What is your middle school child doing for writing?

[mytwomonkeys]

Okay. I’ve really enjoyed the the other two threads regarding middle school curriculum choices for various subjects. What are you all using for writing? What are your plans as they enter 9th grade? My son is in 8th grade & I feel the most pressure with writing. Thanks in advance!

 

Amy

[MerryAtHope]

Essentials in Writing worked really well for my kids in middle school and high school. Here's a review I did awhile back. I hope you find something that's a good fit for you and your kids!

[sbgrace]

I'll look forward to seeing your responses, because I find writing curriculum choices hard as well.

 

I'm using BraveWriter Help for Highschool so far in 8th. The first half went well, but the second half is going to be very different. I'm not sure what to expect. I'm also not sure where to go after this is done. 

 

 

[Miss Tick]

My kids are doing great in 7th with WWS2, but it is a full load of work for them and I am confident it will take us more like 42 weeks to finish it. They are really getting better at writing, though, so a teeny tiny quiet part of me is hoping that their pace will pick up enough so that we are done with the book at the end of the school year!

 

Barring disaster I'm planning on WWS3 for 8th and perhaps a WTMA Rhetoric for 9th? That may be too steep a curve for us.

[Insertcreativenamehere]

We're using Writing and Rhetoric: Commonplace for the first part of 7th grade, and then the following book in the series for the second half. 

[....]

7th grader is still doing dictation, narration and copywork, along with some creative writing assignments from Bravewriter and Rip the Page: Adventures in Creative Writing.

 

Oldest two did the Writing with Skill series in 7th/8th grade. 

[mytwomonkeys]

These are great. Thank you! Off to do research on these now. We purchased The Good and The Beautiful Language Arts Level 7, but the writing is just not enough at all. My son was in public school last year & the writing was just SOOO much... but now it’s barely at all (aside from a written narration here or there & a paper he wrote on why YouTube gaming is a great career).

 

I just find myself at a loss trying to figure out what he needs. I purchased Wordsmith and Writing with Skill 1, as I found these copies for really cheap on Amazon. But I bought them sort of blindly & really have no idea what will work. I’m just hoping these will get us through 8th grade & now I’m looking ahead to next year (I definitely don’t want to be in this position again in 9th grade, as I feel aimless). Thank you all again!

Edited September 30, 2017 by mytwomonkeys

[....]

We love the wordsmith series.  My oldest two are using Wordsmith Craftsman this year.  And you can't go wrong with WWS!

[Jazzy]

My oldest used WWS 1 & 2, and it was a really good fit. He used it mostly independently and has great writing skills.

 

My current middle schooler is using The Lost Tools of Writing. It is totally different than WWS - more of a "what to write" program than "how to write" program - but it is equally good, IMO.

 

I really like both programs.

[SanDiegoMom]

We used WWS 1 in fifth and are using WWS 2 now in sixth.  I am not having them do every single week, because the amount can be overwhelming, and we spend extra time on longer writing assignments. They don't LOVE it, but their skills in organizing their thoughts and making outlines and producing clear writing have definitely blossomed.

[freesia]

My seventh grader is using Jump in by Sharon Watson.

[2_girls_mommy]

We just used Rod and Staff with the writing assignments and WTM writing across the curriculum for elem and middle school. My kids won 1st and 2nd place in a state essay contest at a musuem with a big $ prize each in 6th and 8th grade, so I think we did ok. :)  We did the WTM on our own in elem with narration, summaries, copywork, a bit of dictation, and the R&S assignments. In middle school we added in outlining and they began to give more output for outside classes like speech at co-op. I taught them the basic 5 paragraph essay and kept up R&S writing. We attempted WWS in logic stage. My older had too much trouble following the directions on her own in 6th grade, and we had a pretty full curric, so we dropped it til later. I had her pick it back up in 8th working at it off and on when we had time between the stuff we already did. She mostly did it over 9th grade and is finishing up in 10th. And she is a great writer. I don't worry about not finishing it early. She learns and improves constantly. I've picked up the 9th grade and up recomendations for writing from WTM, and have them ready to go when she finishes WWS. But she still writes across the curriculum like she always has. I am requiring one small history paper a month. She writes for our co-op newsletter. She writes on literature and we do a bit of journaling for our school too, all kinds of things.  I'll start WWS with my current 8th grader a bit at a time when my 10th grader finishes it this semester. 

