A Stable Beginning: Middle School Writing Curriculum with Cover Story ~ a TOS review

Tuesday, July 5, 2022

Middle School Writing Curriculum with Cover Story ~ a TOS review

Disclaimer: I received a Complimentary copy of this product through the HOMESCHOOL REVIEW CREW in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way. All opinions I have expressed are my own or those of my family and I pray you, the reader, find them helpful on your homeschooling journey. I am disclosing this in accordance with FTC Regulations.

Morning friends! Hope your week is going great and you enjoyed a fun holiday weekend! Let’s talk about homeschool writing curriculum. Have you thought about what your middle schooler will be using for the upcoming school year? In our homeschool 7th grade is when we buckle down and get to business with the ends and out of formal writing. I was thrilled to receive the Cover Story Cloud Set from Clear Water Press to try with McKenzie, my rising 7th grader.

The Cover Story curriculum from Clear Water Press is the brain child of the Daniel Schwabauer. You may have heard of him before in the homeschooling circles as he also has authored several other homeschool writing curriculums including the One Year Novel and Byline, which are meant for high schoolers. With the Cover Story curriculum your middle schooler will dive into creative writing and in the process create their own magazine.

We received the physical course that includes paperback copies of the student book, the Remarkable Journal, and Teacher’s Guide which arrived on our doorstep rather quickly. We also received access to the online videos that accompany the program. Our videos grant us access to the program for a 12-month subscription. Optional grammar lessons are included too if you want to round out your complete Language Arts for the school year.

The student book and journal are consumable products so you will need a set of both for each of your students. During the course of the curriculum your student will write poems, short stories, non-fiction articles, and letters in the process of creating their own magazine. The engaging videos are super short, approximately 6 to 16 minutes long so it’s easy enough for even the most reluctant learners. A few of the assignments require assigned reading, but these too are short in length.

One of the ways Mr. Schwabauer gets the kids thinking is by writing five questions a day. These questions can be about anything they are curious about, the goal is to get your student thinking. As your student progresses through the program, they will begin to write paragraphs and dialogue as they work through the process of completing their magazine. At the end of each unit there is a multiple-choice test. Don’t worry, it’s nothing too tasking, but more of a check for understanding of the material being covered.

So, what are our thoughts of this creative writing curriculum from Clear Water Press? Honestly, I love this program and I like that it offers the student the opportunity to learn independently and giving them ownership in their work. I think the Cover Story creative writing curriculum is a great program for middle and first year high school students. However, I do not think it is the best fit for McKenzie at this time. She liked that the videos were fun and that Mr. Schwabauer is entertaining, I often heard her laughing at the videos, but she had a hard time with the journaling and student book exercises. Now, this could just be because we had to work on this curriculum after a long day of training. I am not giving up on this homeschool creative writing curriculum because I think McKenzie would enjoy this more during our normal school schedule that affords a bit more time for her to let her creativity out on a more relaxed schedule.

For now we are going to set this program aside for the rest of July and pick it back up at the end of August and give it a second chance for her 7th grade school year. Even though we will be losing some time off our 12-month subscription, I am pleased to know that Clear Water Press offers renewals for an additional 12 months for just $35.00.

Be sure to check out what four of my CrewMates thought of this middle school writing curriculum, Cover Story Cloud set, from Clear Water Press by clicking the banner below.