Best Homeschool Writing Curriculum for Middle School

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While some homeschoolers choose to use a complete language arts program, many others prefer using a writing-specific curriculum in order to help their kids really develop their writing skills during the middle school years. In this article, we’ll tell you about three of our favorite homeschool writing curriculums for middle school students. If you have an older or younger student, check out our related articles, Best Homeschool Writing Curriculum for High School and Best Homeschool Writing Curriculum for Elementary Students. 

Best Basic Program

Writing With Skill series, Susan Wise Bauer

In general, we are big fans of the curriculum options offered by Well-Trained Mind Press, and this is especially true when it comes to its Writing With Skill series. Writing With Skill follows the ideals of classical education put forth in The Well-Trained Mind: A Guide to Classical Education at Home, emphasizing a certain amount of dictation, repetition, and subject mastery in its treatment of the writing process. Yet this program is far less rigidly classical than Memoria Press’s Classical Composition series, and the Writing With Skill series in particular serves as a fantastic basic writing program for homeschooled kids regardless of their families’ homeschooling philosophies. Most homeschooling families will find the program simple, straightforward, and effective. 

Writing With Skill does an excellent job of teaching fundamental writing skills that will prepare your middle school student for high school writing. Students learn the fundamentals of outlining; are introduced to such writing forms as chronological narratives and biological sketches; learn to construct literary essays on fiction and poetry-based themes; and are taught the basics of researching and citing source materials. Throughout the program, students learn by imitating the styles and techniques of great writers, both those who wrote classic literature and also those who wrote about science, history, and other topics.

The program itself is easy to follow. It is organized into weekly units and daily lessons with step-by-step instructions. The lesson plan calls for four relatively short lessons per week, but this can be modified if you so choose. There are three levels to the program, and Level 1 can be started anytime in grades 5-8. For Level 1, you’ll need to purchase the Writing With Skill Level 1 Instructor Text and the Writing With Skill Level 1 Student Workbook. 

Since Writing With Skill is not a complete language arts curriculum, you’ll want to have your student read plenty of quality literature and also pair this program with a high-quality grammar program. We recommend the Grammar for the Well-Trained Mind program, as it is produced by the same authors as Writing With Skill and compliments that program really nicely. If your student enjoys creative writing, consider further supplementing with the Creative Writer series by Boris Fishman.

Best Comprehensive Program

Structure and Style for Students, Year 1 Level B, Andrew Pudewa

Another excellent homeschool writing curriculum for middle school students is the Institute for Excellence in Writing (IEW) program created by Andrew Pudewa. The IEW program is more systematic and broader in scope than Writing With Skill, and it really teaches students the nitty-gritty of how to write well. The IEW produces excellent homeschool programs for kids of all ages. Level B refers to the middle school programs. 

The IEW programs approach writing instruction by focusing on nine structural models central to the writing process: note-taking, paragraph writing, stories, basic reports, writing from pictures, research reports, creative writing, essays, and critiques. The lessons are straightforward and incremental and help students gain confidence in their writing abilities one skill at a time. 

The program teaches writing in a multi-media way that is especially good for visual learners. Each week begins with a video lesson by Pudewa, who shows students how to create an outline for that week’s assignment and then teaches specific techniques pertinent to that assignment. Students then complete the assignment on their own during that week. This format makes for minimal prep and teaching time on the part of parents.

 For the most convenience, purchase all of the Level B Year One required materials as a bundle. You’ll have a choice of purchasing the video lessons on DVD or in a digital format that you can stream online.

Best Classical Approach

Classical Composition series, Memoria Press

If you want a homeschool writing program that is firmly rooted in the methods and ideals of the classical homeschooling model, look no further than Memoria Press’s Classical Composition series. Memoria Press is a leader in Classical Christian homeschool curriculum, and its Classical Composition series teaches students to write using the same techniques taught to William Shakespeare, Benjamin Franklin, and John Milton. 

Like many of Memoria Press’s other programs, the Classical Composition series is based in the progymnasmata, a framework invented in ancient times to teach effective communication. Ancient writers like Cicero and Quintilian learn to write using the progymnasmata, which includes fourteen exercises. Memoria Press uses those same fourteen exercises in its Classical Composition, adapting them for modern students.

Classical Composition is rigorous and especially good for independent and gifted learners. Students learn how to write exceptionally well and will be far above their peers in writing when they enter high school. Yet they also learn about how writing is an artform that has been developing in the Western world since ancient times. Students who complete the Classical Composition series will have a greatly increased ability to understand and analyze the great works of classic and ancient literature because of their immersion in this classical model of composition.  

If your student is beginning Classical Composition in middle school, you’ll want to purchase the Classical Composition III: Chreia & Maxim course materials, which consists of a student book, a teacher guide, and a DVD set. These can also be purchased together as a bundle. Depending on your student’s grade level and prior writing experience, he or she may be ready for a different level of the program. See Memoria Press’s website for more information on the different program levels.

Conclusion

There are many excellent homeschool writing programs for middle school students. If your student is in seventh grade and you are looking for a complete language arts curriculum, check out our article Best 7^th Grade Language Arts Homeschool Curriculum. If you are looking for homeschool writing curriculum for older or younger kids, see our related articles, Best Homeschool Writing Curriculum for High School and Best Homeschool Writing Curriculum for Elementary Students.