I need a straight forward approach to writing with a 10th grade boy (long)

[cottagechick]

My friend's son has been ps'ed since last year, and was pullled after about 10 weeks of his freshman year. He was failing almost every class, amidst emotional and health issues. I took over his schooling around Thanksgiving, and I basically spent the last 5 months in detox mode. Lots of reading (SL early world history), doing basic grammar (Saxon's new 8th grade program), biology (Apologia), vocabulary via Rummy Roots (though we're still in the 'Go Fish' stage of learning the roots), and Algebra (Life of Fred basic and advanced).

 

The only writing we've done is what is incorporated within Saxon's program. He is not a motivated learner. To get him to do his work at home, he must be threatened with no driver's ed, going back to ps, lost priveleges, etc. He has no basic foundation or understanding of the writing process, and Saxon's assignments are not enough regarding both quality and quantity.

 

I've considered going WAY back to the beginning and working quickly thru TWTM writing rec's, (copywork and dictation via narration, outlining and imitation, etc.) but don't know where to start.

 

Should I just bite the bullet and get IEW? I've also looked at MCT's materials, Writing Strands (which I did with my own kids way back when, but was never impressed), and R & S (which I also used, but I feel would be very dry to him).

 

We're at a point now where I feel he needs to learn how to read well, extract information, and articulate it in writing. Having only gone thru the public school system, he has no tools or skills to do this, and we're running out of time. I want to focus his entire curriculum on reading and writing about what he's read...in other words, how to LEARN. He's not going to be a 'Well-Trained Mind' kid, but I want to give him the best tools I can. I'd like to try doing a crash course in the Logic Stage with him at least. He's bright, but completely non-motivated....in other words, he can do the work I require, but getting him to do it involves a lot of hand-holding and teacher time. I don't mind doing this, although I will also be schooling my own two boys (3rd and 5th). There's only so much time in the day!

 

These subjects constitute what I'm considering for his 10th grade year, based on my state's honors diploma credits and his former high school:

Geometry

Spanish-hopefully farmed out

Science-Physical/Earth Space or Chemistry-again, hopefully farmed out

History and geography-Middle Ages

Literature

WRITING!!!

 

I'd love to integrate subjects as much as possible.

 

Would love to hear from those who have dealt with remedial, non-motivated teen boys.

 

Thanks oodles, oh wise ones :)

[Grace is Sufficient]

Level One of PTIW was an excellent tool for helping my clueless-in-writing son improve. Info is at http://www.barrettsbookshelf.com/

 

Following that we took that paragraph course at Home2Teach.com which cemented and advanced his skills even more.

 

It's wonderful that you're willing to do this for someone!

[LisaNY]

I agree with Grace. PTiW is an excellent program. I used it w/both of my dd's and their writing skills are excellent. My older dd is in college now, and consistently get's A's on all of her writing.

[AngieW in Texas]

IEW has a writing program for middle ages. This would help accomplish your goal of integrating subjects. It is designed for younger kids (6th-8th grade), but it sounds like it might be at his actual skill level. I'll link it below.

 

http://www.excellenceinwriting.com/MHW-T

[jelbe5]

What about Apologia Jump In. Even though it was written for jr. high it can be used for a reluctant hs student. It is self-contained and written to the student. The lessons are short and cover the basics. It is not fancy but it will get the job done. I am using it with my 14yod who loves creative writing but hates essay writing.

 

http://www.apologia.com/store/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=34

 

Adrianne in IL

[Andrew Kern]

My first response is to say "God bless you for taking on this challenge." This child will thank you every day of his life if you are able to persevere and get his thinking disciplined!

 

It seems to me that a teacher like you would do well with almost anything because you obviously have good teaching instincts. IEW would work very well, writing strands probably would too. I've heard some people say its too repetitive, but I'm sure you'd be able to adjust it.

 

Finally, God bless you! I hope you are able to find exactly what you need!

[Susan C.]

Here is what I did with ds (who started as a very reluctant writer, but now is an English major!!):

 

Put a step in between reading the material and the writing. Let him pick out what he thinks are important facts about what he has read and write them down "bullet style." Then he doesn't have to worry about compiling it into a paper. He will still take in what he is reading this way. Check his papers so he knows they will be looked at. And, get a spiral notebook, or papers will be all over the place. :)

[Tullia]

One thing that's not curriculum specific...do whatever you reasonably can to find out what this young man is interested in and try to tailor some (not necessarily all) of his assignments to his interests. He's probably at a stage in his life when he'd like to assert his own opinions, but may not have a lot of confidence due to his situation, or he may also lack skill in expressing himself due to his age. Your willingness to come alongside and help him is the most important ingredient. The curriculum choices are secondary. :)

 

Several years ago I taught a small co-op and the young men in the class (13-16 years old) wrote some eloquent essays about why 15 was too old/too young to get a driver's license. They looked forward to opinion essays, but weren't too thrilled with compare/contrast or definition essays. Since you're in a situation where your student needs remediation, maybe you could focus on discussion/brainstorming each step with him and tackling the writing/evaluation in small increments.

 

If he needs help in all areas of language arts, would Classical Writing for Older Beginners be something you'd feel comfortable doing? I know that my reluctant writer appreciated the structure of writing within clearly stated boundaries, and the CW lesson structure helped him work on a variety of skills in an efficient way. Disclaimer: I'm a huge fan of CW but realize, too, that it might not be something that would be a good fit in your case.

 

I did some odd tweaking of CW for my worse than reluctant writer. [He eventually got past it!] For example he did a few fable retellings in Aesop, but moved on quickly to the Labors of Hercules which was an enthusiasm of the day at that time of his life. He wrote a hilarious imitation for CW poetry that I don't remember clearly, but it involved Hank the Cowdog pining for a sizzling steak on the grill. It wasn't exactly heroic subject matter but the rhyme and meter were there, lol. This was in the middle school years and ds thought it clever. I cringed, but then middle school was like that.

