Does the thought of teaching writing send chills down your spine? Do you have a student in 4th or 5th grade or a slightly older student who struggles with writing? My friends at WriteShop and I want to help you get your school year off to a great start! We’re giving away a complete set of WriteShop’s brand-new product, WriteShop Junior Book E!
You know that we’ve been fans for WriteShop for a few years now and I love the way the lower levels teach through lots of fun, colorful, hands-on activities. Actually, the upper levels use hands-on activities, too, but I just remember Book D, when we used it, being really full of active learning ideas.
So many parents struggle to teach writing because it can be such a subjective subject. WriteShop makes it easy with its step-by-step, incremental approach and, in the Junior series, keeping the focus on the fiction writing that kids seem to most enjoy. In WriteShop Junior Book E, students will learn how to:
- Write a variety of genres, including as fables, adventure, poetry, and humor
- Write a book report
- Write a 5-paragraph paper
- Use self-editing tools
- Plan and organize their writing assignment
- Choose strong words
To learn more about WriteShop Junior Book E from families who’ve used it, check out these reviews:
If WriteShop’s newest addition sounds like the perfect fit for the young writer in your family, I’ve got your chance to win! One winner will receive a WriteShop Junior Book E Value Pack in her choice of print or digital products or any combination thereof. (Scroll down to the heading, “Value Pack Includes” for tips on choosing the best option for your family.)
Follow the directions on the RaffleCopter widget below to enter.
Rules: This giveaway is open to United States residents, ages 18 years and older only. Giveaway ends at 11:59 PM (ET) on Wednesday, July 23. The winner will be selected at random using Random.org via RaffleCopter.
The winner will notified via email and given 72 hours to respond. You must enter a valid email address to win. In the event that the winner cannot be contacted by email or does not respond within 72 hours, the prize will be forfeited and and alternate winner selected.
Click to read the complete rules. By entering this giveaway, you indicate that you have read and agreed to abide by these rules.
Writing is the subject that I always struggle to teach.
I have reluctant writers, so finding a writing program that they would see as fun is very important. We have recently start WriteShop Jr D and my daughter loves it! I look forward to following it up with WriteShop Jr E!
I think the hardest part of teaching writing is the amount of time it takes to really help students understand it’s a process. Everything is done so instantaneously today that students expect writing to be the same way. One attempt is good enough, they think. But writing is an organic process that really takes time. Like writing several drafts to really get at what you wanted to say, and then writing it again, editing and revising, and publishing.
That is an excellent point. I don’t think that would have been my initial answer, but after reading what you’ve said, I would have to agree. My kids think “one and done” should be their motto for writing assignments.
This would be perfect for my twins!
I have an extremely reluctant 4th grade writer. She has struggled since she started in private school and continues as we have homeschooled. We have tried tying writing in to games, lego activities (she loves lego’s) and even wordless picture book narration all to no avail. Writing a complete sentence to answer a question even results in tears! I am interested in this and have not heard of this curriculum and would love to give it a try!
This looks interesting!
The grammar part of writing is most difficult for me in the higher levels. I know what sounds good and I always received good grades. However I still don’t know what a “dangling participle” is. :)
I have reluctant writers. I’ve attempted interest led writing projects, but haven’t mastered a teaching style.
I love to write and so does one of my daughters, but I have a daughter who has difficulty (dysgraphia) with writing. Finding gentle ways to get them writing but increasing their ability can be difficult.
The hardest part for me is that my son makes up great stories but HATES to write anything down.
Writing is something that we find is a struggle for my seven year old. He has such a hard time getting it from his head to his paper fast enough then he loses his train of thought.
The hardest thing about teaching writing to me is that it comes naturally to me and not my boys. It is like my oldest trying to teach me to play piano (he plays by ear).
I would love to win this for my son who gets frustrated when we work on writing. I think he would really enjoy it!
We have several reluctant writers in this house and I am bound and determined to change that this year. Would love to win this!
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I think the most difficult part about teaching writing is the idea of judging someone’s thoughts, if that makes sense. With math it’s simple, the answer is what the answer is. But trying to help someone better articulate their own thoughts, well, that’s not as easy.
I would so love this! I never win…and since I’m not on twitter this gets to be my only entry…but oh well :) Maybe luck will come my way!
This is my first year homeschooling so I am still floundering. I think teaching the overall process of organizing and writing structure is challenging. My daughters creative mind is all over the place so she has a tendency to not complete her thoughts when writing. It feels like I am trying to restructure her thinking process. That leads to frustration for everyone!
We are new to homeschooling, so this will be a brand new experience to teach writing skills to my 12yo. Writing = misery to him. So I have quite the challange ahead of me.
