WWE not easy for my 2nd grader

[gracetherese]

We just started using WWE 2 a few weeks ago, and at first it seemed like a great program for my daughter. She's always had troubles with narration when it comes to selecting out important details from a text, she wants to repeat back chunks of a passage verbatim. So the questions to draw out the important points really seemed to help. But after a few weeks of easy, she's going back to falling face down on the floor and writhing around when we get to the last part which asks her to get the main point of the story in one or two sentences. It's painful to watch. I'll have her go back to the questions, which she usually answers without much fuss, then tell her that those answers contain all the details that she needs to make her sentences. Still crying and fussing...

 

So I'm wondering is WWE just too hard for her? Should I look for something else, like IEW or could she have some type of learning disability with regards to writing?

[EKS]

For the next several weeks, help her figure out the main point. In the first few weeks, tell her the main point and then come up with sentences yourself. Then tell her the main point and have her create the sentences. Then help her to figure out the main point (I do this sort of thing by asking questions that lead the kid to the answer). Do this until she gets it on her own. There are lots of passages in WWE 2 and she has lots of time to get this.

[Mommy22alyns]

Is this your 6 year old? Did you do WWE 1?

[Tammy (TX)]

Is this your 6 year old? Did you do WWE 1?

 

I was wondering the same thing. When my son was in 3rd grade, we tried to start WWE3 and I quickly realized it was too much for him. We went all the way back to WWE1, doing two a day. He is now in 4th grade and we are nearing the end of WWE2 (only one lesson a day.) He's a bright kid, but writing and oral language just aren't his strengths. We plan to continue on with WWE because I think it has helped him grow in those areas - slowly but surely.

[gracetherese]

Sorry, the signature line needs to be updated - my daughter is now 8. We didn't use WWE 1, but have done narration with SOTW 1 and 2. She would sometimes get frustrated with that too, but I thought it was mostly because I would just ask her to "tell me what happened" in the chapter. I like how WWE uses questions to draw out the main point - and she answers those just fine, but it's almost like she's afraid of that final question? She's a bit of a perfectionist, so getting the "right" answer is important to her, so important that she has trouble if I ask her to take a guess or say the first thing that comes to mind.

 

How different is WWE 1? I think I did some type of assessment when choosing WWE 2 and then I waited till half through the year to start it, thinking that would help. She's really pretty good at dictation/copywork, but the narration piece is giving us trouble.

[Mommy22alyns]

I would probably go back and do WWE 1. You could always skip parts of it, but it will really help her to do that before going to WWE 2.

[ByGrace3]

We have struggled with WWE 2 this year as well. In fact we are taking a break and just using the WWE text for now. We already completed WWE 1, but if we hadn't I would have gone back and done it.

[skeeterbug]

WWE 1 just has the student state one thing they remember about the story. That's it. No main point, no complicated narration at all. It seems too simple, but is perfect if you are having any difficulty. If you choose to do it, you do not need to go through the whole thing, just start toward the end and do enough that you feel she's got it. Then start WWE2 again, and as a pp said help her with the main point. Even if you don't make full use of WWE1 you've got others coming up behind her that might use it.

 

I wouldn't think this is a learning difficulty, my 8yo practically writhes like that anytime anything is the least bit hard. He is also a bit of a perfectionist. ;) A new math concept that he can't get right the first time sends him falling to the floor dramatically and claiming he wishes he would just die. :001_rolleyes:

[redsquirrel]

I did WWE1 with my first grader last year and then started WWE2 with him in second grade. I should mention that I have gone through WWE with my older son, who is now in midst of WWS2.

 

Anyway, he was just not ready for WWE2 , even though he had completed WWE1. A couple weeks ago I dropped him back to WWE1. I didn't say anything, I just did it. I started where we would be at this point in the year, not week 1. It has been a great decision. He is doing beautifully. He does have a vague memory of some of the stories etc, but he doesn't seem to care. He's not refusing to do it. He has asked if we read a particular passage last year and I say we did and we move on. He is enjoying the curriculum and mastering the skills instead of crying.

 

My son has no trouble with narration, he can do that with ease. For him it was the dictation. He got so stressed out that it made him cry. So, I took a tip from SWB and just stepped it back a year. No biggie. Having already gone through WWE 2-4 already, I know how it just keeps getting more challenging. If I somehow dragged him through WWE2 year, there was no way he was going to be in a strong position for WWE3 next year.

[kiwik]

Nm. Old thread