mlbuchina Posted April 30, 2011 Share Posted April 30, 2011 If WWE didn't work for your family, what program have you found that does? I have one level of Writing Strands that I am thinking of trying, but I really like WWE. What makes her cry are the narrations. She does well with them in science, and fairly well with history. She can tell me tons about the story lines of the television shows she sees, and ok with the books she reads. She can tell me all about what she did during a play date or something she did with dad. I just am at a loss as to what is going on with the narrations in WWE. Maybe I just need to step her back or slow down some...? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boscopup Posted April 30, 2011 Share Posted April 30, 2011 When my son had tears over those, I had a gentle talk with him, explaining that it's ok if he doesn't know an answer. We'll just go back and read that section again - no big deal. Some of the narrations are very difficult because the passages use language that is advanced for this age. As we've practiced them more, he's gotten used to not always knowing the answer (something he needed to learn, as a perfectionist!) And we don't get tears now. Another thing that helps is for him to read it himself. You might try that if she's capable. You can also read part of the passage, stop and ask those questions, read more, ask questions, etc. Then work up to a full passage. It's a process. She is not expected to be able to do it perfectly at the beginning or middle of the book, from what I understand. Try to explain that to her, and try to help her be successful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kalanamak Posted April 30, 2011 Share Posted April 30, 2011 If WWE didn't work for your family, what program have you found that does? I have one level of Writing Strands that I am thinking of trying, but I really like WWE. What makes her cry are the narrations. She does well with them in science, and fairly well with history. She can tell me tons about the story lines of the television shows she sees, and ok with the books she reads. She can tell me all about what she did during a play date or something she did with dad. I just am at a loss as to what is going on with the narrations in WWE. Maybe I just need to step her back or slow down some...? What level are you using? My son could "tell me tons" about what we read, and it took quite some time to get him to start getting to the meat of the passage. I backtracked a little and would tell a story while acting it out ("Mama went to the pantry and took out X, Y, Z, A, B and C, and on the way back to the kitchen she dropped C and it shattered and spread C all over the floor" Was exactly what X Y Z and A and B crucial to the story? Was the fact Mama was *carrying too much* crucial?, etc) Another technique was to let him run on and on, with me writing it down, and then we'd go back and edit. Or, I'd give him two choices. (Which sentence should go next? Mama loaded her arms up too heavily and dropped the pasta sauce jar, making a mess. Or, Mama loaded up 3 jars of sauce, a box of crackers, three cans of cat food, a sponge, and a bag of dried pasta, and then turned to go to the kitchen too fast, dropping one jar of pasta.) Once he was clear on "the subject" of a sentence, then I started asking him who or what the subject of the passage was? Or we'd practice generalizing. "He had MANY things on the wall", rather than naming them. "There were 10 people in the room", instead of naming each one. Just some thoughts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3peasinapod Posted April 30, 2011 Share Posted April 30, 2011 Do you go back and read the sentence where the answer is? I'm doing WWE together with my 1st and 2nd grader, and sometimes they don't know the answer. When we first started, it would make them upset that they didn't, so often I go back and re-read the sentence or sentences that has the answer. I think it's a process that needs to be molded and practiced. :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
texasmama Posted April 30, 2011 Share Posted April 30, 2011 (edited) With one son, I needed to read one paragraph of the narrative, then ask the relevant questions...then move on to the next paragraph and the relevant questions. This worked well for him,and he developed the skills to retain the information and the confidence that he could do so. He is now in WWE 3 (at 10 yo/4th grade) and takes notes as he reads, referring to them as I ask the questions. This is a perfectly fine way of easing into this program, IMO. You may need to back up a level or you may want to try this suggestion. Good luck with whatever you decide.:001_smile: Edited April 30, 2011 by texasmama Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaMa2005 Posted April 30, 2011 Share Posted April 30, 2011 When my son had tears over those, I had a gentle talk with him, explaining that it's ok if he doesn't know an answer. We'll just go back and read that section again - no big deal. Some of the narrations are very difficult because the passages use language that is advanced for this age. As we've practiced them more, he's gotten used to not always knowing the answer (something he needed to learn, as a perfectionist!) And we don't get tears now. Another thing that helps is for him to read it himself. You might try that if she's capable. You can also read part of the passage, stop and ask those questions, read more, ask questions, etc. Then work up to a full passage. It's a process. She is not expected to be able to do it perfectly at the beginning or middle of the book, from what I understand. Try to explain that to her, and try to help her be successful. :iagree: with this statement wholeheartedly. Also, since the narrations are just excerpts from books, it is difficult to be dropped into the middle of a story, understand what is happening, and then narrate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
almondbutterandjelly Posted April 30, 2011 Share Posted April 30, 2011 Two thoughts: Why not just read the for enjoyment (and possibly to interest her in the book it came from), but skip the narration part? I have to say that I am not a fan of the WWE narrations. They did not work well for my dd either (tears), other than getting her interested in the books from whence they came. Other thought: If you really feel she must do the narrations, try Dianne Craft's technique of having the child make a movie in her head while you read. Then at the end, she has to rewind the movie and answer the questions. Sounds strange, but it really works. My dd still hated it, though. So we just enjoyed the passages, did the copywork, and that was that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrsMe Posted April 30, 2011 Share Posted April 30, 2011 I don't know much about WWE, so take this for what it's worth. Depending on how long the story or paragraph she has to narrate, break it into smaller pieces. So if the reading is a page, do half, have her narrate then do the other half. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mlbuchina Posted May 3, 2011 Author Share Posted May 3, 2011 Thanks everyone for your thoughts and suggestions. It definately is a process. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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