Homeschool Review Crew - Jump In Writing With Sharon Watson

I was thrilled to get a chance to review Jump In, 2nd Edition  from Writing with Sharon Watson.

What is Jump In, 2nd Edition?

I received two paperback books:

• Teacher's Guide
• Student Book

The idea behind this new 2nd edition Middle School curriculum is to help:

New and seasoned writers learn important writng skills without tears!

It is presented in small, easy-to-digest lessons that teach writing skills at a Middle School level with bits of humor and a lighthearted presentation.

The Teacher Guide provides answers to daily lessons along with a specific grading grid for every essay assignment.

The student workbook is packed with easy-to-understand, step-by-step lessons that the child can understand. It is like the book does the teaching without a lot of need for the teacher/parent to step in until it's time for grading at which point, it includes answers and grading grids for every assignment.

The course contains a 286-page student book that consists of 98 daily lessons that can be used as a one, two or three-year plan.

WHAT'S NEW WITH THE 2ND EDITION?

This book is the 2nd Edition. I never used the First Edition, so I don't have any first-hand experience with what the changes are. Apparently, this new edition of the book begins with persuasion instead of exposition essays since a student who is reluctant to write is more likely to jump into writing a persuasive piece to convince the reader of an opinion they have rather than writing a full-fledged report. This 2nd edition moved the research report to the middle of the year after the student has had a bit more writing experience. This new edition allows students more writing practice before diving into essays. There are also some additional lessons about writing paragraphs. Students are also walked through how to proofread. One method used is a Mistake Medic. Each lesson includes a checklist to help students proof their work. This new edition also includes a section on how to write a personal narrative and two compare and contrast writing methods.

At the end of the book, students will have learned:

9 types of essays

a research report

story writing

poetry

and more important writing skills for learning compositional skills

How Did We Use It?

I sat down with my middle schooler and went to town diving into the book with me reading to follow the Teacher's Guide, and her following the Student Book alongside me.

I opened the Teacher Guide thinking I would have to take a lot of time learning how to instruct her, but she was already going to town figuring it out herself.

Keep in mind, we are talking about a girl who hates to write when required to do so.

What Did We Think?

I cannot express to you how easy this was to use. If it were software, I would describe it as a plug and play, only this was in workbook/teacher guide form, open and go with very little teacher prep required. My "I hate to write when someone gives me an assignment" child actually became pretty excited about this curriculum. I really liked it, too. I was impressed with how user-friendly it was and how it takes the process of writing at a pace that is perfect for reluctant writers.

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