TOG/FLL/WWE....LG Writing questions...

[TXMary2]

I am having a difficult time deciding/trying to figure out what to do with ds6 for first grade in regards to writing. I already have FLL and plan to use that- from what I can tell it has some copywork exercises. I had also planned on doing WWE 1, but I haven't ordered it yet. I saw samples and looked at it when I was at a HSConference in June. I still like it, but wonder if it is overkill combined with FLL.

 

Now, add that we are doing TOG now and I bought Writing Aids - do I really need to do WWE 1? However, I am not sure how to do WA with ds because we are starting at Yr 2 Unit 3 and the level 1 writing is talking about paragraphs which we can't just jump into. I am hoping when I receive the actual WA book in the mail that it will have the information I am looking for. Week 1 Level 1 writing says Noun Bank, but I can't find any instructions on how to do that or what to discuss. Anyone with insight or experience please enlighten me!!

[TracyP]

Noun bank is under Word Banks in WA.

 

If it were me - I would just stick with FLL and WA. I don't have experience with FLL but I have WWE and am now wondering if FLL wouldn't have been better since it has the grammar along with the writing.

 

ETA: Sorry I just noticed you haven't received the WA book yet so my answer doesn't help.

[Kipling]

The Writing Aids book will explain the assignments. It's organized alphaebtically and you will find things in there like " Play writing," "parts of speech," "research paper," and "word banks." It has information to the teacher to explain what each thing is and how to give the assignment. Also, it comes with a CD with notes to print out for the child to have as well as some sample writing. (FYI, the word bank is a collection of index cards you add to every week as you learn new parts of speech.)

TOG starts their writing off slowly each year and builds to higher-level and more involved writing assignments as the year progresses. Consequently, if you are starting in the middle of one of their year plans, the writing assignments will be much more significant than if you start in the beginning of the year plan and grow with it.

I did TOG year 1 with my 6 year old last year, and the writing assignments for the first half of the year were "draw and caption." We made a book titled "The People of the Ancient World" and every week, she added another page or two. At first, she just drew a picture of the person or group of people and then copied a sentence onto the page. As she progressed, she continued to draw the pictures, but she also wrote her own sentences and then paragraphs. You could take a similar approach and do a "People of Colonial America" book.

I can't say if you need to use WWE with Writing Aids. I have never used WWE, but I do like WA and feel like it covers a wide variety of writing issues and styles. However, other than teaching parts of speech, it does not cover grammar, so you will need to rely on another source for that.

HTH

[Quiver0f10]

I use WWE but we don't use FLL. However, I heard you can skip the narration and copywork in FLL and use WWE instead.

 

As far as WA, I didn't use it with my first grader and used WWE instead. This year I plan to use WWE and R&S with her for second grade. I think I am going to start WA when she is a bit older, maybe 3rd or 4th grade, depending on her ability.

[TXMary2]

Noun bank is under Word Banks in WA.

 

If it were me - I would just stick with FLL and WA. I don't have experience with FLL but I have WWE and am now wondering if FLL wouldn't have been better since it has the grammar along with the writing.

 

ETA: Sorry I just noticed you haven't received the WA book yet so my answer doesn't help.

 

Actually that was what I needed to know- that I will find the instructions in the book I am waiting for.

 

From the replies so far, it seems that I probably don't need WWE if I am using FLL and WA. WWE is mostly copywork right? I need to go back and look at the sample pages on Amazon to refresh my memory. Edited to add: OK- it looks to be copy work and narration. So, my decision is no WWE. FLL and WA will meet those needs along with some other resources I already have. We have a narration jar that I made when we were doing Winter Promise and that will work just fine. Yippeee! WWE money can go to something else. :)

Edited August 3, 2010 by TXMary2

[laurad1125]

I use Writing Aids for my 6th grader but use FLL and WWE for my younger son. I like the idea of the word banks and all but FLL and WWE really work well for us.

 

FLL provides grammar with just a bit of writing instruction. WWE is all about composition. I use the 2 together and just skip the copywork in FLL. I don't see them as replacements for each other but as two tools that work together well.

[Brenda in FL]

You probably need to decide what approach you want to take with writing. The WTM approach would be copywork and narration for first grade. I'm not too familiar with WA, but it doesn't sound like the WTM approach.

 

If you go with WTM approach, you will need to add in some more copywork and narration each week, besides what is presented in FLL. You can choose short sentences from your history readings for your child to copy. And then for narration have him tell you one or two things he remembers from your history lesson and write it down for him. He can read it back and add a picture if he likes. This is easy to do on your own - or you could buy WWE 1 workbook and all the copywork and passages for narration are already chosen for you! (In which case - drop the copywork and narration in FLL)