Entries Tagged 'Resources & Links' ↓

As students enter junior high and high school, it’s time for them to practice writing business letters. Whether writing to a company to offer praise for a product or addressing a city councilman about a neighborhood eyesore, using a  more formal business-letter format adds credibility to the sender’s request, position, or opinion.

In WriteShop II, we teach students how to write a letter to the editor of a newspaper. The example composition in the student workbook urges the governor, by way of a letter to the editor, to take action on a bill. With a few word changes, the letter could just as easily address the governor himself.

The point of the lesson, of course, is to help students articulate a concern and seek or suggest action. The audience can be a member of any political, social, or commercial group as long as the student is learning how to address such a person with polite conviction.

Who’s the Audience? 

But if your children need an audience for their letters, and the daily newspaper isn’t the outlet that seems to work for them, you might suggest a different audience. Some ideas that spring to mind:

• City council member
• State legislator
• State representative
• Governor
• Owner or developer of a property (eyesore, maintenance issues, health and safety concerns, etc.)
• Owner of a local business
• President or CEO of a corporation
• College or university admissions department
• Chamber of Commerce (to request brochures or travel information)

If you shift away from the letter to the editor and instead have your student address her letter to one of the above-suggested recipients, consider teaching her how to format a business letter. Since WriteShop doesn’t teach business-letter structure, this would be an added tool in her writing belt.

When to Write a Business Letter

• To praise a product, service supplier, or staff person
• To compliment a speaker
• To compliment or praise an author
• To praise someone for an achievement
• To complain about poor product quality or poor service
• To ask for political or social action or change
• To write a letter of recommendation
• To request information

Would you like to teach the business letter to your kids? Here’s a link to a site that models several kinds: WriteExpress.com (Business Letters)

WriteShop II teaches advanced descriptive narration, persuasion, and beginning essay writing (including timed essays). To learn more about WriteShop II for your high schooler, visit our website at www.writeshop.com.

Jim Bob Howard, publisher of Homeschooling Today magazine, is launching a new newsletter. Subscribe within the next seven days and you’ll get an amazing assortment of FREE gifts from some great homeschool curriculum companies (including us here at WriteShop!).

Homeschooling Helper is the monthly encouraging email from Homeschooling Today magazine. Subscribe TODAY (by midnight EST, May 5) to be entered into a drawing for two free registrations to Vision Forum’s “A Puritan Family Reformation” conference, May 9-10, in Wake Forest, NC. (Over $147 value.)

Continue reading →

Big Things Come in Small Packages 

You will LOVE meeting Molly Fox! This young entrepreneur created a fantastic website, HomeschoolWriters.com, featuring a one-stop shop for dozens of writing contests for homeschool students.

I’m so glad you joined me today for this very special interview with Molly (pictured right). And once you’ve seen her thoughtful and articulate answers and visited her website, you’ll find it hard to believe she’s just eleven years old!

So pull up a comfy chair, grab a cup of cocoa, and come along with me to meet this extraordinary young lady! 

Kim: Welcome, Molly! I’m looking forward to our interview today. First, I’d love to hear how you decided to launch a website centered on writing contests. Continue reading →

Ever heard of a graphic organizer? 

I found several explanations, some so wordy or convoluted that you would need a dictionary just to clarify the definition! What’s with educators these days? Seems as though they love to make things more complicated than they really are. My editor friend Mary Jo Tate commented on this very trend at her blog recently.

But enough about that.

Here are a couple of definitions that actually make sense:

graphic organizer  1. A visual organizer such as a map, web, chart, or diagram that shows relationships. 2. A tool used to arrange thoughts and ideas in an orderly fashion.

Continue reading →

From time to time I like to share a fun writing-related find for you and your family to enjoy. Today I’ll kick things off by letting you know about a writing contest especially for homeschoolers. Little Dozen Press is sponsoring the contest, and here’s author Rachel Thomson to tell you all about it. Welcome, Rachel!

Hello!

My name is Rachel Starr Thomson. I’m a homeschool graduate, the oldest of twelve kids, and an author. My cousin Carolyn Currey and I have written a book of essays and memories titled Tales of the Heartily Homeschooled, about growing up large, lively, and homeschooled! A chapter from our book will be published in the Spring Issue of The Old Schoolhouse Magazine.

To help kick off promotion (and encourage other young writers), we’re running a writing contest for homeschool kids. We’re looking for the favourite memories of other young people who are growing up the way we did! Continue reading →

Santa Clara, here we come!

We’re a short week away from our first convention of the season! In just a few days, Debbie and I will be heading up to Santa Clara, CA for the 2008 CHEA Bay Area Convention. I’m usually excited about our first conference anyway, but this one will be extra special for us, as we’re unveiling WriteShop Primary for the first time!

WriteShop Primary at Last! 

Even though we won’t have copies on hand to sell, we’ll be able to take a complete sample of Book A, plus a lesson each from Books B and C, so convention-goers can at least see what the curriculum looks like. We should have Book A: The Real Deal in hand by the end of June, so we’ll be busy beavers when it’s time to ship all the backorders that come in during the next couple of months.

WriteShop’s 2008 Conference Schedule

You can see WriteShop Primary in all its pre-release glory at the following conventions and conferences: Continue reading →

Whether you’re preparing your children for college, career, or vocation, strong communication skills are critical. And though excellent writing skills are essential, especially for the college-bound, other aspects of communication play a vital role as well.

The more effective your student’s communication skills, the more effectively he or she will be prepared for college and beyond. You can begin to develop your child’s communication skills as early as preschool.

Our friends at Art of Eloquence have been helping Christian families learn this most vital life skill through humor and hands-on activities. They’ve got two specials right now, for a limited time:

• ANY Art of Eloquence product is 25% off. Use Voucher Code 304082525 at checkout.
• What You Mean: Defending the Faith is 35% off. Use Voucher Code 504083535 at checkout.

Did you know historical fiction is growing on your family tree?

Every young writer of historical fiction has plenty of inspiration just waiting to be plucked from his or her family tree. Family Tree enables students to harvest this vast crop by producing short (or long!) stories that are not only thoroughly researched and well-written, but heirlooms to be treasured by your family for generations to come. Continue reading →

WriteShop I and II include lesson-specific checklists for both student and parent/teacher. But even the most ideal checklist or rubric can become a mindless exercise in marking off boxes and saying, “Done!” with very little thought invested.

I came across a small but mighty web page at Literacy Education Online (LEO). It offers simple strategies for editing and proofreading a paper, and will make your composition checklists all the more effective. Give it a try!

LEO Strategies for Editing and Proofreading