What would you do for this child and composition?

[sweetpea3829]

I don't have much time to get into details but most of you are aware of my DD and her learning struggles.  So real quickly,  her primary issues are in math but the underlying reason is her weak reasoning skills.  

 

She does have poor receptive language skills as well, and some spatial motor integration issues, etc. 

 

Anyways, this year she and her brother (one year younger) worked through Essentials in Writing Grade 4 for composition.  She did "ok" in the grammar portion but has really fallen off the wagon in composition.  

 

Putting aside the poorly structured mechanics, and looking solely at quality of her sentences relating to her topic, she is completely missing the mark.  Often, her sentences are so poorly structured they just don't make sense at all.  They are often off-topic.  She really seems to be struggling with putting her thoughts on paper, and to add to that, I'm not convinced she really has much in the way of good solid thoughts on her topics.  

 

So...her brother is doing just fine.  I like to keep them together for language arts because it helps HER to feel like she is not so far behind.  She is with her younger brothers for math.  Up until recently, she's done ok with keeping up to grade level in LA.  

 

Obviously, my 10 yr old son needs to move on to grade 5 EIW in the fall.  I really don't think she's ready.  

 

Any thoughts?  Move her on and just soften the requirements?  Have her repeat EIW 4?  Use something different?  

 

 

ETA:  This child CAN write good sentences.  When she completes LA work that requires complete sentences, she can give exactly what I'm looking for.  The difficulty seems to be in stringing together coherent, strong sentences that stay on topic.  Honestly, I'd even be happy with simple sentences, as long as they stayed on topic and were coherent.  I could at least help her revise those.  She's at a point, though, where her sentences are not on topic and are not coherent.  

 

Edited May 9, 2017 by Sweetpea3829

[Storygirl]

I remember your daughter's learning profile from other threads, and this is a common issue. Organizing thoughts. Having thoughts about what to write. Knowing what is the main idea and being able to support it with details. Seeing how two ideas connect together and being able to explain it. Staying on topic and not wandering. DS13 shares these problems.

 

He has been able to complete his grade-level composition assignments at his school this year, with a lot of intervention support.

 

What has really helped him is using very simple graphic organizers. Nothing visually complex. Just a chart with a question, followed by a blank box to write the answer in. The first question generates the topic sentence or thesis statement. The next three questions prompt the supporting details. And the last one prompts the conclusion.

 

Here is an example I am just making up.

 

Question one:  What is the best animal to choose for a pet?:

   I think the best animal to choose for a pet is a dog.

 

Question two: Why does this animal make a good pet?

   Dogs make good pets, because they are loyal and fun to play with.

 

Question three: Describe three other positive characteristics of this animal:

   Friendly. Will listen when you talk about your problems. Cute.

 

Last question: Would this animal be a good pet for anyone.

    Yes, as long as they don't have allergies.

 

DS will fill in the answers on the computer. Then he often just cuts and pastes each sentence into a document to make a paragraph. Changes any incomplete phrases into sentences. Adds transition words (this is a grade-level requirement and is also in his IEP).  So he ends up with this paragraph:

  I think the best animal to choose for a pet is a dog. Dogs make good pets, because they are loyal and fun to play with. They are friendly and will listen when you talk about your problems. In addition, dogs are cute. As long as people don't have allergies, dogs can be good pets for anyone.

 

DS does very well with this question and answer kind of composition. He not only can do a paragraph, as above, but he can do a five paragraph paper with an intro, three points, and a conclusion, as long as the structure for each paragraph is clearly laid out for him.

 

He needs a lot of support from his intervention teacher and at home when he is doing these for homework. Most of these assignments have related to his language arts reading assignments, which adds a level of difficulty, because he has reading comprehension trouble.

 

He has some writing abilities, but he needs a lot of structure to get it organized on the paper.

 

And he still has trouble answering short answer questions on tests and quizzes. He will tend to write one random sentence or even "I don't know." His intervention teacher is working on this as a separate skill, by teaching him to rephrase the question in his answers. For example, if the question is, "What did you observe in this science experiment?" he is learning to start his answer with, "In this science experiment, I learned....."

 

I've never used Essentials in Writing, so I don't know if it provides this kind of structure. The use of graphic organizers and deliberate scaffolding of answers is a good way to go.

 

When I was homeschooling, I liked to keep my kids together, as well, because they were close in age. But they all benefited from the same approach to writing.

 

We used Diana Hanbury King's Writing Skill series, because it teaches in the kind of way I described. But it does not provide ENOUGH support. It does not divide the assignment up into sentences using graphic organizers, but you could make a simple template, and use King's lessons as a jumping off point.

 

I think you should choose the writing curriculum that will suit your daughter best. Then, if it will work for your son, add him in. If it will not work equally well for him, separate them for writing. Your daughter will benefit from intense one-on-one sessions anyway (that is what helps DS the most). I know it is hard to work with each kid individually when you have so many (I'm really sympathetic and dealt with that myself), but individual intervention is most likely what your daughter needs. And then she doesn't run the risk of comparing herself to anyone else. Using different programs for each child will help with this as well, because they will not be working on the same skills and same assignments at the same time.

   

 

 

Edited May 9, 2017 by Storygirl

[kbutton]

https://www.expandingexpression.com/

 

The Expanding Expression Tool might be helpful to you. My younger one used it in speech therapy, but not for that long, so I keep forgetting about it. 

 

I imagine any composition you do for a while would have to build on this method, but it's very concrete, and I have heard only good things about it.

 

It's usually used by SLPs from what I gather.

[sweetpea3829]

Storygirl, those are great suggestions, thank you.  I couldn't figure out how to scaffold her better but I like your question and answer format.  That may be the ticket for her.

 

kb, I'm going to look into the resource you posted, thanks for sharing it!  

[Storygirl]

kbutton, that tool looks interesting. Does each bead remind the student what they are supposed to do next in the writing process?

 

It looks like it is only available as a teacher kit, which is pretty expensive. It's too bad she doesn't sell the bead tool and a chart for individual use at a lower price. Perhaps if she did, her system could help more students.

[Lecka]

Storygirl -- I looked at the link, and I have never seen this exact program, but i have seen speech and ABA use this kind of strategy, where they use math counters or a square of paper to provide a prompt for "more" or "the next thing."

 

It can help to do things in order, or to remind the child to add more information without having to use a verbal prompt (verbal prompts are often not the best). (This is how I have seen it used.... I have seen it be great for telling a sequence with first, next, last type of sentences.)

 

It looks like she has a lot of uses and good ideas, but in general I think it may be a techinique that people can learn and then adapt.

 

There is a similar system too where kids wear beads on a bracelet or lanyard, and have a bead for any step in a direction, and use the beads to help remember and follow multi-step directions. I was trying it for a while with Eli, and I liked it but it wasn't as good as it was for the "big success stories" for it.

Edited May 10, 2017 by Lecka

[Hilltopmom]

EIW doesn't get too much harder the next year, I'd keep them together,but give her more supports.

[kbutton]

Storygirl, I think that once a teacher or SLP has training, then they often tailor things. My younger kiddo came home from speech with beads on a pipe cleaner that he made there. He also had a color-coded chart they wrote out for each step. There are some things on Pinterest.

 

My older kiddo probably needs a trip through this too, and then he needs to be able to reverse it and make generalizations. 

 

It is pricey, but I think it's marketed to school systems and therapists, so that's pretty typical.

[sweetpea3829]

EIW doesn't get too much harder the next year, I'd keep them together,but give her more supports.

 

 

That's good to know.  I'm going to assign the extra practice assignments over the summer, with additional scaffolding, and see how she does.