Writing With Skill, Level 1: Instructor Text (The Complete Writer)

Writing with Skill Instructor Text Level 1 is authored by Susan Wise Bauer. She is the co-author of "The Well Trained Mind: A Guide to Classical Education at Home." Writing with Skill Level 1 is a companion to Bauer's text "Writing with Ease: Strong Fundamentals." Please see my review of "Writing with Ease: Strong Fundamentals" for a comprehensive overview of the curriculum.Writing with Skill Instructor’s Text Level 1 is comprised of the following components:IntroductionOverviewPart 1: Basic SkillsWeek 1: Narrative SummariesWeek 2: One-Level OutlinesWeek 3: Using a ThesaurusPart 2: Building Blocks for CompositionWeek 4: Chronological Narrative of a Past EventWeek 5: Chronological Narrative of a Scientific DiscoveryWeek 6: Chronological Narrative of a Past EventWeek 7: Chronological Narrative of a Scientific DiscoveryWeek 8: Description of a PlaceWeek 9: Description of a PlaceWeek 10: Description of a PlaceWeek 11: Combining Chronological Narrative of a Past EventWeek 12: Scientific DescriptionWeek 13: Scientific DescriptionWeek 14: Scientific DescriptionWeek 15: Combining Chronological Narrative of a Scientific Discovery and Scientific DescriptionPart III: Sentence SkillsWeek 16: Description of a PersonWeek 17: Description of a PersonWeek 18: Using a Metaphor to Organize a Character DescriptionWeek 19: Biographical SketchWeek 20: Biographical SketchWeek 21: Sequence: Natural ProcessWeek 22: Sequence Natural ProcessPart IV: Beginning Literary Criticism: ProseWeek 23: Hero/Villain, Protagonist/AntagonistWeek 24: Hero/Villain, Protagonist/AntagonistWeek 25: Supporting CharactersWeek 26: Idea StoriesPart V: ResearchWeek 27: OutliningWeek 28: DocumentationWeek 29: Writing from Notes: Chronological Narrative of a Past Event, Description of a Person, Description of a PlaceWeek 30: Writing from Notes: Sequence: Natural Process, Scientific DescriptionWeek 31: Writing from Notes: Biographical Sketch, Description of a PersonPart VI: Beginning Literary Criticism: PoetryWeek 32: SoundWeek 33: MeterWeek 34: NarrativePart VII: Final ProjectWeek 35: Finding and Researching Your TopicWeek 36: Writing Your Final CompositionAppendix I: TopiAppendix II: Weekly RubricsAppendix III: Literary TermsAppendix IV: Sentence Variety ChartAppendix V: General RubricsFirst and foremost, of all the writing curriculums I have perused as a homeschooling parent, the Writing with Ease: Strong Fundamentals series is superlative. The purpose of the curriculum is to prepare students for advanced work in rhetoric and composition. In theory, the curriculum is student directed, but in reality it is teacher directed. The length of time for each lesson will vary based upon the student’s as well as the parent’s writing skills. As a gentle reminder, the purpose of curriculum is to serve the student and teaching parent. The author states the following in the curriculum introduction: You should feel free to adapt the assignments and pace to fit your student.Before attempting Writing with Skill Level 1, I would highly recommend the following language arts sequence:First Language Lessons Grades 1-4Writing with Ease Grades 5-8Writing with Skill Grades 9-12Overall, we have been pleased with Ms. Bauer's logical approach to writing instruction. Our child has transformed from being a reluctant writer into a confident writer.

If you're thinking "do I really need to buy the teacher text?" The answer is YES! I bought this with the student book for our middle schooler and I'm really happy with the content. Definetely middle school level- coming out of public school. The teacher book is thicker than I thought it would be but written in a way that's easy to understand. There's so much material you could stretch this into two years.

This is a very good writing program. The student workbook textbook has 36 lessons. One a week, working on each lesson four days a week.I don't know why people are dismissing the instructor textbook. It has explanation in how to help the student when he doesn't understand. I find it very helpful to me. When my kid has a question, I can just go and read the explanation a help him out. The instructor textbook has excerpts of the readings, no the whole readings.My student doesn't complain and does the work independently as it is intended for.We're using the level I this year (7th grade) and planning on using the level II in 8th grade. I wouldn't recommend level I for a 5th or 6th grader, unless the student has his grammar down, he is a very, very good reader and his reading comprehension is excellent.

WWS teaches the mechanics of planning, developing, and writing a variety of essay-types. The problem is that the example and model essays given are often too difficult for 5th/6th graders to grasp and too dry for them to engage. The skills being taught are age appropriate and well-explained; the examples given, however, are beyond what most children that age can assimilate, thus limiting the book's utility.

I started this this year and we have been doing well with it. He isn't a huge fan of copywork (a 7 year old boy who doesn't love writing-go figure:) , and I have him writing during other times, so we don't do all the copywork activities (2 per week). The summaries are fine and he completes them with ease. We have read many of the books they use (I have an 11 year old girl too, so we ready many with her). I really like the books chosen. It gives us some great new reads, and some good re-read reminders. The book is simple and he never complains about it during lessons. I am happy we started this right off the bat. My 5th grader really struggles with the dictation in WWE Level 4 as we just started her on it this year. I am sure my son won't have any issues if we stick to this.

Let me preface by saying I have not yet used this curriculum; I purchased it for use this fall. I have spent some time reading through the book to prepare for next year and can say that this program looks exceptional. I love the fact that Wise Bauer assumes no prior writing knowledge or experience. She directs both the student and the parent on each lesson given, walking them through step by step. I love the many facets to the program. She will be giving my children the tools they need to be able to write on their own, and, I believe, write well. She covers everything from rewriting a sentence from word order rearrangement to understanding a wide variety of essay types and how to write them. She even gives extensive attention to how to use a thesaurus. I have been home schooling my children for 10 years and this is the first time I have looked forward to writing! Thank you, Susan Wise Bauer!

We are half way through our year using WWS 1 and I really do think it has to be one of the best writing programs out there for 5-6th graders (or even older than that). I did realize about 3-4 weeks in that I cannot simply just hand this to my son, however, and expect great results. It is written to the student, but I decided it was best for us to talk about the assignment--especially when it was time to practice the topos. Also, sometimes we do a little more research than what is there so that he has a better understanding what he's writing about. I would say my son is a natural writer, and I might save this for 6th grade for my younger son for whom writing doesn't come quite so easily. I would also say that I feel like this is a fairly challenging program for a 5th grader.

My 13 year old is working through this book mostly on his own. I love the amount of detail, but have been unable to keep up with the marking/feedback end. He is a very detail-oriented kid and says he loves it.Susan Wise Bauer's series for younger kids (Writing With Ease) is EXCELLENT.

excellent + thank you