I don’t know how to choose a quality 2nd grade writing curriculum!
Whether you have a student in 1st grade and are looking toward the future, or you are already in the thick of day-to-day lessons and aren’t loving it, choosing the perfect writing curriculum for your homeschooler can be a daunting task. With so many options available on the market, you may not know where to begin with choosing a high quality, easy-to-use, 2nd grade writing curriculum.
The best thing you can do for your child when teaching writing is to give them as many opportunities as you can for writing time each day. Practice definitely makes perfect with writing! Luckily, there are several great curriculum options available and all of them are going to do an outstanding job at teaching your child how to write. But, where do you even start looking for such a curriculum? Fear not, with a just a few easy steps, you can find the perfect curriculum for your family that will ensure your child builds a solid foundation!
First, I will outline some of my favorite resources for finding curriculum, curriculum reviews, and curriculum flip-throughs. These can all be extremely helpful when trying to narrow down a 2nd grade writing curriculum for your child.
*At the end of this post, I will share a review of my favorite writing curriculum!
My Favorite Resources for Finding Curriculum
As with any decision in life, there are always people who have been faced with the same decision as you. This is equally true for choosing the right curriculum for each age and grade level. As a matter of fact, there have been thousands of parents faced with the exact same question: What writing curriculum should I choose?
Because so many parents have already walked this path before you, there are tons of resources and reviews floating around to help with this decision. You may even know of other homeschooling parents in your community who have been in your shoes and would love to give you words of wisdom.
In my experience, there are a few very reliable ways to find real, authentic, trustworthy opinions on just about every curriculum that has ever been put on the market. Outlined below are several ways to find this information:
Cathy Duffy Curriculum Reviews
If you’ve been researching curriculum for any amount of time, you have probably stumbled across Cathy Duffy’s website a time or two. That’s because she has become a trusted source for accurate and unbiased reviews of homeschool curriculum. She not only gives recommendations and information for the top 103 curriculum options, but she also has a helpful resource to walk you through finding your philosophy of education and your children’s learning styles, which is super helpful when trying to narrow down a writing curriculum.
As a first step, I would highly recommend at least checking out Cathy’s website! It is such a fantastic starting point when trying to make decisions on curriculum.
Facebook Groups
Another excellent place to find information on curriculum is in Facebook groups. You can search just about any curriculum company and find a group (or several) of parents who are using this curriculum and sharing loads of first-hand experience with it. This is also a great place to go to ask a question and get a quick response about that particular curriculum. You can usually join these groups if you are only interested in checking out the curriculum but haven’t purchased yet. By doing so, you get access to real users’ frustrations, modifications, recommendations, and positive stories. Use the search function in the group and you can almost certainly find the answer to most of your questions instantly!
Youtube
You have most likely used Youtube at some point to learn how to do something or as an educational tool to learn more about something. Did you know you can also use Youtube to find tons of homeschool curriculum reviews? Simply search “2nd grade writing curriculum” and you will have access to reviews, flip-throughs, and comparisons of just about anything you want to see.
Youtube is a great place to go if you are stuck between multiple different curriculums and aren’t sure which one will work better for you. Many times, you can find someone who has had the same dilemma and will spell out the pros and cons of each curriculum choice. This is also one of the best ways to actually see the curriculum before you purchase! Getting a glimpse of the layout or content can help you feel more confident about your choice before investing in the product yourself.
The Manufacturer’s Website
This may seem like a no-brainer, but make sure you actually go to the curriculum manufacturer’s website and page through all the information there. Most curriculum manufacturers will give sample pages of the curriculum you are seeking so you can download, print, and hold it in your hands. This can be very beneficial for seeing how you react to the physical product when it’s right in front of you. Even if it’s just a few pages, you can determine if the program fits what you are envisioning for your school. You can also find reviews, frequently asked questions, scope and sequence information, as well as how to directly contact the creators for more information.
Not only do the big curriculum companies share lots of valuable information on this platform, but also the smaller, independent curriculum makers really shine here! I have found many homeschooling moms who are creating their own quality curriculum and selling it for a fraction of the price that big box manufacturers sell for. I have personally purchased from several smaller curriculum companies, and have found that they can be more thorough and engaging than the more expensive options.
