Our Writing Rundown: Resources & Routine in 2021
With folks already ordering their homeschooling materials for the 2021-2022 school year, the topic of writing has been at the forefront of many of our group's conversations lately. What do you use? Is Brave Writer any good? What's the best curriculum for struggling writers? What does writing look like in your house? These are just a few of the questions I've received this month, so I thought I'd share some answers here.
First, let's acknowledge Captain Obvious: writing can be a beast of a subject for many families... it's like the homeschooling bear that never hibernates... always there, inducing terror and tears at nearly every turn. (Sigh!) Some folks choose to hide from the beast altogether, completely avoiding the subject of writing until they enroll their kiddos in a school/co-op/class during the middle years. Other families, however, arm themselves with sharp pencils and fierce determination as they hurl everything they've got at the formidable beast: grammar workbooks, writing textbooks, and composition lectures (oh my!). Thankfully, there are a few homeschooling families who've found writing to be a sweet spot in their education journeys, and their advice is a breath of fresh air! (I love this post, and this one is helpful too.)
For our family, we finally found our groove after discovering Julie Bogart's Brave Writer program. (Julie is a rockstar, by the way, and Brave Writer is like her grand, glorious anthem for struggling writers. I love her!!!) Now that our family has tamed the writing "beast," I'm happy to share our resources/routine in case something might be helpful to you and your family. Before I dive into the specifics though, I should confess that we've wholeheartedly embraced Julie Bogart's Brave Writer philosophy, which emphasizes FUN and EFFORTLESS writing (as effortless as speaking to your best friend). So, if you're looking for rigorous, five-paragraph essay instruction for your kindergartner, then this post probably isn't for you. Just sayin'! ;-)
Also, if you haven't read The Writer's Jungle (by Julie Bogart, the founder of Brave Writer), then I highly recommend you start there. Other than a beloved professor at Oxford University, Julie Bogart is MY FAVORITE WRITING INSTRUCTOR EVER, and The Writer's Jungle is her fabulous how-to manual for homeschooling parents everywhere. Seriously. Read Julie's books if you're stuck. Read her books if you're discouraged. She's brilliant! (A Gracious Space is lovely. Brave Learner is one of our favs. The Writer's Jungle explains how everyday homeschooling students can grow into capable - and even enthusiastic! - writers. For bite-sized bits of wisdom, check out Julie's Brave Writer website; it's brimming with ideas and encouragement.)
Alrighty, on with the show! Here's a visual rundown of what writing looks like in our household:
FOR GRADES K-3:
During the early years of school, we focus on playing with words, sharing stories, and creating keepsakes (books/journals/catalogs/posters/etc.) We do NOT use any formal writing curricula at this age, but we do use Evan-Moor's grammar workbooks and All About Spelling's resources, so we don't entirely neglect the nuts and bolts of the writtten word. AND - we also use Brave Writer's Jot It Down during the early grades, but this program is more like a buffet of ideas rather than a true step-by-step "curriculum."
My 3rd grader's writing looks like this:
To create the "book" pictured above, my son and I sat together on the couch while he imagined his version of a choose-your-own-adventure story (very Brave-Writer-ish). He talked while I typed, and this freedom allowed him to focus on the "juicy" elements of storytelling... the characters, the plot, the suspense, etc... all without the burdens of handwriting and spelling. As he rattled off ideas, I occasionally asked if he might want to use a different word in a sentence, but I never forced any edits. (In the example above, my son originally said, "If you fail, then you will face terrible consequences;" so I asked him if he'd like to use a "juicier" word for terrible, and that's when he declared with a grin, "Yes! DISASTROUS consequences!" In other parts of the story though, he preferred to stick with his original language, and that was perfectly okay!)
Do we have time to draft a new story every week? Nope! With three kiddos, that would be impossible. But we do try our best to set aside at least 1-2 hours for writing/brainstorming every week; sometimes that means we spend 30 minutes per day on a new story, but most of the time we indulge in a couple of hour-long sessions during baby girl's nap time. In the end, this means we crank out several books/stories per semester, plus a few other projects that strike our fancy. We've compiled homemade toy catalogs, letters to friends and family, cards for those in need, all-about-me posters, one-question-a-day journals, and scripts for TV commercials and YouTube videos... and they've ALL been enjoyable (if not downright hilarious) writing experiences! The toy catalog, by the way, is an awesome opportunity to practice using colorful adjectives. ;-)
Speaking of ideas, check out Brave Writer's Jot It Down or Partnership Writing for this age group. Both are excellent resources for specific, age-appropriate writing projects that ANYONE can do with their kiddos!
