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[MistyMountain]

I thought I saw it mentioned that the middle school level SWIB taught similar things to SWIA but the reading material was at a higher level. Is the output similar or more in B? How long are the lessons? I am considering B for my 6th grader but I wonder if it could work for my 4th grader. He is a reluctant writer though so I am not sure. He can comprehend at a high level. 

[TheAttachedMama]

Great question MistyMountain!   I was just going to ask something similar.   I am considering combining my 5th and 6th graders.   I already own SWI-A, and I wondering if that is going to be too easy for them.   

[Momto6inIN]

I haven't seen level A but level B was perfect for my 6th grader. The reading level of the source texts was pretty easy for my advanced reader but the difficulty level of the assignments was just right.

[importswim]

I used Level B with my 7th grader and was able to print out level A source work for my 3rd grader to use at the same time. In the notebook that contains SWI-B they give you instructions (a web address) to find all of the source work for Level A so you could buy B and do A for your younger and B for your older. That's what we did.

[importswim]

14 hours ago, TheAttachedMama said:

Great question MistyMountain!   I was just going to ask something similar.   I am considering combining my 5th and 6th graders.   I already own SWI-A, and I wondering if that is going to be too easy for them.   

I would say that A would probably be too easy. I would buy B and then if it's too tough you can always go back to A coursework. Have they already gone through A? If so then you could probably do their A continuation course.

[Mona]

The lessons are similar, but there is a little bit more taught in level B, and you can use it for your 4th grader, too. If needed, there are alternate source documents available at the link below. I think it works great for reluctant writers because it helps them with what to write and gives them a plan for how to write it. Eventually, as they work through the units, they learn how to come up with the what to write on their own. The lesson time lengths vary. I think the longer lessons are when you have to watch the video, but we enjoy watching them. On those days, we usually don't need to do any actual writing. The following days they are writing and editing their work and it doesn't take as much time.

I bookmarked this link to IEW helps. I think it will answer your questions and then some. At the bottom of the page is a SWI level comparison chart for at a glance, but there is also a link with a detailed comparison chart for SWI and the SICC. There's a link at the top of the page to level A source documents to use for younger students tagging along with an older using a higher level. Lots of good information there.