Ack! Tell me this will get better

[TracyR]

Okay, today we started school. Well school light to be exact. Anyways this year I have decided to give IEW a try for writing. I bought the SIW-B for both of my girls since many suggested we start there with it. I don't have TWSS yet because money is tight for the moment so we are starting a bit backwards.

So we started with our first lesson and the girls enjoyed watching it and enjoyed Andrew's humor. But when it came down to actually implementing what they learned that was when everything just melted so to speak.

 

Tell me it will eventually all get better!:tongue_smilie:

[PollyOR]

Did both girls struggle?

[TracyR]

My 9yr old a little more then my 11 yr old. Even though they had the words there on the paper it was the whole process of coming up with a sentence for them that took quite a bit of time. I'm thinking I might need to use the WWE with my 9yr old. They have the ability to write and can write down what you dictate , its just filling in what else they need to put in to make a sentence that makes sense seems to be tough for them still.

[Sasharowan]

Yeah, I am taking my ds8 out of the IEW lessons and back to the WWE for the same reasons. He cannot make sentences out of the key words. DD, almost 10, and ds13 can with a little handholding, so they are in IEW.

[TracyR]

Yeah, I am taking my ds8 out of the IEW lessons and back to the WWE for the same reasons. He cannot make sentences out of the key words. DD, almost 10, and ds13 can with a little handholding, so they are in IEW.

 

 

LOL! That's my problem! You said it much better then I did. Its making the sentences out of the key words which is the issue. My 11 yr old can do it but with handholding. My 9yr old can do it but with WAY to much handholding. I feel I'm still just dictating most of it to her.

[lovemykids]

I am starting IEW with my fifth grader this year, but I bought SWI A. We have not started yet, but I have a feeling she will be fine. (I hope) She has done very well, so far, with writing despite the fact that LA is not her strong suit. Last year she did a WWE type style of writing with our own lessons (as well as dictation in spelling and some LLATL)...and she had always been involved with copywork from the very beginning. I was so amazed at the book reports and summaries that she churned out for me. ;)

Every time I hear a homeschool mom say they are struggling with writing for the littles I think, “they should use copywork and dictation!â€

Anyway, this is just my plug for WWE, which is really a wonderful way of teaching writing for the young ones.

I feel like a sell out to turn to IEW, which I never thought I’d use, but I like the DVD option. I feel like I have a professional substitute teacher to help me with my time management problem (due to four children). I hope SWB comes out with a DVD taught to the student eventually. LOL.

 

Anyway, we will will see how it goes w/ my dd....

 

Let us know how you do...

 

:)

[TracyR]

Yes, I already have WWE. I have the textbook and the WWE 1 workbook. I think my 9yr old is past the level 1 though. So I'll have to use the textbook until I get her the workbook.

I bought IEW for the very same reason because someone else is teaching it. Like I said my girls enjoyed the video and they seemed really receptive to Andrew as a teacher. Just the whole concept was so very foreign for them. I've been using copywork and dictation for quite some time now. Just the whole writing process seems very difficult for them since I used Calvert for 3rd and up. It just really seem to turn them off to writing.

[PeterPan]

Tracy, did you do WT2? I couldn't remember. If you did WT, then take what you learned there and carry it over. It's ok to tweak IEW you know, lol. You could read, discuss, and analyze the model the same way you did in WT2. You could outline it like you did in WT2 (which is actually very similar to IEW's method, only now you're doing it for each sentence instead of each paragraph). You could ditch their checklist and use your familiar checklist your editing approach from WT2. You could space the model out and do two drafts over two weeks (with creative additions or more originality in the final) like WT2. You could take everything you learned in WT2 about making writing fun and straightforward and carry it over. So did you do WT2? :)

 

And no, I'm not sure IEW SWI B is age-appropriate for a 9 yo, correct me if I'm wrong. You might go to the online lesson plans and get the lesson plans (free) for SWI A that would have shorter, more accessible models for her.

[TracyR]

Yes, I had gotten the lesson plans for my 9yr old off of the IEW website for SWI-A. I had forgotten to mention that.

We didn't do WT2 and am maybe wondering if I should have. I just wanted to go ahead with a program that I could follow through and finish for the rest of their schooling since WT only goes to level 2. If I knew that more WT levels would be coming out in a timely fashion then I would of stayed with just WT and not have even looked at IEW.

I still have my WT1 stuff that they finished. Maybe I should go back through that and see what we did that worked so well and tweak the IEW from there.

[Homeschooling6]

The author of Meaningful Composition based her writing program on IEW. I tried IEW but for me it was hard to teach.

[lovemykids]

We also started light school today. Although we are planning to take off days for summer fun, while it’s still summer.

WT was very tempting, but I decided not to use it…we did supplement our writing with WA. (I forgot to mention WA) We also have done outlining, I can see how that may stump your girls, maybe never having done outlining before. It may take some getting used to.

I think your writing situation will get better with a little tweaking; at least it’s not Calvert. ;)

[dancer67]

I find that doing the IEW theme units the easiest to do, rather then try to find material of my own.

 

It really does help to watch the DVD's. But I only skimmed through them, and the theme units are easy to implement.:001_smile:

[TracyR]

Yes, we are using the SWI-B DVD;s. I really like the approach and it did help my 11 yr old some. I 'm sure we'll eventually find our groove. I'm just thinking its a new concept and that it will take some time for them to understand it. After all it was only our first day. LOL.

 

What is WA?

 

Now are the themed units the stories that come with the SWI program that we are using? I'm not up to trying to put together my own stuff yet. Like I said we are kind of doing this backwards because I haven't gotten the TWSS yet.

[Pongo]

And no, I'm not sure IEW SWI B is age-appropriate for a 9 yo, correct me if I'm wrong. You might go to the online lesson plans and get the lesson plans (free) for SWI A that would have shorter, more accessible models for her.

 

Tracy, I have used IEW for 6 years and I would have suggested the SWI-A if you really wanted them to be more independent. But, my first suggestion would be to ONLY get the TWSS and work slowly through that using different models from their history and science studies. They can work on the SAME technique they need different models. Also, introducing new techniques would be slower for your 9 year old. Since your past that point already, I think you could use the instruction from your SWI B and change the models they use. So give your 9 year old a small paragraph at least a grade level below her reading ability and work on just writing the KWO. Then help her to see how to form sentences from each line. Just work on that for a couple of weeks, she'll get it.:)