In addition to storytelling and other writing projects, my 3rd grader practices copywork & dictation once a week (another Brave Writer suggestion). Basically, this means he copies a few sentences from our current read aloud in order to hone his handwriting and grammar skills (the copywork part), and then he writes the same selection the very next day - without copying anything - as I speak it slowly (the dictation part)... dictation allows us to practice both grammar AND spelling in one easy-breezy exercise. :-)
Here's a sample of his copywork from the second week of third grade:
Finally, my 3rd grader keeps a freewriting journal too (another Brave Writer suggestion; look here for fun prompts). Here's a page from his journal:
This Brave-Writer-inspired combination of "fun" writing projects, copywork, and journaling has been a homerun for us. My son LOVES writing, and his thoughts/vocabulary/language structure have blossomed with zero struggle. Plus, he aced the spelling, grammar, and vocabulary sections of the state-mandated standardized tests, so I think the Brave Writer method imparts more "concrete" skills than some might think.
Finally, when I say that my 3rd grader loves "writing," I should clarify this one. He loves crafting stories, scripts, letters, and other such written material, but he still does NOT enjoy the physical act of writing with a pencil (partly because he's a young boy who needs to MOVE while he works, and partly because he struggles with dyslexia). So his "writing" often involves a scribe, either me or the iPad. ;-) As his ability and attention span improve over time, I'll gradually increase the amount of writing/typing that he does on his own.
FOR GRADES 4 & 5:
In fourth and fifth grades, we add Classical Academic Press's Writing & Rhetoric books (beginning with Fables), but the bulk of our writing curriculum is still Brave-Writer-inspired projects (such as those found in Partnership Writing and Faltering Ownership), plus weekly copywork and journaling. (Julie Bogart thoroughly discusses the benefits of copywork in The Writer's Jungle, but she also briefly discusses the topic here.) Do I think it's necessary to add the Writing & Rhetoric books? Nope! I think Brave Writer's Partnership Writing and Faltering Ownership (plus copywork) offer plenty of writing structure for upper elementary students. I simply add Writing & Rhetoric because we study fables in 4th grade, so Book #1 ties in nicely at this time.
Speaking of copywork, Brave Writer offers a slew of open-and-go copywork exercises. You can search the archives to find copywork lessons from hundreds of classic books, so there's likely a packet for your current read aloud. (Tip: many of the copywork packets, called "Dart" or "Arrow" singles, include awesome book party ideas too!)
FOR GRADES 6-8:
Although Brave Writer will always be my first love, I add Institute for Excellence in Writing's All Things Fun and Fascinating in 6th grade. Why? Because I need a robust, step-by-step writing curriculum that my middle schooler can tackle independently. And, for our family, IEW fits the bill perfectly! (Many families love the open-and-go, independent nature of IEW; for those who are researching options, WriteShop is another program with similar benefits. Just FYI.) While IEW offers excellent instruction in crafting academic essays, I think it's sorely lacking in key areas (like developing original voice, creativity, and depth). Therefore, Brave Writer STILL serves as our primary writing program throughout middle school. We finish Brave Writer's Faltering Ownership in 6th grade, and then we begin Brave Writer's Help for High School in 7th grade. I simply sprinkle in a few IEW assignments along the way. (Side note: there are MANY families who adore IEW and feel that it provides everything their students need, including creativity and original voice development. I'm just sharing MY thoughts based upon our family's experience with both IEW and Brave Writer.)
In addition to these Brave Writer and IEW "spines," we continue copywork and journaling too, albeit on a less regular basis in middle school. I've posted a sample of my sixth grader's copywork below, in case you want to see how we handle copywork during the middle years. In the first picture, you can see that my son copied a passage directly from our read-aloud book. In the second picture, you'll see his attempt to mimic the author's skill by putting his own spin on the passage:
In 7th and 8th grades, I plan to add IEW's history-based writing curricula alongside Brave Writer's Help for High School. Otherwise, those grades should look similar to our 6th grade routine.
FOR GRADES 9+:
We haven't yet reached the high school years, so I don't have any specific resources to suggest for this age group. That said, I've heard fabulous things about Brave Writer's online classes for high schoolers, and I already know that Brave Writer's Help for High School is wonderfully engaging. IEW is excellent for high schoolers, too!
IN CONCLUSION:
That was just a quick peek into our family's writing routine; I didn't list every single thing we do (snooze!), nor am I pretending that we have it all figured out (never gonna happen!). However, I know it's helpful to hear real stories/reviews as you're researching options, so I'm happy to share our experiences (and our favorite finds!) as we continue down the homeschool path. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions. :-)
FINALLY, if you're feeling overwhelmed by the plethora of writing resources available to homeschoolers - and if writing is still A BEAST in your home - then I suggest choosing ONE program rather than assembling "a little of this and a little of that" (which is my typical approach to most subjects). You can't go wrong with IEW, WriteShop or Brave Writer; they're all worthy choices. Brave Writer is great for those who prefer freedom and creativity, while IEW and WriteShop are best for those who need step-by-step instruction. Classical Academic Press is a solid choice as well.
That's it!
Happy writing, friends!!!
P.S. - I feel like anyone who makes it this far deserves a prize. Ha! To save you from scrolling through everything for a specific link, here's a quick recap of our favs:
WRITING CURRICULA:
COPYWORK EXERCISES:
Brave Writer Copywork Archives (search by book title)
JOURNAL PROMPTS:
HELPFUL EXTRAS:
Comments