*challenge
We truly enjoy writing at our house! Write Shop is “write” up our alley! :)
Cute! So glad you’re loving WriteShop, Nikki! :)
Kim Kautzer
WriteShop
I considered Write Shop for this year and would love to try it!
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This would be great for my family!
This would be wonderful for my child with dyslexia.
I love, love, love the fun, engaging, least I say whimsy of WS! And we need this level this year! Some of the activities in the earlier levels are so hilarious and fun!
It makes me happy to read about all the fun you had using some of the earlier levels!
Kim Kautzer
WriteShop
The entire writing process is a challenge due to my son’s learning glitches.
This would be perfect for my 6th grade boy who acts like I’m torturing him everytime I ask him to write a sentence.
Our problem is that DD writes too much. I struggle to help her boil it down to the essentials.
Just getting started!
I have been looking at this for my son. I am so excited to read so many great reviews!
The hardest part for me is simply having enough of ME to go around. With 8 kiddos writing help can take a lot of my time.
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This would be perfect for my nephews whom I will be homeschooling along with our own two – good luck everyone *
The hardest thing about teaching writing for me was the program we were using. It rushed my son through the writing process too quickly and he wasn’t retaining it from one assignment to the next, so I felt like we were never getting anywhere. I have heard so many wonderful things about WriteShop. We purchased Junior D for this school year and would love to win E!
Writing is difficult to teach my son because he is a reluctant writer.
This sounds like a great chance for us to try it out! I’ve been looking at WriteShop of my kiddos… especially my 5th grader who thinks I’m just punishing him with writing requirements. Thanks for the chance!
Writing is a struggle at our house. This looks like an interesting thing to try.
This would be GREAT for my 5th grader…. **fingers crossed**!!!
I have a hard time getting my son to usehis creativity when writing. He tries to get by with doing the bare minimum and often in the grumpiest of manners!
The most difficult thing about teaching writing for me is the fact that there is always room for improvement. My boys are reluctant writers and would like to write one draft and be finished. I struggle with how much to correct with their writing. I want to help them without changing their voice.
I try not nitpick what my kids write as being “good” or not because really who am I to say it is good? I’ve seen things published that I would never say was any good and they got that far, but sometimes they try to just do the bare minimum to get by and that is unacceptable. I have trouble getting them to write without telling them what to write. I’ll give them an example and then they try to follow it too closely.
I’m wondering if this would be an asset for our dyslexic daughter
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Would this be a good supplement for my public school 4th grader? Or is it a pretty intensive stand-alone product?
I imagine that you could probably use is successfully if you made sure to take it slow and easy and realize that he may not get through it as fast as a kid who is using it as part of his regular school day, if that makes sense.
I have never been a very comfortable writer myself, but I want to teach my kids to love it.
For me the biggest obstacle is figuring out what method of teaching writing will benefit my son the most.
This would be awesome. Have one going into fifth grade this year. This will be our first year homeschooling. The biggest challenge with teaching him how to write is motivation. These would be awesome for our family.
The hardest part about teaching writing is helping my daughter find herself. She can tell you a story a mile long or all about tree frogs in the Amazon if she is talking, but as soon as it is time to write it all out she is lost. Overcoming that mind hurdle is a big struggle for my normally very creative child.
Nancy,
That’s so hard, isn’t it? Writing is more about the process, ideas, and creativity than the child’s ability to jot those things down herself. I hope you feel encouraged to act as your daughter’s scribe while she tells you all her great ideas. It’s quite freeing to a child to express her thoughts aloud without fear of having to do the writing all by herself. Just know that she’ll gain her writing independence in time!
http://www.writeshop.com/blog/are-you-turning-your-child-off-to-writing/
Kim Kautzer
WriteShop
the hardest thing for me is finding the time to implement it :)
I find it difficult to critique and grade my child’s writing samples. I’m not sure what my expectations should be. I don’t want to be too lenient and I don’t want to grade above their ability.
The hardest part is for my kids to accept the “criticisms” and have to re-write!
This will be our first year homeschooling. This looks like an organized, well rounded approach to writing. The most difficult part for me is not being overwhelmed. :)
This is just what we need. Ask my 8 year old to write about anything and he sits and just stares at the blank paper but he’ll talk your ear off with stories about his battles with Transformers!
My two boys like writing only when its easy and fun. WriteShop is exactly what were looking for!!
We just finished Write Shop Junior D. My boy enjoyed every single lesson and writing was always tears- free!
How wonderful to hear that, Elinette! Your comment brought a smile to my face.
Kim Kautzer
WriteShop
I find helping my son to organize his thoughts is the hardest part of teaching writing.
My kids always have problems in writing. They just don’ seethe reason for it.
I struggled with writing as a child and that’s why I think it is difficult to teach my child how to write.
I have a daughter that is advanced in every subject except writing. I’m not a strong writer myself so I need a thorough program for her.
