s/o are homeschoolers behind in writing

[kalanamak]

One poster stated that writing and teaching writing are very different, and that working with writing teachers made her a better writer.

 

What resources have made YOU a better writing teacher?

[OK Family]

I am not a good writer and have been holding off teaching my third grader writing. I finally decided to

go with institute for excellence in writing student writing intensive program. The DVD actually addresses the students and has made writing not intimidating. They have a program

for the parent/teacher too to help

train you. Highly recommended.

[Jean in Newcastle]

TWTM

[kalanamak]

TWTM

 

got any favorite page numbers, Jean?

[chepyl]

One poster stated that writing and teaching writing are very different, and that working with writing teachers made her a better writer.

 

What resources have made YOU a better writing teacher?

 

 

Writing. Writing and having it proofread by someone else. I have done this for my master's and for anything that we send home with students at the studio. I make LOTS of errors in first drafts. I am, however, now really good at spotting errors. I also know a lot of rules that I did not remember from school.

[SeekingHim77]

I contribute my love and ability to write to my love of literature and being an avid reader.

 

IEW was the answer for my son. He went from hating writing to writing very well. As SWB recommends, I don't make him do all the dress-ups and extras. We just used the basics of the program and introduced a few of the stylistic techniques until he caught on. He now writes personal stories, fictional stories, long essays-mostly expository and descriptive-every day. We do need to work more on the persuasive essay sometime this year.

[kalanamak]

I contribute my love and ability to write to my love of literature and being an avid reader.

 

Me, too. But I was wondering about developing an ability to TEACH writing.

 

I am reminded of a math teacher I had at a community college. He was a terrific teacher, so clear. He made a point of saying "I am not a mathematician, I am a math teacher. Math whizzes can be very bad teachers, as they have no internal understanding of the poor schmuck who struggles." I have always been comfortable with writing, which I believe I picked up from reading and from hearing my family speak. But I sense I am going to need to be more systematic with my son. Maybe not, but I like to prepare for trouble before there is trouble.

[SeekingHim77]

Me, too. But I was wondering about developing an ability to TEACH writing.

 

I am reminded of a math teacher I had at a community college. He was a terrific teacher, so clear. He made a point of saying "I am not a mathematician, I am a math teacher. Math whizzes can be very bad teachers, as they have no internal understanding of the poor schmuck who struggles." I have always been comfortable with writing, which I believe I picked up from reading and from hearing my family speak. But I sense I am going to need to be more systematic with my son. Maybe not, but I like to prepare for trouble before there is trouble.

 

Okay-I get what you're asking now. :001_smile:

 

Andrew Pudewa actually taught me how to teach writing via his wonderful DVD's that are directed towards the teacher and not the student. I said that IEW was the answer for my son and it was but he didn't use their materials directly. I used them to learn how to teach and then I taught him using their methods. IEW made me a much better writing teacher.

[Snickerdoodle]

TWTM and SWB's writing lectures.

 

I can't say enough about them.

[angela in ohio]

Andrew Pudewa actually taught me how to teach writing via his wonderful DVD's that are directed towards the teacher and not the student. I said that IEW was the answer for my son and it was but he didn't use their materials directly. I used them to learn how to teach and then I taught him using their methods. IEW made me a much better writing teacher.

 

Me, too.

 

I already knew how to write well, thanks to some excellent teachers during high school. In order to translate that into being able to teach it, though, I needed Mr. Pudewa. :001_smile: It also required a lot of practice. Because I started marking their writing early, I was able to be ready to grade their high school writing. TWTM told me what to have them write, but it was IEW that taught me how to instruct.

 

Another thing that has helped me is to constantly seek new information. Each year, I try to read a few new resources on writing. Some of the best have been the 6+1 Traits books, Warriner's Complete Course, Classical Rhetoric for the Modern Student, and The Lively Art of Writing. The study of logic and rhetoric (ahead of my dc) has been very helpful, too.

 

I also think a bit of it - of being able to teach well in general, really - is just a natural skill, but I know that is controversial. ;) I think some parents find that they just don't have the _____ (patience, interest, etc.) to teach their child writing, and realizing that early and finding a great outside teacher are important.

Edited September 23, 2011 by angela in ohio

[-M-]

I also think a bit of it - of being able to teach well in general, really - is just a natural skill, but I know that is controversial. ;) I think some parents find that they just don't have the _____ (patience, interest, etc.) to teach their child writing, and realizing that early and finding a great outside teacher are important.

 

That it is a controversial assertion is so puzzling to me, but I thoroughly agree with you: The ability to teach well is often a natural skill. I wrote about the subjects of teaching with excellence and heart -- with expertise -- and, yes, of finding other teachers and resources yesterday: "Knicker knots."

