alisoncooks Posted October 5, 2020 Share Posted October 5, 2020 I'm struggling to find reviews for this. Any thoughts? Has anyone used this that did NOT use BW previously? (Can we just jump right in?) DD is currently finishing up Cover Story, and we need something to finish up the year (9th). I liked the look of the samples. I'd like to have DD focus on essays/formal writing (Cover Story had been great for her creative voice). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted October 5, 2020 Share Posted October 5, 2020 We didn't end up using it, but I've certainly seen it and am well familiar. There are BW specific groups out there where people discuss it, so there are reviews, but maybe fewer on general homeschool boards. BW groupies tend to be their own world to some extent. It's a good, solid introduction to the basics of essays in a gentle way. I think it's best for 8th-9th grade. I think it would be remedial for older high schoolers... unless someone has not done much teaching of formal writing at all. It's well structured - which is different from most BW products, which tend to be much more loose. Of course, it's still in how you teach/support it. But overall, it's the most structured BW product. If you like the samples, you'll probably like it. It's written to the student, but I'd say it's a good follow up to Cover Story for a different format for a gentle but thorough 9th grade writing year. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted October 5, 2020 Share Posted October 5, 2020 Oh, and yes, you can absolutely jump right in. All the BW products are such that you can just jump in and try them, honestly. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori D. Posted October 5, 2020 Share Posted October 5, 2020 Were you the person who recently said you had a student who liked Jump In (by Sharon Watson)? If so, you might also take a look at Watson's high school level program: Power in Your Hands. She covers: - several types of essays: persuasive, descriptive, personal narrative, compare/contrast, literary analysis, process ("how to"), and definition essay - a position paper with citations - plus other types of writing such as business letters and emails; a devotional; a news article; and a biography 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori D. Posted October 5, 2020 Share Posted October 5, 2020 (edited) ETA: P.S. I purchased both BW's Help for High School and Power in Your Hands, thinking to glean things for teaching my high school Lit. & Comp. homeschool co-op classes. Ultimately, I was only able to pull a few ideas from these for teaching a CLASS. Both of these programs are much more geared for an individual homeschool student. Of the two programs, I think Power in Your Hands is more straightforward and step-by-step in instruction. But for those who click with Bravewriter's more round-about style, then that could be a good fit, esp. if needing something that comes at writing from a broader big-picture "how to think about writing" approach. In case it helps, here is the table of contents of the topics covered in BW's Help for High School. Part One—Preparation for Essay Writing - laying the foundation - Before pen goes to paper Module One: Musical Language - Hook - Powerful associations - Instructions - Word labels Module Three: Keen Observation of an Idea - Keen observation of an idea - And now a note to your moms Module Four: Telling the True Truth - Barriers to truth telling - The danger of truth-telling - Sentence - Word Module Five: Collage Writing Module Six: Incubation and Brooding Part Two—Essay Writing Module One: Argument - Section 1: Get inside their heads - Section 2: Pick a fight - Family Feuds - Put it in writing Module Two: What is an Essay? - The expository essay - Samples Module Three: Open and Closed Form Writing - Inside the essay - closed form essay - Open form writing Module Four: The Value of Good Questions - Planning your exploratory essay Module Five: Exploratory Essay - Guidelines for Writing the Exploratory Essay - Drafting Your Essay in a Week - 3 Student Samples Module Six: The Five-Paragraph Expository Essay - Thesis and support - What makes a strong thesis? - Changing your reader’s view - A thesis with tension - Thesis statements with tension - More about thesis statements Module Seven: Points and Particulars - Paraphrasing and Summary - Expository Essay Guidelines and Rubric - Outline of Five Paragraph Essay - introductions and conclusions - Student samples - Rubric for essay evaluation Appendix: Citing Sources Appendix: FAQs for Essays Edited October 5, 2020 by Lori D. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alisoncooks Posted October 5, 2020 Author Share Posted October 5, 2020 @Lori D. - yes! My 7th grader is using Jump In. I was planning on 9th grade DD using Power in Your Hands...it's just a matter of when. I also purchased Jump In for her as well, thinking she'd finish Cover Story and then fly through it...but it might be redundant if I also plan on PiYH. (It's on the shelf as an option.) ETA: you posted while I was typing. Thanks for that ToC! Another option: I also have Thinking in Threes. I may have her run through that next. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori D. Posted October 5, 2020 Share Posted October 5, 2020 (edited) 1 hour ago, alisoncooks said: @Lori D. - yes! My 7th grader is using Jump In. I was planning on 9th grade DD using Power in Your Hands...it's just a matter of when. I also purchased Jump In for her as well, thinking she'd finish Cover Story and then fly through it...but it might be redundant if I also plan on PiYH. (It's on the shelf as an option.) ETA: you posted while I was typing. Thanks for that ToC! Another option: I also have Thinking in Threes. I may have her run through that next. Apparently, Thinking in Threes is the only thing I have NOT yet purchased, LOL -- I have a gigantic stack of programs and resources that I have purchased over the past few years in an effort to find *the one* that I can just teach straight up *as is*. Of course... that is a rainbow-colored unicorn and I KNOW it, because I know myself -- I absolutely have NEVER been able to teach anything straight up "as is"... 😉 Thinking in Threes looks like it is not a complete guide to essay writing, but would help with some specific, practical info plus practice of the *thinking* portions needed for an essay -- brainstorming, organizing, and coming up with a thesis statement. It looks like it is geared for late middle school/early high school. Edited October 6, 2020 by Lori D. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori D. Posted October 6, 2020 Share Posted October 6, 2020 (edited) 1 hour ago, alisoncooks said: @Lori D. - yes! My 7th grader is using Jump In. I was planning on 9th grade DD using Power in Your Hands...it's just a matter of when. I also purchased Jump In for her as well, thinking she'd finish Cover Story and then fly through it...but it might be redundant if I also plan on PiYH. (It's on the shelf as an option.) ETA: you posted while I was typing. Thanks for that ToC! Another option: I also have Thinking in Threes. I may have her run through that next. No, Power in Your Hands (gr. 9-12) is the next step up from Jump In (which *I* personally label as gr. 6-9), so not redundant. Also, I don't think Power in Your Hands would be redundant if using Help for High School, as those programs are different in the angle of presentation. Also not redundant if using Thinking in Threes, which has a specific focus on a narrow area of the writing process and of an essay. What you may find most helpful is using excerpts from Help for High School and Thinking in Threes, as it best helps your student this year, and then more fully use Power in Your Hands next year in 9th grade. Just a thought! Edited October 6, 2020 by Lori D. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alisoncooks Posted October 6, 2020 Author Share Posted October 6, 2020 Thanks for all your feedback! I appreciate it. Dd is 9th this year. We're doing Cover Story since she didn't finish it last year in 8th -- she wanted to complete it. Before that was Essentials in Writing for a couple of years...but DD still isn't a confident writer. I'll spread out all of the potentials tonight and have an evaluation session. 😉 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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