Looking for Ways to Make Writing More Fun?
We’d like to share our choices for the 2014 Blue Ribbon Awards! …
Favorite Writing Curriculum: WriteShop
~ Schoolhouse Review Crew
Writing doesn’t have to be a tearful experience for your child—or a hair-pulling one for you! When you replace boring workbooks with lessons that are exciting and enjoyable for both of you, soon your kids will be begging for more writing time!
If the idea of teaching writing seems intimidating, WriteShop Junior holds your hand every step of the way. Lesson plans show you exactly how to guide your child through each part of the writing process.
My kiddos are having so much fun with the lessons, that they actually look forward to writing time now which is a huge bonus! … I’ve really seen Turbo blossom in writing since we’ve started the program. His first adventure story was 5 pages long! The kid just wouldn’t stop writing, and not only that, but his story was actually really well put together and thought out! …
We’re absolutely loving this program, and definitely plan to continue with WriteShop in the future!
Erica, Confessions of a Homeschooler
Inspire Confidence in Young Writers
WriteShop Junior’s creative activities spark enthusiasm in both eager and resistant writers. And when fun replaces fear, a child’s confidence as a writer begins to blossom. Sprinkled with games, hands-on projects, and parent guidance, WriteShop Junior encourages success!
Children learn that a series of stepping stones make up the writing process:
Brainstorming. Topic suggestions, graphic organizers, and gentle parent guidance help unlock your student’s creative ideas.
Writing. Each engaging lesson uses games to introduce skills such as replacing weak words with strong ones, forming sentences of different lengths, and using emotion words in writing. Children are taught to use these new tools in their writing projects. Additionally, WriteShop Junior helps them use details and colorful description to write longer, more interesting stories and reports.
Self-Editing and Revising. WriteShop’s encouraging “job-well-done” approach sends intimidation packing! Simple checklists and a personal editor’s toolkit actually make the process fun. And students are always encouraged to publish their final draft in a creative way—with loads of ideas included.
WriteShop Junior Features
- Fiction, nonfiction, short reports, and poetry
- Writing genres such as adventure, science fiction, mystery, personal narrative, and fables
- Creativity and variety in each lesson
- Multisensory activities that appeal to different learners
- Incremental lessons that build on earlier skills
5-paragraph writing (introduced toward the end of Book E)
- Positive focus on self-editing
- Creative publishing ideas
- Fold-N-Go Grammar to reinforce key skills
- Flexible teaching schedule
- Parent tips to help struggling writers
- Suggested scripts to help parents model writing
- Smaller Steps and Flying Higher that adjust writing to child’s level of ability
- Effective for students with learning difficulties such as dyslexia or dysgraphia
I loved the Teacher Guide. As a busy mom schooling six children, having a well-organized teacher manual is a must! With WriteShop, preparing for the week was simple.
Linda, Training 6 Hearts 4 HimWriteShop Junior was the highlight of our homeschool year! My 10-year-old always enjoyed writing but was resistant to formal instruction. WriteShop made writing fun and was so easy to teach!
Joanie, New Jersey
WriteShop Junior teaches students to write and publish fiction, nonfiction, poems, and short reports using a variety of pre-writing games, graphic organizers, and kid-approved self-editing tools. Whether you have a reluctant writer or a more advanced child, this program offers flexible options so students can work at their own level.
You will need the companion Activity Pack D (including student worksheets and 1 fold-n-go).
Is Your Child “Writing-Phobic”?
Are you looking for a curriculum that puts the fun back in writing? Then you’ll love WriteShop Junior!
Every time I bring out a writing program, it ends in tears. Thank you for a writing lesson without tears!
Pam, New Zealand
WriteShop Junior is a creative writing program that appeals to many learning styles. As with all WriteShop products, Book D helps you guide children through the steps of the writing process. To keep the experience fun for everyone, each lesson includes engaging games and activities that teach and review important writing and self-editing skills. And whether you have a more advanced child or one who is fairly new to writing, this program is flexible so children can work at their own level.
WriteShop Junior is not an independent course. Lessons are designed for parent and child to work together. While each lesson follows a consistent format, the varied and interesting activities mean your student will look forward to each day’s work. Lessons break the writing process into manageable chunks that are easy to understand and master. The Teacher’s Guide includes several schedules with daily lesson plans. Schedules are flexible and easy to follow.
Book D teaches the basics: how to come up with ideas; brainstorm and organize before writing; choose more interesting words; self-edit in a fun and positive way; and publish creatively.
WriteShop Junior Book D includes the following lessons:
Lesson 1: Letter of Invitation
Lesson 2: Humor
Lesson 3: Adventure
Lesson 4: Science Fiction
Lesson 5: Mystery
Lesson 6: Poetry/Haiku
Lesson 7: Folktales
Lesson 8: Historical Fiction
Lesson 9: Personal Narrative
Lesson 10: Expository Writing: Factual Article
Working three days a week, you will typically finish one lesson in three weeks. Each lesson includes pre-writing games, brainstorming with graphic organizers, story writing (with help as needed), self-editing, and publishing the story in a creative way.
