Ds is not liking his online writing class. :-(

[JadeOrchidSong]

Ds13.9 is taking WHA Fundamentals of Expository Writing. He is not liking it. It is frustrating for him to fill the charts for collecting concrete details and comments. He is usually a good writer, but some directions are confusing. I hope it'll get better. Need some encouragement.

[merylvdm]

Have you emailed the teacher? I know from being on the side of creating classes that feedback is very helpful. Sometimes I write something I think is very clear - but it isn't. I can usually tell if a number of students all get it wrong, but often the first one to reach an assignment will email and I will be able to rephrase. 

 

And I guess you can always use it as a life lesson :) Things don't always turn out the way we hope but to make the best of it. 

[h2bh]

My dd says that she was frustrated by filling out the CM and CD charts at this time of year too but overall she loved the class by the end of the year if that helps at all.  The good news is that the teacher does not require the charts all year!  She definitely lets the kite string out once she knows that students understand how to write commentary.   I think that she requires the charts before students submit papers to ensure the papers will have commentary and not just be a summary of the literature.   

 

I agree the modules can be confusing at times.  Read them closely and I second the suggestion of talking to the teacher when in doubt. I hope it gets better for him!

[yvonne]

I second all of h2bh's comments, as well as her suggestion for your son to contact the teacher directly for any questions/frustrations. Like her dd, my dd did not like filling out those first concrete detail/commentary charts, either, but she can write some truly good essays now!  After the students learn to find specific textual evidence to make & support their analysis of a text, putting it in chart form, they move to writing full essays, incorporating that evidence and commentary.

 

Learning to look for specific textual details to analyze what an author is saying and how he conveys his message is the most fundamental skill for writing critically about any piece, fiction or non-fiction. Having students pull out that specific info and tell why it matters, in chart form, forces them to *think* and then to specify exactly what evidence they have and what conclusion/analysis they can draw from it. Sure that's hard! :)

 

I think this is a case of "Toughen up, buttercup, and get to work!"  He will thank the teacher later!

Edited October 7, 2016 by yvonne

[OneStepAtATime]

Could you maybe scaffold him a bit while he gets used to the process?  How independently is he doing this class? Maybe he is feeling a bit overwhelmed and needs some additional support until he gets used to everything and the writing process the teacher is expecting smooths out more.  

[RootAnn]

...Most recent assignment had minimal charts. Next set (on The Odyssey) looks like just one chart through the first part of the book, so the light might be visible at the end of the tunnel.

 

I have to say that my dd#2 has found the reading very challenging (content wise) for this class. She's pretty intimidated by The Odyssey, so I expect we will continue to have to discuss everything she reads to help her think through it before discussing it in class.

 

(I think this class makes a very good freshman level class. It is super challenging for my writing-talented eighth grader. It would have killed writing-phobic dd#1 to do in eighth. The teacher expects a lot of thought from the kids, like some previous posters have pointed out.)

 

Dd#1 is taking WHA's Honors Comp and so far, Fund of Exp Writing has been more difficult, IMO.

Edited October 16, 2016 by RootAnn

[abrightmom]

My oldest is also taking Fundamentals of Expository Writing with WHA and it is a challenging course for him. He still needs a lot of support from me and I think he'll need it all the way through the next two essays on the Odyssey. Wowsers! *I* am slightly panicked over the Odyssey and trying to nudge him through. Mrs. Lange is wonderful and I am exceedingly pleased with this course. She is kicking 8th grade booty! I'm with Root Ann -- it may be more freshman comp. And this class would kill my second born. No way ever will he be able to handle it at 13/14.

 

OP, your son likely needs more help from you AND I have seen that my kid doesn't want to do the hard work. It IS a challenge but it is also within reach. He'd rather it was easy .... But he's having to think, re-read, think again, pay attention to details ..... One cannot wing it in this class or you'll sink within a week. It is fierce 😀 and I've had to give him extra time to focus on this course than I was planning. Puberty is also a player here. I don't know about you but I have boys who handle school one day and stare/flip out the next OR a child who stares at me blankly and says they don't know what a paragraph is and they are sure we've never discussed it 😳.

 

Hang in there.

Edited October 16, 2016 by abrightmom

[crazyforlatin]

DD has been sort of scattered brained this year, maybe she's heading into puberty. She likes FOEW much better than WWS 1, though it was a difficult decision to go with FOEW and not continue on with WWS 2. Mrs. Lange has had to email a couple of times to let her know that something was missing in her essays. And of course, DD said that she had forgotten and had to reread the instructions. I haven't stepped in to help that much because I really need DD to focus during class (and not doodle or look up something online) and read Mrs. Lange's instructions more carefully. I do print out everything for her and put it in the binder, so she is ready participate during class. I do make sure that she is handing in work since she doesn't really look at the class page every day.

[JadeOrchidSong]

I agree with everyone about the challenging level of this course. Ds is getting better. Last night he read Odyssey until 12:30. This course, along with Clover Creek Physics, is the best thing that is happening this year. They both stretch and grow him a ton.