WriteShop Primary Book A (Review)

As a big fan of the WriteShop StoryBuilders I was able to review earlier in the year, I was so excited to hear that I was going to review another one of WriteShop's products! I was sent the print edition of WriteShop Primary Book A, a part of the WriteShop's new series for younger students.

As a new homeschooling mom with a kindergartener, I hadn't even really considered broaching the subject of writing yet. We have used the StoryBuilders here and there, but we have done nothing formal in the way of writing. I thought that I would wait until Ella was a more fluent reader before I started the process. The WriteShop Primary book has given me the ability to teach writing now instead of waiting!

WriteShop Primary Book A has simple lesson plans to follow and a relaxed schedule so that you can go at your child's pace. Each lesson begins with Guided Writing Practice sessions that contain prompts you give to your student. You are to spend 5-10 minutes on this activity. You can sit next to your child and write on a tablet or use an easel with chart paper. This helps your child begin the creative process of thinking about a story before putting it on paper. This is a great way to teach brainstorming! If your child is young and unable to write or spell (like Ella), she can dictate the story for you to write down. The picture below is the result of our first WriteShop lesson. You can see that we used a white board with colorful markers to spark Ella's interest. I've included a few other pictures of Ella's writing samples throughout this review.


After your Guided Writing Practice has been written down, you read through it several times with your child. I read it 2-3 times out loud to Ella, then she was able to repeat it back to me by "reading" it herself. What I love about this part of the lesson is that it not only engages her in what she has written, it also helps to encourage her reading! Ella begs me to do this book with her! She loves making up stories and WriteShop has helped her to find a focus in her writing. As a result of using this book, she wants to write every day!


As your child progresses through the book, she will be introduced to more writing concepts, such as sentence structure, grammar, different brainstorming methods, and how to edit, revise, & publish her work. There are also ideas for writing across the curriculum. I highly recommend the WriteShop Primary Activity Set Worksheet Pack for Book A that you can purchase separately. The worksheets are intended to reinforce the skills learned in the WriteShop Primary book. I am impressed by the quality of these worksheets! The graphics are very cute and the activities are a fun way to extend your child's writing skills.


WriteShop Primary Book A is for grades K-3, but I believe you could also use it with older elementary-aged children who are struggling with writing. The print version of the book can be purchased for $26.95, plus $5.00 for shipping. You can save $7.00 by getting the e-book version for $24.95 and skipping out on the shipping! The Activity Set Worksheet Pack is $4.95 for the print version or $4.50 for the e-book version (both versions are reproducible).


Please go on over to the TOS Crew blog to check out the other reviews of this fabulous product by clicking HERE!