1st Grade Writing Recommendations?

[Stibalfamily]

My K student has been working on handwriting, tracing and copying sentences. I am looking for a writing curriculum for 1st grade that gets him to start writing and composing his own sentences. I think I need some hand holding in teaching writing. Currently he will not draw a picture and write about it. He is just starting to read and starting to spell. I need something where he needs to write a few sentences about a topic or opinion. Working toward writing a paragraph. I am not looking for dictation, something more traditional like meeting common core standards. If you could make some suggestions, I would very much appreciate it. Thanks :)

[HomeAgain]

What you are asking for doesn't align with what most of us think of as first grade work. Writing is often a progression from copy work to dictation to free writing, after learning how to do oral narration during copy work/dictation period. My friend skipped through and attempted Evan Moore's Daily 6 Trait Writing to get her kid writing independently but it didn't work out well for them.

[reign]

Scholastic has inexpensive Ebooks that can be printed out. My girls all enjoyed filling them out.

[MerryAtHope]

If he is just starting to spell, it seems like a big jump to having him write a few sentences about a topic or opinion. Not that kids need to spell perfectly to write, but when you have to think about some way to put every single word on paper, it's a pretty difficult task and it's easy to lose one's train of thought, you know? I'd consider more intermediate steps first (which is one reason why people use dictation and narration). 

[Slache]

I would look into curricula for older students if you have an accelerated learner. That's not typical for students that age so you're not going to find it.

[Mom27kidz]

ABbeka grade one expects sentences and eventually a paragraph

[ExcitedMama]

I think you should consider copywork and spelling before starting to consider free form paragraph writing. English Language Through Literature is a great approach to copywork.

 

This is a great series to begin writing with some handholding plus it encourages drawing and coloring:

https://www.rfwp.com/series/aesops-fables-books-about-reading-writing-thinking

 

All About Spelling is great and has dictation.

[beka87]

Orally composing sentences and then writing them when ready is the usual approach.  Something gentle may work, like English for the Thoughtful Child, vlm 1.  I would do most, if not all, out loud, though.

 

[knitgrl]

Scholastic has inexpensive Ebooks that can be printed out. My girls all enjoyed filling them out.

 

Scholastic's stuff is in keeping with what I consider reasonable expectations for grade levels. I'm assuming it would also be aligned with Common Core.  Shurley English has a writing component that has 1st graders writing essays. Personally, I think their standards are ludicrous and the writing samples boring, but it is a curriculum that seems to fit your criteria, though I don't know how it lines up with Common Core.

 

[Coco_Clark]

I agree that what you are asking doesn't line up with my experience with first graders. In 1st grade my kids are generally still learning to read. I focus on oral narration, drawings, and simple copywork (only including words they can read).

 

Only after they are reading fluently (in my experience late first or early second grade) do I start them on writing original sentences. And not till 3rd grade do I begin paragraphs.

 

But if you have an advanced or precocious kiddo just bounce up a few grades. There are lots of writing options in the 3-5th grade category. I've enjoyed Treasured Concersations and Writing and Rhetoric.

[ReadingMama1214]

He is just starting to read and starting to spell.

 

It doesn't sound like he is ready for what you are describing. If he's just starting to read then he is still in the learn to read phase and would need more phonics instruction before being expected to spell and compose sentences/paragraphs. 

 

For 1st grade Language Arts we are using The Good & The Beautiful. It doesn't have them doing sentences until the end of the year. And this is a curriculum for an advanced 1st grader. It focuses on phonics, spelling, identifying grammar (not writing it), and has an occasional area to fill in a word or circle something. Not a lot of sentence writing.

 

I do have DD draw a picture in a primary style journal (picture on top and lines on bottom) and then write a sentence about it, but enjoys doing this and I wouldn't push her if she didn't. 

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[Monica_in_Switzerland]

I'm going to try to give you a more encouraging perspective.  :-)

 

Some kids are wanting to write, whether it's "first grade appropriate" or not.  I have two (so far) of those kids.  DD was writing stories- whole stories (100 words maybe?) - in 1st grade.  The spelling was, of course, atrocious.  At that point, she wasn't even hearing all sounds correctly, and wrote things like "snor rit" instead of "Snow White".  DS was not a story writer, but was writing "encyclopedia entries" under pictures that DH had printed from the internet of historic airplanes and such, which he was into at that age.  All of this was self-generated, never a part of "school" per se.  

