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6 year old writing samples


Satori
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Any suggestions for my daughter's writing? In our state she is technically kindergarten, but she likes to write, so I started First Grade with her last fall. We have not gotten too far with a writing program. She doesn't know what a paragraph is, for example. She's still learning spelling and grammar, two of her favorite subjects.

 

This first piece was her descriptive writing she did last month. This is one of the rare pieces of writing I required her to do so far.

 

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This is a page she wrote after listening to one of her Elementary Spanish lessons. She did this on her own.

 

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She's excited about learning her states, so she writes everything she knows. She also did this on her own, and is writing about all 50 states. The writing is small, so I linked to a larger image.

 

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Also, can anyone suggest writing programs for a girl who loves to write? Nobody talks about the program we use, so I'm wondering if I should look into something else. We used WWE1, but prefer not to use it going forward. I'd love to take advantage of her writing passion and take the next step.

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I have nothing to say to that except WOW! Is that the difference between girls and boys? Seriously, when DS was in K-1st, I would walk down the halls and you could pick out the girls vs the boys' papers. My 4yr old DD loves to write. She seems to be processing information through writing....so unlike my boys. She will find words she likes and write them down and learn how to pronounce them.

 

I would say whatever you're doing is working. I would check and see if your library has Peggy Kaye's book "Games for Teaching Writing." I bet your DD would enjoy that.

 

Is this all her own spelling?

Edited by Capt_Uhura
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This is her own spelling. We just started AAS 4 this spring.

 

I expected my daughter to be like me, and love to read. Instead she could care less, but writes all day long! Her favorite gift is a journal or little blank story books. We just drove over an hour (one-way) today to pick up a $6 pack of 10 blank books that she loves. She's been freaking out all week because she's been low, and this morning she just ran out.

 

We have the Peggy Kaye book, I'll look through that. As for a writing program, I don't feel we actually started a writing program yet. We switched to Write Source 1, but the first half of the year it's all been grammar. We're starting to try out some writing now this spring. I'll see how that goes.

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She does enjoy nature journaling and now that it is starting to get nice, we should start that again. Here's an entry in her Bird Journal from last June. Here's my favorite part on her King Bird page, after we observed them at a lake:

 

(Age 5)

"...Asc yor mom to teech you about birds. You will lern abuot so meny birds. I lerned alot of Bird. Soon you will be a ornithologist and you will love being that kinde of persen When you grow up teech your children and soon they will rite about birds too. When yor seven you shood read this boock to your mom and dad They will be so saprisd that they will by you a presint...

 

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Wow, her spelling has improved in the past year.

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I second the opinion that she is kicking butt. I would just let her write her little heart out. I am taking 19 college credits and 5/6 classes have an online forum we have to post to...her writing is comparable to some of theirs...no, it's better. She can capitalize the beginning of a sentence and use periods!!!

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I guess I'll go against the popular opinion here. I would start looking at the writing programs that usually start around 3rd grade and go from there. I wouldn't make it something mandatory, but I'm guessing that once you get started with it, she will ask you for more. If she doesn't enjoy it or it doesn't seem like it's clicking (doubtful), then I'd set it aside, but she appears to have a natural talent that I'd nurture as much as possible (as you already do :) ). As you know my guy is only 6 and I don't even have a full year of homeschooling under my belt, but if I were her mom, that's what I would do.

 

Btw, we tried Write Source for K and I didn't really like it. I can't put my finger on why and I'm glad you mentioned that the first grade version is mostly grammar because we definitely don't need more of that.

 

We tried Write Shop A and I did not like that either It was very repetitive and it started this terrible habit with my son where instead of just writing his thoughts (as he freely did before I started this program), he now wants me to ask him questions (guiding writing) to help him with his writing. We only did Write Shop for a few weeks, but it's taking longer to break that habit than it did to start it. Ugh!!! Having said that, I do still plan to look at Write Shop B or C to see if they are different/better.

 

Also, there was another program that many talked about recently that I planned to check out once my guy was ready. I think it's called Killgallon? It seemed like it might have specific workbooks for paragraphs? I'm really not sure, but it might give you something to look into if you haven't already.

 

I also looked at Writing Tales as a possibility in the next year or so.

 

And of course there is MCT.

 

Hopefully someone with a lot more experience than me, will chime in to help you a bit. :)

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On iPad so won't write too much.

 

Cindy that is some good advice, start in on 3rd grade writing. Now to just find the right program. I am not sure I used Write Source correctly, I'm sure they intended us to do more writing than we have been. I wonder if I just didn't push it because she writes dusk to dawn. But I'd really love to help her, and so far I've just been focusing on grammar and spelling.

 

We have Killgallon, but I don't think she's ready for that. She needs more grammar. I plan to wait a year ( or more) to start MCT. I'll start researching more writing programs, in the meantime, we'll finish WS1 and do their actual writing lessons. So I'm still open for ideas on writing programs. :bigear:

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We have had several conversations about writing at the logic stage board. And what I'm finding, is that writing programs don't do a whole lot for me. What I need are programs that teach ME how to teach writing. There is a difference. That is where I would head if I had such a natural writing. Have you read the blogs at http://www.bravewriter.com? I'd certainly go there in your shoes. As a poster mentioned, it can be difficult to break bad habits once formed. So I would be on the look out for those, whatever they may be. As an example, my son started writing early and his preK teacher told me to just let him do it, but he was forming the letters incorrectly. Later, it was soooo hard to get him to write his letters correctly b/c he had been doing it that way for years. The one thing that came to mind is revising and editing. How is she with revision and editing? Is she OK with it or is she resistant? I was just reading The Revision Toolbox at Amazon look inside and it talked about how hard it is to get kids to see revision as part of the process. I'm wondering that w/ such a precocious writer, if she doesn't do some revision/editing now, will she be resistant to it in the future? I really have no idea as I've never dealt w/ this but since I'm awake w/ insomnia, I'm rattling on..... 8-)

 

The person I would PM is KarenAnne. Her DD sounds similar to yours. I know one thing she does is to read quality literature w/ her DD and make note, and write down, great openers, great closers, good word choice etc in a writer's notebook. Her DD is building her own resource of great writing.

Edited by Capt_Uhura
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Satori is such a bright and delightful girl. I enjoy reading her writing a lot and I checked your blog.

I have a question: How do you do AAS? When did you start it that now you are in Level 4?

Also the 50 states, what resources are you using to teach two states in a day? Do you read aloud to her or ask her to read on her own?

I think you are a very wise mom. Your daughter is so passionate about learning and is taking all the initiative. That is so wonderful.

Thank you for your help!

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Wow, your girl is a writer!

 

[All of you looking to the Writer's Workshop to see how your child's writing measures up, realize that this young lady is clearly upper tier. I could hardly get my son to write a sentence at that age.]

 

We just started Killgallon's Sentence Composing for Elementary School with my 5th grader. Be aware it does require understanding of more complex grammar such as appositives, participles, adjective clauses, adverb clauses. You'll want to get a little grammar under her belt first.

 

Frankly, I'd let her go... Gently introduce grammar and perhaps introduce literary terms such as simile, metaphor, alliteration, onomotopeia (can't spell it, not looking it up), etc. She could have fun coming up with these and using them consciously in her own writing. You don't want to stifle her at this age by putting restrictions on the form of her output.

 

I don't know if Julie Bogart (Bravewriter) has courses for 6-year-olds, but her's is the pro-creativity philosophy I'd follow with such a gifted writer. If she is too young for Bravewriter classes, shell out the money for Bogart's book "The Writer's Jungle." It is the only program I've seen designed to KEEP THE SPARK INTACT in a kid's writing.

 

REMEMBER MOST OTHER WRITING PROGRAMS ARE FOR STRUGGLING WRITERS. They tend to be rigid and formulaic. I'd avoid them like the plague, they might kill her love of writing in the same way leveled readers kill the love in reading by making it a chore.

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Wordsmith Apprentice might be something your DD would enjoy. I think a student who is writing at the level in your samples could handle it. My DD did it for fun this past semester. It was very easy for her but she had specifically requested it after seeing a copy at our support group's curriculum fair last June.

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I would think she would be more than ready for a gentle intro to CW using Writing Tales 1. It teaches easy grammar concepts and she might enjoy retelling the fables in her own way. I agree she is way ahead of most her age, so anything that keeps it light and fun for her. My kids have enjoyed WT1. I think it would be similar to CW Aesop A maybe. I also remember liking the looks of CW Primer when I looked at it last year. They have a free art study download to go with their teaching resources to give you an idea of the kinds of things that she might be writing about. http://www.lulu.com/product/ebook/primer-autumn-picture-study/4793951

 

I think I remember it being mostly copywork, narrations, picture study and nature study. But at the level she is at, she may be ready for more than that??

 

I also like the idea of compiling a writer's notebook of famous literature. I remember reading a quote from CW Homer's student text sample pages that has stuck in my mind for some reason. "Sir, if you will be so good as to favor me with a blank book, I will transcribe the most remarkable occurrences I meet with in my reading, which will serve to fix them upon my mind." - John Quincy Adams, age 10 (taken from a letter to his father)

 

At 6 my daughter was reading chapter books (she LOVED reading, but didn't write like yours... she mostly made lists and facts of all sorts of things she was reading about). I bought her a set of encyclopedias for her room, and also started collecting Classic Starts books for her to read. She loves them still, and now my 7 year old reads them too.

 

In fact Glencoe Literature Home has a section that you can click on that will take you to excerpts from famous literature and are listed out by author or title here -

 

http://www.glencoe.com/sites/common_assets/literature/pdfs/literatureclassicsms/ms/index.html

 

My kids have also enjoyed WWE as the short narrations spark their interest in a book, and then they want me to get it for them to read. I would agree that reading and reading and reading would be a great avenue for her to go down right now too.

 

I would also think Story Starters or something like that would be fun for her. Have fun!

 

*** I just remembered last fall before we started MCT or any of our other writing curriculum I started them with The Sentence Family and they LOVED it. It's like grammar and art all wrapped up into one, and really left an impression on them both.

Edited by SaDonna
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I haven't read the other posts, so forgive me if this has already been suggested. I would start a journal where the two of you write together, back and forth to each other about various topics or work together on a creative story. You could discuss ideas and techniques collaboratively rather than taking her at a pace that's too fast or too slow.

 

Or you could take picture books that she adores and make up new stories using the techniques that the author used, learning that way, trying to use ing words or vivid descriptions. At this age, it doesn't need to be planned and organized. Let her identify the elements she likes.

 

I think it's utterly amazing that she has the fine motor skills to do what she's doing, many kids can narrate lots of material, but can not sit down and write even a paragraph at that age--none of my kids, for sure.

 

I would not use a formal writing program of any kind with her at this age, but I would let her write as much as she likes.

 

Hope this helps

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