How much time will Classical Writing take each day?

[Sunshine Mama]

Just wondering how much time to set aside each day to teach Classical Writing Aesop for 3rd grade?

[Sunshine Mama]

anyone?????

[NancyNellen]

I find it takes anywhere from 20 minutes to 45 minutes, depending on the day and the attitude of the student :-)

[Sunshine Mama]

I find it takes anywhere from 20 minutes to 45 minutes, depending on the day and the attitude of the student :-)

 

Thanks so much. And is that 4 days a week?

[wy_kid_wrangler04]

I find it takes anywhere from 20 minutes to 45 minutes, depending on the day and the attitude of the student :-)

 

 

Really???? Rainbow Resource said over an hour a day, thats why I decided against it! If I really only takes 20-45 mins I might look into it again!

Edited April 14, 2010 by wy_kid_wrangler04

[wy_kid_wrangler04]

This is quoted from here

 

The expectation is that 30 minutes a day, 4 days a week will be spent in the analysis and imitation of the writing models. Another 30-40 minutes a day, 4 days a week are suggested for work on the actual writing projects.

[prairiegirl]

This is quoted from here

 

The expectation is that 30 minutes a day, 4 days a week will be spent in the analysis and imitation of the writing models. Another 30-40 minutes a day, 4 days a week are suggested for work on the actual writing projects.

 

That is what the authors suggest but I don't let the curriculum dictate what I do. I know my children and what they can handle. We usually do about 20 min. a day. Whatever we can fit into that time slot works for us.

 

We usually do the analyzing part one week, then we do the writing project the next week. With Aesop, though, I found that we were able to get the analyzing part done from Mon. to Wed and wrote the story during the rest of the week.

[Sunshine Mama]

Another quick question - how hands on is the second *writing* portion of each day? Could he do that independently or would I need to be sitting right there?

[wy_kid_wrangler04]

That is what the authors suggest but I don't let the curriculum dictate what I do. I know my children and what they can handle. We usually do about 20 min. a day. Whatever we can fit into that time slot works for us.

 

We usually do the analyzing part one week, then we do the writing project the next week. With Aesop, though, I found that we were able to get the analyzing part done from Mon. to Wed and wrote the story during the rest of the week.

 

 

I am going to look into it again! Thank you! I just assumed the way it was set up you had to do it all in order to make the program work!!!! Thank you!!

 

 

 

Sorry sunshine mama! I am not trying to hijack your thread! :blush:

[Snickerdoodle]

Another quick question - how hands on is the second *writing* portion of each day? Could he do that independently or would I need to be sitting right there?

 

I find that my son needs lots of help with the outlining part. I do sit with him for that. The rough and final drafts he can do pretty much on his own.

[rafgaf4]

I do classical writing with my 2 older boys and we typically have the following schedule.

 

Monday and Tuesday - Read the story and complete the model of anaylsis sections.

 

Wednesday - create an outline.

 

Thursday - 1st draft

 

Friday - Revise and turn in completed writing assignment.

 

Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday takes about 20-35 minutes.

Thursday takes about an hour.

Friday the time varies but usually no more than 30-40 minutes.

 

Hope this is helpful.

[Cleopatra]

I agree with Prairiegirl ...... you make the curriculum work for you and Classical Writing is flexible enough to do that once you learn how it works! Because Aesop A was only about 18 weeks of lessons (if I remember correctly) we split the analysis and writing components up, so each lesson would take 2 weeks. For younger children it seems to work better this way. Our schedule looked like this:

 

Monday: Read model, narrate and ask questions

Tuesday: choose spelling words (only as many as you feel the child needs), do spelling analysis on one word, find related words

Wednesday: Whatever part of the grammar section you feel will benefit the child. We had a grammar program going concurrently

Thursday: copywork or dictation

 

Monday: read model, narrate & write outline (if needed)

Tuesday: write rough draft

Wednesday: edit

Thursday: write final draft

 

Some days took 10 minutes and some 30 minutes depending on the day.

 

As for outlining, I would help the child as much as possible by asking them questions to get them to start focusing on the main words of the sentences. With practice they will eventually get it.

 

Have fun with Aesop! :001_smile:

[Sunshine Mama]

I agree with Prairiegirl ...... you make the curriculum work for you and Classical Writing is flexible enough to do that once you learn how it works! Because Aesop A was only about 18 weeks of lessons (if I remember correctly) we split the analysis and writing components up, so each lesson would take 2 weeks. For younger children it seems to work better this way. Our schedule looked like this:

 

Monday: Read model, narrate and ask questions

Tuesday: choose spelling words (only as many as you feel the child needs), do spelling analysis on one word, find related words

Wednesday: Whatever part of the grammar section you feel will benefit the child. We had a grammar program going concurrently

Thursday: copywork or dictation

 

Monday: read model, narrate & write outline (if needed)

Tuesday: write rough draft

Wednesday: edit

Thursday: write final draft

 

Some days took 10 minutes and some 30 minutes depending on the day.

