Today I am reviewing Writing with Sharon Watson's program called The Power in Your Hands: Writing Nonfiction in High School. Sharon is the author of the highly successful "Jump In" writing series for middle school students. There is also a fiction program available for high school students. She homeschooled her own children for 18 years and has taught English in a number of capacities over the years.
Kiddo #1 and I have been very pleased with the program thus far. The assignments are laid out in a fashion that the student can complete indepedently. The book is written in a conversational tone, which is engaging, humorous, and far more interesting at least to my teenager, than a textbook format would be.
Extremely helpful to the parent are the examples provided in the teacher guide of what a paper written on an A+ level all the way down to an F would look like.
Also in the Teacher's Guide were "14 minute power surges," which are brief daily writing assignments given for practice. There are prompts provided so the student can get in the habit of writing everyday. That is definitely a good thing! :-)
As I mentioned, the student's book is self-guided. It contains 23 chapters with over 100 daily lessons. Each lesson gives specific step by step directions, which are priceless to most teenaged boys who are relunctant writers to begin with. :-) The program includes the writing of five persuasive essays, including an SAT essay. After these are completed, the student will write a compare and contrast essay, a biography, a literary analysis and a research paper with MLA documentation.
The program can definitely take several years to complete, as is suggested by the author. You work it at the pace that is good for your child and his/her abilities. Some lessons can be completed in a day and others can require 1-2 weeks. Kiddo #1 is currently working on his persuasive essay. Of course, he is writing it with an aviation theme (he lives and breathes anything aviation), but this is what keeps him interested. Kiddo found it much more relevant when he can choose a topic instead of being assigned an arbitrary one that may mean nothing to him. He is being guided step by step (even with checklists!) in a non-condescending way.
The program has different steps for writers of all levels. For example, the word count requirements for an essay will be different for a beginner, intermediate or advanced writer. My son worked on the program several times a week since we received the materials.
The student workbook is available for $39.95 and the teacher's guide for $14.98. Sharon promises that she can even reach the most reluctant of writers. I don't expect my engineering-minded son to want to be able to write for a living, but with the help of this program, he will be able to express himself in a concise and intelligent manner without stress.
Extremely helpful to the parent are the examples provided in the teacher guide of what a paper written on an A+ level all the way down to an F would look like.
Also in the Teacher's Guide were "14 minute power surges," which are brief daily writing assignments given for practice. There are prompts provided so the student can get in the habit of writing everyday. That is definitely a good thing! :-)
As I mentioned, the student's book is self-guided. It contains 23 chapters with over 100 daily lessons. Each lesson gives specific step by step directions, which are priceless to most teenaged boys who are relunctant writers to begin with. :-) The program includes the writing of five persuasive essays, including an SAT essay. After these are completed, the student will write a compare and contrast essay, a biography, a literary analysis and a research paper with MLA documentation.
The program can definitely take several years to complete, as is suggested by the author. You work it at the pace that is good for your child and his/her abilities. Some lessons can be completed in a day and others can require 1-2 weeks. Kiddo #1 is currently working on his persuasive essay. Of course, he is writing it with an aviation theme (he lives and breathes anything aviation), but this is what keeps him interested. Kiddo found it much more relevant when he can choose a topic instead of being assigned an arbitrary one that may mean nothing to him. He is being guided step by step (even with checklists!) in a non-condescending way.
The program has different steps for writers of all levels. For example, the word count requirements for an essay will be different for a beginner, intermediate or advanced writer. My son worked on the program several times a week since we received the materials.
The student workbook is available for $39.95 and the teacher's guide for $14.98. Sharon promises that she can even reach the most reluctant of writers. I don't expect my engineering-minded son to want to be able to write for a living, but with the help of this program, he will be able to express himself in a concise and intelligent manner without stress.
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