Roadrunner Posted May 11, 2011 Share Posted May 11, 2011 I need help figuring out what materials to use for writing. My kid goes to K public school and is home-schooled in the evenings. We have been doing GWG and FLL for language arts. In terms of writing, I do only copy work with him. His public school teacher wrote to us: "Starting next year, he'll have to write a paragraph with an assertion, supporting details, and a concluding sentence." In first grade? Ha? Isn't that too much?? We were planning to start MTC in the beginning of second grade. Now I am thinking what to do. Can you recommend a writing curriculum to get a jump start on writing skills his PS is asking for? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WVNA Posted May 11, 2011 Share Posted May 11, 2011 That sounds like an assignment that my son had when he was in public school. For some strange, unknown reason, they all had a really hard time with that in school. However, when the assignment was sent home, a miracle must have occurred because they all came back with great paragraphs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amanda_Jo Posted May 11, 2011 Share Posted May 11, 2011 You might want to try Write Source Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spy Car Posted May 11, 2011 Share Posted May 11, 2011 As a father of a First Grader at a very good public school I would say don't let that Teacher's note freak you out. They will aim to develop the skill of having a (sort of) topic, and having a couple of more sentences that (sort of, kind of) relate to one another. And maybe a concluding sentence that (sort of) restates the opening statement, but it is all rudimentary (as is appropriate for this age) and kids are not writing highly cogent paragraphs with strong topic sentences and strong supporting sentences. Not happening. Nothing wrong with working at home (we do) but I'd hate for you to feel needlessly panicked. Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mich311e Posted May 11, 2011 Share Posted May 11, 2011 As a father of a First Grader at a very good public school I would say don't let that Teacher's note freak you out. They will aim to develop the skill of having a (sort of) topic, and having a couple of more sentences that (sort of, kind of) relate to one another. And maybe a concluding sentence that (sort of) restates the opening statement, but it is all rudimentary (as is appropriate for this age) and kids are not writing highly cogent paragraphs with strong topic sentences and strong supporting sentences. Not happening. Nothing wrong with working at home (we do) but I'd hate for you to feel needlessly panicked. Bill I totally agree. I was just reading my son's paragraph work from school last night. Rudimentary describes it perfectly. He's doing a great job but it's definitely appropriate for his age. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kathkath Posted May 11, 2011 Share Posted May 11, 2011 As a father of a First Grader at a very good public school I would say don't let that Teacher's note freak you out. They will aim to develop the skill of having a (sort of) topic, and having a couple of more sentences that (sort of, kind of) relate to one another. And maybe a concluding sentence that (sort of) restates the opening statement, but it is all rudimentary (as is appropriate for this age) and kids are not writing highly cogent paragraphs with strong topic sentences and strong supporting sentences. Not happening. Nothing wrong with working at home (we do) but I'd hate for you to feel needlessly panicked. Bill Yes. I was a 1st grade ps teacher and we had students doing that too. I second write source curriculum, and writing daily. First work on writing simple sentences, then a sentence followed by a related sentence including elaboration on the first. Once that is down, then you can move to the main idea--3 supporting details 4 sentence paragraph. When that is down, add the concluding sentence. It is a very natural progression that is not difficult if you write daily, do lots of modeling, write about what dc knows about, and go slowly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roadrunner Posted May 11, 2011 Author Share Posted May 11, 2011 Already feeling better :) Thanks everybody. I think he can actually already put three sentences together in a sequence, if not more. Her e-mail made it sound a lot more complicated that it actually appears now. We will just continue with our plan. Anybody tried MTC in first grade? My son can read on a fourth grade level and his K teacher has been sending home 3rd grade language arts work, so I am thinking maybe we can accelerate him a bit more? MTC materials have captivated me, especially the poetry series. I just can't wait anymore :) Also, anybody tried MTC Aesop series? I also have a 4 year old at home reading fluently and starting public K next year. Trying to find something suitable for him so he isn't completely bored at school. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spy Car Posted May 11, 2011 Share Posted May 11, 2011 I like apples. Apples are crunchy and juicy. Some apples are red and some are green. Apples are good for you. So I like apples. Bill (who obviously likes Apples :D) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spy Car Posted May 11, 2011 Share Posted May 11, 2011 Already feeling better :) Thanks everybody. I think he can actually already put three sentences together in a sequence, if not more. Her e-mail made it sound a lot more complicated that it actually appears now. We will just continue with our plan. Anybody tried MTC in first grade? My son can read on a fourth grade level and his K teacher has been sending home 3rd grade language arts work, so I am thinking maybe we can accelerate him a bit more? MTC materials have captivated me, especially the poetry series. I just can't wait anymore :) Also, anybody tried MTC Aesop series? I also have a 4 year old at home reading fluently and starting public K next year. Trying to find something suitable for him so he isn't completely bored at school. We will be using MCT but have not started yet. We have one member "Satori" (her daughter's name) who is using MCT with her advanced semi-k/semi-First Grader. You might PM her (Angela); she's very sweet, smart, wise and helpful. Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dmmetler Posted May 11, 2011 Share Posted May 11, 2011 I am using MCT with my 6 yr old, and she's loving it, and having no trouble with it at all, except for lining up her labels on 4 level analysis where she wants them (especially since she dislikes abbreviating, or maybe she just likes words like Predicate Nominative, Adjective, prepositional phrase...) She's written some cute stories as a result of the grammar island activities, too-one has been growing for several weeks now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LibrarianMom Posted May 15, 2011 Share Posted May 15, 2011 Check what writing method/model your school is using. Our school uses the Four Square model of writing which dovetails quite nicely with what your teacher described. The Four Square model encourages students to come up with their topic and then list details to help them flesh out the topic. Last year our teacher expressed some frustration that the four square block they were using for the primary grades didn't emphasize having a good topic sentence and concluding sentence. I helped her create a new block where there was a line for topic sentence a four block so they could write four details and the a line for their concluding sentence. It worked really well. An example would be: Topic Sentence: I like cats. Four Detail: Soft and cuddly, purr, small, make me happy (imagine these in squares) Conclusion: Cats are great pets. I like to remind my children even at the younger grades to use who, what, when, why, where, and how for their writing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kathleen. Posted May 15, 2011 Share Posted May 15, 2011 Spy Car gave a great example. My 7yo in first grade uses Write Source at her school. Her teacher is a reading specialist and follows the 6+1 Traits of Writing by Ruth Culham - a must read. Keep in mind that the teacher is most likely referring to a milestone for first grade. My daughter did that very assignment throughout the year. The kids can do it, you'll see. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blessedmom3 Posted May 16, 2011 Share Posted May 16, 2011 My K-er is expected to do the same thing in 1st. I also have a 2nd grader and I was surprised how much they expect fromhim (in writing) . We went through Write Source . It's a great guide to help your child in the way PS does their writing . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.