High School Writing

[RandiTimmons]

Right now, my 10th grader is using ‘Our Mother Tongue’ for grammar and ‘Help for High School’ from Bravewriter. 
Our family is only now discovering TWTM and I’m sure I’ve missed the boat on much. Is there a recommended curriculum for a high schooler who desires to write well and has natural and intuitive instincts but wants more structured instruction of exactly how to write? 
Also, any recommendations for starting points for grammar? 
I’m looking at ‘Power in Your Hands’ by Sharon Watson. Does anyone have any pros and cons? Or other suggestions? 
Thank you all kindly!

[Lori D.]

Welcome! I see by your post count you are new here.

Typically, a high school student needs 4 credits of English, which is usually about 1/2 Literature and 1/2 Writing. However, if a student really needs Grammar instruction, that can be included in a credit of English. Or, if the student really needs to focus on Writing, then an English credit can be all Writing (or Writing with Grammar).

re: Grammar
Usually, most students finish formal Grammar instruction along about 8th grade, and for high school, the Grammar is actually put into use in the Writing. All that to say, does your student really need any more formal Grammar instruction at this point? Especially since the student is going through Our Mother Tongue?

I would suggest that since time is limited (only a few years left in high school), and if the student understands the basics of Grammar (or is going to finish going through Our Mother Tongue), that the time might be better spent actually writing, since that is what the student is looking to "write well...but wants more structured instruction". 

re: Power in Your Hands
"Pros" include:
- written to the student and can be done fairly independently
- clear and specific instruction 
- covers paragraph structure, essay structure, and research paper writing
- covers a wide variety of types of writing that the student will need -- for the rest of high school, in college, and in real life
"Cons" ... the only one I can think of is:
- from a Christian perspective, which is not a fit for some families


At some point, if you feel an outside evaluation of her writing would help, you might look at the essay writing series (or the advanced writing series) of online classes at Lantern English. The courses are 8 weeks long, $60 for each course, and provide feedback on student papers. For a future year, you might even consider one of Lantern's full English courses, which includes Grammar, Vocabulary, Writing, and Literature -- 32 weeks, $330.

[RandiTimmons]

Thank you for that! She does have a natural understanding of basic grammar and we have completed a decent amount along the way, not the best or the worst.

Thank you for the breakdown of PiYH! Your pros and cons are encouraging.  

[2_girls_mommy]

I believe we used The New Oxford Guide to Writing or a title similar to that that was a WTM recomendation for high school writing.  Have you looked at the rhetoric section of WTM for the writing info? My current senior will be doing some lit, some remedial spelling (dyslexic student,) and a lot of writing this year.  This semester her writing will look like essays and college and scholarship essays and apps.  Second semester she will do her large research paper.  For Lit we will do some short stories and a novel this semester and a little poetry, mostly British Lit, but not all. 

[8filltheheart]

I love this grammar book.  It is fun and is written in a way to correct common mistakes in writing.    I use it with my high schoolers as a last run through grammar.  (It also helps with standardized testing grammar.) Who's (oops whose) Grammar Book is This Anyway?: C. Edward Good: 9781567315769: Amazon.com: Books

[Helpdesk]

Susan Wise Bauer's recommendations are here, if you are interested.  Look at the link under Additional Information, toward the end of the article.  

 

[RandiTimmons]

On 8/18/2021 at 1:34 AM, Helpdesk said:

Susan Wise Bauer's recommendations are here, if you are interested.  Look at the link under Additional Information, toward the end of the article.  

 

Thank you!!

[RandiTimmons]

On 8/17/2021 at 10:10 PM, 2_girls_mommy said:

I believe we used The New Oxford Guide to Writing or a title similar to that that was a WTM recomendation for high school writing.  Have you looked at the rhetoric section of WTM for the writing info? My current senior will be doing some lit, some remedial spelling (dyslexic student,) and a lot of writing this year.  This semester her writing will look like essays and college and scholarship essays and apps.  Second semester she will do her large research paper.  For Lit we will do some short stories and a novel this semester and a little poetry, mostly British Lit, but not all. 

Hi! Thank you for replying with your thoughts and plans. 
I have looked at the rhetoric suggestions but I really don’t know what to do with those. I am illy prepared for this educationally and feel quite insecure is teaching this without guidance.