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What do you use for First Grade Writing?


Tracy
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I have tried a couple of times to get some suggestions for First Grade Writing. But I guess I have been asking the wrong questions. So I will try again by asking you all

 

  • What do you use or have you used for writing for first grade?
  • Why do you like or dislike it?
  • Would you use it again? Why, or Why not?

Thanks so much for your help!

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WWE 1.

 

But, DS has resisted the writing-- see my thread on that which got me a lot of helpful thoughts from the board. In the end we made a bargain he would write 1-2 words and make a drawing-- will hope to work up to doing a whole sentence someday. :)

 

I am thinking of going "off the grid" with WWE, since I don't like using the snippets of stories instead of reading the whole stories, and just use the instructions from The Complete Writer and our own readings, or reading the entire story which is only excerpted in WWE.

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I have tried a couple of times to get some suggestions for First Grade Writing. But I guess I have been asking the wrong questions. So I will try again by asking you all

 

  • What do you use or have you used for writing for first grade?

    I use a combination of WWE1, WriteShop Primary A/B and Draw Write Now. I don't use them all at the same time but I do alternate between the three. I usually do WWE each day and then either some WS or some DWN. I also use the exercises from the Evan Moor books- Write a Super Sentence and Draw Then Write.

     

     

  • Why do you like or dislike it?

    I like that the Draw Write Now encourages creativity and allows my child the freedom to write what they feel inspired to say. I use this program by having them draw an animal/picture from the book and then write sentences about it (1-2 at the beginning of the year, up to 6 or so by the end).

     

    I like WriteShop Primary because it is scripted and thus is helpful to me when I'm not feeling very creative or inspired in *what* to have my child write- it's all there for me. My child really likes it as well. I also like that it walks you through setting up an environment for writing- word walls, etc. There's lots of great ideas to get kids started with writing.

     

    I like WWE because I think that narration is an important skill. The ability so summarize what one has read is an invaluable skill IMO. I use the copywork portion as penmanship practice as well thus getting 2 things done at once.

     

    The Evan Moor sometimes feels like busywork so we don't use the books that often. I do use the drawing part of Draw Write Now and incorporate it with the writing portion of Draw Then Write and help the child come up with interesting sentences.

     

     

  • Would you use it again? Why, or Why not?

 

This is my second time through all three programs so yes, I can see myself using them again for my next kiddos.

 

Thanks so much for your help!

 

Hope this helps a bit. :)

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I have tried a couple of times to get some suggestions for First Grade Writing. But I guess I have been asking the wrong questions. So I will try again by asking you all

 

  • What do you use or have you used for writing for first grade? The Phonics Road. You could use your SWR and have your dc dictate sentences using the spelling words. Then you write them on your "board" and dc copies them. When dc is capable, you repeat the sentences as dictation, instead of copywork. VIOLA! There is your writing. You want to focus on complete sentences w/ capital letters and punctuation in first grade. A little copywork and dictation will take care of that! You can also use history and science narrations in the same copy work / dictation way.

  • Why do you like or dislike it? I have used Writing Aides and found it too simplistic. I used unconnected copy work / dictation and found the lack of connection matters.

  • Would you use it again? Why, or Why not? I will again use the method I listed in your first connection and no other, because I have seen it to be most effective, even with dc of different strengths and learning styles.

 

Thanks so much for your help!

Welcome.
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We use WWE 1 and plan to use it with all my dc as long as they are ready in 1st. I wouldn't have a problem delaying it if one of my dc weren't reading or wring well enough. Not a problem for my two oldest boys, though. I like that it's gentle, easy to implement, and preparing us for doing WT, CW or WWS later on. That's all I wanted. I think going straight into one of those other programs somewhere between 3-5 gr. would be tough for me.

 

 

I am thinking of going "off the grid" with WWE, since I don't like using the snippets of stories instead of reading the whole stories, and just use the instructions from The Complete Writer and our own readings, or reading the entire story which is only excerpted in WWE.

 

I'm pulling selections from books we're already reading because I wanted WWE to tie in with our curriculum instead of random snippets. If we didn't already use (and love SL) for literature, I'd probably use the WWE lit as part of our reading list. The instructions in The Complete Writer are thorough and it doesn't take too much time to create my own copy work. I'd have to recopy it anyway since we use cursive and smaller lines than the student pages. I don't really have to do much for narration at all since we have so many read-alouds. I just make a point to do it a some point during the day.

