WriteShop Primary: More help with choosing a starting level

No matter the curriculum, whether math, penmanship, or writing, picking the best starting level for your child can challenge the most seasoned homeschooler—especially when said child doesn’t exactly fit a grade-specific mold.

WriteShop Primary is no exception—you may need more help picking a starting level than the placement chart offers. The following lists identify specific skills within a range of ages, making it easier for you to choose the very best place to begin the program. 

Start with Book A if your 5- to 7-year-old is not yet able to:

• Plan a story before writing it.
• Use a story web to organize information.
• Identify beginning, middle, and end in a story.
• Choose an appropriate title.
• Think of simple ways to improve a story.
• Read and write color words.
• Complete predictable sentence starters.
• Recognize words that rhyme.
• Identify and use punctuation marks at the end of a sentence.
• Begin a sentence with a capital letter.

WriteShop Primary Book A (print version)
WriteShop Primary Book A (e-book version)

Start with Book B if your 6- to 10-year-old is not yet able to:

• Use graphic organizers to plan a story.
• Include a beginning, middle, and end in his story.
• Figure out how to add more details to a story.
• Organize a story to include a problem and its solution.
• Write or dictate a friendly letter.
• Write or dictate about something that has happened to him.
• Retell nursery rhymes and fairy tales in his own words.
• Identify or use paragraph form and indentation.
• Identify the parts of a friendly letter.
• Identify words that rhyme.
• Use standard spelling tools such as a dictionary.
• Choose story endings.

WriteShop Primary Book B (print version)
WriteShop Primary Book B (e-book version)

Start with Book C if your 7- to 11-year-old is not yet able to:

• Plan the main ingredients of a story before beginning to write.
• Ask who, what, when, where, and why? in order to add story details.
• Organize story details.
• Write entries in a personal journal.
• Use descriptive words in his writing.
• Write a short nonfiction article.
• Summarize the contents of familiar books.
• Collect research facts about a specific topic.
• Write a simple, short report with introduction, body, and closing.
• Use standard spelling.
• Check his own work for correct spelling and punctuation.

WriteShop Primary Book C (print version)
WriteShop Primary Book C (e-book version)