Writing Strands

The curriculum provides structured, systematic writing instruction across four strands with daily lessons and clear progression.

Teaches creative, argumentative, report/research, and expository writing through daily lessons broken into manageable segments, with student self-evaluation forms and progress tracking

Minimal teacher support is provided through a single Teaching Companion that serves as a 'toolbox' rather than comprehensive training.

The Writing Strands Teaching Companion covers all six courses but is described as lacking detailed instruction, with one reviewer noting it 'lacked detail about the writing process'

Limited retrieval practice is evident, with some review built into the progression but no systematic spaced review of skills or content.

Student Progress Report pages provide self-evaluation after assignments and the Teaching Companion mentions 'repetition and review,' but no systematic retrieval practice is described

Vocabulary instruction is present but relies on customized, teacher-directed approaches rather than systematic vocabulary building.

The Teaching Companion explains vocabulary should be taught 'based upon word roots' with instruction 'customized for each student,' but student books contain no vocabulary instructions

The curriculum primarily uses biblical excerpts and encourages reading whole books as supplements rather than centering complete works.

Reading lessons assign biblical passages with one book suggested for supplemental reading per lesson cycle, with reviewers noting students can choose books readable 'within a week or two' rather than sustained engagement with longer works

The curriculum builds some domain knowledge through biblical literature but lacks systematic knowledge-building across history, science, and the arts.

Content focuses heavily on biblical material and literary analysis skills, with each level emphasizing specific literary elements (character, setting, plot, etc.) but without broader knowledge domains

Text complexity appears appropriate with biblical texts and supplemental reading, though specific complexity measures are not detailed.

Uses biblical literature throughout with grade-level flexibility (courses span 3-4 grade levels each), suggesting texts can be adapted to student ability levels

The curriculum facilitates direct instruction through detailed daily lessons, though it relies heavily on parent guidance rather than explicit teacher modeling.

Lessons are 'laid out in detail and divided into daily segments' with 'friendly and easy to understand' instructions, but requires parents to provide instruction with minimal teacher guidance materials

No phonics instruction is included as this curriculum targets grades 5-12, assuming basic decoding skills are already developed.

The curriculum begins at grade 5 level with students expected to write simple sentences, focusing on composition rather than foundational reading skills