It hasn’t been very long ago that I got so frustrated with all of the writing curriculums we had tried that I decided to write my own. I found bubble diagrams and Venn diagrams and taught brainstorming and … then life happened. Have you been in that place? I always start out with great intentions, but with six children to keep track of and homeschool life just gets in the way of writing my own curriculum.
Imagine my surprise when I opened up How To Teach the Paragraph ($13.70) and How To Write a Five Paragraph Essay ($24.95 and includes an abbreviated version of How To Write a Paragraph) this summer and found exactly what I had spent so much time trying ineffectively to create on my own. This is how I remember learning to write all those years ago, and this method is definitely what I want my children to learn.
How To Teach the Paragraph is the first book and after learning the simple method taught in this book, you move on to How To Write a Five Paragraph Essay and that same simple method expands. Each lesson is straightforward and builds on the basic method learned in the first book. Older students can actually start with the first book and are taught ways to strengthen their sentences and improve upon the basics. Older students can actually move at a rapid pace through these first two books. You can also start with younger students and take a much slower pace. This is an inexpensive set of books you can use with students of different ages and abilities (grades 4-12).
Working through How To Write a Five Paragraph Essay has already affected my own writing. I find myself asking questions. “Did I stick to one main idea?” “Did I include 4-5 supporting sentences?” “Did my topic sentence make sense?” “How can I close this paragraph with a bang?” I’ve already gone back and edited each paragraph in this review twice.
My Bottom Line: We are using the writing curriculum from Create Better Writers this year. I think it will greatly impact the writers in this household, including myself. Stay tuned.
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