 

A couple resources that might help you with this type of writing are:

 

Talking, Drawing, Writing (Probably the best place for you to start)

The Most Wonderful Writing Lessons Ever (my favorite!)

BraveWriter Jot It Down  (My dd did the fairy tale project from this over the course of a year.  I used an audiobook of fairy tales, she listened to one, drew a picture, then wrote one sentence about the story.  I then corrected it and she recopied below in her best handwriting.  I still have her "book" and it will be a precious keepsake for me)

Some also recommend the book "No More I'm Done".  I thought it was good, but preferred TMWWLE, mentioned above.  

 

Writing is another one of those divisive topics.  I think there is enough time in the week, even for a small kid, to use both "classical" methods- copywork and dictation, and "new methods"- child-directed creative writing or otherwise self-generated writing.  I would just encourage you to not force the creative or self-generated writing.  And when he voluntarily writes, don't correct it any more than you'd correct a drawing your child has made.   

 

Our homeschool is what I'd call "Literary Centered" as opposed to history-centered (WTM style) or STEM centered or whatever.  Materials from Bravewriter as well as Julie Bogart's various periscopes and videos, plus materials from Center for Lit (Teaching the Classics webinar) are how I came to create our particular style of schooling.  Writing seems to flow naturally from this atmosphere.    

 

 

ETA:  A possible compromise might be books like Draw Write Now, which are a drawing lesson plus copywork.  

Edited April 27, 2017 by Monica_in_Switzerland

[mamamoose]

Everybody in this group thinks writing should start with copywork. And if you try and budge from that it's like you're breaking some rule of classical education. However, I have seen zero progression with writing in my first grader as a result of copywork and I'm pretty much over it from a writing standpoint. She writes her own stories that go on forever in notebooks and copywork hasn't changed the run on sentences or even capitalization. I am going to work on something different for second grade, keeping copywork but not relying on it. I don't know what yet. 🤔

[knitgrl]

Everybody in this group thinks writing should start with copywork. And if you try and budge from that it's like you're breaking some rule of classical education. However, I have seen zero progression with writing in my first grader as a result of copywork and I'm pretty much over it from a writing standpoint. She writes her own stories that go on forever in notebooks and copywork hasn't changed the run on sentences or even capitalization. I am going to work on something different for second grade, keeping copywork but not relying on it. I don't know what yet. 🤔

 

I was inspired to homeschool because of WTM. So for 1st grade, we did WWE 1. As I started planning for 2nd grade, I started thinking I should be doing something more with writing instead of ignoring it until kids are 10. So I got into the whole writing workshop premise, a la Lucy Calkins. Her books are all about classroom teaching and mostly for kids in K and 1, not 2nd. I had a really hard time applying what she said, and I had a hard time applying rubrics to dd writing and guiding her. I didn't like it at all. So, I got WriteShop and dd hated it. So, we are back to copywork through ELTL. I have given up on original or creative writing entirely at this point and am trusting that copywork accomplishes something in the long run.

[Slache]

If I were you I wouldn't buy a curriculum. I would have the child write on appropriate paper (we liked 1st grade handwriting paper in k) and let her set the limits. "I want you to write a one sentence summary of what I just read/your dream/what you want to do today/etc." I would watch her writing to ensure proper handwriting technique and discuss any errors afterword. Her sentences will not be complicated and you will not need a curriculum to correct them at this stage.

Edited April 27, 2017 by Slache

[Slache]

If I were you I wouldn't buy a curriculum. I would have the child write on appropriate paper (we liked 1st grade handwriting paper in k) and let her set the limits. "I want you to write a one sentence summary of what I just read/your dream/what you want to do today/etc." I would watch her writing to ensure proper handwriting technique and discuss any errors afterword. Her sentences will not be complicated and you will not need a curriculum to correct them at this stage.

 

Sorry, I just wanted to clarify. Personally, I correct handwriting in the moment and we discuss grammar and spelling after he's finished. My son wanted to write his own sentences at 4. :svengo:

 

I'm currently reading Jot It Down  :001_wub: mentioned above. I can't recommend it because we haven't implemented it yet, but it's just lovely.

[mytwomonkeys]

For common core, I would not use a curriculum but rather teach the PEEL method. Every paragraph has:

P- point you are trying to make

E- examples that support your point

EL - elaborate (some schools call this expand and link)

 

I would google 1st grade writing prompts & start off with one sentence answers, building over the next year to PEEL. This method is used here (in FL) from elementary through high school, becoming more complex with each grade. However, the premise on which every paragraph is built remains the same.