[hollyhock]

Mine do WTM writing across curriculum, so narrations and outlines and rewriting outlines. By 8th or 9th grade, the narrations have turned into essays.

[KeriJ]

We just used Rod and Staff with the writing assignments and WTM writing across the curriculum for elem and middle school. My kids won 1st and 2nd place in a state essay contest at a musuem with a big $ prize each in 6th and 8th grade, so I think we did ok. :) We did the WTM on our own in elem with narration, summaries, copywork, a bit of dictation, and the R&S assignments. In middle school we added in outlining and they began to give more output for outside classes like speech at co-op. I taught them the basic 5 paragraph essay and kept up R&S writing. We attempted WWS in logic stage. My older had too much trouble following the directions on her own in 6th grade, and we had a pretty full curric, so we dropped it til later. I had her pick it back up in 8th working at it off and on when we had time between the stuff we already did. She mostly did it over 9th grade and is finishing up in 10th. And she is a great writer. I don't worry about not finishing it early. She learns and improves constantly. I've picked up the 9th grade and up recomendations for writing from WTM, and have them ready to go when she finishes WWS. But she still writes across the curriculum like she always has. I am requiring one small history paper a month. She writes for our co-op newsletter. She writes on literature and we do a bit of journaling for our school too, all kinds of things. I'll start WWS with my current 8th grader a bit at a time when my 10th grader finishes it this semester.

Just to clarify (because we approach writing very similarly) are you finishing all 3 levels of WWS?

[happypamama]

7th grader is using WWS1 and will move on to WWS2 when he's done.  We take it at a fairly slow pace, and I'm okay with that.  It's a good fit for him.

 

My plans for writing for ninth grade will depend on how strong I feel he is at writing across the curriculum.  I could switch him to essays in history and literature if he's ready for that, or we could continue more of WWS2.  My gut feeling is that he will be fine.  He is very good at summarizing at this point and has no problem picking out the important parts; if anything, he's too succinct. ;)

[Juliegmom]

My 7th grader is using WWS1. I'm on the fence of what to use for 8th grade next year. I like the skills being taught in WWS, but my daughter prefers CAP Writing and Rhetoric. She enjoys creative writing and CAP gave her a little more room for creativity. She is a decent writer, but is resistant to structure. For 8th grade, I'm considering using CAP Commonplace and The Lively Art of Writing or continuing with WWS2. We've been doing Friday Freewrites from the Bravewriter blog for a relaxed, fun, creative outlet.

Edited October 1, 2017 by Juliegmom

[LMD]

My 6th grader is using WWS1. She doesn't love it but doesn't hate it and I am really pleased with it.

 

I'm planning on CW Homer for 7th next year (she did Aesop level a few years ago)

[Momto6inIN]

Oldest DS used Wordsmith series and it was wonderful for him as a natural writer.

2nd DS needed much more scaffolding and after floundering a bit we took the plunge and spent the money on IEW and I haven't looked back. It's been good for my DDs too, even though they haven't needed as much help with organization as my 2ns DS.

 

Sent from my Z988 using Tapatalk

[Farrar]

Brave Writer methods, mostly. We previously did Faltering Ownership during middle school. I mostly make our writing projects and add in some of the other things, like dication. We also currently do some Daily Paragraph Editing from Evan-Moor.

 

One of my boys is doing Twisting Arms right now and I am loving that. A very unknown little resource. It'll probably take him a little less than half a year to do.

 

Previously one of my boys did use Wordsmith, mentioned above. I thought it was very simple and well-done.

[deerforest]

Brave Writer methods, mostly. We previously did Faltering Ownership during middle school. I mostly make our writing projects and add in some of the other things, like dication. We also currently do some Daily Paragraph Editing from Evan-Moor.

