Jackie Posted January 13, 2019 Share Posted January 13, 2019 (edited) Favorite academic writing programs at about the 5th/6th grade level? We use and like Brave Writer, but I would specifically like something that focuses on the nuts and bolts of academic writing, especially expository and opinion essays. Full curriculum is possible, but a supplement would probably be enough. ETA: Secular resources, please. Edited January 13, 2019 by Jackie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted January 13, 2019 Share Posted January 13, 2019 I think Wordsmith is good for a workbook style program, though I don't love it. It's not totally secular (I can't remember if it's in Apprentice or regular Wordsmith, but there are things that assume the student will have church experiences and it references Bible stories as the sort of stories a student will know - not in a preachy way), but it's secular enough for me, so that's pretty secular. I think the Evan Moor Six Trait books are also good for that sort of basic, school style program. Those are secular. I really like Twisting Arms as a short program for teaching persuasive essays. Good for middle school. Prufrock has some other good looking writing stuff for upper elementary/middle school, but I haven't used any of it. I just almost always like Prufrock materials. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted January 13, 2019 Share Posted January 13, 2019 Writing Strands 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeaConquest Posted January 13, 2019 Share Posted January 13, 2019 2 hours ago, Ellie said: Writing Strands For anyone else looking for resources, this isn't secular at all. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HomeAgain Posted January 13, 2019 Share Posted January 13, 2019 (edited) 4 hours ago, SeaConquest said: For anyone else looking for resources, this isn't secular at all. Half right. Older versions are secular. They are broken down into basic assignments (about 14 per book) and have wide grade level ranges. The new version put out by Master Books is a horrible, 180 day grade level, pseudo-God sprinkled mess that shouldn't be touched. ETA: our favorite resource during those years were MBTP literature guides. I only bought a few a year and they each worked on nuts & bolts and different types of writing while using the literature book as a model and spine. They were a very nice addition to our day. Right now, we're tending to enjoy writing guides that bring in those sort of elements or are more full than a supplement: ELTL, Treasured Conversations. I will probably switch to WWS in 7th or 8th, but for right now these are more than enough. I think if you just wanted to supplement, the Evan Moor Daily 6 Trait Writing books would work well. Edited January 13, 2019 by HomeAgain 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Another Lynn Posted January 13, 2019 Share Posted January 13, 2019 Writing Skills Book 1 is for 4th-6th grade. https://www.rainbowresource.com/product/sku/002919 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeaConquest Posted January 13, 2019 Share Posted January 13, 2019 4 hours ago, HomeAgain said: Half right. Older versions are secular. They are broken down into basic assignments (about 14 per book) and have wide grade level ranges.The new version put out by Master Books is a horrible, 180 day grade level, pseudo-God sprinkled mess that shouldn't be touched. ETA: our favorite resource during those years were MBTP literature guides. I only bought a few a year and they each worked on nuts & bolts and different types of writing while using the literature book as a model and spine. They were a very nice addition to our day. Right now, we're tending to enjoy writing guides that bring in those sort of elements or are more full than a supplement: ELTL, Treasured Conversations. I will probably switch to WWS in 7th or 8th, but for right now these are more than enough. I think if you just wanted to supplement, the Evan Moor Daily 6 Trait Writing books would work well. I went to look at it last night, and this is a perfect description. Eesh. I will check out the older versions. Thanks for the clarification. I couldn't understand Ellie's recommendation. Now, it makes more sense. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jackie Posted January 13, 2019 Author Share Posted January 13, 2019 It is possible that what I’m looking for is more a summary of the different types of essays and examples. I have a kid who is pretty good at writing fiction, can compose strong sentences and pretty solid paragraphs, and we’ve simply never really done the straightforward academic school-y papers. Given her other writing and her preference for reading nonfiction, I’m guessing she will need very little instruction to manage decently at this level, but I haven’t needed to do it myself in so long that I’ve utterly forgotten where to start. In dealing with our homeschooling charter school at this moment in time, it would be a good idea to show them that she would be capable of this writing if it was asked of her, but I’m not looking to hit it hard right now. Anybody have a resource that might summarize these and give examples for her to read through? