Hoggirl Posted February 3, 2009 Share Posted February 3, 2009 I have everything pretty much figured out for next year for my ds. Except for writing. Previously he has done SWI - B and this year we are working through SICC - B. I do like IEW, but I worry that there isn't enough variety of types of writing in it. We do use their ideas, but I am not super-strict on having every item in every paragraph, etc. I am just not sure what to do next year. He won't be old enough for SICC-C, and I would kind of like a break anyway. I have thought about their book on essay writing. Should we just incorporate what he has learned thus far into other subjects? Should we do something else? I am really open to any and all suggestions. :confused: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hoggirl Posted February 4, 2009 Author Share Posted February 4, 2009 pretty please with some thoughts??? ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom31257 Posted February 4, 2009 Share Posted February 4, 2009 I'm not familiar with IEW, but I just started my dd on Jump In, and she LOVES it. I think she has a good ability to write, but it was a drudgery to her. She has only completed 2 chapters of the workbook and a week of the other program called 10 Minute Writing Plunges. It is designed for Middle School and is a 2 year program. I found this program through recommendations on this board. So far, it's the best decision I've ever made in curriculum. The teacher book includes a lot of material for me on how to actually grade papers. This is an area I struggled with as well. I'm going to have to figure out what to add in for grammar. I'm having her finish the grammer chapters in her BJU textbook. I all ready have the 7th grade BJU book, so we may just do the grammar in that next year. Good luck finding what works for you both! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HSmom25andRN Posted February 4, 2009 Share Posted February 4, 2009 If you want to continue with IEW (and I can't tell from your post whether you want to switch or aren't sure) than I would suggest using Writing Lessons in American History or The Medieval one or the Bible Based Writing Lessons (I think there are others but I haven't used them). The Bible Based writing lessons are definitely more difficult ( I believe this is written for 4th through 12th). The American History requires some teacher explanation. It requires you to go over the lesson (clearly explained in the TE) once a week and the assignments are due the following week. The Bible Based, Medieval, etc, are written more directly to the student but I found that I usually felt better about expalaining it before they started. I didn't want to find out a week later that they didn't understand the assignment. I think the American History were VERY easy to use for the children and the teacher. Angela Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hoggirl Posted February 4, 2009 Author Share Posted February 4, 2009 If you want to continue with IEW (and I can't tell from your post whether you want to switch or aren't sure) than I would suggest using Writing Lessons in American History or The Medieval one or the Bible Based Writing Lessons (I think there are others but I haven't used them). The Bible Based writing lessons are definitely more difficult ( I believe this is written for 4th through 12th). The American History requires some teacher explanation. It requires you to go over the lesson (clearly explained in the TE) once a week and the assignments are due the following week. The Bible Based, Medieval, etc, are written more directly to the student but I found that I usually felt better about expalaining it before they started. I didn't want to find out a week later that they didn't understand the assignment. I think the American History were VERY easy to use for the children and the teacher. Angela Part of me wants a change of pace from IEW for a year. I have a couple of the theme-based writing books (though not the American History one). I'm not super keen on the layout too much, and it kind of bugs me that they all go over ALL 9 units. We will have covered all but unit 8 (I think) in our DVD courses. And, we will have covered all the dress-ups, decorations, etc. Seems like these are also introduced slowly in the theme-based books. While I don't mind reviewing, and I guess I could require all the elements ds has learned in all assignments, it just seems like the same thing over and over again. Okay, as I am typing them I am realizing we both need to do something else for awhile. :D I know I will return to IEW at some point, but I just feel like we need something different. Thanks for the suggestion and for helping me think through this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hoggirl Posted February 4, 2009 Author Share Posted February 4, 2009 I'm not familiar with IEW, but I just started my dd on Jump In, and she LOVES it. I think she has a good ability to write, but it was a drudgery to her. She has only completed 2 chapters of the workbook and a week of the other program called 10 Minute Writing Plunges. It is designed for Middle School and is a 2 year program. I found this program through recommendations on this board. So far, it's the best decision I've ever made in curriculum. The teacher book includes a lot of material for me on how to actually grade papers. This is an area I struggled with as well. I'm going to have to figure out what to add in for grammar. I'm having her finish the grammer chapters in her BJU textbook. I all ready have the 7th grade BJU book, so we may just do the grammar in that next year. Good luck finding what works for you both! Also, is the writing done in a workbook? Or can assignments be typed up? Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MIch elle Posted February 4, 2009 Share Posted February 4, 2009 or maybe IEW Elegant Essay? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom31257 Posted February 5, 2009 Share Posted February 5, 2009 Also, is the writing done in a workbook? Or can assignments be typed up? Thanks! This program is designed for middle school, 6th-8th grades, but it can be used by high school students with little experience writing or are reluctant in writing. The workbook does have space to do writing in it, and some would be short enough answers that you might not want to type it all. Of course, you could have a student type it if you wanted them to do so. The program has 2 components and is 2 years worth of material. The Student Workbook and the 10 Minute Writing Plunges (a whole year's worth). It says not to run them at the same time, but you can use the writing plunges for short breaks between the chapters. We did the first 2, then a week of writing plunges. These are topics given (4 a week) that they are supposed to write on for 10 minutes. They are not graded; however, at the end of the week, the pick one to revise and proofread to turn in the next week. Here's a link to look at samples. http://www.christianbook.com/Christian/Books/product?item_no=437014&netp_id=461233&event=ESRCN&item_code=WW&view=covers#cur Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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