Please help me decide on writing program for 7th grade...

[Sue G in PA]

IEW looks great and has gotten glowing reviews from my cyber-friends here as well as my IRL homeschool friends. BUT, it is expensive. We are using Anc. Hist. Based Witing Lessons this year and dd11 likes it (as much as she will admit to actually liking writing!). I'm not sure this is enough. I have not purchased the TWSS or the Student part of IEW yet b/c of the expense. I want to be sure, KWIM? I'm also looking into Apologia's Jump In! for writing next year. Any thoughts on the 2? I want dd to become a good writer, be able to express herself well on paper. If she doesn't ever love writing, so be it. However, I don't want her to be one of those college students that SWB is always referring to! TIA for any opinions! Dh and I both write fairly well (okay, again, don't go by my posts!) but actually teaching it to my dc is another matter entirely!

[angela in ohio]

Can you borrow the TWSS tapes (DVDs, I guess, mine are old, LOL) from someone locally, and just buy the syllabus? You would want to take really good notes from it, but it should get you started. Of course, once you see the success, you will spend any amount of money. :D

[Beth in TN]

I agree with Angela. Borrow the TWSS DVDs and take really good notes in your teacher seminar syllabus. If you can't borrow it, maybe you can purchase it with several other parents to share the cost. I love using IEW it has been well worth the price to me.

You could continue to use the Theme based lesson plans and see if that will work for your dc. It may be all they need in order to transfer what they are learning to other subjects (ie: literature, science, etc).

[MIch elle]

If so, I think that's enough for writing for middle school.

If you want to add more writing then I suggest writing about the literature you're reading. You could use Progeny Press, Lightning Literature or any other program to help you chose writing topics.

[elisabethrap]

I was looking for some input on a curriculum program for my 3 6th graders next year. I am using the Well Tarined Mind model and have a son entering 9th grade. I would like to keep them all together and start at the beginning but maybe the younger ones will enjoy the latter 3 gradwe units ( Early Renaissance, Late Renaissance, adn Moderns) better? This will be our first year moving away from the charter school system Any advise would be helpful. thank you

[Trish]

We're doing WriteShop for 7th next year.

[DianeJM]

I'm going to do Write Shop I for 7th next year also. Because I have it.
I had planned IEW, but stweardship wise, I already have the Write Shop, so, that's what I'm using. Should be good, though, I'm looking forward to it.
Perhaps in the future I will use IEW, but this coming year, for 7th, it's Write Shop. For 8th, I'm not sure yet if I will do Write Shop II or not, I'll have to decide that when I get to the end of WS I.

My daughter who is just finishing high school now was using IEW this year with a tutor, and I must say, composing from her outline and doing those checklists at the end of every writing assignment was agony for her! My husband and I just had a discussion about it, I was feeling bad for dd, but dh said it's a really good exercise. I guess I agree, but it kind of gave me a little dose of reality for IEW (I had been idolizing it I guess).

[DianeJM]

I was looking for some input on a curriculum program for my 3 6th graders next year. I am using the Well Tarined Mind model and have a son entering 9th grade. I would like to keep them all together and start at the beginning but maybe the younger ones will enjoy the latter 3 gradwe units ( Early Renaissance, Late Renaissance, adn Moderns) better? This will be our first year moving away from the charter school system Any advise would be helpful. thank you

Elisabeth,
I answered you privately by email, b/c it's off topic for this thread.
Hope that's okay with you.
Look for my email.
Maybe start a new thread with this question.

[3byzaz]

We use and totally love Meaningful Composition - based on IEW. It is very similar, but easier to use, imo... It is cheaper and in a workbook format written to the student. They are consumable, but I just have my boys type or write their answers/papers on another paper. Not a big deal at all! It is a very Godly curriculum - great topics. They have several creative writing books as well! We have had great success with it!

[jamajo]

You can always find a used copy of IEW TWSS. I have a friend that I can borrow the DVDs from but I fall asleep on the instruction:tongue_smilie:. I do much better just using the theme based books and the SWI.

IEW products are so easy to sell that you can pretty much use it for free. I purchased SWI brand new and sold it for 75% of the purchase price.
However if I ever purchased TWSS I guess I wouldn't sell it as it is a forever resource so that would be an out of pocket expense.

[nestof3]

I decided to use IEW this year with both my boys. I have been watching the teacher DVDs and really feeling inspired. My local friend, VBCaroline, used it with her son, and I read an essay he wrote which confirmed that he had learned to write well. I value her opinion, so I gave it a try.

IEW has a refund policy.

My understanding is that you can just learn with the TWSS and apply it to your history, science and literature just like the WTM method. So, you wouldn't need SWI. It just gives you ideas.

You can resell the DVDs once you learn the process.

[ma23peas]

We have used both that you mentioned...I was stung by the price, but over $400 later, I firmly agree it would be entirely worth it!

Jump in is an appetizer and IEW is Top Chef Masters...just no comparison.

The amazing thing is that the resale value is so high, buy it new and sell it for 75percent of it's value...so great courses for less than $100

I have SWI, TWSS, SICC, EE, TTC and medieval....my kids have benefitted greatly! I still branch out and see what else is out there...tweak stuff to my style but could not beat IEW.

[mom@shiloh]

Well, we're trying Jump-In this year for 6th and 7th grade boys. Right now they're both writing great narrations on history and science, but my goal was for them to branch out into other types of writing as well. The advantage of this to me was that it is fun! and mostly independent for them. I just can't find the time to teach another subject right now, so that's something else for you to consider. IEW doesn't seem very independent to me, or at least it seems like I would need to spend quite a bit of time learning how to use it and I just know that's not happenin' right now.