction without tons of outside work, especially busy work. I'm not thrilled with formulaic writing (a concern for both providers, I think). I have plenty of literature for her to read next year if she has time, so I'm not looking for an all-in-one. Input from those who have taken one class or another? Ideas? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clear Creek Posted March 9, 2017 Share Posted March 9, 2017 My oldest daughter took Intro to Essay Writing from Jessica Shao in 8th grade. It is definitely a very gentle course with a small amount of work outside of the live class - just enough to practice what was taught and to provide material for the kids to discuss in the next class. The meat of the course is in the weekly class, which is heavy on discussion (not just a lecture). There were only two other students in her class, so my daughter had to be an active participant the entire time. I thought she benefited highly from the course; it taught her how to think through a thesis for an essay and support her argument with evidence so that her essays had some substance. It also provided feedback on her writing from someone other than me. One caveat - I don't know if Ms. Shao is still in university, but she was last year which meant that the class times were not set in stone. Once she had her schedule, she polled the students and they settled on a day and time that worked for everyone. So don't base your registration on whether the time for the course works for you unless she has stated that that is the set time for the course. Also, my daughter's class ran over time by about 15 minutes just about every week since the students were always deep in a discussion when the class was supposed to end. I looked it as a freebie, but if you schedule something else for immediately after the class is supposed to end it might be an inconvenience. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RootAnn Posted March 9, 2017 Author Share Posted March 9, 2017 Thank you! I was just coming to bump this to see if anyone else had any feedback. Knowing now what you do, would you use Shao again? If so, for what age/stage? What did you move that daughter into next? I did just find out that CLRC will let you take only the lit/writing portion of the class, so that class is back in contention. I think I've decided that it'll either be CLRC's LA1 or Shao. I think TPS's Narnia class would be better in another year, if we went with it at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clear Creek Posted March 9, 2017 Share Posted March 9, 2017 If I could afford an outsourced writing class again, I would sign my oldest up for LTOW I class with Ms. Shao in a heartbeat. I would sign my younger daughter up for the Intro to Essay class as well. Alas, there was no money in the budget for oursourced classes this year, so my oldest is just writing essays for history and literature, and going through IEW Advanced U.S. History Writing for some extra instruction. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poetic license Posted March 9, 2017 Share Posted March 9, 2017 My oldest daughter took Intro to Essay Writing from Jessica Shao in 8th grade. It is definitely a very gentle course with a small amount of work outside of the live class - just enough to practice what was taught and to provide material for the kids to discuss in the next class. The meat of the course is in the weekly class, which is heavy on discussion (not just a lecture). There were only two other students in her class, so my daughter had to be an active participant the entire time. I thought she benefited highly from the course; it taught her how to think through a thesis for an essay and support her argument with evidence so that her essays had some substance. It also provided feedback on her writing from someone other than me. I'm also thinking about the Intro to Essay Writing for next year. The discussion part sounds right up our alley because in the other online classes my son took, there was not much discussion. Do they discuss by typing or talking? Also, how Christian is the class? Would it be acceptable for a secular homeschooler? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clear Creek Posted March 9, 2017 Share Posted March 9, 2017 I'm also thinking about the Intro to Essay Writing for next year. The discussion part sounds right up our alley because in the other online classes my son took, there was not much discussion. Do they discuss by typing or talking? Also, how Christian is the class? Would it be acceptable for a secular homeschooler? They discuss by talking; my daughter had to use a headset with a mic. I asked my daughter and she couldn't recall any religious discussion whatsoever during the course; she said Ms. Shao never brought up her Christianity during class. Her only clue that Ms. Shao might be a Christian was the name of the website. No prayers, no discussion of how C.S. Lewis's faith might have affected his books...the classes were focused 100% on essay invention, arrangement, and elocution. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poetic license Posted March 10, 2017 Share Posted March 10, 2017 They discuss by talking; my daughter had to use a headset with a mic. I asked my daughter and she couldn't recall any religious discussion whatsoever during the course; she said Ms. Shao never brought up her Christianity during class. Her only clue that Ms. Shao might be a Christian was the name of the website. No prayers, no discussion of how C.S. Lewis's faith might have affected his books...the classes were focused 100% on essay invention, arrangement, and elocution. Thanks! I emailed her and she said that some Biblical themes might come up in the class, and that most of the time the discussion is in the chat box although students do occasionally have the opportunity to use the microphone. What type of work was your daughter able to produce as a result of the class? Also, what kind of feedback does the teacher give? Thanks for any insight you have :) With all the options I am having a heck of a time figuring out what to do next year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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