Writing with Skill Vs Faltering Ownership

[rainbowmama]

My rising fifth grader has finished all of Writing With Ease 1-3 and is about halfway through the fourth book. She still struggles with holding dictation sentences in her head and spelling, but otherwise, she's done fine. (She does All About Spelling, and we're happy with that.) I am debating whether to move onto Writing With Skill in fifth grade or doing Faltering Ownership this year and saving Writing With Skill for sixth. Thoughts?

[Slache]

http://downloads.peacehillpress.com/samples/pdf/WWEandWWSexplanation.pdf :)

[SanDiegoMom]

They are really quite different in their approach and desired goals.  I think Faltering Ownership would definitely be easier to implement with a fifth grader if she's not ready for WWS --- you can adjust your expectations according to the level she is at.   I did WWS the end of fourth and throughout fifth (and still skipped a few weeks) and it was extremely challenging for my kids.  But probably the most important aspect of choosing between the two would be which style would suit her better.  Does she (or you) do better with very structured lessons or prefer more freedom? I loved the idea of both Faltering Ownership and Partnership Writing (I have both) but I could only implement two projects before admitting defeat and moving on to WWS.  It just didn't get done here. Both my son and I needed more structure.  

 

We also did some WWE, though not a lot, and they never held the longer dictation sentences in their heads.  We didn't spend a lot of time on narration either, so that when they started writing summaries it was a big step up and took a lot more effort, but they got there eventually.  

 

 

[Miss Tick]

If it were me, I would start WWS and go at my students' pace (which turns out to be about 1.5X the schedule) then I would slide in some of the Faltering Ownership projects.

 

SanDiegoMom is right that they are pretty different programs. WWS is better for me as teacher and works for my kids. FO was fun, but wasn't going to get us where we needed to go. We did mix in some alternative sources as we worked through WWE 4, though, and it was helpful. FO was one, along with Killgallon.

[Farrar]

Different programs, different methods, different goals... just totally different. I would think about which one suits you better. Your post doesn't really say enough for me to guess which one might work best for you or meets your goals for writing.

[EmilyGF]

Are you a just get it done person? Then go on a SWB path. She offers some ideas for other things to do if you need a year before WWS, like Kilgallon, which I'm likely going to have my daughter work through this year.

 

Do you love the rabbit trails (and can you tamp down that voice that says, "this isn't efficient!" as long as it is fun)? Then go with Faltering Ownership. If I can't see why something is important, I have a hard time implementing it.

Do you enjoy reading the Bravewriter blog? If you don't, you won't like the books, either, because they are both very rabbit-traily (and need an editor, IMO).

 

Emily

(who is known on this board for not being a Bravewriter fan)

[Farrar]

I *am* a Brave Writer fan and I agree with Emily. I mean, I would phrase it differently, but WWS is if you feel the need to get it done, be efficient, go step by step, break the writing process down. Brave Writer is for if you are concerned with encouraging your child's inner voice, making sure they like writing, focusing on writing as a whole process instead of breaking it down bit by bit. I think Brave Writer can grow amazing writers... but not if you can't implement it. And while Faltering Ownership and the other project books are much easier to implement than The Writer's Jungle, some people still struggle to make it work because they need writing to be a clear, step by step thing and not a more process-centered journey.

 

That said, if you want to try it for a year, it wouldn't kill her to wait on WWS. Many people seem to think it works better with a little more maturity and whether Brave Writer works or not, she'll gain that just by aging a year.