Writing with WriteShop (plus other cool stuff)

I have a love-hate relationship with writing. While I generally like writing, I have a hard time teaching it to my kids. This past year I realized that what I was using as writing curriculum for my older two children was not going to work for my then 9 year old. I needed to find a curriculum that would be comprehensive so I knew I wasn't skipping concepts, a curriculum that walked my daughter through the process, and a curriculum that was easy enough to implement and teach. I turned to WriteShop Junior Level D to see if this would work for us. {There is a fun announcement, a freebie, and a giveaway at the end of the post! Scroll down to see}

There are several components that make up this curriculum:
Teacher's Guide
Student Activity Pack: includes brainstorming sheets, forms, and other worksheets and the Level 1 Fold-N-Go Grammar Pack
Time Saver Pack: ready-made props for many Book D activities. This is optional, but I loved that I didn't have to stop and make anything for the lesson.

These are all available in either print or e-book versions.

Getting Started with WriteShop Junior Book D:

What is the age-range for WriteShop Junior Book D?

Book D is recommended for 3rd, 4th, or reluctant 5th graders. Each WriteShop book can be used independently. You do not need to complete previous levels in order to start Level D.

When I received my new curriculum, the first thing I did flip through the teacher's manual. The front portion of the book explains how to schedule the lesson, various lesson components, and what you will need for each lesson (Don't skip these pages! They explain what will be going on in future lessons.) I used a Post-It note to highlight pages I would need to refer to often (like the editing page). Once I understood how the lessons were structured, I spent some time gathering and organizing materials.

There are 10 units in the curriculum, which is a full year's worth of lessons. I made a folder for each lesson and then filed the student pages and any time-save activity pages in the correct folder. This way I'm not searching around for papers when I start the lesson.

I also set up a writing center bag. This houses all the materials needed for my daughter to write plus the Grammar Folders (both the ones we have completed and the ones we still need to complete).  You can click on the link above to see exactly what is in our writing center bag.

The Lessons:

Each unit contains an overview, materials needed, and eight activities. A unit can be completed in two weeks or three weeks, depending on which writing schedule you choose. The teacher needs to read through the lesson before starting.You do need to have a general idea of where the lesson is going before starting. I thought the lessons gave me enough information, examples, and verbiage on how to present the topic to my daughter. You can find examples of the lessons here: WriteShop D examples.

What We Thought:

We have completed 2 units so far in WriteShop D. No tears have been shed during the teaching of these units by either me or my daughter. :) My daughter is enjoying writing. Each lesson is broken down into just the right amount of information for her to digest. Having games and brainstorming sheets has helped her not be afraid to write. We both like the approach to grammar via the grammar folders. During each unit a grammar folder is made which then becomes a reference tool.

As the teacher, I thought the curriculum does a great job helping me teach. Once I got everything organized, it was easy to implement.  I love the various brainstorming sheets and checklists for the students, games and hands-on examples. WriteShop presents writing as something that can be fun!

WriteShop offers writing curriculum for all ages-- kindergarten - highschool. I am planning on having my other children transition to WriteShop for next year.

Some Freebie FUN:

WriteShop is going to be having a Twitter Party and you are invited! Join @WriteShop on Tues. April 17th at 9:00 pm EST for some prizes and fellowship! Follow the hashtag #WriteShopParty

Here's a special party favor just for you! Print out a 4x6 photo prompt for some creative writing inspiration! (Lego scene created by my son.)

WriteShop Photo Prompt #2

You can collect the other three writing prompts by visiting: In Our Write Minds, Wonderfully Chaotic, and Bowmania.

That's not all...

We're hosting a pre-party giveaway! You can win your choice of WriteShop Primary Level Writing Curriculum A, B, or C ( e-book version). Enter via Rafflecopter below.



a Rafflecopter giveaway


Disclosure: I was given WriteShop D to review. Opinions in this post are mine.

Writing Center in a Bag

I love the idea of writing centers and having writing materials accessible at all times for children. I even created a bird-themed writing center recently and saw how much my children enjoyed it. I needed however, a portable option too. Once again, my Thirty-One organizing tote came to my rescue!

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I just have my portable writing center stocked with the basics so far, but I am thrilled that I still have room to add additional supplies when needed.

We have customized our portable writing center to work with our WriteShop writing curriculum.

 

One component of the WriteShop program (which can also be purchased separately) are grammar file-folders. There are 10 different grammar files that become reference guides when completed.

Once again, I added a clear, open file box which can be purchased either on Amazon or at The Container Store.

The clear file box provided the perfect place to store our grammar file-folders, colored paper, notebook paper and other specialty papers for writing.

StoryBuilders are writing prompts that get kids writing. There are four different downloadable themes available and can be used for multiple age-levels. StoryBuilder cards provide students with the basic elements of a story—character, character trait, setting, and plot. Each element card is a different color. I placed ours in an index-card size accordion file.

 

The accordion file fits perfectly in the front pocket. Now my kids can easily find and use the StoryBuilder cards.

All the pockets are on the outside of the tote. This makes it so easy to see and locate items! One pocket holds all the Post-It notes. Since this side mesh pocket stretches, it is easy to grab these little pads of paper.

The opposite side mesh pocket holds a pencil box filled with pencils, a pair of scissors, highlighters, a dry-erase marker and a glue stick.

I even have a couple empty pockets! One will house a mini-stapler once I buy it, and the others will probably get to hold new markers. This writing center also contains a small dry-erase board, a 3-hole punch, a thesaurus, a clipboard, a writer's reference book and 2 writing journals. I still need to find our small dictionary and add it to the bag.

