Writing Strands or WWE for 6th grade?

[WaterLily]

This is the last thing I'm trying to figure out for this year (for now anyway...). We just started using Writing With Ease last year and we started out easy b/c I didn't feel like my youngers had had enough narration and dictation up to that point. I put my 2nd grader in level 1 and my 5th grader in level 2. I'm going to keep using WWE with my now 3rd grader but I'm not sure about my now 6th grader. He's using R&S and we do the writing in there, but I am also considering continuing WWE (probably level 3) and/or beginning Writing Strands. Obviously those programs are very different and I don't know which would be better at this point. I'd rather not do both just to spare us the work load. We could stop WWE and just begin the levels of WS, or we could do WWE this year and maybe go on to Writing With Style next year in 7th? I haven't given that one a thorough look yet though.... Thoughts pretty please? :)

[WaterLily]

bumping :)

[MyLittleBears]

:lurk5:

[mom2l&j]

I'm interested too. This will be our first year at home and it's difficult trying to figure out where to start at.

[LanaTron]

How comfortable are you with teaching writing? I found Writing Strands difficult for my kids, because the assignments weren't specific enough, and I couldn't teach it well...maybe those aren't the right words, but WWE has been a much better fit for us. It's simple to use, and the kids know what to expect each day. If you start with WWE 3, but want to get to WWS for 7th grade, you could double up assignments--but there's no rush, IMO, as long as your dc is continuing to improve his skills. Or you could give your dc the evaluation to see if they need WWE 3 or WWE 4.

[ktgrok]

This is the last thing I'm trying to figure out for this year (for now anyway...). We just started using Writing With Ease last year and we started out easy b/c I didn't feel like my youngers had had enough narration and dictation up to that point. I put my 2nd grader in level 1 and my 5th grader in level 2. I'm going to keep using WWE with my now 3rd grader but I'm not sure about my now 6th grader. He's using R&S and we do the writing in there, but I am also considering continuing WWE (probably level 3) and/or beginning Writing Strands. Obviously those programs are very different and I don't know which would be better at this point. I'd rather not do both just to spare us the work load. We could stop WWE and just begin the levels of WS, or we could do WWE this year and maybe go on to Writing With Style next year in 7th? I haven't given that one a thorough look yet though.... Thoughts pretty please? :)

 

We are in the exact same boat. I did WWE2 with my son last year, in 5th grade, and I'm glad i did. He has developed some GREAT narration skills and is really learning how to put a sentence together well. We started late so we are finishing the last few weeks up now. I debated a LOT about what to do next, but I think we are going to do WWE3 or 4 and leave WWS for next year. We won't do both WWE3 and 4, but that is ok. I'm going to do the assessment for WWE3 to see about skipping it or not. I might also have him do the first assignment in WWS just to see how he does. But most likely we will be saving it for next year, and I don't feel bad about it at all.

[masaki]

Hi Rebecca,

 

We tried to get into WWE twice and it just didn't work out for us. We ended up with Writing Strands and I am very happy with the results. It is a little different. Someone mentioned that the instructions aren't super-specific, I've felt that sometimes too, but its main strength is that it helps the student learn how to organize his/her thoughts well and also provides opportunities to try out new things. My ds, new 6th grader, just started WS 5. The first lesson was on subjective and objective narrative voice, he had a great time learning about the concepts, playing with them, and writing his own story over the course of the week. With WWE, the student is practicing the same (yes valuable, but still the same), few skills over and over again. If you're doing history and science the WTM way, there are plenty of opportunities for writing summaries there. Another nice thing about WS is that it's a relatively short program. WS 5 has only 16 lessons, so ds will be doing a formal writing lesson every other week. During weeks he's off from WS, he'll work on Word Roots and vocabulary. If Rod & Staff has some writing in it, you might want to look at WS more closely, if you think there's a possibility your student may become bogged down by too much writing. If you end up going with WS, you could always do dictation on your weeks off of writing.

 

HTH,

Marilyn

[HSMom2One]

My suggestion would be to go with R&S for grammar only, but leave out the writing exercises. (This is what SWB recommends too.) Then go with WWE and on up the progression. For one, this would be good so your family is all with the same curriculum. Secondly, WWE and WWS are excellent writing programs. WWE/WWS really don't have to be given at a particular grade level. As long as the student learns the concepts of WWE/WWS before entering rhetoric level writing (In other words, way up ahead...) that is what is important. Through many discussions I've taken part in or read here on the boards, I've learned to let go of the Level # matched up to the student's grade in school.

 

As far as WS goes, it's an ok program, but my dd did not gain and retain a lot of skill with it. I believe that SWB's writing programs will help my dd develop her writing well, and although I don't mean to totally dis WS, WWE/WWE imho are much stronger, more rigorous teaching tools. My goal is to complete the series and at some point in high school have her go through the One Year Adventure Novel. With these under her belt, she will be well prepared for college level writing.

 

Blessings,

Lucinda