veggiegal Posted June 20, 2011 Share Posted June 20, 2011 I have sorted out most of my son's program for next year, but am stumped when it comes to a writing program, by which I mean something that will help him learn to write essays / stories. He has tidy penmanship in both print and cursive--that's not a concern. We're going to be using AAS, GWG, and some sort of root words vocabulary (EFTRU, or similar) and we read all the time--what else do I need? Perhaps a bit of background: He's a very bright kid, reading way above grade level (high school), but the standardized test we did recently showed some deficits in his understanding of paragraph and sentence structure. I have done less with him k-3 in Language Arts than I would have with most kids, and that is due to his very strong reading skills. (He was one of those kids who began reading at age 2/3, and without any explicit instruction). But just as I think the key L.A. skill k-3 is reading, I think the key skill 4-6 is writing: I expect him to be able to craft short essays / reports and stories (say 3-5 paragraphs long) by the end of grade 6, and simply don't know where to start or how to get there. He's a kid who enjoys non-fiction more than fiction, and he loves puzzles / riddles / logic and more creative approaches to subjects. He also likes to be challenged. I find him a hard kid to find materials for sometimes because he is very asynchronous in his development: reading at a grade 11 level, spelling and grammar skills of a grade 4, vocabulary skills of a grade 7 (according to the standardized test), and (IMO) emotional maturity wise, grade 2/3. Ideas? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
noah&emmasmommy Posted June 20, 2011 Share Posted June 20, 2011 Here are a couple of writing suggestions: Jump In Wordsmith Apprentice IEW WriteShop Check out Cathy Duffy's reviews for more suggestions on writing curriculum: http://cathyduffyreviews.com/grammar-composition/grammar-composition-index.htm I used WWE with my daughter, who is a rising 2nd grader. I do like it, and the stories in it are fun. At the beginning levels, it is a narration and copy work type of program. That would be a great place for you to start if you don't do that already. Narration is simply oral composition, and copy work will expose him to good writing. WWE could work, but it does start out very simply. With the narration, start out with just a short paragraph from something he's reading from school, and just begin asking for one complete sentence- let him re-tell what you read to him in his own words. Don't demand something specific, just let him narrate his own way. As long as it's grammatically correct. With copywork and dictation, I would suggest the copy work daily, and the dictation maybe once a week? I believe SWB explains that in her book, The Well Trained Mind. But you can also look at Charlotte Mason resources to help you with that. I would do all of that with a writing resource. With my older son, I used Writing Strands. It's okay, but feels a little dis-jointed because I think it's purpose is fulfilled through the entire program, just in one book. Although it does teach organizational skills well. This year, I'm going to try Jensen's Format Writing with him along with Character Quality Language Arts. Jensen's is for jr. high and high school, so your son could probably use it as early as 6-7th grade with a good grammar background. Also, does he journal every day? That would be another way to get the creative juices flowing. I do believe there is an online writing program as well- Time for Writing I hope that helps you. I'm sure you'll get many other suggestions here on the board. There's a lot of experience and wisdom here! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simka2 Posted June 20, 2011 Share Posted June 20, 2011 If it were me I would go with WWE4. You may move thru it quickly, but then he would be set up with WWS1. I have spent all week reading thru the instructor guide to WWS and I am very impressed. :D I am going to spend a week doing a narration and basic sentence structure intensive, before I jump in with dd10. If Dd were 9 I would have done WWE4. I have twin boys who are 9. They are average readers but strong in their handwriting, so I went with WWE3. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tam101 Posted June 20, 2011 Share Posted June 20, 2011 :bigear: what is WWS? I'm thinking of adding Writing Strands 3 for my 9 year old (10 this fall). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
veggiegal Posted June 20, 2011 Author Share Posted June 20, 2011 Thank you for the ideas and links. A number of these I had not heard of before. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crimson Wife Posted June 20, 2011 Share Posted June 20, 2011 (edited) The Paragraph Book series from EPS. You don't need the TM as it's geared towards classroom use. The series is designed for remedial use in middle school, but IMHO it deserves a wider audience. I like it because it walks the student through the paragraph-writing process step-by-step-by-step. It is very thorough and teaches things that I have a tendency to overlook because I've been doing it so long (formatting and such). Edited June 20, 2011 by Crimson Wife fixed link Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simka2 Posted June 20, 2011 Share Posted June 20, 2011 :bigear: what is WWS? I'm thinking of adding Writing Strands 3 for my 9 year old (10 this fall). WWS is Writing With Skill. It comes after WWE4. It should be availble in a week or so on the Peacehill Press website. I was considering IEW and have tried CW Aesop. I really like the set up of WWS so far. When I went back and looked I realized you might be fine with WWE4 the reading selelctions are quite challenging. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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