Why do a formal writing program?

[oceandaughter]

Just wondering. My oldest (grade four next year) is very creative and used to love to write stories and poems on his own but after a formal (sort of, made up by me assignments) writing program for a while he quit writing on his own. Now after a while with very little assigned writing (other than just writing things as they come up, I only assign him a bit of copywork, a journal entry once a week and a letter to someone once a week) he is now coming back to doing his own creative writing. I told him that for next year if he can produce one thing a week and regular letters to family, then I wouldn't require a whole lot of extra.

 

I see people doing these writing programs and they seem like a lot. I enjoy writing and always have in school so they don't seem like a lot for me as a child but I can see my child completely balking at the idea of all that writing. I also don't want to stifle him.

 

I'm also confused about why creative writing isn't encouraged more.

 

Can someone clear this all up for me?

 

I'm going to re read WTM after I finish at least one of the five books I'm in the middle of now.

 

Jo

[Nestof3]

I'll answer from my experience.

 

Many children will not write on their own -- creative or not, yet writing is still a skill that must be learned to participate in many areas of life. Likewise, many children would not learn and practice math skills, yet these skills must still be taught and practiced.

 

I have never seen a writing program that does not encourage creative writing, so I cannot comment on that, other than to propose that perhaps the intention of that sort of program is to broaden a child's writing scope to include other styles of writing. Even history programs I've used include a number of creative writing assignment.

 

While many children do indeed write on their own (my eight year old does), most of the elements of writing (choosing a focus, ordering ideas properly, using strong, specific words, being concise, etc), grammar and usage, and spelling skills (or lack of) do not reveal themselves until a child actually writes. Most of these skills cannot be practiced on paper unless a child writes on a regular basis.

 

Writing is a different thing than talking. I tend to write on message boards in a manner similar to how I talk due to time constraints and the informal atmosphere. Writing for an audience, whether large or small, requires a different sort of skill. Thoughts, intentions, points must be able to be put down on paper with more consideration. Strong writing takes practice. Even great writers rewrote their own work many times to deliver the best piece.

[Kate in Arabia]

Well, Jo, first I'd say you are fortunate to have a child who enjoys creative writing so much. My oldest does not. He would literally cry at the thought of trying to come up with a sentence using a spelling word. What a writing curriculum has done for him is to give him gentle, daily, structured help in learning how to not only physically write, but organize the ideas in his head and get them out onto paper. Two years ago you could hand him a flower and say, "please give me three words to describe this flower" and he would dissolve in a pool of tears and frustration. After using a structured writing program he can write narrations and even poetry (complete shocker to me, lol).

 

Now my second son is much more creative, can think of long stories in his head at the drop of a hat, etc. etc., so I may approach things differently with him...

 

Kate

[mom31257]

Another reason is that there are writing prompts on college entrance tests now. I read one place that the tester has 30 minutes to write the essay and the grader has to grade it in only a few minutes. I believe they would be looking for the all the components of the writing process.

 

I used BJU English for 5th grade this year. We really liked it. There were 16 chapters with 8 covering different types of writing projects. The rest were grammar, punctuation, etc. I liked that it was all in one book and didn't require extra time to cover both. You can get a cheaper teacher answer key and tests through Christian Liberty Press.

 

I found the 7th grade teacher book at a book sale and it has writing prompts at the end of every chapter. I'm probably going to use it all the way through school.

 

Amy of GA

11yo dd

5yo ds

[Amy from WT]

I guess I could try to put this in a nutshell.

 

Creative writing is great, but (please forgive my generality), it does not teach the child HOW to write.

 

The student must be taught the skill of using language, of putting words to paper in an orderly and beautiful fashion. Of structuring beautiful well-crafted sentences, and those sentences into paragraphs, and those paragraphs into well-thought out stories, essays, or other.

 

If you can find a creative writing program that does, in fact, teach all those things, than wonderful! If you just let the child continue to write creatively on his/her own, without guidance, then the child is not being taught the structure of writing, but simply being allowed to write as his or her own skills develop independently.

 

If your child quit his/her own creative writing while you were trying to use a formal writing program, perhaps you did not have the right program for that child? I would suggest trying to find another program that will teach your child the rudimentary skills of writing while stimulating his/her love of writing at the same time.

 

HTH,

[oceandaughter]

Cool, Thanks for all the food for thought. Keep it coming! :lurk5:

[8filltheheart]

I don't use a formal writing program with my kids. However, I do teach writing. As Amy stated, creative writing does not equate to essay writing. Creative writing is not an essential skill for higher education. Essay/report/research writing absolutely is.

 

Students must learn to synthesize information from research (a complete skill in and of itself). They must be able to formulate a contention/thesis, support with details, all in their own words and in an engaging manner. (several skills......creating a thesis, knowing which details are relevant/irrelevant, knowing what is plagarism, implementing sentence structure/voice/grammar, etc all simultaneously). They also need to learn MLA notation.