 

One of my boys is doing Twisting Arms right now and I am loving that. A very unknown little resource. It'll probably take him a little less than half a year to do.

 

Previously one of my boys did use Wordsmith, mentioned above. I thought it was very simple and well-done.

 

We loved Twisting Arms too! We used that in 7th, and I agree--it should be more widely recommended!

 

We have used so many different resources over the years, and DD just turned in her very first "response to literature" essay as part of Oak Meadow English 8. I just did my first quick run-through, but OH MY GOODNESS! All those pieces have finally come together. Her essay is good. Finally. I'm so relieved. (For what it's worth, I wouldn't recommend OM as a writing resource. It definitely doesn't offer "how to" writing tips, but we are enjoying it otherwise.)

 

I don't have the heart to recommend all the resources we've used because I honestly have no idea what it finally was that got us here. It's basically just how she learns. I keep throwing things at her and then eventually she suddenly has mastered it.

[Farrar]

We loved Twisting Arms too! We used that in 7th, and I agree--it should be more widely recommended!

 

We have used so many different resources over the years, and DD just turned in her very first "response to literature" essay as part of Oak Meadow English 8. I just did my first quick run-through, but OH MY GOODNESS! All those pieces have finally come together. Her essay is good. Finally. I'm so relieved. (For what it's worth, I wouldn't recommend OM as a writing resource. It definitely doesn't offer "how to" writing tips, but we are enjoying it otherwise.)

 

I don't have the heart to recommend all the resources we've used because I honestly have no idea what it finally was that got us here. It's basically just how she learns. I keep throwing things at her and then eventually she suddenly has mastered it.

 

I'm pretty sure it was you who suggested Twisting Arms. I think you should recommend away. I'm not sure about your dd and my two ds, but I think you and I have similar tastes in resources. :) 

[Chelli]

DD 13 has basically used the Writing and Rhetoric series up until this year. I'm teaching a high school level writing class using at our co-op so she's in that as an 8th grader because I think she can handle it. I'm using The Lively Art of Writing in the class and the accompanying free workbook, but I modify all of the assignments to fit the class since I'm using a study of  Macbeth as our backbone. I go through the workbook and mark out assignments and change them to fit what we've been discussing about Macbeth. For example, they just finished writing a long persuasive paragraph about who the true villain in Macbeth is, Lady Macbeth or Macbeth. All of the assignments in the chapter that we were on in Lively Art of Writing were adapted to fit that assignment. It's working well so far and I'm pleased with her progress. Co-op only lasts 23 weeks so for the rest of the weeks of our homeschool, she'll be working through W&R Refutation.

[MinivanMom]

We use MCT for grades 4-6, so in 6th grade my kids have been working through MCT Voyage. 

 

Then in 7th and 8th grades we transition to just writing. I had them write 2 literary essays and 2 research papers each year. My biggest goal in approaching 9th grade was just to make sure they could write a decent, coherent essay. Everything else was gravy.

 

Of course, that wasn't the only writing they did. My middle schoolers have also outlined their history chapters each week, and they have written a "short" science report each month. They have also done some creative writing on the side, but we haven't used a formal program for that. Dd spent a lot of time writing poetry for fun, and ds likes to write long, rambling stories with lots of silly humor.

[Guest]

We are doing the second half of WWS1 this year plus some outlining and essays across the curriculum. I’m debating LtoW for next year. 8Fill’s plan, Nanowrimo, and The Writers Workshop are also bouncung around in my brain...

[Milknhoney]

We started WWS1 in grade 6 and now in grade 8 we're not quite halfway through WWS2. I expect we'll be working through grade 9 to finish off WWS3. I'm not really sure how we'll address rhetoric writing once we've finished the series, so interested to see how others answer. I don't really want to have a whole separate writing curriculum from our literature studies, so I'm hoping that whatever I end up doing there will cover writing too. Excellence in Literature looks like what I want in terms of combining writing instruction with literature studies, but I'm not loving the selections. I'm also looking at Stobaugh's literature but not really sure how much writing instruction is there. 

