LLATL or ACE

[Mom27kidz]

Which seems better for a struggling writer?

Grade 5. I like LLATL because I am familiar with it but I like ACE because he loves workbooks.

[HomeAgain]

My vote is neither. ACE is notorious for giving a paltry education that relies on multiple choice answers, and LLATL was nearly thrown through a window here because of how disjointed it was.

 

Is there something that calls to you about these two choices in particular, or are you just looking for something for a struggling writer?

[Insertcreativenamehere]

I'd also vote neither. For a struggling writer, I'd go with something writing-specific like IEW or Writing and Rhetoric rather than relying on an all-in-one LA program. 

[....]

It depends on how much struggling we're talking about here.  What about Writing with Ease 3 and 4...then moving into the Writing with Skill series over the next couple of years?

[nixpix5]

I would have to agree with everyone else. ACE won't make the progress you want. LLATL is fine for some and not for others. If you are wanting something different though I would go with Writing and Rhetoric as it is often received well by parents and kids. It might also be worth considering EIW or IEW (as others have mentioned).

[Mom27kidz]

I liked the look of W&R but my kids go to the local high school for 9-12. Will they get enough essay type stuff out of W&R by then??

[HomeAgain]

I liked the look of W&R but my kids go to the local high school for 9-12. Will they get enough essay type stuff out of W&R by then??

Well, they definitely won't out of the two you're deciding between.

 

Our progression for a reluctant writer was this:

Writing Tales book 1 - it's meant for 3rd-4th, but using it a year behind solidified the concepts and the writing.

LLATL Tan - this was given up on.

Moving Beyond The Page units same year - I bought them from Rainbow Resource and ignored the age ranges. We did at least one 9-11, one 8-10, and a few on target.

WWS 1 in 7th/8th - this helped immensely. He blossomed under this book, and slid right into high school writing easily and getting As.

 

The only thing I regret is LLATL. Writing Tales helped him keep his thoughts in order, MBTP exposed him to various genres and literary elements, and WWS helped him learn how to write research papers better than our history and science connected work.