WWE enough?

[Ktede]

I know this is prob a thread somewhere else...DS is 9 and in 4th grade and so far we've been using WWE 3/4 and FLL 4 as our primary writing program while moving at 1/2 pace (at least) through IEW SWI-A.  I made the mistake of googling writing programs and the opinions are so so varied.  This, combined with seeing the reams of writing coming from the public school (journals, news articles, personal narratives) causes me to ask the dreaded "is it enough?"  Is simple narration enough?

 

As it stands, he turns out about 2 written narration passages a week (one from history and whatever comes from WWE that week).  They are simple paragraphs with minimal "style" and virtually identical to the suggestions in the activity guide/workbook.

 

Just looking for some encouragement to continue this path and trust the process or add in something else?

 

Thanks so much

[ALB]

Well, I'm no further ahead than you are since my oldest is also in fourth grade.  I just want to encourage you from the standpoint of a fellow researcher-until-death and fellow asker of "Is it enough?"  I've wondered that same thing over and over again, but it is reassuring to me to look at where I'm headed in the future.  If you look at future years of WWS, you'll see what he'll be doing in a short time.  The amount of writing will increase, and the types of things he is doing will vary eventually.

We are using MP's Classical Composition instead of WWE now, but they really aren't that different and both programs are preparation for the progymnasta.  I would trust the process and try not to read any more reviews about writing programs  :tongue_smilie: !

[Sally Day]

Following. We are on WWE2. I am also an instrumental music teacher and am often scared to death by the high quality of the creative writing I see displayed on the walls of the school I teach in. We do nothing like that! On the other hand I remember hating doing just those types of assignments myself so.......

[SparklyUnicorn]

I have one that went through WWE 2 to WWS 1.  I will probably have him do WWS 2 and beyond.  I've used a few other odds and ends, but not to the extent I've used WWE/WWS.  I was nervous too, but his writing is excellent.  He has done some creative writing a bit on his own.  I have not instructed in it.

 

The methods have worked well for us.  There is definitely more than one way to get to where you want to go. 

[chiguirre]

WWS1 starts with short writing assignments, so I think you can you'll be fine. All you really need is the ability to write a decent sentence when you start. It's probably more important to know how to type than it is to have much writing experience when you start WWS1. That makes the assignments much easier to manage and gives you access to spell and grammar checks.

 

IME, WWS1 will get your reluctant, stare at a blank screen and panic student over the hump to sitting down and cranking something out. Then they can go back and polish. For that alone, it's golden.

[ScoutTN]

I know how you feel! I have had some moments of panic recently walking down the halls of an elementary school and seeing the writing assignments displayed. I have wondered if this classical method is enough. I have a 9 yo fourth grader too.

 

Today I listened to SWB's lecture on middle grades writing. SO helpful!! I commend it to you.

I needed to see the forest as well as the trees and she helped me to do that.

[serendipitous journey]

WWE/WWS is plenty for school writing, though a bit scary in the early years.  The child's academic writing is in good hands. 

 

I have supplemented with various things, and I do think that the Classical Writing (Aesop level, some Homer) have added a good deal to our writing that I was missing in WWE.  The focus on stories, and narrative shape, have been a great addition.  At the moment we're about 80% of our time in WWE4 and adding the next Homer assignment every so often; I think that after we finish WWE4 I'll do Homer & write across the science/history curriculum before beginning WWS.  But that's just for my own story-oriented goals, my desire to build a very strong foundation for reading great books later and my hope of developing writing ability in non-academic areas. 

 

ETA: I agree with the suggestion to listen to SWB's lecture(s) on writing.  It is actually in one of those that I realized that story-telling was an important goal of mine, and not necessarily of hers, and helped me refine my goals and adjust our program. 

[hollyhock]

YES, it works and it is enough! It does seem like very little in the younger grades, but that is a GOOD thing because you are building a foundation with skills that need to be solidly in place in order to move on. I have used nothing but WWE and SWB's writing recommendations (the audios mentioned above) for all my kids. My oldest son is now in 7th and he writes very well. My SIL, who is an EA in the public schools around here, saw something he'd written (not even for school) and she was very impressed with it.

[blondeviolin]

I have faith that SWB (who is a professor of English at the College of William and Mary) is qualified to teach my children to write. Listen to her lectures it really does help you see where you're going.

[Ktede]

Thank you so much everyone!  One follow-up question: When did you do WWS?  It looks like 5th grade is standard, but we are brand new to the classical method this year (4th) and really still working on oral narrations.  

[blondeviolin]

Thank you so much everyone! One follow-up question: When did you do WWS? It looks like 5th grade is standard, but we are brand new to the classical method this year (4th) and really still working on oral narrations.

Check out the post by SWB that's pinned to the top. WWS is actually a bigger jump from WWE4 than a lot of kids need. There's a few recommended sequences laid out there.

[Haiku]

Personally, I didn't find WWE to be enough for either of my kids. My dd13 is an excellent writer, and she had far outpaced WWE by the time we were mid-way through level 3. This is the girl who started writing and binding her own books when she was 4 (she even donated some to the local branch library) and who decided to write a 5-paragraph essay for fun when she was 9. (She wrote about falcons.) Continuing to just narrate, copy, and take dictation was squashing her interest in writing. In late 3rd grade we started Evan-Moor's Paragraph Writing, worked through that, and switched to School Composition by William Henry Maxwell, a free vintage writing book available from Google Books. (It is followed by Writing in English.) Dd is now taking a break from Maxwell to do a unit on writing poetry, and then we will finish up WIE. My dd was capable of a lot more than WWE expected from her, so we just moved on.

 

My son, now 12, on the other hand, has language-based disabilities including language processing difficulties and dyslexia. No matter how many times he copied a sentence, he could not absorb the mechanics of language (capitalization, punctuation, and spelling). He gave decent narrations, but he began to deliberately make them short and choppy so that he didn't have much to copy. WWE just played to all his weaknesses. I wandered around through several writing curricula that didn't do much for him before settling on Writing Skills, a curriculum for kids with learning disabilities that is available through EPS. That is the first thing that really made a difference for him. He needed very, very explicit instruction in all aspects of writing, and the "pick it up through copy work and dictation" method would never have reached him.

 

So, in summary, I think that WWE is good for some aspects of writing, but I do not think it is comprehensive enough for either great writers or struggling writers, based on our experience.

[serendipitous journey]

Thank you so much everyone!  One follow-up question: When did you do WWS?  It looks like 5th grade is standard, but we are brand new to the classical method this year (4th) and really still working on oral narrations.  

 

Here is a link that leads to a PDF download by SWB, "Writing With Ease and Writing With Skill: Susan's Updated Recommendations".  This should be a great aid in drafting a plan forward, starting with where your child is now.