I have a son with ADHD so it’s just a challenge to have him write at all.
I would love to win this….have been looking at WriteShop a lot lately!
My oldest was a reluctant reader and still is a reluctant writer.
The biggest issue is I have a very imaginative child, who thinks faster than she writes, so she gets frustrated with the writing aspect.
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Has anyone ever used this with a kid with dyslexia?
I use WriteShop I with my dyslexic son and I used WSII with my not-officially-diagnosed dyslexic daughter. The structure seems to work well for them.
I am NOT a strong writer, so for me teaching the entire process is a challenge. I want so much for my children to be much better than I am.
I struggle with writing myself so it’s even harder to teach my boys.
We still haven’t found a writing program that’s easy to use, fun and affordable. WriteShop might be the answer!
I love Write Shop. I bought it last year and am looking forward to continuing with it this year.
I have struggling writer. I think this program would be great for him.
I will be using WriteShop I with my 7th grader this year, and I am wondering if I could use this with my 5th grader, but still teach them together. Does that make sense? Thanks!
Brenda:
That’s a great question! I totally understand wanting to teach two children together to streamline your homeschooling.
We don’t generally recommend that 5th graders use WriteShop I. Because it was designed for 7th-10th graders, the lesson requirements can overwhelm a child who isn’t ready. Though the first few lessons are easy enough for a 10-year-old, they become increasingly more rigorous and demanding. Most 5th graders just don’t have the maturity and critical thinking skills to handle it.
That said, you could possibly teach the kids together if your 5th grader is a strong and motivated writer AND you stretch the program out over two years. But if the younger one is the least bit reluctant, my experience tells me you’d be doing him (and you) a disfavor by trying to fit him into an older level prematurely. I hope that helps.
Please don’t hesitate to email me if you have more questions. :)
Kim Kautzer
WriteShop
kim @ writeshop.com
Thank you, Kim!
The hardest part of teaching writing for me is trying to explain something that just comes more natural to me.
I am very interested in trying something new in writing. I have 2 girls; my oldest is a good writer, my youngest needs a new strategy. I’m excited to see how much she can accomplish through a new curriculum! Thanks for the giveaway.
This is my second year homeschooling and I have a 4th grader that does not enjoy writing. It’s a battle to just have her journal about something she enjoyed doing. Writing book reports are like pulling out toenails. Her writing barely scratches the surface sometimes and it makes me wonderif I’m to blame. When she was in the public school, her writing flourished and she was amazing at storytelling and doing more elaborate writing. I’ve tried using “story starters,” and I’m just fearful for my sanity this upcoming year as I chose a curriculum that is heavy on writing. I did come across this product last evening and wondered if it would be a good fit for us.
We have loved Write Shop and have anxiously been waiting for Write Shop E.
:)
I have always been a naturally good writer, but being able to teach it…not so much. I have outsourced it this year…lol.
We have struggled with writing for a variety of reasons, but I think the hardest part of teaching writing is teaching various genres of writing. Looking forward to using Write Shop.
I find it challenging to make learning the writing process engaging and interesting for my kids. We’ve been using a writing program that they find boring. I have been researching other writing programs and just recently discovered WriteShop. I’ve been contemplating a switch to WriteShop, so it is very timely for me that you posted this review and are hosting this giveaway.
Writing is so hard to grade. I don’t want to hurt or shut down my reluctant writers, but I need them to see where they need improvement. I would love to try this!
The hardest part of teaching writing is actually finding the way how to do it and the ways that are interesting for kids.
I’ve always enjoyed writing and it comes naturally to me; my son, not so much. He whines about it and barely writes enough to satisfy assignments or answer questions. I joke and tell him he doesn’t have to live in Twitter mode. I’ll gladly accept more than 140 characters. I’d love to find something that can help him discover a love for writing.
This is something I’m really interested in, especially for my oldest daughter. She inherited my love of reading and writing, and I try to encourage it as much as possible.
The hardest part for me is knowing what to teach, when, and how to grade it. =)
I would love to give this a try. My 5th grader absolutely hates writing. It started in second grade in school. where even the trachers admitted to me that they felt overwhelmed at the pace of writing assignments. I have read a few reviews of this program, and all have been overwhelmingly positive. If it works out, I would buy the primer for my second grader, just to make sure the hatred of writing doesn’t develop!
The most difficult part that we have is a reluctant writer, also. Getting him to write more than just a few lines takes some prodding.
The hardest part is not forcing my writing style on my daughter.
Writing is definitely not one of m strengths. Would love to win!
Grading their writing is the hardest part for me!
I think the hardest part of teaching writing is not overcorrecting.
I was a eager and natural writer growing up, so it’s hard to understand the struggle my daughter has with writing.