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori D. Posted January 13, 2019 Share Posted January 13, 2019 Just a quick side note: most typically, grade 5-6 students are learning paragraph construction and working on writing single paragraphs of expository, descriptive and narrative writing. Opinion essays are persuasive writing which requires the ability to build an argument of support for the opinion -- a skill that develops with the analytical thinking skills that develop more typically along about gr. 7-9. Here are a few ideas: Wordsmith (gr. 6-9) -- 1-year program (often done in less time); written to the student/largely done solo; paragraphs and beginning essaysWinning Through Writing level 6 -- 1-year program; written to the student/largely done solo; variety of writing topics; links to see samples, table of contents Four Square Writing (Gould) -- (gr. 4-6) or (gr. 7-9) -- teacher resource, with reproducibles for classroomParagraphs for Middle School: A Sentence Composing Approach (Killgallon) -- gr. 6-8; teacher resource, with reproducibles for classroomMastering the Five Paragraph Essay (Zile) -- gr. 6-9; teaching resource for the teacher BEST of luck in finding what is a good fit. Warmest regards, Lori D. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jackie Posted January 13, 2019 Author Share Posted January 13, 2019 (edited) 19 minutes ago, Lori D. said: Just a quick side note: most typically, grade 5-6 students are learning paragraph construction and working on writing single paragraphs of expository, descriptive and narrative writing. Opinion essays are persuasive writing which requires the ability to build an argument of support for the opinion -- a skill that develops with the analytical thinking skills that develop more typically along about gr. 7-9. I agree with this. However, the state of California doesn’t. The short version is that my daughter is asking to be grade skipped officially to have access to higher level enrichment classes through her charter school. The charter school wants to see evidence that she has met the state standards (of the grade she is asking to skip) in core subjects in order to consider the request. The only standard she doesn’t far exceed is fifth grade CC standards on essay writing. I want to give her a crash course on the topic, let her produce something of passable quality to turn in, and then go right back to our usual relaxed approach. 🙂 Thank you for the resources! Edited January 13, 2019 by Jackie 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori D. Posted January 13, 2019 Share Posted January 13, 2019 (edited) 2 hours ago, Jackie said: ... my daughter is asking to be grade skipped officially to have access to higher level enrichment classes through her charter school. The charter school wants to see evidence that she has met the state standards (of the grade she is asking to skip) in core subjects in order to consider the request.... ...I want to give her a crash course... let her produce something of passable quality to turn in, and then go right back to our usual relaxed approach. Hmmm, not sure the resources I've suggested are going to best help you do that... Perhaps look at some actual CA writing samples that match the standards for the different grade levels (see this pdf: pages 29-35 = grade 5 samples, pages 36-39 = grade 6 samples). Here's another pdf with samples of narrative writing at different grade levels. Then you can skim through a writing resource and see how it best helps your DD produce some samples of writing that matches the CA standards. Pages 5-10 of this document outline teaching opinion writing to grades 3-5 in CA schools. And here's a unit on teaching opinion writing to 5th graders. Another possible resource: while the 5-paragraph essay model is very limiting, you might find the tips on writing the different types of essays, plus the essay prompt ideas, at the Five Paragraph Essay website useful. It's more at a middle school/early high school level, but you might be able to adapt it for your uses. And it's a free and quick resource, lol. BEST of luck! Warmly, Lori D. Edited January 13, 2019 by Lori D. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HomeAgain Posted January 13, 2019 Share Posted January 13, 2019 2 hours ago, Jackie said: I agree with this. However, the state of California doesn’t. The short version is that my daughter is asking to be grade skipped officially to have access to higher level enrichment classes through her charter school. The charter school wants to see evidence that she has met the state standards (of the grade she is asking to skip) in core subjects in order to consider the request. The only standard she doesn’t far exceed is fifth grade CC standards on essay writing. I want to give her a crash course on the topic, let her produce something of passable quality to turn in, and then go right back to our usual relaxed approach. 