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You are here: Home / homeschool / Writing With Skill Homeschool Curriculum Review

Writing With Skill Homeschool Curriculum Review

(This post contains affiliate links, which means at no extra cost to you, I will receive a small commission if you make purchases from these links.  Thanks for the support.)

Our homeschool has always had some curriculum from the Well-Trained Mind on its bookshelves.  When my oldest was in first grade, we started using First Language Lessons for grammar.  Then we added Writing with Ease in the lower elementary years.  When he was in middle school, we purchased Writing With Skill volume 1.  We have now successfully used all three volumes of WWS and would love to share why they have worked so well.

Looking for a homeschool writing curriculum for the middle grades? Check out why we love Writing With Skill. @4onemore.com #homeschool #curriculumreview #WWS

Complete Review of Writing with Skill Homeschool Curriculum @4onemore.com #WWS

Contents hide
1 Why we love WWS:
2 Here’s how the first part of WWS is structured during your 4-day week:
2.1 Day 1: Original Narration Exercise
2.2 Day 2: Outlining Exercise
2.3 Day 3: Analyzing the Topos
2.4 Day 4: Practicing the Topos
2.5 Day 1: Outlining Exercise
2.6 Day 2: Analyzing the Topos
2.7 Day 3: Practicing the Topos
2.8 Day 4: Copia Exercise

Why we love WWS:

  • the curriculum works hard, not mom
  • written for 4 days a week, adding flexibility to your schedule
  • written directly to the student to teach independent learning
  • teacher’s manual is easy to use as needed
  • reusable curriculum for multiple children
  • teaches foundational writing principles and builds on them
  • uses great literature as a model
  • rubrics for grading final work included

Complete Review of Writing with Skill Homeschool Curriculum @4onemore.com #WWS

Here’s how the first part of WWS is structured during your 4-day week:

Day 1:  Original Narration Exercise

This helps with the “what should I write about” aspect of writing.  Susan Wise Bauer realizes that writing involves coming up with what to write as well as the skill of actually communicating those thoughts on paper.  So narration practice solves the writer’s block issue.

Day 2:  Outlining Exercise

These exercises help students to master the skill of organizing their thoughts before writing.

Day 3:  Analyzing the Topos

Topos is the Greek word from which we get our English word topic.  These exercises teach students how to come up with topics to write about – descriptions, chronological narrative, cause and effect, etc.

Day 4:  Practicing the Topos

Complete Review of Writing with Skill Homeschool Curriculum @4onemore.com #WWS

Once students are able to narrate with ease (a skill taught and practiced in First Language Lessons and Writing with Ease), they will stop working on narrations and progress to this structure:

Day 1:  Outlining Exercise

Day 2:  Analyzing the Topos

Day 3:  Practicing the Topos

Day 4:  Copia Exercise

Copia is a Latin word meaning abundance.  In these exercises, students learn to write many different types and patterns of sentences to keep their writing interesting and fresh.

We just work on the next lesson each day, not worrying about fitting exactly four days into a typical school week.  My middle schoolers use WWS about three times each week, while alternating with Grammar.  My high schooler spends at least an hour daily on WWS.  You can read about our Language Arts Plan here.

I started my oldest on this curriculum in fifth grade.  That was a tad early.  I now start my kids with WWS Level 1 in 6th or 7th grade.

You can see Susan Wise Bauer’s recommendations here.

I think the most helpful thing I can do is give you a tour of the student and teacher books, so here it is.

Homeschool Curriculum & Resources.

Looking for a homeschool writing curriculum for the middle grades? Check out why we love Writing With Skill. @4onemore.com #homeschool #curriculumreview #WWS

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By Subject, high school 9-12, homeschool, Language Arts

Hi! I'm Abby - a former classroom teacher turned homeschooling mom of 5. You're in the right place if you want to be inspired, encouraged, and equipped to homeschool confidently. You can do it! Read More…

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