Inspiration software?

I looked in to it too. The best source I found was their website. www.inspiration.com. They have a version for kids called Kidinspiration. It is not too expensive. I decided not to order it because my son is not quite ready to use it. We have been using post-it notes to help organize his ideas for writing. His tutor can up with the process. It works great. We start with a picture or idea. We use a large post-it to write some key words for a topic sentence, then we draw a pictrure or jot a word or two on smaller post-its for details. We put another big post-it down for the conclusion, but we usually leave it blank. Then… we talk about how to organize the paragraph. My son can move the post-its around. We both sit and write a paragraph independently. My son likes to cross off the post-its he has completed. Once he is done It’s a low tech solution. But it works great. It is also something he can do at his desk at school.

I would consider when using Inspiration with unfamiliar users is to make a web and save it as a template for your child to use. A template is a must for any student just starting to use, customize features in the outline view too. You can add as much and as little information in the template as appropriate for that student.

Features I like about Inspiration:
- a spell checker
- text to speech option
- expectional visual cues
- when using a template, organization can be a breeze here even for the most disorganized person
- no copying required here, just a mouse click and when the finshed product is done just select all and then copy and then paste into your word processor for the final edit - livesaver for students who struggle with handwriting/organization

Inspiration has a lot of “bells and whistles”, folks can get overwhelmed at first. Consider making a template and setting it up just like your notecards. I find using notecards can still be confusing for some students who struggle with disorganization.

Kidspiration is good too, just easier to use.
Good luck!

What age, grade or ability-level do you think is ready for Kidinspiration?

I have seen folks use it as young as K level, it is all how it is changed to meet the grade or performance level. Kidspiration could be used even up into the middle school yrs. Go to their web site and you can download both programs. Kidspiration is easier to use and is more kid oriented, there are advantages to both programs. I would not really give an age cut off.

you do know that you can download a month free trial for this program off their website?

MY SON IS GOING INTO SIXTH GRADE ALSO, AND HAS BEEN USING INSPIRATION SINCE THE BEGINNING OF FIFTH GRADE. HE HAS TREMENDOUS DIFFICULTY ORGANIZING HIS WRITING AND THIS PROGRAM HAS HELPED HIM A LOT. AT LEAST, FOR THE MOST PART, HE IS NOW WILLING TO SET DOWN AND WRITE WHICH WAS ANOTHER BATTLE. HIS WORK IS MUCH MORE ORGANIZED, AND HE FINDS THE PROGRAM VERY HELPFUL AND ENJOYS USING IT.