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Learning to write and to write well is a goal most homeschool parents have for their students. Unfortunately, Ben doesn’t always find much inspiration in writing curricula. While he is compliant with using writing prompts and completing workbook lessons on how to write a sentence or develop a paragraph, I don’t often see that spark that happens with something clicks and he has found passion in his work.
Something changed a few weeks ago. We received a brand new writing curriculum for review. Write with WORLD is a collaborative effort of nationally recognized journalists and writers, award-winning college professors, and the publishers of God’s World News and WORLD Magazine. I was immediately intrigued for no other reason than my admiration and respect for these 2 publications. My expectations were immediately great. I just knew this was going to be amazing. I would not be disappointed!
Write with WORLD takes a unique approach to writing. It aims to produce writers who “love writing, can write effectively, and intelligently share ideas, beliefs, and their worldview”. It’s all about service to God’s Kingdom. And therein lies the difference.
We received a pilot copy of year one of this curriculum written for middle school. It will eventually be a 2-year curriculum. We received both a Parent/Teacher guide and Student book. It is non-consumable, making it a one-time purchase. At a cost of $95 for year one or $165 for both years, this is a good thing. By this fall, purchase will include a membership website, providing an online publishing opportunity for student writers, as well as additional writing subjects to augment the books. This site was not available for me to review.
The Distinctives for Write with WORLD include the following:
- Students belong to a community of writers and have an online audience
- Students see the curriculum as a living, up-to-date conversation
- Students have access to multiple assignments to choose from in many lessons
- Students who learn to read with critical eyes are more likely to become strong writers
- Students will examine models — both strong and weak — to improve their writing
- Students learn style in the context of their own writing
- Students learn to write with a worldview
- Writing teachers need ideas and support
Now, I know you’re wondering how they go about doing this. I will try my best to explain that in a way that will help you understand, but I fear I won’t be able to do this justice. I wish I could just say, “buy this curriculum, you will love it” and that would be enough!
From the very beginning, Write with WORLD begins developing your student’s critical thinking skills. In the very first unit, it uses images and advertisements to help your student understand that when they see an image and try to figure out what it means, they are reading. It then steps them through a sequence of steps to analyze an image by asking questions about what is happening. They will then write questions about an image, leading to writing a paragraph about the image. They will also critique advertisements, helping them to understand the power of words and images in advertising. This exercise alone has changed how Ben looks at TV and print ads. I can see development in his critical thinking skills.
The next lesson takes lesson one to a different level by having your student explore what makes a good paragraph. It’s easy to see what makes a good image, but writing is trickier. Most writing programs do a good job of teaching basic sentence and paragraph structure, parts of speech, and grammar. By middle school, most kids have this part down. But understanding the rules of writing a paragraph does not mean one will automatically understand the differences between what makes one paragraph strong, while another is weak. This lesson teaches that knowing your subject is imperative and that sentences can create an image in the mind’s eye, if you are creative with the words you choose. I have immediately seen a difference in Ben’s choice of verbs, adverbs and adjectives since completing this unit. In fact, in his co-op writing class recently, his teacher was shocked at a quick writing assignment he completed in class and read before his classmates. She had no idea what we were doing, but the fruit of it was impressive to her.
The lessons continue to build upon previous learning until by the end of the curriculum your student is producing thoughtful, purposeful narratives. We are excited to continue to Write with WORLD. It has helped create an atmosphere where Ben is motivated to write in a way that make others want to read what he writes. He is very excited about the upcoming website where he will be able to share what he writes with others. I find him adding things to his journal, even when an assignment has not been made. I could not be more thrilled.
You can learn more about Write with WORLD on their website. While the curriculum will not be available until this summer, you can place your pre-order now. You can read the full Table of Contents and try a Sample Lesson (lesson one).
To read what my crew mates though, click over to the Homeschool Crew blog.
Disclaimer: As a member of the TOS Crew, I received this product, at no cost to me, in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are those of myself and/or my son.
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