 

Creative writing cannot teah those skills.

 

4th grade is a great time to start learning how to write simple reports.

[Joy at Home]

I saw you refer to how you teach your kiddos writing from another post, and I'm intrigued. Can you elaborate on what is working with your kids?

 

Blessings,

lisa

[Joy at Home]

This question is for Momof7, BTW.

 

thanks!!!

lisa

[Rosie_0801]

I was getting only C's at uni because I had never learned to write an academic essay. Luckily, one lecturer picked me up on it and explained it all to me. Thanks to him, I became an honours candidate. (Didn't do it, had a baby instead!)

Maybe you need to teach your boy to edit his own work. Not everything at once, that'd be disheartening. Start with spelling. When you notice his private writing no longer contains an unreasonable amount of spelling mistakes, move onto something else like paragraphing.

:)

Rosie

[8filltheheart]

I saw you refer to how you teach your kiddos writing from another post, and I'm intrigued. Can you elaborate on what is working with your kids?

 

Blessings,

lisa

 

I teach writing analytically (grammar as well) I take paragraphs from non-fiction sources and we examine paragraph construction. Locate the topic sentence, supporting details, etc.

 

They learn to take writing apart and put it back together again. By knowing what makes writing work, they have a much less difficult time implementing the skills in their own work.

[Peela]

I am making up my own writing program with my kids, using ideas I have gathered from different programs. But I am catering it to my kids' personalities, keeping the assignments creative rather than dry.

At 4th grade, I wouldn't worry too much...maybe work on simple narrations - narrations is an important skill.

But, as time goes on, he will need to learn some forms- essays, research papers. I don't think it needs to be such a big deal though. You can actually watch your own child for readiness for the next step.

Here in Australia, kids in schools don't usually use writing programs. I was surprised when I started homeschooling, how commonly they are used in the U.S.

Programs like TWTM, you must remember, are written to an audience that represents a wide variation of abilities. I found the lack of energy for creative writing a bit disconcerting myself, because creative writing was what made me love English as a student, and it is what makes my daughter love English, and its what gets my reluctant writer remotely enthusiastic about writing. Canned writing assignments dishearten them.

It is possible to combine creative assignments with learning skills in writing, by choosing topics that the child is enthused by. I know that is what most writing programs try to do, but they cannot possibly know your own child and what floats their boat. They also cover a wide range of skills- some of which your particular child may already intuitively or naturally have mastered, or is naturally mastering with their creative writing.

[Sweetpeach]

I would take a look at Brave Writer - it's a really special writing program which puts an emphasis on writing well *and* happily.

 

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/BraveWriterMoms/

 

I'm not exclusively classical in my hs'ing approach - this program gets mixed reviews here. For our family, being a "Brave Writer" has revolutionized how we do writing -- it's a great fit.

 

HTH's a little bit and welcome!

[Guest Amy in MS]

Hi there, Jo.

Let me just add this to the great comments. As a TA teaching the required College Composition class at a major university, I was horrified at the writing level of the students. They were mostly unable to summarize information, synthesize information, analyze information, and then build their own compositions in a coherent cohesive way. If you would like for your child to have success in college, and even to learn higher text analysis, teach him or her to read AND write. Even my AP students seemed to struggle with what the university considered basic composition writing. Very sad.

Amy

[Rhonda in TX]

I have two children on the opposite end of the writing spectrum. My DS hates to write. It had been a real struggle until we found the right writing program. DD has written stories since she was in kindergarten. She can write and write and write. She is very creative and expressive with her words. I made the decision to start the same writing program with her and it has given structure to her school writing. She has continued her creative writing (that never stopped), so I don't feel there is a negative impact there.

[Laura Corin]

I think it depends on the parent as well as the child. If you feel confident enough to guide your child towards good writing, then a specific programme isn't necessary.

 

Best wishes

 

Laura

[Julie in MN]

I agree with Laura that you *could* teach writing yourself. In fact, no matter what program you use, a majority of it must be teacher-led because there is no way to provide an answer key for each individual.

 

It seems like everyone is talking about two very different kinds of writing. Reports vs. creative writing. And I'm guessing that the original poster's daughter is doing creative writing -- I had one son who liked to write reports in his free time, but that isn't the norm :o)

 

So I wanted to add that even in creative writing, some *education* is helpful. We use Writing Strands, which TWTM recommends. I think it adds things the kids may not think of:

 

* 1st person vs. 3rd person etc

* omniscient narrator vs. limited view

* realizing that two characters don't see the same thing at the same time

* realizing that one character may see something that the other character doesn't realize he sees

* realizing that even a "floor plan" can help make sure you don't confuse the reader when characters pop in and out of a room that's connected at one point and not at another

* etc

 

Many creative writing programs introduce "writing ideas" such as, "Write 100 words about your favorite place." If your student has lots of ideas, I don't think this is necessary at all. But technique, that can probably be worked on by everyone!

 

JULIE