| Copyright 2006 Julie Shepherd Knapp |
| Copyright 2006 Julie Shepherd Knapp. All rights reserved. |
| about the book |
| The Homeschool Diner's Guide to Homeschooling by Subject Language Arts for Homeschoolers Writing Resources Writing Curriculum, Programs, Prompts, and Creative Alternatives by Julie Shepherd Knapp, copyright, 2006 Writing Strands by Dave Marks -- a non-graded writing curriculum with daily assignments, students can use it independently from Level 3 on up, teaches basic writing skills and several types of writing (referred to as "strands") such as creative, report, argumentative, etc. , good for parents who feel more comfortable having everything planned out for them, good for students who are willing to write daily on assigned topics, Level 2 is recommended as a starting point for reluctant writers. This program is often used along with the book "A Well-Trained Mind" (in Classical Education). Here is a helpful review Writing Blaster -- software aimed at grades 1-3, helps kids develop fundamental writing and reading skills, then use them to create multimedia The Wordsmith Series -- (4th - 12th) three books, "Wordsmith Apprentice", "Wordsmith", and "Wordsmith Craftsman", teach writing skills thru daily lessons associated with newspaper journalism, here is a review from The Well-Trained Mind website (Classical Education) The Writing Series by Michael Clay Thompson -- "Sentence Island" and "Paragraph Town" - for -gifted 3rd - 6th, designed to be used with his Grammar Series and Etymology Series (word roots/vocabulary) to create a complete Language Arts program for gifted students, can also be used (at later grade levels) with students who are not gifted in Language Arts Spectrum Writing Series by McGraw-Hill -- ( K - 12) simple, inexpensive, but very good workbooks provide writing examples, lessons, and activities for writing better sentences, descriptive writing, sentence construction, letter writing, etc., separate workbooks available for grammar, spelling, and reading comprehension, find them at Borders Books, teacher's stores, and thru Amazon.com Essay Express -- fun interactive software download to help 4th -8th graders write essays, amusing and hip ;-) free trial available Just Write series from EPS -- this series starts from the very beginning with drawing a picture and describing it with one word, then later with one sentence, etc., great for new and reluctant writers Writing Skills by Diana Hanbury King -- grades 2–12 complete program including grammar, usage, composition, cursive, and keyboarding, reportedly good for reluctant writers Modeling the Classics: Language Arts Lessons from The Hobbit -- a 200-page E-book with multi-age lesson plans, a Charlotte Mason and Ruth Beechick inspired approach includes spelling, grammar, copywork, and writing assignments, all based on excerpts from the Hobbit. Includes drawing a draw a story map, writing about characters, setting, etc. What is Technical Writing? by W. Earl Britton -- defines technical writing (this is the first page of a journal article that you may be able to access with the help of your friendly local librarian) Scientific and Technical Communication: Theory, Practice, and Policy by James H. Collier -- free online text of a college-level textbook Writing Prompts, Creative Alternatives, and Free Online Resources Writing Well: Exposition:You Got Some 'Splaining to Do, Lucy -- an amusing, free online tutorial (excerpted from a book) that covers the basics of expository writing, aimed at middle school and up, from the Fact Monster Homework Center Quotes Plus: American Literature -- (9th - 12th) quotes taken from historical literature along with quotes from opposing viewpoints inspire writers to defend their worldviews 350 Fabulous Writing prompts by Jacqueline Sweeney -- (4th - 8th) a great collection of thought-provoking and clever writing prompts 101 Picture prompts to Spark Super Writing -- pictures and cartoons Comic Strip Writing Prompts -- Peanuts, Garfield, etc. inspire writing Make Beliefs Comix! -- free online comic-maker, choose from several pre-made characters, choose the mood of the character (happy, sad, mad, surprised), and type words into "bubbles" to make a comic/story Write Abouts -- (1st - 8th) Creative Thinking, Silly Starters, Wacky Headlines, Story Starters, etc., each is a flip book with writing prompts The Curious Case of the Misplaced Modifier: How To Solve The Mysteries Of Weak Writing by Bonnie Trenga 20 Sensational Art and Writing Projects -- prompts for designing your own artwork and writing about it, and vice-versa 50 Tools Which Can Help You in Writing -- free tips and strategies Newspaper Reporters: An Introduction to Newspaper Writing by Teacher Created resources -- kids learn to make their own newspaper, including research, writing different types of articles, features and advertisements, blank 11 x 17 newspapers available separately Writing Well: Speeches -- All the World's a Stage-- amusing, free online tutorial aimed at middle school and up A+ Research and Writing -- step by step ideas on how to go about writing a research paper from the InternetPublicLibrary.org Gifted Language Arts Curriculum -- individual units developed by the William and Mary Center for Gifted Education for high-ability learners, various topics and grade levels, designed for classroom use, but adaptable to homeschooling Draw Then Write -- (1st - 6th) draw pictures then write about them, includes step-by-step instructions on how to draw Teaching English Through Art by Visual Manna -- writing assignments based on art, techniques include following the steps to correctly draw animals and using a grid to copy drawings, sample lessons online The 5 Paragraph Essay -- how to and links to other helpful sites The Five Paragraph Essay Slide Show -- amusing show and tell for the 5 paragraph essay The SAT Essay -- from the College Boards website, a description of what is expected, examples of actual essays and the scores they received For more fun writing alternatives check out Creative Ideas for Writing, Fun Resources, and Free Online Enrichment |
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