 

As for outlining, I would help the child as much as possible by asking them questions to get them to start focusing on the main words of the sentences. With practice they will eventually get it.

 

Have fun with Aesop! :001_smile:

 

This really helps when you break it down for me like this. I think we'll aim to break it up over 2 weeks as well. Aesop A is meant to be done over a year, isn't it?

[Cleopatra]

Yes, Aesop A covers one year.

 

Each year I have to hold up my curriculum and repeat, "Remember, I am not a slave to this book ..... I am not a slave to this book!" Hee hee! :001_smile:

 

You can go as fast or as slow as you want, depending on the ability of the child. The main goal is to get them to enjoy writing. I helped my daughter quite a bit at the beginning to give her confidence. We started off doing one lesson every two weeks but mid-way through Aesop B she was suddenly able to handle one lesson per week. We're now in Homer A and I've backed off again to one lesson every two weeks. Although she could handle one lesson per week, this pace is good for us and we like to spend the time on other subjects. Her writing now is very good; I can give her extra writing projects and she can handle them with minimal supervision. It's nice to be able to look back and see the improvement!

[hlee]

I have been watching this thread with interest, as my DS is going to start 3rd grade in the fall and I'm debating between CW and IEW and who knows what else! He has been using CW Primer this year and I'm leaning towards continuing with Aesop but I'm just not 100% convinced about the progymnasmata...it sounds lovely in theory but I have no idea how it will all turn out and if we go down the CW road it doesn't feel easy to back out and start over with another curriculum. It is a little nervewracking to move from public school in which he was "journaling" every day to the classical approach with narration and copywork instead, which is what we did this year. Anyway, thanks for the feedback here, it's helpful to see the actuality of what CW Aesop will be like if we end up using it!

[NancyNellen]

Yes, 4 day a week. I find that there are times we need to spend more time, but the average definitely falls in that range. Aesop A is a very gentle intro. All of my kids have had at least 3 years of grammar before beginning Aesop, so we can zoom through the grammar potion pretty quickly since it is all review.

 

As far as the writing portion, I would say the rough draft writing day (day 2) takes the longest - maybe 20 minutes. Days 1, 3, + 4 (outlining, editing, and final draft) take 10-15 minutes. Much of that my children have done independently. Obviously the editing portion is done together while we discuss ways to improve the writing.

 

Now, the time involved has always increased dramatically when moving into Homer. For instance, my 11 year old and I spent almost 90 minutes on writing today. She is at the tail end of Homer B. But Aesop has always been pretty quick around here.

 

HTH,

[NancyNellen]

You have the flexibility to decide if you want to spend a year each on A & B or to do both in a year. I've always done both in one year - but we all enjoy writing around here, so we don't mind spending more time on it.

[NancyNellen]

The models used in Aesop A (and most of B, for that matter) are quite short. Even when my kids are pokey writing their rough draft, it has never taken more than about 30 minutes, tops.

[Annabel Lee]

I'm just not 100% convinced about the progymnasmata...it sounds lovely in theory but I have no idea how it will all turn out and if we go down the CW road it doesn't feel easy to back out and start over with another curriculum. It is a little nervewracking to move from public school in which he was "journaling" every day to the classical approach with narration and copywork instead, which is what we did this year.

 

May I suggest all of SWB's lectures on writing? To get a firm grasp on the "other path" that classical writing (not the curriculum, the idea) takes and where that path drops you off at after 12th grade, I'd get all of them. Writing Without Fear was released a few years ago and there's a newer set of 3 talks she gave more recently called A Plan for Teaching Writing.

 

I know my recommendation is not directly related to CW; although she does address using CW in the high school years and what that would be like. Hearing the "method behind the madness" has helped me to see this writing path that diverts from the typical modern ps education much more clearly.

[Kathie in VA]

Once we got into the pattern of CW, my boy has taken of to do most of the grammar work on his own .. .and he even does most of his first draft on his own. So it is taking less of my time to do CW. I work with him mostly on day 1 as we review the model and the upcoming grammar work. Then I point out any differences in focus for the writing project (if any). Aesop has become very easy as we work on finnishing Aesop B.

[SilverMoon]

My 4th grader is doing Aesop A right now, doing one lesson in a week. There's no way she spends an hour a day with this curriculum. :) I'll map out her week. She's the sort of child who'd rather be left alone to do things her own way once she understands what she's doing.

 

Day 1: Story intro and outline. She'll ask if she doesn't understand any part of it (particular words, idioms, and such). Then she puts numbers on her model where she thinks the outline points are best placed (I didn't teach her this), and writes her outline. I don't consider the outline to be optional. Time estimation: 30 minutes max

 

Day 2: Analysis and Imitation day, aka A&I. She does all the word, grammar and writing A&I this day. We skip the spelling analysis and do vocab/synonym work instead. She also skips the instructions to find every verb in the model (for example), because the grammar has all been review of concepts she's already solid in. So her load here looks like finding a suitable synonym for ten words, writing in a grammar definition, rewriting some sentences, and other various rewriting exercises. Time estimation: 20-25 minutes

 

Day 3: Rough draft. She turned her model in at the end of Day 2's work and just uses her own outline and word analysis page as tools while she writes her version of the story. The time estimation for this one varies wildly depending on how easy it is for her to get into the story. She prefers to change up the characters, settings and objects rather than just rewriting the story as is. The sky is the limit when they do that, so long as they stay true to the sequence of events and the moral. I'd say she usually takes anywhere between 20 to 40 minutes on this day.