 

WWS is excellent. Ds hates it but the quality of his output proves its effectiveness. Ds just completed his WWS2-week 15 paper. I asked Dh last night if he read it, and he answered that he googled the first few lines to make sure they weren't plagiarized. He thought they were too good to have been written by a 12 year old. Of course Ds is quite bright (IMHO), but I still must give most of the credit to WWS. 

[ByGrace3]

Writing is one of the areas we have bounced the most in. Dd did WWE1- part of 2, a good bit of BraveWriter, Treasured Converstions, WWS 1, and now The Lively Art of Writing with BW. I think next year (8th) she will probably do Wilson Hill's FoEW. . . I think ... ;)

[JennyD]

My 7th grader is finishing up WWS1.  He loathes it but like a poster above, I think it has been incredibly effective and I plan to continue with WWS2, much to DS's displeasure.

 

I rotate WWS with other writing assignments, though.  Right now we're using STEM to Story, Unjournaliing, and my own writing assignments based on the Lightning Literature book list.  

 

[wehave8]

We are doing Essentials in Writing for 7th and 8th graders this year. My boys are REALLY liking it!  MORE than half the battle.  :)

 

 

Pam

[2_girls_mommy]

Just to clarify (because we approach writing very similarly) are you finishing all 3 levels of WWS?

no, but only because there isn't enough time in a day or left in school years at home, lol. I really like it for her. She is wrapping up level 1 here and using what she has learned in her writings for all subjects. 

 

I have The Elements of Style and R&S 9/10 which is more writing and editing than grammar at this point but of which she is now just reading and doing the editing pages from, no longer writing out the assignments most days, that she uses alongside the last of WWSI, and then she will move into the WTM rhetoric recomendations , The Workbook for Arguments and then The New Oxford Guide to Writing for the rest of high school. 

 

She read through the Well Educated Mind last year and did one lit guide from Memoria Press to teach her how to write on her lit selections too. 

Edited October 3, 2017 by 2_girls_mommy

[boscopup]

Procrastinating whenever he hits a writing assignment.  :lol:

 

My 8th grader is doing virtual school this year, so isn't really getting much writing instruction (though his teachers think he writes really well... once I get him out of deer in headlights mode!), but he did use WWS1 before doing virtual. Next year in 9th, I plan to attempt Excellence in Literature Intro to Literature, and we'll see if he needs any extra writing instruction beyond what we discuss as he just writes across the curriculum. I had thought about doing WWS2, but he really didn't want to. He seems to be doing pretty well just writing. His main issue is getting started (and often coming up with ideas when the assignment is some touchy feely life experience thing that he really hasn't experienced, but that won't be an issue in homeschooling, as I won't give those assignments).

 

The funniest thing he said recently was, "I feel like I could just write this and come up with an outline afterward." That is exactly how I wrote when I was his age.  :smilielol5:

[ScoutTN]

My 7th grader is finishing WWS 1 and doing some creative writing.

 

Next up: LAoW. (Thanks, Quark, for the workbook!)

[alisoncooks]

My 6th grader is using Essentials in Writing. It's getting done, and that's better than we were doing before.

[amiesmom]

IEW theme based writing (ancients 6th, world history 7th grade), goes well with our history.

[Rosika]

Officially we're using Writing & Rhetoric, which we'll finish up during 9th grade. Unofficially (meaning, she's working through it on her own with a friend and I neither grade it, nor care if she finishes it) we're also using Cover Story.  

 

High school will be writing across the curriculum with One Year Adventure Novel and/or Byline as optional electives. 

[JennyD]

 

Next up: LAoW. (Thanks, Quark, for the workbook!)

 

I'll be interested to hear how this goes!

[vaquitita]

My 6th grader is using Brave Writer stuff. He is actually enjoying writing for a change! This year it's Arrow guides and Partnership Writing. Next year I'm thinking of alternating in some Boomerangs and using Faltering Ownership. For 8th grade I'm thinking WWS1.

