7th grade writing...is this too much?

[Sue G in PA]

My soon to be 7th grader (dd11) is a reluctant writer, but her writing is improving by leaps and bounds. She is currently using Anc. Hist. Based Writing lessons. I'm looking at my "picks" for next year and wondering if it would be "writing overload". She will be doing:

 

1. LL7 (has already started actually!) and I see there is a writing assignment for each book/short story.

2. MFW ECC - writing a country report for several countries we study

3. Dictation w/ Simply Spelling

4. Jump In! - this is still up in the air. I like the looks of it and think she still needs her "hand held" a bit more for the writing process

 

Would this be overkill? Obviously, we would not do Jump In! every day and if she is in the middle of another assignment, we can put Jump In! on the shelf until she's done. I wouldn't have her do more than 1 assignment per week. Any thoughts? My plan w/ Jump In! is to cover it in 2 yrs. as opposed to 1 anyway. TIA

[dragons in the flower bed]

1. LL7 (has already started actually!) and I see there is a writing assignment for each book/short story.

2. MFW ECC - writing a country report for several countries we study

3. Dictation w/ Simply Spelling

4. Jump In! - this is still up in the air. I like the looks of it and think she still needs her "hand held" a bit more for the writing process

 

 

 

It sounds like a lot to juggle. I would be more inclined to use the extra writing assignments in Lightning Lit, and get a grade-appropriate writing handbook like Write Source if she needs more hand-holding in accomplishing the projects in Lightning Lit. Just my two cents.

[Rhondabee]

I don't use what you're using... but,

 

my 7th grader writes two history-related "reports" based on SOTW stories each week. Those average about a page each (he has started using college-ruled paper and they're about 3/4ths of one of those).

 

He writes out the answers to his science study guide in complete sentences - this is about two pages every other week. He also has been writing up the labs in paragraph form (usually 2-3 paragraphs) on the "off" week from the study guide.

 

He writes a page-long narration/evaluation or book report (the last one was 2 pages) at the end of almost every novel we've read (we do one about every 2 weeks).

 

He writes out most of the exercises in Rod & Staff as his "copywork" - about a page a day. And, he does their writing exercises.

 

So, he is writing just about every day - at least a page. I didn't start out last year at that amount - it's been a steady but gradual increase from "write a paragraph" to "write a page". But, no, I don't think what you've listed is too much. I think the more you do, the easier it will be for her.

 

If she can't do a page, do a paragraph until she can do a paragraph well and not fuss about it. Then do two. Then three - that's about a page.

 

If you have to sit and "take notes" for her and help her plan that paragraph, that's ok, too. We don't do this all perfectly - sometimes I still help him plan, and I don't expect perfection on every page, but slow and steady is making a big difference here.

 

:grouphug:

Rhonda

[Angel]

When my dd13 (8th) does LL writing assignments, she does not do Jump In that week. When she is reading for LL, she continues with Jump In as scheduled. I feel that LL doesn't give them very many of the "tools" needed to do their writing assingments, it expects the student to understand most of them already and just get on with the assignment. I believe that Jump In has been giving my dd the "tools" she needs not only to complete the assignments in that book but to help her to apply what she's learning to her other writing (like LL). Using the books this way has not been overkill for her. The only other writing that I require is her lab reports in Apologia General Science (and those are not too often as we don't always "do" the labs) and notebook pages for MFW RtoR.

 

I take a different approach than most. My dd has a hard time writing for assignments. Instead of overloading her with writing in the hopes that "more must be better," I have chosen to take a lighter route and be pleased with a gradual improvement that doesn't lead to a bigger dislike of the writing process. With the pressure of assignments off, she has chosen, on her own free time, to do some poetry and creative writing. I am pleased with the progress I am seeing.

 

I hope that helps somewhat :) Oh, and for what it's worth, for 7th grade I'd probably give up the spelling dictation.

[Greta Lea]

I'd for sure drop the dictation and just make sure none of the other writing overlaps. If she's writing something for history one day, then she doesn't need to do writing for science or lit that day.

 

My 14yo will be doing Jump In this fall. He's a wonderful writer, but until recently was a reluctant writer. I think his mind just went to fast for his hand (writing or typing) up until now.

 

This year school year (he just turned 14 in March) is the first year that he might have a little writing in almost every subject every day.

[Sue G in PA]

I had a chat w/ dd11 tonight about her feeling about the IEW Anc. Hist. Based writing book. She said she likes it, but she'd much rather have a program where she could choose the topics to write about instead of having it all prescribed for her. Makes sense. Would she be able to do that in Jump In or the assignments prescribed? KWIM? Thanks!

[Angel]

Sue,

 

Dd just happened to have her Jump In book sitting by the computer. I'll give you a little right out of the book. The first assignment is about opinions. The first "Skill" for that assignment is simply list your Favorite and you Worst :001_smile: Good non-threatening writing day LOL! They walk them through the "Why" and good "Order" then they give the student the opportunity to think about their topic in "Now it's your turn." They have them pick one of the opinions they have already written down. Then they work "skill" by "skill" on the body, the "Hello" and the "Goodbye" (beginning and end). At the end, the actual assignment says "Choose One:" 1. Complete your own opinion you've been working on. 2. Agree or Disagree with one of their sample paragraphs and write about it. 3. Write your opinion of writing (LOL) 4. Choose a topic from your favorite or worst list at the beginning of the assignment and write about it. 5. Your choice. Write something you love or can't stand.

 

The next topic is Persuasive Writing: The Basics. It follows a similar format, with a little more detail (this grows as the book progresses). The Assignment at the end is again finish the topic you started, finish something that pertains to one of the stories in the book, or your choice.

 

It looks like just about all of the assignments have a "your choice" at the end. The Newspaper Article lesson doesn't as much. Plus, most of the time the "complete what you've started" is also your own choice. It really does give a lot of leeway for those who want to write on the subject of their choosing, but it does include a specific topic for those who have a hard time figuring out their topic.

 

We are using this over two years with my dd. We just didn't make it through very far this year (my fault) and there is a lot of information there.

 

If this didn't help, ask me again, I think I'm still half asleep:tongue_smilie:

 

Angel

[Sue G in PA]

That helps a lot. Thanks for your review. Sounds like she'll enjoy that..a nice break from IEW for a while. Thanks!