Just doing it. I never really liked it in school myself, and even when I was a public school teacher it was my least favorite subject to teach. One of my children is dyslexic. So teaching my own students is not easy. But I am enjoying using the earlier levels of Writeshop.
My daughter really struggles with writing even a sentence, and I just have no clue how to teach her to write. Thanks for the opportunity!
This is our first year homeschooling and I have been considering Writeshop fir my 6th, 4th and 2nd graders. They enjoyed writing at public school and I think they would like this curriculum.
The most difficult part of teaching writing is not being able to inspire my children past their reluctance to write.
Teaching to write difficulties: putting thoughts on paper in a grammatically correct way.
I just began Writeshop with my son and I really like it.
My daughter keeps asking and I think we will have to do this with her this fall.
I am not a strong writer myself and my children resist writing.
My daughter wants to change-up her writing program. I’ve spent the past several hours researching, and this program keeps floating to the top of my list :)
I commented, then read what I was supposed to comment on!–Okay, most difficult? My kids struggle with the physical act of writing. Typing helps a lot with that, but I still want them to be able to put pen to paper with a minimum of complaints!
I am not a strong writer, but I really want my kids to be! This looks awesome!
We love Write Shop!!! Makes writing fun and more enjoyable to teach
I’ve been meaning to buckle down and pick out a writing curriculum for my 5th grader, this would scratch one more item off my list!
I forgot my difficulty teaching, writing comes easy to me thanks to great, demanding teachers. My oldest can be resistant to criticism (from me) when she thinks she’s doing it right, just need to find the right approach.
I would love this! Crossing fingers… :)
I think the reason why I struggle to teach writing is because I never struggled with it in school. I was one of those kids who began reading in preschool on her own, and the writing just came naturally. Now, fast forward 20+ years, I have a struggling reader/writer. It’s hard to teach something on his level when it just came so naturally for me as a child.
I think it is difficult to correct writing. When should I be focusing on mechanics and when should I look at content so she doesn’t get discouraged?
I struggle with teaching writing completely! :-(
Making it fun and at the same time making it necessary task to learn. For all ages.
What a great giveaway;
I can relate to what you said about writing being subjective. i think writeshop would be a great fit for my 10yo boy! thanks!
Biggest challenge: motivation!!
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Biggest challenge is knowing scope and sequence for writing.
My biggest challenge is all of it…I never liked or was good at writing. Therefore I have no clue how to teach it.
I would love to win Book E, thanks for the opportunity!
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My biggest challenge is getting my 4th grader to focus and stay interested.
Everything writing is a struggle for my second grader. Spelling, grammar, storyboarding– she hates all of it because of bad habits developed two years ago that I just can’t seem to break. The only writing she willingly does is copywork because it doesn’t require effort. Anything to help with ideas to break the cycle would help. Especially since she loves to read– I can’t understand why writing is such a struggle.
this is one of our toughest subjects!
I have a hard time getting my kids to see the importance of a “rough draft” and the process of getting from draft to final paper.
Most difficult part….getting started. Then doing it. Teaching writing intimidates me. In the past I have used co-op to outsource it. However, with still a lot of years ahead of me, I think it is time I put my big-girl panties on and just do it!
The most difficult part of teaching writing is getting him to write anything! I have a 9 year old boy who does not like to write at all. His sentences do not vary and forget about paragraphs! He doesn’t mind copy work, but original writing is painful for him. Lol
I love to write, so the hardest part for me is to remember that not everyone does!
I am having difficulty teaching writing, although I was fairly decent at it in school. I’ve always wanted to try this program and have been looking at it for a while.
I also have a great story teller and very creative son who absolutely hates to write. I’ve tried soooo many programs, ideas, curriculum, and other things, including throwing fits with him….maybe what I’m missing is the fun that this sound like, the step by step loving guidance. Thanks for the giveaway!
Teaching how to properly get thoughts from your head onto paper….in the write order. So stressful!
Teaching writing has been difficult for me, especially with my son who is on the Autism spectrum. Expressive language has always been a challenge.
The most difficult aspect of teaching writing, to me, is patience. My girls are so anxious to rush through their schoolwork so they can run off and do their own thing, that they don’t like to take time to think about what to write. All three of us run out of patience for to soon to get much done!
Deciding what to have my children write and how long it should be is my first issue with teaching writing. I also don’t know how to keep it fun while also expecting good quality writing. My kids hate to revise. They want to write it once and be done.
This looks great! My son loves to write! This would be great to win!!!
My daughter is a great writer, when she wants to be, but I have trouble keeping her motivated to write!
This up coming year will be my 2nd year homeschooling, last year we used writing with ease which didn’t teach the skills my son needed to learn how to write. so I would say that I struggle with all aspects of teaching writing. I just stumbled on to this program today and it seems to have everything I’m looking for in a writing program.