I’m looking at Voyages in English for our Grammar/Writing curriculum next year. I love what I see but would like feedback from anyone who has used it specifically regarding the Writing portion. In the book The Well Trained Mind by Wise, they write regarding Voyages in English that “the writing exercises are not useful in building expository writing skills and should be skipped.” Thoughts on this??
Was looking into this one too…another mom posted about it in another post. Think it was in the grammar post.
I know the upper grades (3rd and up I think) were revamped in 2011. I would first check to see which version is being referenced. Other than that I have not used them and cannot help.
Thank you. Great point! The WTM copyright date is 2009 so perhaps their comment is no longer relevant given the 2011 Voyages updates.
Yes, I’ve read the other posts which is what prompted me to review the curriculum. I’ve spent a lot of time on the Loyola Press website and they offer a lot of amazing resources. The curriculum looks thorough to me. Just have the one looming question about the writing component given the comment in The WTM. Perhaps the comment is outdated given the Voyages 2011 update.
I was one of the major supporters/contributors to the Voyages program. I can only speak for myself, but I’ve used it both in the private school classroom and in the homeschool setting. I have had tremendous success with the program in both settings. In both cases I have been using the “outdated” versions 
(the grade 1 and grade 2 versions which, to my knowledge haven’t been updated yet). In any event, we have found it to be fun, creative and thorough. My students that struggled in writing (including my daughter who has anxiety when I mention writing) have written wonderful things. The step by step break down of the process makes it easy for the kids. Like with any program, you may have to help walk the kids through some of it, help them brainstorm, etc. The program, if you follow all of the lesson plans in the BACK of the teacher manual - has LOTS of modeling work before the writing process even begins. They see you model bits and pieces of what they will end up doing later. I would not use this program if I were going to use it JUST for the grammar portion. If that were the case, you’re just looking at worksheets with no major output in the end (though it does have assessments for each section). Of course, no program is for everyone. Take what I say with a grain of salt What one person loves another may hate, and I don’t want to twist any arms. I’m just saying, for us/me, the writing has been fabulous. (Also - one of the first grade writing “projects” is to write to an author - my daughter chose Mary Pope Osborne - Magic Tree House author - we just received a letter back last week! It took 6 months, but she was beaming!
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Thanks so much for your feedback!! It’s very helpful. Planning to move forward with Voyagers for my 6th grader and two 3 graders. I just saw the comment in WTM when I was reviewing a few things last night which gave me pause. But after spending so much time looking at all the amazing resources provided about Voyagers on the Loyola Press website, it looks to be a thorough and engaging curriculum. Seeing the yearly lesson plan online and how the grammar and writing correlates each day also was a big bonus. Thanks again for your input!!
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