Saturday, October 13, 2018

Book Review: Writing Strands Beginning 2






Structured for use with 4th through 8th graders, Writing Strands 2 focuses on effective sentence and paragraph formation through planning, processing, and practicing. A one-year course in writing, students will learn to organize sentences for grammatical accuracy and reader understanding.

I love that biblical passages and literature are incorporated into this program. This isn't "just" a writing program: it's a language arts program. Throughout the year, parent-selected books are read by the student (and parent) with the goal of using literature to shape the following week's writing lessons. Purposeful writing is taught by reading and studying the intent of the passages read. In addition to basic skills, Writing Strands 2 expands students' writing skills through creative and descriptive expression.

As with most Master Books curriculi, Writing Strands is set up in such a way that the instructions are articulated to both parent/teacher and student with no "prep time" required. Another book, Writing Strands Teaching Companion, is available that provides extra direction to further expound on the reading portion of this program. It's recommended, but not required.