[waa510]

We're working slowly thru WWS1 in 6th. I'm planning on going thru the series in middle school and then outsourcing writing online for 9th grade (if she's home) so she can get some good feedback and different perspectives on her writing. She really struggles with writing as it doesn't come naturally to her so I'll need to get her into a class that really helps her develop a plan of attack for different types of papers.

[FarmingMomma]

My 5th grader is using WWS1 and Rod & Staff 6.  My 9th grader used Rod & Staff and some Bravewriter projects in middle school. 

[AdventuresinHomeschooling]

We do CAP writing and rhetoric series, but we also do the MCT for language arts and include their writing too since it does not take a whole year and is integrated into the other books.

 

If I had to choose one, I'd probably just do CAP. I love this program!

[Soror]

Ds used Cover Story last year and is using WWS1 this year. DD1 is using CAP Fable, Narrative 1 and 2 this year and I'm undecided about next year. 

[Angie in VA]

I'm pretty sure it was you who suggested Twisting Arms. I think you should recommend away. I'm not sure about your dd and my two ds, but I think you and I have similar tastes in resources. :)

 

 

:iagree:

[Amy M]

My 5th grader just finished CW Homer A and is beginning Poetry for Beginners A. I already have Homer B, but I plan to use the Older Beginners just the Homer sections for my younger kids when they reach this level. I like CAP Fable and Narrative 1 and WWE the WTM way for up through grades 4. We are also using some of the lessons in R&S 5, just a few.

[Tanaqui]

When my older kiddo was in middle school, we did pretty much no writing. She'd been so burned by elementary writing at her school that I felt she needed a good long break. This method paid off - it took nearly a year, but she eventually started doing her own writing, mostly fanfic and lists of plans. And I was thrilled - she used to throw such fits over the mere act of picking up a pen!

 

And then last year, when I was going to start doing real school writing with her (but slowly!) - we had a family illness. Everything took a backseat and we did an extremely minimal year. Adding back writing? Not gonna happen.

 

For the younger one, this year I picked up a copy of the newly republished Writing Revolution. I guess I'm a guinea pig, because the new edition only came out a few months ago, but I'd read some articles about it and was really, really interested. So far, so good. (But it's not a writing curriculum, per se, more like a guidebook on integrating writing into every subject.)

[PentecostalMom]

We used WWS 1 in fifth and are using WWS 2 now in sixth. I am not having them do every single week, because the amount can be overwhelming, and we spend extra time on longer writing assignments. They don't LOVE it, but their skills in organizing their thoughts and making outlines and producing clear writing have definitely blossomed.

Did you use WWE as a precursor? If yes, which levels?

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Clear Creek]

My 8th grader has used Writing & Rhetoric all the way through middle school (we hope to be done with book 8 by the end of 8th grade). We will continue with the series in high school, but I don't yet have a plan for after we finish the series...maybe their Rhetoric Alive! course, which is intended to be the follow-up to W&R.

 

The plan for my 5th grader is to do the entire W&R series as well.

[importswim]

We use IEW with my 7th grader (and a modified version for my 3rd grader). DS has dysgraphia so he needs a formulaic, low pressure, lots of scaffolding way of writing. The gains we've seen in the past few years have been tremendous. I will re-evaluate for high school and we may stick with IEW or we may not. There's a lot of time between now and then.

[shinyhappypeople]

We don't use a formal curriculum.  She does written narrations for her history lessons, and does letter writing and creative writing in her spare time.  It works for now.

 

[SilverMoon]

My 8th grader is working through Writing With a Thesis with me. We read and discuss it together and then she spends a week or so writing. Last year for 7th she used Cover Story.

 

My 9th grader is actually working through Strunk and White's Elements and spinning writing from that. Last year he used Lost Tools and it really connected with him. (Stereotypical STEM guy, why use five paragraphs when he can sum it up in five syllables...). We also pulled some writing from CAP's logic series.

[LindaOz]

Sonlight LA.

I really like it.

Edited October 19, 2017 by LindaOz

[jer2911mom]

Sonlight LA.

I really like it.

 

Same here. :)