SO confused and needing help - Language Arts

[Tanya in KS]

We are using Rod & Staff Grammar. I LOVE it and do not want to change. But am feeling compelled to add more.

 

We have tried Writing Strands and I HATED it. Not enough instruction or guidance, IMO. I have been looking at Writing Tales and Writing with Ease. Both look great and what I think I am looking for in a writing program since we seem to struggle in this area. Daugther seems to be an okay writer, I just want a program that will really show her how to write a well written paper, story, or whatever.

 

Also, do I need to add more copywork? I love Queen Homeschool copywork books.

 

Lastly, her cursive is not that great. Daddy is not too concerned but should I work on it more? Add a handwriting program? which she would do great in but then when it comes to other work she is down right sloppy. SO I know that she can if she choose to.

 

Would love to hear what works for your family for the subject of Lang. Arts

 

Tanya

[mcconnellboys]

I used R&S for the lower grades, and switched to Abeka this year, in fourth (just something I did with my older son and it worked well, which is why I did it again - I like R&S just fine).

 

I sometimes add in things like copywork and picture study, poetry study, etc. from Intermediate Language Lessons (which is preceded by Primary Language Lessons). I love these old fashioned books!

 

I use Spelling Workout for spelling work; Getty-Dubay Italics for handwriting; and have used a variety of things for writing (which will continue next year). I haven't used the two curriculums you mentioned, so I won't comment on those. Writing Strands did work well for my older son, a natural writer, but I understand that it does not work well for everyone.

[Ellie]

your dd will learn "how to write a well written paper, story, or whatever," without supplementing a single thing.

 

Of course, it couldn't hurt to do copywork, but remember that her English assignments involve writing, so you could count that for her penmanship, too. Also, you could include a penmanship grade on other subjects, too. She gets away with writing sloppy 'cuz you let her :-)

[LisaNY]

Tanya, R&S will give excellent coverage of the basic forms of expository writing - paragraphs, outlining (*excellent*!), reports, notes, etc. The only thing I would add at this point is narration/dictation and copywork. This combination will form a very good foundation in writing for your dc.

 

I am a huge fan of imitative writing exercises. I used English for the Thoughtful Child when my dd's were young. It offered lots of narration/dictation/copywork exercises. Both of my dd's had a composition book (the kind w/the marble cover) as their copywork notebook. Each week, I would assign them a literature passage or poem to copy. I still do this w/my younger dd. (13) This exposes children to good examples of literature, while at the same time offering handwriting practice. I used Getty-Dubay Italic w/my older dd and A Reason for Handwriting with my younger dd.

 

When my dd's were in 3rd/4th gr., I used to work with Aesop's Fables, etc., having them copy the stories, narrate them back to me, write their own, discuss, etc. Classical Writing came out soon after that, so we jumped into that, since they did all the work for me.

 

You can stick w/R&S and narration/dictation/copywork, and then move into CW, or a similar program as they get into upper elementary. This will give them a very well-rounded foundation in both creative and expository writing skills. CW, and similar programs give more focus than R&S does in the area of creative writing, literary analysis, study of the parts of a story, etc.

 

The strength of R&S is in it's expository writing lessons, IMO. To get the most out of the lessons in R&S, it is important to take what your dc have learned, and apply it across the curriculum. When you study outlining, have your dc outline a portion of their history or science text. When you study paragraphs, have your dc write a paragraph about what they are learning in history or science. Etc., etc., etc....

 

Hope that helps! :001_smile: