Classical Writing Series Vs Writing Tales?

[alaws]

I will have a 4th and a 6th grader in the fall, and I was wondering what the difference is between Classical Writing series and the Writing Tales series. I have not used either programs, but I like the philosophy of both. I was able to view some sample pages of the Writing Tales series online, but the Classical Writing program does not have any sample pages to view.

My kids are avid readers and have had some writing experience, but not a formal writing program yet. Your advice and wisdom would be greatly appreciated! :)

[susie in tx]

The Classical Writing samples are at lulu.com. Just do a search for Classical Writing and you can look at any of their levels. It's very similar to the preview versions of Writing Tales.

Classical Writing has more levels than Writing Tales. Writing Tales 1 and 2 are equivalent to Aesop A and B of CW. CW has a Core book, Instructor's Guide and Student Workbook. Writing Tales has the Teacher's Manual and the Student Workbook.

Um, there is probably more, but I can't think of it right now.

[OhElizabeth]

WT2 (or similarly Aesop B) is going to be extremely easy for all but a remedial 6th grader. In the class I'm teaching this year, I do have a remedial 6th grader, and she's able to do ALL her regular writing assignments for other subjects (online school) AND the WT2 assignments. You could do the 4th and 6th grader together, but I would have your 6th grader doing plenty of writing and outlining in other subjects. Then you could do Homer for older beginners with the following year, when your oldest would be 7th gr.

Alternately, you could think about whether your older is ready to go into Homer while your 4th would do WT2. I wouldn't put a 4th grader in Homer, at least I don't plan to do it next year with my dd who will be 4th, even though we'll have done WT2 and theoretically could. WT is so delightful, so easy to implement, so fun, and won't bog you down or hinder you from your current grammar plans. I recommend it highly. I started with CW Aesop A btw, but jumped to WT and just plain prefer it. It's more visually appealing, more fun, not so overwhelming with all sorts of things we don't need (spelling analysis, etc.). And really, you only need to teach it once a week for a short session, and then your dc can do all the rest of the work by himself, as it's written directly to the student. The kids get most of the work and homework done in our 1 hour class, so they usually just have the drafts to deal with when they get home. It makes the process very efficient!

[Melmc]

Thanks for the post, Elizabeth. It makes me feel a whole lot better about the choice I made when considering CW and WT. I spent so much time googling and reading the CW board and other stuff about the two. I finally decided to do WT1 and WT2 next year for my then 3rd and 5th graders. I ordered them and am waiting for the package to arrive. It just seemed the way to go for this first time homeschooler. I'm trying to make things easier on myself so I don't get overwhelmed! I'll also have my youngest doing kindergarten. WT just seemed to be so user/teacher friendly.

[alaws]

Thank you everyone for your advice! I found the sample pages for CW and I think I will be going with Writing Tales 2 for both my kids instead. It does seem much more user friendly than CW. :)