Another way Instagram is super helpful for choosing curriculum is by following other homeschooling accounts, especially ones who are using the curriculum you are interested in. Many accounts will share their day-to-day routines using the curriculum, how they implement it into their schedule, and whether or not they enjoy using it. They often share based on grade levels too, so finding a 2nd grade writing curriculum review isn’t as hard as you would think!
Our 2nd Grade Writing Curriculum
Now that you know how to begin researching and finding the perfect 2nd grade writing curriculum for your child, I’ll share which ones we are using and loving! Though we are very eclectic in our educational philosophy, we tend to more heavily lean toward Charlotte Mason. So, part of our writing curriculum is copy work that is most often incorporated into our history lessons.
In addition to copy work, we also use a few physical resources throughout the entire year as our writing curriculum. An important factor I consider when choosing writing units is whether or not it is an engaging lesson, it is something that can be done as independent work, they are simple lessons that we can easily incorporate into our busy schedule, and most importantly, they provide a strong foundation.
Institute for Excellence in Writing (IEW)
Probably my favorite writing program thus far, IEW is a solid, well-established, proven writing curriculum for all ages. Specifically for 2nd grade, the Bible Heroes Writing Lessons or People and Places in our Community are both excellent choices!
Because it’s such a well-known and used curriculum in schools across the country, you can rest assured your child is learning all the essentials to become the best writer they can be. And because it covers all grade levels, you can continue this curriculum throughout your child’s schooling years, ensuring there are no gaps in their education. This is wonderful for taking all the pressure and worry of being a “good enough writing teacher” off of the parent.
These programs also come with a video instruction option that provides extra help to the parent in teaching the writing process. You can choose whether to invest in the complete package, or simply purchase the individual student book and work through it with your child. If you are teaching to a small group, this curriculum would work really well for that, too!
We also use IEW’s Fix It Grammar program. While they recommend starting this program in third grade, my second grader has done well completing it. If you have a more advanced reader, or a child in 3rd grade, this is a must-have for establishing strong foundational skills in grammar. In my opinion, it is a great tool for fostering independent writing in your developing writer.
The Good & The Beautiful Language Arts
While The Good and the Beautiful Language Arts curriculum bundle is comprehensive, covering many subject areas such as reading, phonics, spelling, literature, grammar, punctuation, geography, and art, it also includes writing instruction. We have used The Good and the Beautiful for 3 years and have loved it as our core language arts curriculum.
As someone who has graduated with a teaching degree, I feel it aligns very well with common core standards, if that is something that is important to you! From learning letter formation to forming short sentences to writing short stories, this curriculum covers it all. It truly fits the bill as a comprehensive curriculum because it teaches all of the specific skills needed to build a strong writer as well as introducing different types of writing.
You can also purchase the handwriting book for additional daily handwriting practice. Even if you choose not to use The Good and the Beautiful language arts programs, you can still purchase just the handwriting book if you want a great resource for additional writing activities for your second grader.
Draw Write Now Print Books
If you have young writers who loves drawing, Draw Write Now print books are a fantastic resource for writing. These are also wonderful books for independent practice if you need to be working with another child at the same time. Each mini lesson has an image to draw, with instructions, and then a short paragraph to copy on their own student writing pages. I love that the information the child is drawing and copying is also educational and an opportunity to learn facts about a topic, such as social studies. My kids have really enjoyed these books, they don’t take up too much time, and they are great for working in extra writing practice!
Choose the writing curriculum that serves you!
Remember, curriculum should serve you, not the other way around. No matter what 2nd grade writing resources you choose, make sure it is something you and your child enjoy. The less enjoyable it is, the less likely you will be to stick with it and the less your child will retain. If a curriculum is too demanding, brings tears, is not affordable, or you simply can’t get motivated to do it every day, then ditch it and try something else. The more excited you and your child are to open a curriculum and work through it day by day, the more success you will see in their writing skills.
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