Review of Write with World

Like many homeschoolers, writing is a difficult subject for me to teach.  I am a freelance writer and have always loved writing (and considered myself proficient at it), but it is sometimes hard to teach writing systematically.  Too many programs focus on creative writing almost exclusively.  In my experience, most children write creatively with no instruction at all.  I feel very strongly that the focus of a writing program should be academic writing - writing that will prepare a child for college and life beyond.  After all, if you can write well, odds are that you'll have an advantage over many others.  I was very happy, then, (DISCLAIMER!) to receive free in exchange for my honest review Write with World (year one) , the new writing program from the publishers of God's World News and World Magazine.

Write with World is a two year writing program for middle school students designed to teach them how to communicate effectively in the context of a Christian world view.  The student book (sample here) is divided into 16 lessons fit into 4 units.  The teacher book has the full content of the student book, along with teaching tips and extra information.  If you are not supremely confident of your ability to teach writing, the teacher book really is quite an asset. It explains the objectives and methodology for every exercise.  It enables you to understand why you are teaching your child what you are teaching her.

The exercises in Write with World are relatively short and wonderfully varied.  My favorite aspect of this program is the fact that all of the writing exercises are relevant (no creative writing just for the sake of creative writing.  It's not that I think creative writing is unimportant - quite the contrary.  Academic writing programs should be academic, though).  Students are asked to analyze ads, interpret magazine covers, and describe themselves - all in the first two weeks! Every single exercise meets the criteria of begin able to answer in the affirmative when your child asks you, "will I ever use this in real life?" And that's the genius of this program.  Your middle schooler will learn to write in ways that count.

My 10 year-old daughter loves to write.  She is always writing *something*.  She does all of her history as written narrations, and through that process, she has learned much about the technicalities of grammar and writing.  She has not, however, had a formal writing curriculum to this point.  Write with World came to us at just the right time.  Because the assignments are short but very interesting, T can't wait to do writing.  I have never had to ask her to do an assignment more than one time.  She loves this program and, really, that's the best endorsement I can give it.  For a better understanding of what is covered in the program, see the Table of Contents.

Write with World is available from God's World News for $95 per year (includes teacher manual with online access and student book), or $165 for both years together.  This is the writing curriculum for us.  To see other opinions, visit the 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 mine.