🙂 Thank you for the resources! I really think you should check out Writing Strands. I think level 4 or so would be about right. Level 3 is really introduction to all different types of writing, level 4 goes further into essay writing of different styles. Each assignment is written directly to the student with clear directions on how to model it. I can't find an old review of 4 but I found this video review of level 3: 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MerryAtHope Posted January 13, 2019 Share Posted January 13, 2019 Essentials in Writing teaches essays. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarah0000 Posted January 14, 2019 Share Posted January 14, 2019 I'm in a CA charter too and I just purchased the grade 2 book of Writing Lessons to Meet the Common Core. The book is certainly not inspiring in any way and isn't really going to teach writing, but it's a quick and painless way to hit the basic writing structures the charter is looking for. Here's the grade 5 one. https://shop.scholastic.com/teachers-ecommerce/teacher/books/writing-lessons-to-meet-the-common-core-grade-5-9780545391641.html 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jackie Posted January 14, 2019 Author Share Posted January 14, 2019 4 hours ago, Sarah0000 said: I'm in a CA charter too and I just purchased the grade 2 book of Writing Lessons to Meet the Common Core. The book is certainly not inspiring in any way and isn't really going to teach writing, but it's a quick and painless way to hit the basic writing structures the charter is looking for. Here's the grade 5 one. https://shop.scholastic.com/teachers-ecommerce/teacher/books/writing-lessons-to-meet-the-common-core-grade-5-9780545391641.html Oh, wow. If they would accept this as evidence of meeting the standards, she could knock it out super easily. Also, seeing the examples that Lori posted, I don’t think she’s as far off on these skills as I was thinking. She brainstormed ideas, and is now really looking forward to trying her hand at an essay covering the relationship between Greek mythology and characters/scenes in Harry Potter. I’ll have her give this a shot this week and see how she does on her own, and then I’ll have a better idea of where she is on this to evaluate resources listed here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted January 14, 2019 Share Posted January 14, 2019 22 hours ago, SeaConquest said: For anyone else looking for resources, this isn't secular at all. The original Writing Strands is secular. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lewelma Posted January 14, 2019 Share Posted January 14, 2019 (edited) Long long ago I wrote a thread called "my evaluation of numerous writing curriculum". There is lots of stuff in that thread for 6th grade and up through high school. There is a post on the 5th page that has a list of books with example essays of different sorts. Edited January 14, 2019 by lewelma 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori D. Posted January 14, 2019 Share Posted January 14, 2019 11 hours ago, Jackie said: Oh, wow. If they would accept this as evidence of meeting the standards, she could knock it out super easily. I agree! ...seeing the examples that Lori posted, I don’t think she’s as far off on these skills as I was thinking. Remember: the examples they are going to show are from the HIGH end, NOT the *average* student. I was more posting that for example of what did they mean they wanted as far as types of writing assignments. 😉 She brainstormed ideas, and is now really looking forward to trying her hand at an essay covering the relationship between Greek mythology and characters/scenes in Harry Potter. I’ll have her give this a shot this week and see how she does on her own, and then I’ll have a better idea of where she is on this to evaluate resources listed here. Wow! That's definitely a late middle school/early high school level of topic! But going with a topic *she* is highly interested in will make it so much easier. BEST of luck to you both! Warmest regards, Lori 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jackie Posted January 18, 2019 Author Share Posted January 18, 2019 If anyone is following along and feels inspired to help me give my kid some feedback, I just posted her first attempt at an essay on the K-8 Writing board. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roadrunner Posted January 20, 2019 Share Posted January 20, 2019 On 1/13/2019 at 10:59 AM, Jackie said: I agree with this. However, the state of California doesn’t. The short version is that my daughter is asking to be grade skipped officially to have access to higher level enrichment classes through her charter school. The charter school wants to see evidence that she has met the state standards (of the grade she is asking to skip) in core subjects in order to consider the request. The only standard she doesn’t far exceed is fifth grade CC standards on essay writing. I want to give her a crash course on the topic, let her produce something of passable quality to turn in, and then go right back to our usual relaxed approach. 🙂 Thank you for the resources! Try Thinking in Threes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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