Jump to content

Menu

8th grade writing/grammar program recommendations?


Recommended Posts

My soon to be eighth grader is a struggling writer.  Getting him to write a complete sentence...including proper punctuation and grammar....is painful.  He has trouble writing a good solid paragraph, let alone a five paragraph essay.   He ended up with an 80 in English last year in   It drives me batty.  

What would you recommend for this year to hopefully bring his writing/skills up to speed?

Thinking about IEW, Writing & Rhetoric, WWS 1, ????

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I used to own IEW, and I would absolutely go with that for a struggling writer.

I don’t know how I feel about WWS. We did two levels and I just can’t really put my finger on it. On one hand it was easy because no real analytical skills were necessary to write (as opposed to thesis based essays), but on the other hand it was tremendously complicated and too fragmented in instruction for us.  

I have only used lower level of Writing and Rhetoric. Loved it for younger kids. 

I think you probably can’t go wrong with IEW. I would at least try that first. I know lots of kids who hated writing but came out of that program with solid skills. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Jump In really helped my struggling writer.  She enjoyed the text and style which helped her enjoyed the learning process more.

But even before Jump In, we used Analytical Grammar's The Essay.  I think they have wrapped that into a different program  now.  It started with writing a really solid 5 sentence paragraph.  Then the writing process moved into  writing 5 solid paragraphs.  Just like a 5 sentence paragraph has an opening sentence, a closing sentence, and 3 support sentences, an essay has an opening paragraph, a closing paragraph, and 3 support paragraphs.  It really turned on a light bulb for dd. 

I also used Ignite Your Writing (both volumes).  Again, that broke down the writing process into smaller bites that didn't overwhelm dd. 

By the way, this dd, a junior in college, is in minoring in Tech Writing.  The process came together....

Edited by HollyDay
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

×
×
  • Create New...