Rod & Staff/ WWE Question

[mjpeter]

My older sons are both doing Rod & Staff English right now, and I really like the program. I do think they need a bit more writing, though, especially my 10 yo who is having more problems. I'm thinking of adding WWE to Rod and Staff.

 

I'm planning to buy the text to try to place them. Do you think this is necessary, or should I start at level 1 or 2?

 

Also, would you drop the Rod and Staff written activities if you were doing WWE, or do them both? Do they work well together?

[5LittleMonkeys]

My dd11 uses R&S in addition to WWE 2. She has a lot of trouble with dictation so I wanted to start at the beginning of narration with her because as she gets older she will need those skills if for nothing more than to be able to take notes. However, I am also using SWB's A Plan for Writing. If you haven't listened to her lectures on this method I highly recommend them. There is one for grammar, logic and rhetoric stage. The WWE, while beneficial, is a very slow process. In my opinion using WWE with a child that is logic stage or close to logic stage is like doing remedial work to get specific skills up to par. I may be in the minority here but I feel she can still keep moving forward, albeit slowly, while she polishes those skills that she hasn't mastered. Just my .02.

[cheryl h]

We are using R&S English for 3 grade levels this year and I do think adding WWE is a good idea. I am doing WWE level 4 with ds10, and the techniques they learn are not taught in R&S, and I do think there is great merit in learning those techniques. I wished I had some $$ left to use WWE with my ds/dd7 twins, but we'll likely wait until next year and just keep doing copywork, narrations, dictation from our history/science. For my oldest dd, we chose MCT to get in more writing. We haven't gotten to Essay Voyage yet, but I do think I will use the WWE philosophy with her using history/science to learn the skills. Would have loved to get in on the WWE level 5 triall, but somehow we missed it.

[robsiew]

We use WWE with R&S. I think it's a good combo. We just use R&S for grammar though. I skip the writing exercises.

 

As far as placing your dc... do they have experience in narration and dictation. If not, I'd probably start in Level 2. Level one would be too easy. You may even have to do every other lesson or so in Level 2 or you could just speed it up too. I found quite a jump between level 2 and 3 so I don't know I'd put a child without experience into level 3 right away. JMO...:001_smile:

[Beach Mom]

I use WWE with R&S for my kids and it seems to be a great combination. We still do the writing in R&S. If the oldest has had dictation you could start with WWE3, the youngers probably 1. I think the oldest would find WWE1 too easy, there is no dictation in the first level.

 

The Peacehill website has a nice size sample of each level if you look at the workbooks, maybe this will help you choose. Otherwise, try your library for the text, we checked it out there, found the right level and then ordered our workbooks.

 

You can use the text if you choose your own dication samples, but we love the ease of the workbooks, it is open and go. With multiple kids that works best for us, and we like the literature samples. It has inspired the kids to read some of the books the narration passages are pulled from.

[abbeyej]

I would buy the text. With children that much older than the recommended ages, they may do fine simply doing the 6-8 "sample" lessons at each level and working through all 4 levels in a year, rather than slogging through a whole year of material meant for much younger students. I can't imagine doing WWE 1 or 2 with a 10 or 12 year old unless the child had fairly significant language-based LDs. If it's just a matter of needing more instruction and practice with basic writing skills, go for the text and work through the sample lessons.

[mjpeter]

Are there other writing programs that may be a better fit for my older children? I was mainly looking at WWE since I will be starting it with my youngest.

 

IEW? WS? This writing thing is giving me a headache. :confused:

[abbeyej]

Are there other writing programs that may be a better fit for my older children? I was mainly looking at WWE since I will be starting it with my youngest.

 

IEW? WS? This writing thing is giving me a headache. :confused:

 

It depends so much on their level. If they have had little or no writing instruction in the past, you may well find that working quickly through the WWE text works well for them as an introduction. On the other hand, if they're already comfortable writing a couple of paragraphs at a time about what they've read in history or literature, I'd start with a later elementary / middle school oriented program.

 

What have they done for writing instruction in the past and what sort of writing do they do day-to-day now? How much do they write at a time, and what are the sorts of mistakes they're currently making?

[JenC3]

I also use R & S 2 with WWE 1. We will be moving into R & S 3 and WWE 2 soon and I think they are a great fit. We also do Spelling Workout C and the R & S phonics.