I figured that when my son was about 9 that it was time to start learning to write nonfiction.  So I searched all my catalogs, read books about writing, and decided on Alpha Omega Gold, 4th grade, to help me teach nonfiction writing to my son.  It appeared to be just what we needed since the catalog description showed that it would teach a child how to write a written report. 

Well, my son had trouble with the first Lifepac.  He was asked to write a report by starting out with an outline.  Well, this was just too much for him--even when I helped him and we broke everything down step by step.  So after a few weeks of floundering around trying to help him, I gave up on that program.  I realized we needed something a little more basic, something not based on outlining as the first step to great writing. 

So I had to go back to the drawing board--or back to the catalogs.  I found Writing Step by Step in the Builder Books, Inc., catalog.  It looked like just the thing--very basic.  So I ordered it along with a few other items and received them all in 8!!! days with not one thing backordered!  I was very happy with that kind of service. 

Writing Step by Step is a book that teaches a child how to write paragraphs by a format method.  I'm not saying that using a format is the best way at all.  It's one way, and it's working well for my son.  I think it's working well because it helps him to organize his thoughts easily.  For him, organization of ideas was the part of writing that was giving him the most trouble.  In Writing Step by Step, he puts his ideas in the proper boxes (on a map); and once that's done, he then focuses on joining the sentences together.  The result is a coherent paragraph. 

The book has him start out with learning how to turn a statement into a question.  This statement becomes the topic sentence of the paragraph.  The answers to the question support the topic sentence and form the body of the paragraph.  The topic sentence is restated in a different way as the closing sentence.  This is all done on a grid or map of empty boxes.  There are boxes for the statement, question, answers.  Once the grid is filled out, the paragraph is then written down below the grid.  This is the basic paragraph grid; there are a number of different advanced and more complex paragraph grids or maps that are taught in the book. 

This book is for about grades 3-12.  I say about 3rd grade to start with, although 4th or 5th might also be appropriate.  It depends on how well the student writes--meaning is the student quick at the physical act of writing or is it still a chore, with lots of misspelled words which can lead to discouragement.  I just wouldn't start this book too soon. 

While the Lower Grades section of Writing Step by Step focuses on paragraph writing, in the Upper Grades section the students are writing full-blown essays by the use of grids.  They are encouraged to look for different ways to organize their paragraphs and essays.  They are taught how to write a Steps in a Process essay, Comparison and Contrast essay, and a Cause and Effect essay.  It makes it all seem so simple. 

I realize that format writing can be pooh-poohed (and there is one article I agree with that pooh-poohs it), but my son really needed this to be able to get his ideas and thoughts about a subject down on paper.  I really think that sometimes writing is just one big effort in organization.  He couldn't mentally organize his thoughts.  Writing Step by Step helps him to be able to make a statement and then support that statement--something everyone should be able to do.  Later he can go on to other ways of writing that aren't based on a grid or map should he care to. 

According to the Introduction, the author of Writing Step by Step has been a teacher for thirty years.  She wasn't taught how to teach writing and neither were most of her contemporaries.  She was expected to know how to teach writing from books that focussed on grammar and outlining--neither of which lead to good writing.  She finds that many students are reluctant writers because they are unsure of what to do; and when they do write, many organizational problems are discovered.  She has developed a way that makes it easier for students to write. 

The back of the book says, "Writing Step by Step helps students gain control over their writing. It has proved successful with all age and ability levels and can be mastered in a very short span of time.  It helps writers:  generate ideas by having them turn their topic into questions, focus their writing by answering their questions, organize their ideas by using 'maps' or graphic organizers, write in a coherent and unified fashion by using paragraph models." 

Anyway, I'm starting to sound like an infomercial so I guess I'd better quit. 

You may purchase Writing Step by Step from Builder Books, Inc.  The price they have listed in their 2003 spring flier is $9.95 plus $4.00 U.S. shipping and handling.  I'm sure that's subject to change at any time.  Their phone number is 425-778-4526.  They take Mastercard, Visa, and Discover.  As far as I know, Writing Step by Step can only be bought through Builder Books, Inc.