My oldest daughter recently told me she wanted to have some specific instruction on how to write papers with multiple paragraphs because she felt it was an area where she was weak.
And, I’m not kidding, the very next week, a new review popped up for the TOS Review Crew that would teach her just that!
It is called Here to Help Learning.
She has used the Flight 1 – Launching Essay Writing.
Flights
So, what do I mean by “Flight 1”??? Great question! Thanks for asking!
Each of the programs on Here to Help Learning are broken up into “Flights”. As in, you are going on a journey to learn about writing!
The flights do not represent grade levels. They represent skill levels. Flights 1, 2, and 3 Paragraph writing is for grades 1-3, while Flights 1, 2, and 3 Essay Writing are all appropriate for grades 4-6.
The program is designed so that you do 2 lessons per week and each flight will take one year to complete. On the first day of learning, you would watch the video and then on the next day, you would do the written lesson.
We would do the writing on the same day as the video, though, so that the information was still fresh.
We also did more than 2 lessons per week since my daughter is older than the recommended age, but you definitely don’t have to do it that way.
Each writing project is going to take around 5-6 lessons to complete.
The Main Ideas
The major things to know about this program are:
- It has engaging filmed instruction
- Multiple grades can learn together, making this a great program for co-ops or for families with kids in grades that are close together.
- It comes with scripted lessons and worksheets.
- “Relationship Based” – This means that your interaction with the students throughout the lessons is crucial to their success.
- The writing projects that are turned in are published, which adds meaning to what they have accomplished.
- Lessons are Biblically based.
The Video
The video your child will watch for their lesson has 5 sections. The first one is less than 2 minutes in length and is called “Pre-Flight”. In this short video, the teacher comes on and acts as a flight attendant whom is welcoming you to the flight. She is there to make sure you have all the necessary tools for your flight to be a success. (For example, all the worksheets for the day, pencil, your binder, etc.)
Here is your child’s teacher for the videos:
The next video is named “Flight Check-In”. This is to be done at the beginning of your class time (whether in a group or with just one student). It is where they turn in work from the previous lesson and you review a bit. An example of a Flight Check-In looks like this:
1.Check-in Flying Solo work. 2. Give a “Discovery Ticket” for each piece of work they completed. 3. Insert new worksheets into notebooks. 4. Review: Purpose of Writing-Colossians 3:17 by saying it out loud and invite students to memorize the verse.
The next video is titled “Take Off” and is only a few minutes in length. In this part, she talks about different vocabulary words in writing. Then, the students uses that vocabulary to write during their writing warm up (or literary technique, as she calls it).
And next is “Full Throttle”. This one is a bit longer… 5-15 minutes, depending on the lesson. This is the video where the students are going to learn about something new and learn about what they will be writing for the day.
And lastly, there is the “Flying Solo” video. It is only a minute or so and is narrated by a dog with a silly voice (he is meant to be the captain of the flight)!! This is where the captain tells you what the assignment is for the day.
This is a great program for the younger elementary student. My 8th grader thought it was quite silly… which it is… but it is supposed to be so that it keeps the attention of younger students!
If you have an older student like mine, whom thinks it’s a bit too juvenile for him or her, I would suggest you skip some of the video stuff and just use the worksheets. That is where the bulk of the instruction is, but if you watch the video it helps with the understanding.
That way, your older student still improves her writing skills, but doesn’t feel like she is having to sit through a lesson that is too young for her.
My 2nd grader watched parts of one or two lessons and she loved it! When she is a bit more skilled in her reading, we will start her on the paragraph writing!
Information at a glance:
What is it? An online writing program called Here to Help Learning which teaches both paragraph writing and essay writing.
For whom? Children in Grades one through six (or those that are older, but want help with writing like my daughter did)
How much is it? Online membership is $6.99 per month per family (one membership for all your kids!)
Click here for a FREE one-day pass as well as their 26-page Quick Reference Language Charts.
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