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Thursday, July 10, 2014

WriteShop Review

Our review for WriteShop 

WriteShop Review


WriteShop offers writing resources for Kindergarten through high school, helping new and older homeschoolers teach writing with confidence. With engaging, step-by-step lessons that help build the writing process, pre-writing, revising, writing and brainstorming as well as help parents edit and evaluate your students work.


We recieved the digital download for WriteShop Junior Book Set D. This material works with many learning styles and will help guide your child through the writing process. Each lesson includes engaging games and activities that teach and review important writing and self editing skills. If your child is advanced or new to the writing, this curriculum is flexible so they can work at their own level. This curriculum was designed for a years worth of fun, however, they do note other options inside for cutting the time period back.  

WriteShop Review

About WriteShop Junior Book Set D: This set teaches basic writing like:
  • brainstorming 
  • organizing before writing
  • coming up with ideas 
  • self editing 
  • publishing creatively
Included in the Book Set D is a Teachers Guide, Student Activity Pack, Level 1 Fold N Go Grammar and optional Time Saver Pack. You can purchase the digital or physical copy. To purchase the physical copy, right now it costs $45.95, to purchase the digital copy (pdf/eBook), right now it costs $35.50. Timer Saver digital pack is $13.95

Table of Contents for Book D:
  • Letter of Invitation
  • Humor
  • Adventure
  • Science Fiction
  • Mystery
  • Poetry/Haiku
  • Folktales
  • Historical Fiction
  • Personal Narratives
  • Expository Writing: Factual Article
This level is designed for students in 3rd and 4th grade, however, you can use this with reluctant 5th & 6th graders. It is recommended to start with Book D if your child has not learned punctuation or grammar skills, still needs planning, organizing and adding details to stories. It is recommended that relunctant 3rd graders start with WriteShop Primary Book C. 

Please note: that this is not an individual study. It was designed for parents to work with their children when using this material.

When we got our downloads, I went through each one to see what all was inside. WOW! That is A LOT! Good information but maybe a bit much to run through. At first was sorta confusing on how to use the material. Teachers guide alone has 278 pages while the other 3 pack have anywhere from 22 pages to 74 pages. The page numbers didn't bother me as much as it did to run back in forth from one file to the other just print pages.

The timesaver pack has 9 lessons, most of which have 2 Activity Sets on Skill building and Pre-Writing. Fold and Go Grammar has 10 lessons covering Grammar basics like punctuation, nouns, pronouns, verbs, self editing and more. The student workbook pack goes along with with both the Activity Pack and Grammar Pack; beginning with the Activity pack first. To help you use this material they have included a schedule with daily plans that you can follow. Truthfully, although the schedules are nice at times, I am a hands on material kind of person. Don't get me wrong, I like the fact they offered schedules and daily lesson plans, (that shows me examples before I begin my tweeking). BUT.... I have never been one to follow curriculum to the T.  I will admit if I am confused or frustrated, then I will try it their way first if I can not come up with an alternative. But even then I might get myself in to more of a pickle. Because this is a review and we had 8 weeks to review this product, I honestly didn't tweek much).
In my opinion, school should not be so programmed. I always look back at when I went to public school. What classes bored me and why? How was the subject taught? I look at my kids and I dont want them bored with school, I want them engaging and enjoying what they learn. One reason why I support hands on teaching-learning. I like that this material allows for creativity (hands-on) skills. I dont mind encorporating some games in learning, however, I do mind jumping around getting the material together and lessons that go along with that particular game. I know it would be much to just combine the four digital files in to one full eBook, but it would be worth it to have all the material for each lesson together rather then some-what scattered. Again a lot of great useful information     but also a lot to print if you use the digital download. 

I like this material, but given more time I would definitely tweek it to help my own style of teaching as well as our family style of learning. 

Find out what others are saying about WriteShop by clicking below on the attached review crew link.
You can find WriteShop at the following places on the Web:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/writeshop
Twitter: https://twitter.com/writeshop
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/writeshop/boards/
Instagram: http://instagram.com/kimkautzer
Google+: https://plus.google.com/+Writeshop/

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