 

During his reluctant, I cant think of a thing to put on paper stage, my son also enjoyed Write Shop. He appreciated the clear assignments and grading rubric.

 

I've used Writing Strands, Write Shop I & II, CW Aesop-Maxim and Poetry for Beginners, LToW pt. 1, and IEW Advanced Communication Series over the years. I'm sure there are lots of other good choices available. The key thing, IMO, is the personal attention no matter what curriculum you choose.

 

You're so kind to help this young man! I wish both of you well.

Martha

[cottagechick]

Thanks so much for these helpful responses! I'll look into each of the programs mentioned, and talk with him about where he feels he needs the most help.

 

I see him struggle most with knowing what to write. He can follow the 5 paragraph formula fine. His writing is just dull, and I can sense he sees no purpose in it. I think imitation would serve him well, re-telling stories in his own words, or even using a story starter to jump-start his creativity. He needs to just get comfy writing his ideas down. I realize he's going to need the tools and practice using them to craft academic papers on his own, but he hates writing so much, I feel his remediation will need a hefty dose of 'easy' assignments that just get him writing.

 

I've considered asking him to start a blog as well. Any thoughts on this? He definitely enjoys typing his work as opposed to writing on notebook paper.

 

Then there's the whole taking notes/outlining issue that I feel is crucial to higher learning. Heck, I use it myself when I'm trying to assimilate new information regarding things from decorating to cooking!

 

Again, I appreciate this board so much....I have been a member here off and on since 2000, have graduated 2, and still homeschool my youngest two. Having a student who struggles with writing has been a real challenge for me as my own kids were fairly natural writers. In fact, my oldest works in editorial work, and my next does graphic design and writing for websites and brochures. :D

 

I'm in competition with video games too. I seriously don't know how public school teachers can inspire a generation who only know how to be entertained and see no need to be creative and original. I hope that through the history reading I've done with him, he is slowly catching the idea that beautiful words used in imaginative ways can be powerful and worthy of emulation.

 

peace,

cindy

[lllll]

When we began WTM our ds's were in their mid teens. Writing was a struggle for them. I found that if I just had them read the materials in all the other subjects and require them to write about that material, they could do it. It gave them something to write about.

 

One idea is to ask him to 'tell' you about what he's learning in the outsourced classes - because you're interested and genuinely want to know;) - in a written paper. Many birds killed with one stone that way. Also, I wouldn't impose any 'rules' for these papers. I used to tell my ds's 'The sky's the limit. Write whatever you want'. (After brainstorming with them about things to write about - and listening to them tell me why each idea I came up with couldn't be done.) Their papers started out about ONE paragraph long (Your student is already way past that.) and grew and grew, naturally, once they figured out they actually had something to say.

 

I do wish I had done some of the Logic stage work with ds's instead of starting them in the GB's right away. It would have helped to have them read through KF to get the flow of history. You could have him do that, along with choosing a topic to (gently) research and write about. Sometimes writing about 'real' things (vs creative type things) is so much easier for some kids. Our ds's would rather have written a 10-page typed paper on a topic of their choice over some creative WS assignment ANY day. :)

 

There are two simple books on outlining recommended in WTM. They're very simple and not time consuming. Our dc thought they were fun.

 

The most important thing, IMO, is not to make every subject something he has to struggle with.

 

HTH

Kathy

 

ETA: I still had ds's do WS. They hated every minute of it, however. They always preferred writing about real subjects - not that you couldn't work that into WS, of course. Just that it's less work to just pull it out of their history or science or whatever, instead of having to redo the WS assignments.

Edited May 4, 2010 by ksva

[Laurie4b]

Thanks so much for these helpful responses! I'll look into each of the programs mentioned, and talk with him about where he feels he needs the most help.

 

I see him struggle most with knowing what to write. He can follow the 5 paragraph formula fine. His writing is just dull, and I can sense he sees no purpose in it. I think imitation would serve him well, re-telling stories in his own words, or even using a story starter to jump-start his creativity. He needs to just get comfy writing his ideas down. I realize he's going to need the tools and practice using them to craft academic papers on his own, but he hates writing so much, I feel his remediation will need a hefty dose of 'easy' assignments that just get him writing.

 

I've considered asking him to start a blog as well. Any thoughts on this? He definitely enjoys typing his work as opposed to writing on notebook paper.

 

Then there's the whole taking notes/outlining issue that I feel is crucial to higher learning. Heck, I use it myself when I'm trying to assimilate new information regarding things from decorating to cooking!

 

Again, I appreciate this board so much....I have been a member here off and on since 2000, have graduated 2, and still homeschool my youngest two. Having a student who struggles with writing has been a real challenge for me as my own kids were fairly natural writers. In fact, my oldest works in editorial work, and my next does graphic design and writing for websites and brochures. :D

 

I'm in competition with video games too. I seriously don't know how public school teachers can inspire a generation who only know how to be entertained and see no need to be creative and original. I hope that through the history reading I've done with him, he is slowly catching the idea that beautiful words used in imaginative ways can be powerful and worthy of emulation.

 

peace,

cindy

 

I think the basic IEW program would be a good place to start. The DVD's are what make it expensive. Perhaps you could borrow those from someone; you could certainly resell at a good price.

 

IEW would be a good choice for many reasons: It starts with basics but you can adjust it to any grade level by which material you choose to work with. You will do most of the writing together for a while, and then let him take on a piece at a time on his own. IEW is set up so that you are ensuring that he is successful and that can make a huge difference in motivation. The "how to teach" part is in the DVD's.