 

This isn't my preferred method, but definitely falls in line with common core standards.

[nixpix5]

I am in the camp of having a 1st grader who loves to write. She is using Abeka language 1 for phonics (and she is currently writing multiple sentences in it), WWE and FLL has also really helped her get a sense of how a sentence feels. I have seen her writing really start to take off with this. However, hands down the curriculum that has helped her the most is Spelling You See. She is currently almost done with B book 2 and for whatever reason, the copy work and dictation each week has been the most helpful. On the 4th day they have the student do some creative writing (drawing a picture and writing some sentences). As the weeks go on her entries on day 4 have become outstanding.

[beka87]

Everybody in this group thinks writing should start with copywork. And if you try and budge from that it's like you're breaking some rule of classical education. However, I have seen zero progression with writing in my first grader as a result of copywork and I'm pretty much over it from a writing standpoint. She writes her own stories that go on forever in notebooks and copywork hasn't changed the run on sentences or even capitalization. I am going to work on something different for second grade, keeping copywork but not relying on it. I don't know what yet. 🤔

 

In my experience, copy work is definitely a long term thing....like all of grades 1 to 4.  And it's really only effective if you pair it with oral narration progressing to written narration or an actual writing program at the end of elementary.  I also found it really helpful with my oldest to point out capitalization and such before she copied anything.  I hope you find something you like!  Cottage Press worked well for us.  It uses copy work, but also introduces basic grammar rules and teaches thing like how to capitalize.  Good luck!

 

[HomeAgain]

In my experience, copy work is definitely a long term thing....like all of grades 1 to 4. And it's really only effective if you pair it with oral narration progressing to written narration or an actual writing program at the end of elementary. I also found it really helpful with my oldest to point out capitalization and such before she copied anything.

 

This is our thinking as well. Copy work is not a single stage for a year. We continue it as we add in simple dictation to enhance the skills he's working on. After I was confident he knew sentence structure (because we talked about it before and after he completed the day's copy work), we started the program Dictation Day By Day, which uses common words to build writing fluency. I think the very first exercise in the book is "See my doll." By the end of the first book they're doing two full sentences at a time: "The bird has a nest. There are four eggs in it." Still simple, but the goal is not to write independently just yet but to hold a complete thought in his head as he writes and build spelling fluency. It is an extension of copy work, a logical and concurrent progression as he continues to learn more about sentence structure through copying good writing. It will be a long time before we give up either, but we'll continue to add a third written skill, free writing, as he develops his narration skills orally. These things all work together, not independent of each other.

[beka87]

This is our thinking as well. Copy work is not a single stage for a year. We continue it as we add in simple dictation to enhance the skills he's working on. After I was confident he knew sentence structure (because we talked about it before and after he completed the day's copy work), we started the program Dictation Day By Day, which uses common words to build writing fluency. I think the very first exercise in the book is "See my doll." By the end of the first book they're doing two full sentences at a time: "The bird has a nest. There are four eggs in it." Still simple, but the goal is not to write independently just yet but to hold a complete thought in his head as he writes and build spelling fluency. It is an extension of copy work, a logical and concurrent progression as he continues to learn more about sentence structure through copying good writing. It will be a long time before we give up either, but we'll continue to add a third written skill, free writing, as he develops his narration skills orally. These things all work together, not independent of each other.

 

I was eyeing Dictation Day by Day.  You're liking it, then?  I also saw Simply Spelling and Spelling Wisdom...haven't decided which to use with my second daughter.

[HomeAgain]

I was eyeing Dictation Day by Day. You're liking it, then? I also saw Simply Spelling and Spelling Wisdom...haven't decided which to use with my second daughter.

It meets our needs. We started with All About Spelling and continued with an older speller after that, but the first was tedious and the second offered too much practice. We ended up doing a blended approach- learning the rules as he went along in Day By Day. Because it repeats and cycles through words/word families, he grasped the rules well.

Our secondary plan was Spelling Power, since it blends activities with customized writing exercises and is a single program to buy. I ended up giving our set away because I don't think we'll need it.

 

ETA: we do like it. I forgot to mention that. :) It's non-stressful and fits the concentration of a squirrelly grade schooler. The exercises start becoming pieces of small stories and he likes to put them all together to read it from beginning to end. Mostly, I like that it's free and I don't have to print. I keep the books on my iPad and read the exercise each day. He scribes in a copybook.

Edited April 28, 2017 by HomeAgain