Review
If you are looking for a practical, solid writing course for your junior high or high school student, then I may have found a course for you!
Written by Alexandra Swann, daughter of homeschooling pioneer Joyce Swann, Writing for Today is a book of writing exercises “interspersed with grammar, punctuation, and word usage exercises to reinforce concepts.” Designed for the home study or independent student, lessons are short and sweet, and more importantly, to the point. There is no twaddle or wasted time here. That said, my 8th grader used the word “fun” to describe this course, which, I must say, is quite a compliment!
The lessons cover a variety of types of writing—descriptive, narrative, persuasive, comparison, personal, argumentative essays, and more. The beginning unit goes over parts of speech and sentence patterns (grammar and usage are interwoven into the rest of the lessons as well). The last unit covers letter writing and writing in the digital age—email, blogging, and social networking. Each lesson is meant to build on the preceding lessons, and there are unit tests. Answer keys and a list of spelling rules and commonly misspelled words are included at the end of the book.
Writing for Today does not include a grading rubric for written assignments, but I think most parents won’t have difficulty grading these. They can simply use the guidelines included in the lessons. Also, I should point out that there is no coverage given to poetry or a research paper. However, I believe if students finish this course, their strong writing skills can then be easily applied to a longer paper. The author points out that this is not a thorough grammar course, so some students may need more coverage or review than is provided here.
One of the strengths of Writing for Today is that Ms. Swann directly addresses the student in an engaging manner, and maintains their interest. For instance, in the lesson on topic sentences, she uses the popular subject of dogs, and discusses how to narrow the topic further by asking leading questions.
Using her background as a homeschooled student herself, and her years teaching basic writing at the college level, Alexandra Swann has managed to craft an effective and thorough writing course for homeschooled students. Honestly, the only thing I didn’t love about this book was its cover. While that may seem nit-picky, I didn’t think it gave a good feel for what the book covered, or conveyed what a treasure lay within its pages!
As a homeschooling mom for the past 16 years, I don’t often get excited about new books, but Writing for Today is a new favorite, and definitely a keeper!
About the Reviewer
From the author’s website: In 1986, Alexandra Swann graduated at fifteen years of age with a bachelor’s degree in liberal arts from Brigham Young University and a GPA of 3.85. The following year, when she was sixteen, she received a Master’s Degree in History from California State University. In 1989, her book, No Regrets: How Homeschooling Earned me a Master’s Degree at Age Sixteen, was published, in which she details her experiences with homeschooling. At eighteen, she was the keynote speaker for the Utah Home Education Association homeschooling convention, and from that time on she and her parents have spoken at many homeschooling conferences around the U.S.
From the publisher’s website: In 2010, Joyce and Alexandra Swann started Frontier 2000 Media Group. Together, they republished No Regrets and published The Fourth Kingdom and The Twelfth Juror for the first time. Joyce also wrote Tales of Pig Isle, the first of a children’s series entitled The McAloons, which began as stories she told her own grandchildren. Tales of Pig Isle was published in December of 2010. The McAloons: A Horse Called Lightning & A House of Clowns was published in June of 2011.
Thanks for the review! I am always looking for good writing curriculum.
Thanks! I think you will really enjoy this resource!