Help! Recs for a good writing program?

[Part-Time Homeschooler]

My ds7 (almost 8) is struggling with writing. He can barely write a simple, complete sentence. Tonight I asked him to write 5 sentences about the chapter book he read today. The sentences he came up with were very poorly written; I honestly think my dd4 could have done a better job. It was very difficult for him to construct a sentence; he became very frustrated and started to cry. I comforted him and told him it was OK, we'd work on writing sentences another day. Here's an example of a sentence he wrote:

 

"A to Z Mystery is about the kid name are Dink, Josh, and Ruth Rose."

 

I am completely baffled as to why writing is so challenging for him. He is a very good student and got all A's and one B+ (reading) on his report card. I wish I knew how to help him become a better writer. Any suggests and/or recommendations would be greatly appreciated!

[Beth in Central TX]

As this age, I don't really think you need a formal writing program, but I would work on narration. It seems like such a simple skill, but I found that was not an intuitive process for my boys. Here are some helpful tips to get started: http://www.welltrainedmind.com/narration.php

[Georgia]

It can seem more complicated than we realize...trying to remember what you read, forming letters correctly, spelling (especially for perfectionists - better not to try from their point of view), picking out the details you want to write about, etc., all at the same time.

 

At that age, it really helped my son when I took time to talk with him about what he wanted to write before doing the actual writing, even to the point of practicing the sentences out loud first with me, then helping him remember the words as he was writing. Of course this didn't last forever. He gradually became more independent, until he was doing wonderful narrations of Greek myths, up to 2 pages long (every other line of wide-ruled paper)(this took about one and a half years), but not chapter books. He could narrate after each chapter, though.

 

I guess the talking is oral narration, with lots of help in the beginning, and breaking up longer sections of readings.

 

Copywork also helped a lot. Just a couple of sentences at a time, whatever he wanted to copy.

 

HTH's,

Georgia

[Sue G in PA]

I don't know that my ds7 could have done any better, honestly. 5 sentences is a lot for a 7yo, IMO. My ds8 is just now starting to write 3 sentence narrations of short stories and fables and short lessons from our science or history. And, THAT is even tough for him. I would start by having your ds do some copywork...it helps to reinforce/teach what a sentence "looks" and "sounds" like. For narrations...have him orally narrate to you and you write it down. Start w/ 3 sentences. For short fables, I have ds8 do a beg., middle and end sentence (this is what happened in the beg., then this and lastly, this). You write down his narrations and he can copy what you wrote. Writing seems easy to us, but it is really a complicated thing for a kid who is just learning all the skills necessary in the writing process, KWIM?

 

Also, 5 sentences about a chapter book is quite difficult for any child b/c it's such a wide topic. Chapter books can be quite long and involved. Try narrowing down the focus for him. Honestly, I would just talk to him about what he read. Save the narrations for shorter, more focused lessons. I don't know that I could write JUST 5 sentences about a chapter book. HTH.

[PeterPan]

Well of course a dd age 4 could have done better, lol. She's a GIRL and he's a BOY!!! You can't compare them. What grade is he doing in school? In many places parents are holding back boys with summer (June +) birthdays, meaning your ds could easily be considered a 1st grader, a *1st* grader. I wouldn't expect a 1st grader to write 5 original sentences about anything. He could give a retelling orally that you write out and let him copy. He can do copywork daily and begin some gentle dictation. You might like to get him the new WWE workbooks, say the 1st grade level, that are coming out. If the 1st grade is easy and comfortable for him, he could double up to complete it and do the 2nd grade book in the fall. I just wouldn't push too much on him. He's a boy, not a girl, and clearly not Mr. Verbal.

 

The other thing you might like to do is get the Writing Without Fear cd (now available) so you can learn the progression of writing skills. When you do copywork and dictation, you're separating the originality from the skill of writing, allowing him to progress forward in skill without worrying about being original.

[Kathleen in VA]

A few days or weeks ago Plaid Dad posted a link to an article at Memoria Press by Andrew Pudewa (IEW) about writing. Here is the link:

 

http://www.memoriapress.com/articles/One-Myth.html

 

The article suggests memorization and listening as the two most important ways to incorporate good language patterns into a student. Mr. Pudewa puts it so much better than I do, so I highly recommend that you read the article.

 

He points out that you won't get out what you don't put in. Read aloud to your son a lot and require him to memorize poetry. First Language Lessons has many lessons requiring memorization that would be appropriate for his age.

