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Submitted by: Laura 
Date: 10/12/03
Cost: $18.95
Comments: This book is officially off our good list. Troubles started early. Lesson 1 day 2 exercise was so confusing and difficult, I had trouble doing it, and even afterwards I still did not see how it helps build writing skills. Today I read the instructions for Lesson 2 days 3 and 4. The student is to take a core sentence: The girl flies the kite. Using questions, they are to make the sentence longer. The *very first question* (who sees the girl?) forces the student to rewrite the sentence in the passive voice. This is hardly easy for 3rd graders, and hardly the sort of sentence I want them to learn to write in any case. So I read ahead, hoping we could just skip that lesson. The next topic (same lesson, different day) is paragraph writing. The 2 sample sentences given were long, complicated, and just plain bad. I typed them into Word and had it analyze them. One sentence (50%) is passive. The Flesch-Kincaid grade level (reading level): 11.3. In the Level 3 Writing Strands book, Lesson 2 Day 7! So much for the book speaking directly to the student.  

Here's the sample sentences, for those of you who are curious:

"I had been told to clean my room and was feeling very low until I opened my closet and noticed, in a far, dark corner, an old and very dear friend from years ago. I recognized my wonderful old bear when I first saw its happy, fat, baby face smiling at me as it held out its arms to be picked up."

And so, we are through with this book. I'm through trying to decifer unclear instructions. I'm too irritated by the fact that this book assumes that the average 3rd grade child already knows a great deal about writing. I definitely don't want my daughter to learn to write sentences similar to the examples in this book.  

Save your money. This 80 page soft-cover workbook is not worth the price tag. It is too advanced for the grade level, and does not teach good writing.