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[Paisley Hedgehog]

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[Dobela]

I plan on using IEW once my son reaches a 3rd grade reading level. It is so recommended in so many places, not just here.

[siloam]

After a month or two of sorting through our LD diagnosis (dyslexic spelling, borderline reading and writing fluency skills, no processing disorders), I think I've got most of my curriculum choices figured out. EXCEPT writing.

 

This is a trouble spot anyway since I'm what's been called a 'natural writer.' I've never had to think about how to write, I just do it. I never used any sort of organizers, copywork, or draft system. I was able to do it off the cuff, up to and including my college honors thesis. :D The most help I needed was note cards in research papers. So now when it is time to actually teach a child the process of writing, I am absolutely flummoxed.

 

I know Susan Barton reccommends IEW. I've heard other people praise Classical Writing. Since this is the WTM boards, many people use SWB's WWE. Honestly though, the thought of copying then rewriting someone else's work is simply unappealing. I know it is more classical and all that, but still ....

 

Verticy Learning uses remedial workbooks from EPS plus computer aided organizers. It looks good, especially since my ed psych urged using the computer for writing assignments to combat ds's frustration with the pencil, but it is awfully expensive (about $350 per level). Up to this point we have used the writing portion of BJU Writing & Grammar, but it is quickly becoming more than LD ds can handle. Any ideas?

 

A couple of thoughts. The reason why CW does re-writes is because some children really struggle to think of new content to put down on paper. This takes the pressure off while they learn a bunch of skills to develop their writing-adding detail, quotations, using synonyms, antonyms, changing tenses, changing sentence type, ect...so that by the time the child is required to write out their own content (Diogenes in CW) they have tools in place to help them.

 

They can if they are able, change the setting and the characters as long as they keep the basic story outline and the moral, so there can be a creative element if the child likes. My oldest has done this from day 1 and my 2nd dd who is much more concrete prefers to do a straight re-write.

 

I think the more challenging issue though, because if you really can't stand CW that is fine, is that your LD student is probably going to need something that is very concrete and does not make any logical leaps. IEW is known to be that way as well. CW has its moments when I do which it were more concrete (outlining in Aesop mainly, now I supplement that piece), but most of the time that is not a problem. It works for my kids who have dyslexia and who need to be taught step by baby step.

 

Heather

 

[Laurie4b]

After a month or two of sorting through our LD diagnosis (dyslexic spelling, borderline reading and writing fluency skills, no processing disorders), I think I've got most of my curriculum choices figured out. EXCEPT writing.

 

This is a trouble spot anyway since I'm what's been called a 'natural writer.' I've never had to think about how to write, I just do it. I never used any sort of organizers, copywork, or draft system. I was able to do it off the cuff, up to and including my college honors thesis. :D The most help I needed was note cards in research papers. So now when it is time to actually teach a child the process of writing, I am absolutely flummoxed.

 

I know Susan Barton reccommends IEW. I've heard other people praise Classical Writing. Since this is the WTM boards, many people use SWB's WWE. Honestly though, the thought of copying then rewriting someone else's work is simply unappealing. I know it is more classical and all that, but still ....

 

Verticy Learning uses remedial workbooks from EPS plus computer aided organizers. It looks good, especially since my ed psych urged using the computer for writing assignments to combat ds's frustration with the pencil, but it is awfully expensive (about $350 per level). Up to this point we have used the writing portion of BJU Writing & Grammar, but it is quickly becoming more than LD ds can handle. Any ideas?

 

We use IEW here. It is step-by-step and if you watch the DVD's, you'll find how to teach writing in a way that the child feels successful. Honestly, I think you need to set aside your issue about rewriting. Your dyslexic/dysgraphic child has enough on his/her mind when writing without throwing in original content right off the bat (How do I make this letter? How do I spell "were"? Oh I forgot the end mark. And the beginning capital...and ___" ). Rewriting is a first step toward understanding how something is ordered and gives the child a way to be successful. Not every IEW unit starts with rewriting, but a couple are.

 

I've modified it so that we follow the structure part of the program, but I could only handle pieces of the style part. I don't agree with the approach that teaches overly ornate writing and assumes the student will eventually edit all that out. I do use IEW's idea of a list for grading, but tend to require only a couple different sentence openers per paragraph, quality adjectives, and strong verbs. I add in the other style stuff here and there, but don't want to see it in every paragraph.