I am loving that this writing center is easy to store and is portable. My kids work in various places in the house, so now they can easily move their writing center and have all the materials in one place. Once the weather gets nice, they can even do their writing outside.

I think I could use a couple more of these totes! You can see how I used one to organize our reading curriculum, and I love how Jolanthe uses it as her teaching tote. There is still time to win one for yourself! Check out the Thirty-One Giveaway post for details.

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Birds Writing Center

This week is the Great Backyard Bird Count! Thanks to my Facebook subscribers for reminding me a couple weeks ago. I thought that since there is a big focus on birds this month, that I would love to incorporate the theme into our homeschool somehow. After reading a series about writing centers on the WriteShop blog, I knew that I was going to create our first-ever writing center. Using mostly printer-ink and supplies I had on hand, I set up a simple bird-theme writing station at home.

I tried to provide materials for all age-levels in my home--- 1yr to 13yrs. old. I have the station set up by a window so that they will hopefully be inspired by any winged creatures they see outside too.

-- various bird-theme lined paper for writing (see below for details)
-- bird fact cards (see below for details)
-- bird booklet for my little girls
-- letter B plus Birds writing paper for my little girls
(You can follow my bird Pinterest board for even more ideas)

I have a whole set of bird photo cards that I picked up a couple years ago from the Dollar Tree. There are writing prompts listed on the back. I figure my younger children can look at the photos and then tell me about what they see. My older children will have the option of using the prompts on the back or not.

In the green bins are writing prompt cards from WriteShop. I printed out StoryBuilders: World of Animal cards for some creative writing inspiration. Each card is color-coded and students pick 1 of each color and use them to write their story:

Character Cards - Blue
Character Trait Cards - Yellow
Setting Cards - Green
Plot Cards - Lavender

The download contains printable cards plus instructions for different ways to play this writing game. I am excited to see how my kids use this component this week. I think this will help with the "Mom, I don't know what to write," reply I hear when they are asked to write.

I also printed out bird cards and placed them in our table-top pocket chart. My 5yr. old daughter has been the first to explore this activity. She helped me place the names of the birds we already knew on the bird photos.

You can download these bird-themed papers for free! I appreciate all who read and subscribe to my site, so I'm planning on periodically creating some special downloads just for you. If you are a subscriber, you will find the download link at the bottom of the post in either your inbox or RSS feed:

You can easily keep up with all the happenings at Spell Outloud by subscribing two ways:

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If you follow SpellOutloud on Facebook, you can also access this download on my page. Just look to the left for the Only Likers box and click.

Teaching Writing with IEW

I love to write but have a hard time teaching writing to my children. We have tried various things over the years---some with success, some not so much. My older kids were at a point where they needed more writing structure and I wasn’t sure how we should proceed. Thankfully, the Institute for Excellence in Writing (IEW) sent the Homeschool Crew various levels to review, and I was given the exact level my older kids needed.

What is It?

It is a writing program for grades 3rd-high school. Andrew Pudewa is the director and gives a nice overview of the program on the IEW website.  (There is a new curriculum called Primary Arts of Language for children K-2nd)

I was given:

Student Writing Intensive B
$99.00

Recorded live, this DVD writing course for students by Andrew Pudewa is comprised of four writing sessions on DVD. Each session presents structural models and stylistic techniques from our TWSS Syllabus. Included with the student handouts are complete teacher notes, source texts, and checklists providing fifteen comprehensive lessons to ensure your student masters each unit before moving on to the next. Since each lesson can take one to two weeks to complete, the entire package can provide 15–30 weeks of writing instruction.

Contains
• Four DVDs
• A binder with dividers
• A packet with the teacher’s notes, handouts, and checklists (about 100 pages in all)

What We Thought:

I had heard about IEW several years ago, went to the site and then was overwhelmed by all the terminology and abbreviations and left. I couldn’t figure out what I needed and it seemed like it was going to be difficult to implement. Now that I have finally had a chance to use the program,I have a totally different view----we love it! (I wonder though, if I was the only one scared away by the product titles and abbreviations?)

IEW: Institute of Excellence in Writing : The main website/program
TWSS: Teaching Writing Structures and Style : a DVD series that teaches the teacher
SWI: Student Writing Intensive: a DVD series plus materials the student needs to complete the program.

Basically the writing program teaches the student how to complete a keyword outline. This was a skill my 12yr. old and 11yr. old needed to know and I appreciated the way it was presented. Using source texts (text included with the curriculum), students were able to practice making keyword outlines and learned how to write from them.  This was a huge shift for my older kids and this concept alone helped improve their writing.

We also enjoyed watching the DVD’s together. Mr. Pudewa has a sense of humor when teaching and that helped keep my kids involved with the lesson. (I found that it is necessary for me to sit with my  kids while watching so that I knew what the assignment was and how to assess the writing). I appreciated that I was not doing the direct teaching but rather just facilitating. Another plus was having all the source texts and assignments already planned for me. All I had to do was hand them out and make sure the children put them in their notebooks. We’ve completed a little over half of the lessons so far---taking more time when needed.

I was also sent a portable wall. It is a specially-designed file-folder of all the IEW terms and lists presented in the DVD curriculum (see the picture above). It is a wonderful reference tool and I found that I used it just as much as the kids.

This writing curriculum filled a need in our homeschool. We needed more structure and a writing plan. IEW provided that for us.  I hope to get my other children started at their levels for this upcoming school year.

If you want to learn more about the products IEW has to offer (they have more than just writing), check out their Magalog (magazine/catalog). It was a ton of information plus freebies linked in the articles and sidebars.

For more IEW Reviews See:
Disclosure: I am a member of TOS and I was given this product free for review purposes only. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.