 

Day 4: Editing. We never, ever do this on the same day as the rough draft. She's expected to go back over her work and look for any mistakes in spelling, punctuation or grammar. Then the writing assignment page often tells her to work on one particular part of the writing, such as quotes or more interesting nouns. When she's done editing she passes it in for me to edit. When the story is as fixed as it's going to get she's done. This is the lightest day. 5-15 minutes.

 

Day 5: Final draft. She types it herself. Her typing is still fairly slow and it can take awhile depending on how big her story is.

[robsiew]

My 4th grader is doing Aesop A right now, doing one lesson in a week. There's no way she spends an hour a day with this curriculum. :) I'll map out her week. She's the sort of child who'd rather be left alone to do things her own way once she understands what she's doing.

 

Day 1: Story intro and outline. She'll ask if she doesn't understand any part of it (particular words, idioms, and such). Then she puts numbers on her model where she thinks the outline points are best placed (I didn't teach her this), and writes her outline. I don't consider the outline to be optional. Time estimation: 30 minutes max

 

Day 2: Analysis and Imitation day, aka A&I. She does all the word, grammar and writing A&I this day. We skip the spelling analysis and do vocab/synonym work instead. She also skips the instructions to find every verb in the model (for example), because the grammar has all been review of concepts she's already solid in. So her load here looks like finding a suitable synonym for ten words, writing in a grammar definition, rewriting some sentences, and other various rewriting exercises. Time estimation: 20-25 minutes

 

Day 3: Rough draft. She turned her model in at the end of Day 2's work and just uses her own outline and word analysis page as tools while she writes her version of the story. The time estimation for this one varies wildly depending on how easy it is for her to get into the story. She prefers to change up the characters, settings and objects rather than just rewriting the story as is. The sky is the limit when they do that, so long as they stay true to the sequence of events and the moral. I'd say she usually takes anywhere between 20 to 40 minutes on this day.

 

Day 4: Editing. We never, ever do this on the same day as the rough draft. She's expected to go back over her work and look for any mistakes in spelling, punctuation or grammar. Then the writing assignment page often tells her to work on one particular part of the writing, such as quotes or more interesting nouns. When she's done editing she passes it in for me to edit. When the story is as fixed as it's going to get she's done. This is the lightest day. 5-15 minutes.

 

Day 5: Final draft. She types it herself. Her typing is still fairly slow and it can take awhile depending on how big her story is.

 

This is really helpful to me! We've been working through Aesop and I've found no use for the spelling (we do enough outside of CW) or a lot of the grammar work (it's all review so far). This helps me to see how we can condense it to just what we need. Thanks SilverMoon!:D

[SilverMoon]

This is really helpful to me! We've been working through Aesop and I've found no use for the spelling (we do enough outside of CW) or a lot of the grammar work (it's all review so far). This helps me to see how we can condense it to just what we need. Thanks SilverMoon!:D

 

You're most welcome. :001_smile: That's exactly why I've cut the redundant review out for dd. She has a full spelling course already, and has done grammar with FLL and is now in R&S. She has yet to meet any grammar in CW that isn't review. I'll have her write in the definitions, capitalization rules and such, but most of the "mark up the model" type exercises would just be busywork for her.

[siloam]

This is quoted from here

 

The expectation is that 30 minutes a day, 4 days a week will be spent in the analysis and imitation of the writing models. Another 30-40 minutes a day, 4 days a week are suggested for work on the actual writing projects.

 

Um...my kids are dyslexic and dysgraphic and it has never taken that long. Though they type up their models. If you actually write them out, rewrite and do a final by hand I could see it taking that long, maybe.

 

I do the first few weeks at a slower pace, doing each step one on one. Then the areas they "get" I have them begin to do independently and continue to work on other areas with them. Right now my 2nd dd is on the 6th week of Aesop A, and she can do all but the outlining on her own. Though I still don't quite have her up to full speed because she is still working on summarizing skills at the same time. She is doing a model over two weeks right now.

 

When something new is introduced I do have to teach that, but there isn't a lot of change in Aesop. I also go over their writing each week.

 

My oldest in week 3 of Homer B only requires that I read the new material to her out of the core book. We then discuss what they are talking about and how I expect her to implement it. I go over her worksheets (though she self corrects the grammar part) and writing. Otherwise she does all of it independently.

 

Heather

[Mama Anna]

Ooh, ooh - this sounds like it would be soooo good for my dd in a year or so! Thanks to everyone for the question and all the responses in this informative thread!!

 

Mama Anna

 

:lurk5:

[Sunshine Mama]

Thanks so much everyone for your input. This really helps me. :)