Exploring Curriculum is a series covering the core academic subjects for grades TK-8. Here are some of the past subjects covered:
Phonics
Science
Social Studies
High School Online Courses
This week we will provide some writing resource ideas for your learners, as teaching writing is often intimidating for the independent study parent. We hope one of these resources will be a good fit for your learner.
6+1 Traits of Writing
Grades Kinder-High School
Learning Styles: Visual and Auditory
The 6+1 Traits of Writing is an excellent resource for parents to teach learners the traits of writing. There are several resources that could be ordered to use this method. For K-2 learners, it is advised that you order 6+1 Traits of Writing: The Complete Guide for the Primary Grades and Using Picture Books to Teach Writing with the Traits: K-2 .
For third grade and up, it is recommended to order the 6+1 Traits of Writing: The Complete Guide for 3rd Grade and Up . For middle schoolers, you might also order Using Mentor Texts to Teach Writing With the Traits: Middle School: An Annotated Bibliography of 150 Picture Books, Chapter Books, and Young Adult Novels With Teacher-Tested Lessons .
The guides review the theory and practice of the program and have lesson plans that could be implemented at home. The book guides provides picture book suggestions to read with your learners to model effective uses of the traits. Most of the books could be checked out from your local library.
Institute for Excellence in Writing (IEW)
Grades Kinder-High School
Learning Styles: Visual and Auditory
Learn to Write and THINK with IEW from IEW on Vimeo.
IEW has created numerous materials for independent study families to teach their learners how to write. On IEW’s website, there are many options to think about when deciding what is best for your learners. Please visit the website and click on each grade level to learn about the options. The video workshops are a little expensive, but if you want to teach the program effectively, it is highly advised that you order the workshops to gain a solid understanding of the theory and practice of the program.
Brave Writer
Grades TK-High School
Learning Styles: Visual, Auditory and Kinesthetic
Brave Writer is not just a writing program — it is a “Brave Writer Lifestyle.” Julie Bogart, a seasoned independent study mom, is behind this amazing program! Brave Writer has five levels:
The five levels of Brave Writer are Jot it Down (ages 5-8), Partnership Writing (ages 9-10), Faltering Ownership (ages 11-12), Transition to Ownership (ages 13-14), and The Great Conversation (ages 15-18). The Writer’s Jungle is the backbone to the “Brave Writer Lifestyle” and includes information about theory and philosophy. It needs to be purchased only once, so if you are buying various levels, you do not need to buy multiple copies of this resource. The binders for the different levels include hands-on writing products with various choices to meet the interests and needs of your learners.
The Arrow and Boomerang components include writing extensions to great literature works. Brave Writer also offers online classes that your learners could enroll in to support the development of their writing skills.
Writing with Ease and Writing with Skills
Grades 1-High School
Learning Styles: Visual and Auditory
Writing with Ease and Writing with Skill are written by Susan Wise Bauer. Both programs include writing lessons coupled with grammar, narration and copywork lessons. Writing with Ease was written for grades 1-5. It is recommended that you purchase The Complete Writer: Writing with Ease Instructor Text, workbook and learner book. Writing with Skill was written for grades 5-10. It is recommended that you purchase the instructor text and workbook for the level best suited to your learner.
Units of Study
Grades Kinder-5
Learning Styles: Visual and Auditory
Units of Study is a wonderful resource for independent study families! The Units of Study in opinion, information, and narrative writing are written for grades K-5 and have an additional trade book component that is needed to teach the lessons. Most of the books can be found at your local library, but it may be easier to purchase the books to have on hand when you are ready to teach the lessons. The lessons begin with familiarizing the learner with the trade book so that the learner has a strong reference before beginning to move through the stages of writing. Higher-level thinking skills are incorporated in the lessons to help develop your learner’s thinking abilities.
Games
Grades Kinder-8
Learning Styles: Visual, Auditory and Kinesthetic
The following three activities are fun resources that could be used to support writing in your home:
Create-A-Story is a game that teaches topic sentence, plot, character, setting, description, dialogue, lesson, and resolution.
The Writing Adventures Game Pack includes nine games that support writing.
Rory’s Story Cubes Game is a dice game that helps learners develop plots and stories. They are great to keep in your purse to be used at restaurants, doctor’s appointments, etc.
Please keep in mind that while links are included to the publisher’s website, many of the resources are available at Rainbow Resource and some of the curriculum may be cheaper there. As you begin to place orders, it is usually more economical to place one big order versus paying the shipping costs on several smaller orders.