Spectrum Writing... user opinions please? nt

[angela&4boys]

nt

[HollyDay]

I used it last year for 6th and 3rd first semester. It is a good basic program. It is not very deep but it does cover the basics.

[angela&4boys]

Thank you Holly.

I should mention that I'll be supplementing our (mostly) CM approach. The boys regularly do copywork, dictation, and both oral and written narration.

I just thought it'd be nice to mix it up with some more structured writing for my 11yo. He does written narrations well, but with some reluctance and I want to avoid burn-out for him.

[HollyDay]

I would think it would be a good choice. It is typical creative writing. Audience, scope, voice, creative expression, that type thing.

[Kristine out of lurking]

It's a surprisingly thorough curriculum. In general, I avoid workbooks like the plague. I bought it out of desperation 4 years ago when my dd was entering 4th grade. It was a last minute decision, just to use something to supplement writing she was doing in a part time class.

She also used it in 5th grade; and my ds's used it from 2-4th grade. My dd's a very strong writer; my ds's a stereotypical boy. Both will be using it again this year.

In the meantime, we've loosely used IEW (meaning we didn't follow a specific lesson plan). I loved IEW, she hated it. They've used the Logos School books, which are along the same lines as IEW--in a light mode. Dd's used Learn to Write the Novel Way (she liked well enough) and Writing Strands (she loved, I disliked).

Spectrum is gentle (at least through the 5th grade book). It explains a concept and then has the child usually fill in the blanks. Each lesson includes a writing exercise, and it's also recommended that they do a longer exercise on a separate piece of paper. I would instead usually have my child apply that concept to their daily history/science/or art writing. I also like that it's something they can usually do on their own--not that writing without guidance is always a great idea, but it shows (particularly) my ds's enthusiasm for the book. And it's inexpensive.

I wouldn't use it as my child's solo writing for the year, but as a writing curriculum, I continue to be pleased by it (and still surprised that I think that!).