Other skills introduced in Book D include:
- Narrowing a broad topic to a specific topic
- Brainstorming before writing
- Structuring a sentence
- Writing a paragraph
- Choosing strong words instead of weak ones
- Writing sentences of different lengths
- Using emotion words to develop voice
- Using the five senses to add descriptive detail
- Self-editing and revising
- Creatively publishing final drafts
Bryce has not only learned how to be an effective writer, but he has also gained confidence along the way. I never would have thought this was possible. The progress he has made since we began is truly an amazing thing.
Michelle, Florida
- Identifying and using proper grammar and punctuation
WriteShop Jr. combined a little of everything to make one complete package for the kids. It covered grammar, punctuation, style, and content. It was a great way to introduce them to different genres too.
Patty, New Hampshire
FREE Shipping on ALL Write Shop orders! We want to help homeschool families save a little money.
Free Shipping includes Media Mail shipping. If you would like priority shipping, you can add $5.50 to your payment and send us an email requesting priority shipping (2-3 business days) – info @ curriculumconnection.net
Do you want to know the BEST thing? She still complains about writing … but I find her writing all over the place now. In her room. In the car. In her journal. She just finished writing a play with her sister. The spark has been ignited…
Taunya, Walking with ShilohWe’re nearing the end of our year and I give WriteShop Junior D two thumbs up. I’m delighted with what my daughter has accomplished during the year and I’m also delighted that I can hold onto this program to use with her little brother later.
Even though he has different learning styles, strengths and interests, I am confident this program can meet him at his level and help him be a better writer, too!
Heidi, Product Reviewer, The Curriculum Choice
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Is Book D the Right Level for My Child?
Start with Book D if your child has not learned many punctuation or grammar skills and still needs a lot of help planning, organizing, and adding details to a story. Book D is also a good choice for struggling learners. Extremely reluctant 3rd graders should start with Write Shop Primary Book C.
For more information, see:
Book D sample lesson
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WriteShop Junior FAQ
Should my 3rd grader use WriteShop Junior Book D or WriteShop Primary Book C?
Either one is fine, though a reluctant 8-year-old might gain more confidence using WriteShop Primary Book C. When teaching two children together, choose Book C if they’re 8 and younger, and choose Book D if they’re 8 and older. Either way, activities called “Smaller Steps” and “Flying Higher” let you quickly and easily tailor lessons to children who are functioning at different levels.
When will WriteShop Junior Book F be available?
Book F should be released in 2016.
My child loves to write stories on her own. Do we even need a writing program?
Not necessarily. However, many children who love to write often lack the organizational skills that keep their writing focused. WriteShop Junior teaches skills such as planning a beginning, middle, and end; adding details; using writers’ tools; and self-editing. It also introduces them to genres, including adventure, humor, science fiction, historical fiction, and mystery. Your child’s skills will steadily improve as she learns new techniques for better writing.
My child has some learning challenges. Would WriteShop Junior be a good fit?
WriteShop Junior lessons appeal to multiple modalities (visual, auditory, and kinesthetic), so hands-on learners and children with mild to moderate learning difficulties—including ADHD, dyslexia, and dysgraphia—can gain confidence and experience success. These students benefit from clear boundaries; short, specific assignments; tasks broken into bite-size chunks; frequent repetition and practice; and skill-building games that require no writing. Plus, each lesson may easily be tailored to meet your child’s needs.
Is there a lot of parent/teacher prep involved?
You will need to gather basic materials or do some simple preparation for each lesson. Advance Prep text boxes are clearly marked, making it easy to do this days or even weeks ahead. To save time, you may purchase a Time-Saver Pack of sturdy, ready-made props instead of creating and assembling your own game cards, spinners, and other tools for many of the activities.
How long does it take to complete one WriteShop Junior level?
Each book has 10 lessons. Following the Three-Week Plan, most families finish one book in a school year. Activities vary from day to day, but you can expect to spend 30-45 minutes per day working 3 days per week.
I love the tactile learning experiences. The multi-sensory approach is great for children with dyslexia.
Lisa, California
After several years of struggling to find a writing curriculum I liked, I am very happy with how WriteShop is working out for both my kids.
Brenda, California
“Writeshop Junior: Level D″
FREE Shipping!
Free Shipping includes Media Mail shipping. If you would like priority shipping, you can add $5.50 to your payment and send us an email requesting priority shipping (2-3 business days) – info @ curriculumconnection.net
I UNDERSTAND… that WriteShop Junior: Level D comes with a 100% money back guarantee. I may request a refund of the purchase price, as long as the product is in re-saleable, like new condition.
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