Getting an 11 year old caught up

[RSBarnes]

We're living in a non-English speaking country.  We speak English in the home, and I've been supplementing the rudimentary English taught at the public school over the years with private lessons and home schooling material from the WTM, like the Ordinary Parent's Guide to Reading, Writing with Ease L1 and the Pearson Spelling Workouts A,B, and currently C. 

 

My daughter is 11, and I feel that while her English reading skills are reasonably OK for her age, her composition skills are atrocious, both in the local language and English.  We're currently going through First Language Lessons Level 3 and I'm not sure were to continue in the WWE or the Writing with Skill series.  Basically, I was thinking of either doing WWE L4 or WWS L1 next, but wasn't sure how to choose what would be best for her.   After doing WWE L1, I think L2 and L3 would probably be too easy, but I got the impression from the Amazon reviews that WWE L4 is kind of a remedial / transitional level if the child isn't quite ready for WWS L1.

 

We'll probably homeschool full time this coming year, and most of the instruction will be in English, with a private tutor a few times a week to continue her education in the local language.

[Sahamamama]

Have you given her the placement tests for WWE? They are here:

 

Level 3 (passing this would place a student in either WWE Level 4 or WWS 1) -- click on "diagnostic evaluation"

 

https://welltrainedmind.com/p/the-complete-writer-writing-with-ease-workbook-3/

 

Level 4 (passing this would place a student in either WWS 1 or another intermediate writing course)

 

https://welltrainedmind.com/p/complete-writer-writing-ease-workbook-4/

 

You might also want to read and consider Susan's updated recommendations for writing (click on "See Susan's recommendations").

 

FWIW, I would not begin with WWE 4 or WWS 1 with an 11 year old who struggles to write in either English or her local language. I would (1) do the placement tests, working up from WWE 1 through to her stopping point -- where does she begin to struggle?, then (2) start with the previous level. In my opinion, it would be better to lay a solid foundation through copywork, dictation, and narration, than to frustrate her with something that is too challenging. If you started with WWS 2 or 3, you could accelerate by doing two days' worth of work in one day. It's usually copywork or dictation, plus a narration, so very doable in one session.

 

I did the first 15 weeks of WWS 1 this past year (5th grade) with my daughter, who turned 11 in February. Her native language is English, she hears it spoken and sees it in writing all around her, and her writing is her strongest subject. Even with all of that in her favor, WWS 1 was still challenging at times. It was a good workout for her, but I wouldn't have wanted to do that with a struggling student. In a way, what's the point? Writing with Skill 1 is directed more towards the student, and is less dependent on the teacher to spoon-feed every little bit of the lesson. If a student struggles with more basic aspects of writing, it would be best, IMO, to work on those foundational skills before starting WWS 1.

 

If you want to work on vocabulary development, I recommend Wordly Wise 3000. Here's a link:

 

http://www.wordlywise3000.com/

 

Edited August 16, 2016 by Sahamamama

[RSBarnes]

Thanks so much for pointing me to the WWE evaluation.  We'll do that and then go from there.

[RSBarnes]

Is there a placement test for Wordly Wise 3K Online? 

 

Nevermind, it says there are pre-tests for each grade level.

Edited August 25, 2016 by RSBarnes