 

ETA: Others must've posted while I was researching the article and writing my post. I just wanted to say I agree that a 7yo boy is not likely to write much. I taught first grade in a Christian school and did not require that much writing from my students. My own experience with three boys is very similar to yours in that they were not ready to write much at that age. Now the two oldest, at 19 and 21, write constantly about things they care about (that could be an important factor, too). My oldest was recently awarded the highest cadet award in the Civil Air Patrol which required he write a timed essay. I guess he learned somewhere between 1st grade and now how to put his thoughts on paper. I dare say your son will as well.

 

HTH,

[Kathleen in VA]

That last part is supposed to say "He now *knows* how to put his thoughts on paper. And this from a proofreader! LOL:)

 

ETA: I'm rilly, rilly tired. It was right the first time. Going to bed now.

[Part-Time Homeschooler]

Thanks, everyone!

 

Ds7 just finished 2nd grade. I kind of thought I might have been asking too much of him. When he became upset, I calmed him down and told him he didn't have to finish the sentences. Before he started writing, I asked him to tell me about the book. His description was very cryptic so maybe we're dealing with a reading comprehension issue as well.

 

OhElizabeth, what is WWE? Thanks!

[PeterPan]

WWE=Writing with Ease. It's SWB's new writing curriculum coming out soon. See the thread on the board about it. :)

[TracyR]

At that age lots of copywork and dictation helped with my girls . I didn't start a formal writing program with my girls until they were about 8.5 ,9 .

Writing With Ease would be a good start . We are using Writing Tales and love that but don't recommend it for a child until they are in at least the middle of 3rd grade .

[Handmaiden]

I agree with the other posters. Work on copywork and narration first.

 

Check out BraveWriter.

 

Here's a gem from the BW site about writers under 10: The Un-Scope and Sequence

[Carmen_and_Company]

My 10 yo ds did copywork until this past fall. He began with two word sentences and worked his way to copying short paragraphs. We used Classical Writing Aesop this past year with few problems, but will switch to Writing Tales 2 and Spelling Wisdom in the fall to align more with CM & Waldorf.

[In The Great White North]

:iagree: Dd(11) did copywork and narration til she this year. She dislikes the physical act of writing and spells horribly, so actually writing it out would "hold back" her story-telling skills. Sounds like he would benefit from lots more oral narration too. I've seen a lot of threads about not starting a writing program til they are 9 -10, so you are not alone.

 

 

Carmen - Can you elaborate on why you feel Writing Tales 2 aligns more with Waldorf than CW Aesop?

 

I took my dd(11) out of a Waldorf school in the middle of 4th (last year) and I wrote out the stuff for her Main Lesson Book , ie copywork.

 

This year, I had her write a few of her own, and it took a major jump when I got CW Aesop late in the year. I only got the Core book, because I wanted to use selections from her history (mainly D'Aulaire's Greeks Myths, Colum had a weird writing style - very run on) and made a few worksheets based on the later steps of CW Aesop. The difference in her writing was immediate and dramatic, like jumping from 3rd grade into 5th grade in one day.

 

I've recently gotten a copy of Homer (core and workbook) and really wish I had had it this year for Greek history. I could have used some of her selections! The sad part is that now we are going onto Rome and I have to find my own again :(

 

But I digress.

 

I thought CW Aesop dovetailed quite nicely with Waldorf. I had also assumed Writing Tales would be too "young" for her. Some people have mentioned doing WT before CW Aesop. How will it align with the Waldorf 6th? Will you use it as is or work it into Main Lessons? What do you expect it to improve in his writing?

[sixlilmonkeys]

We are IEW users all the way! For the younger ages we use copywork and I'd like to start studied dictation for spelling purposes. But as for a program...IEW - its all you'll ever need. And the method helps one become confident in their writing abilities!

 

Michelle

[mcconnellboys]

He's really young! This doesn't sound out of the ordinary for his age at all. McGraw Hill has a Spectrum series of workbooks that include writing if you'd like to check out a more gentle program for him.

[Part-Time Homeschooler]

Thanks so much, everyone!

 

We are going to focus on copywork and narration. Ds goes to a private school and they didn't do a lot of writing in 2nd grade. They focused on spelling, grammar, punctuation, etc. and now I understand why.

 

Well, I'm off to look at copybooks! Thanks again! :)

[Southern_mom]

My ds,8, just finished 2nd grade and he could not have done any better.

He does have fine motor skill problems which make it difficult for him to

write for long. (Is your son a visual learner? They are notorious for issues

in fine motor skills. My ds is a visual learner).

For 3rd grade, I plan to incorporate First Language Lessons -we may even go back to the first book-, and Writing With Ease that's supposed to compliment the FLL books-both of which I notice were recommended already in this thread so hopefully I'm on the right track :001_smile:

You can get a feel for your ds' reading comprehension by using the narration methods described above. If he can narrate back, he's comprehending.

Southern_mom