A review of Real World Writing, a 5th grade writing curriculum. Learn what works and what could use improvement.
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Disclosure: I’m a member of Timberdoodle’s blogger review team, and they sent me this product to review. I did not request or receive any other compensation, and all opinions are my own.
Real World Writing 5th Grade Curriculum Review
What You'll Find on This Page
My 5th grader loves to keep busy with homeschool assignments, and she loves guided assignments. She was eager to test out Real World Writing, a workbook that is part of Timberdoodle’s nonreligious 5th grade curriculum kit.
The workbook is advertised as being for grades 5 and 6; I think it works well for 5th grade.
Click to read also: Hands On Writing Activities for Kids
Just like my daughter likes, this book features a range of activities that are well structured with clear instructions.
Graphic organizers are included for several different assignments.
I’m not sure where you find your T-rex/Chipmunk sibling to ask for help, but I do think that humor is very helpful in coping with stress.
Click to read also: How to Teach Writing and Storytelling
What Do We Like About This Curriculum?
We loved the range of activities in this book, and that they were illustrated so that they don’t all look exactly the same.
The book is formatted so that you can go through it in order or you can pick an choose what you work on based on interests or on what you need to practice more.
The different activities get children thinking about how writing is used out in the real world. The variety keeps things interesting.
What Would We Change About These Writing Assignments?
Anna injected her own humor into the assignments, but I would have liked to see some built in. It’s so fun when kids giggle while they complete assignments.
I also wish that the book were colorful instead of simply black and white. I guess that is my complaint for the year, since I made the same critique of my teenagers’ WriteShop 2 curriculum. The motivation is the same – I want kids to love learning, all day, every day.
The Verdict
My daughter likes this curriculum well enough that we will keep it as our primary writing curriculum, with lots of additional reading and some research based writing.
Have you used the Real World Writing 5th Grade book? What did you think?
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MaryAnne is a craft loving educator, musician, photographer, and writer who lives in Silicon Valley with her husband Mike and their four children.
I go back and forth on colorful curriculum, on the one hand it’s nice, but I also buy the printable version, and when I’m printing it I’m grateful it’s not colorful.
It’s always great to find curriculum and resources that offer a variety of activities to keep children engaged. Thanks for sharing the review!
Variety makes a huge difference for my kids!