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For first grade for both my boys I use FLL for grammar and waited until second grade to start WWE. When I do start WWE I start with the first grade year but a year behind.

 

Neither boy /has good enough hand writing to really do copy work etc in first grade.

 

My eldest is now a 5th grader working through 4th grade WWE. It is just fine. It is also buying us some time for SWB to get done with the next level of writing books.

 

tick..tick!

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I use SWB's methods as outlined in her writing audios. I like doing it on my own rather than using WWE because WWE is expensive, and I feel like I can tailor the program to my child's abilities by doing it on my own. I do use FLL with her as well. I love it, and yes, I would do it again. I've done this same method with all three of my older dc except that after listening to Bauer's audios this summer, I have a clearer vision for where this is all leading us and am more diligent now with the writing instruction because of that.

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Hands down WWE plus SWB's writing lectures. I tried other things with my olders and nothing has shown me the progress and helped my children gain confidence like WWE has. My oldest is about to go into WWE4, my next is in WWE3 (both started at WWE2) and now my 1st grader is doing WWE1. I could barely get him to pick up a pencil (still refuses to color) and he now wants (yes, I said wants!) to write the first narration of the week all by himself! (He struggles with fine motor control). He couldn't wait to start the "story thing and you ask me questions" (he was listening in to the older kids more than I thought!). I know if I used any other "writing" program I would get resistance from him since I get resistance with most everything!

 

Now, with my older kids I can see so much benefit. None of my kids are natural writers (except the youngest maybe). The older two cried whenever they had to write something, even journal entries. Now, I can see my two older ones beginning to be able to form thoughts in their head and get down exactly what they want to say. They no longer fuss and cry at science and history narrations. They also can move faster from the time I assign a narration to the pencil actually hitting the paper. I never even assign number of sentences at this point because my 3rd grade dd does 4-5 sentence narrations (plenty I think) and my 4th grader does whole page narrations without me prompting him at all. Even my 1st grader now wants to write his own science narrations!

 

I've listened to all of SWB's writing lectures and I'm just convinced this is the approach for us. It works for the kids and is simple for me to implement. :D

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We started out using WWE 1. I was bored and felt it was a waste of time. I bought the Complete Writer since this method is SO highly recommended here. Reading it has me completely sold on SWB's methods. I just need to implement it in a way that fits me. So, we are using WWE methods (copywork/narration/dictation) for first grade but doing it across all subjects.

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You could use your SWR and have your dc dictate sentences using the spelling words. Then you write them on your "board" and dc copies them. When dc is capable, you repeat the sentences as dictation, instead of copywork. VOILA! There is your writing. You want to focus on complete sentences w/ capital letters and punctuation in first grade. A little copywork and dictation will take care of that! You can also use history and science narrations in the same copy work / dictation way.

 

I really like this idea.

 

I have used Writing Aides and found it too simplistic. I used unconnected copy work / dictation and found the lack of connection matters.

 

Are talking about TOG WA? Tina, I wonder if you could elaborate on this a little for me. TOG WA seems like a good option since we are already doing TOG. Can you give me an example of it being too simplistic?

 

Thanks!

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I have tried a couple of times to get some suggestions for First Grade Writing. But I guess I have been asking the wrong questions. So I will try again by asking you all

 

  • What do you use or have you used for writing for first grade? I've always used a variation of handwriting and copywork. For ds 7 last year, we used Pentime Penmanship and Queen's Language Lessons for Little Ones Vol. 3. This year we're moving into Rod and Staff English, which includes basic writing lessons.

  • Why do you like or dislike it?My philosophy includes keeping school short and sweet for the little ones. I also don't believe there's any point to teaching writing to a child who cannot write more than a couple of words before their hand hurts.

  • Would you use it again? Why, or Why not? Yes, I've been very pleased with the longterm results. Also ds and I loved using Queen's Language Lessons for Little Ones. They were perfect for PrK - 1st grade.

Thanks so much for your help!

 

:001_smile:

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I'm using WWE1 with my first grader and we are both loving it. We often end up doing two days at a time because she loves to hear the stories. I like that it is scripted and walks me through exactly what to ask and what to expect in return. I also like the selections included. Very often, she says she wanted to hear/read more, so this is turning into my literature curriculum too! Can't say there is anything I dislike about it.

 

Hope that helps.

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