[-M-]

I am my own resource. (*wry grin*) In addition to nearly thirty years as a working (that is, published and paid) writer and editor, my training and professional experience include assorted stints teaching writing and literature at the elementary, secondary, and college levels. More, I've taught students of varying abilities at those levels.

 

And of course it doesn't hurt that my BA is in journalism and communications, my MA is in English with a specialization in rhetoric and composition, and my post-graduate work is in publishing services and editing. ;)

 

Writing, then? Not a problem. Math, though? Lab science? Beyond a certain point, I defer to folks who can teach those subjects in the same way in which I can teach writing, literature, philosophy, and history -- with heart and excellence. We're fortunate to live near a college with dual enrollment options.

[mommymilkies]

I never had good writing teachers. In college the classes were a joke, but I wrote far better than most of the other students. I taught myself and always had A papers. I am a voracious reader and just learned from example and intuition. I know my posts are not very wonderful, grammatically, because I usually type while bouncing a baby on my lap. :lol: But I can write well. I'm certainly no J.K. Rowling or Walt Whitman, but I can at least do good enough.

[justamouse]

 

Writing, then? Not a problem. Math, though? Lab science? Beyond a certain point, I defer to folks who can teach those subjects in the same way in which I can teach writing, literature, philosophy, and history -- with heart and excellence. We're fortunate to live near a college with dual enrollment options.

 

I'm the same way. Published, I love an editor who adores her red pen, and I've read enormous amounts since I was a tyke.

 

I let my Dh teach maths.

 

But learning to write? Getting in your 10k hours and getting edited. That teaches you to write.

[Mrs Mungo]

One poster stated that writing and teaching writing are very different, and that working with writing teachers made her a better writer.

 

What resources have made YOU a better writing teacher?

 

I majored in literature and was writing 2 or 3 papers a week by my senior year. I taught my dh to write better papers when he started graduate classes. He made grades ranging from 95%-100%, never anything below that. My dds score in the 99th percentile in all language sections of standardized testing, ds isn't far behind. So, I think I know what I'm doing. :D

 

We've used IEW in the past, it isn't my favorite method. I find it makes the process more complicated for a simpler, more formulaic result.

 

I like the "Teaching the Essay" and "Teaching the Research Paper" units from Analytical Grammar. They are relatively simple to implement and do the job, imo. With my eldest we have added The Elements of Style, The New Oxford Guide to Writing and other books suggest in TWTM for high school.

Edited September 23, 2011 by Mrs Mungo

[Halcyon]

So far, I really like the Writer's Jungle. I think her ideas about talking with your children, a LOT, and writing down their ideas for them really can help get the pump going--writing is not solely about putting pencil to paper but about communicating with others. All children have ideas in their head, the trick is how can you they translate those to paper in an engaging way. Julie Bogart's discussion of how you, the teacher, can make this easier by talking with your student, "expanding" and telescoping, really opened my eyes.

[angela in ohio]

I think what is helping me become better at teaching writing is that I'm understanding more about grammar. I've always known if something didn't seem correct, but I was never able to explain why. I'm getting better at being able to do that.

 

I think this is the best place to start. If the teacher doesn't have a thorough grasp of grammar, it will be very difficult (impossible?) to turn out truly excellent writing students. I think more homeschool mommas should spend the time they spend fretting about which writing curriculum to use instead studying R&S English 8, 9, and 10 (and the earlier books first, if need be.)

[Nan in Mass]

Sigh. Writing Strands. With all its drawbacks, it DID teach me how to teach writing. TWTM and TWTM resources. Somewhere along the way someone here recommended a thin little book called Writing History (I think) that laid out the writing process nicely. That was helpful. Later, I found SWB's handout on writing a research papre. It says the same thing as Writing History but in an even more condensed form. I would have been fine with that alone. I badly needed something that showed the whole writing process accurately [lots of time spent choosing topic, research needed before that, etc.]. Between that and Writing Strands and the directions in TWTM and the Writing Strands book Evaluating Writing and the teacher who dropped in here and described the Schaffer method, I figured out how to teach my son writing. (The Schaffer method showed me how to show my son how to intermix proof and commentary.)

Nan

[Jean in Newcastle]

got any favorite page numbers, Jean?

 

Just the sections on writing for each level. For older grades I also recommend the books from Analytical Grammar that Mrs. Mungo recommended.

[duckabell]

I think this is the best place to start. If the teacher doesn't have a thorough grasp of grammar, it will be very difficult (impossible?) to turn out truly excellent writing students. I think more homeschool mommas should spend the time they spend fretting about which writing curriculum to use instead studying R&S English 8, 9, and 10 (and the earlier books first, if need be.)

 

I've spent some time browsing R&S for their grammar program. If I were to start with R & S English 8 are these the books that I would buy? Do I need both the pupil's textbook and the teacher's manual?