A writing programme for DS (X post)

[Grover]

Could I please have some advice on placing DS(5) in a writing programme? Although he's only a new five he's profoundly gifted and while writing is not a strength it's not at age level either. I'm getting frustrated trying to work out where to place him and with so many programmes available but that I can't view before purchase (or only limited samples) I keep going in circles as to what to do with him next year.

 

If I give you some samples of writing he has done independently / spelling levels, etc could I please have some suggestions on what to do with him? One thing I should add is that, while he can write fluently it's not his favourite thing to do, so something fairly gentle / incremental would probably be good... something that sneaks up on him so he finds himself writing without realising it would be perfect

 

Here is some of his writing from the last 4 months or so- (his spelling and punctuation included):

 

The most unusual present Santa ever had to deliver was a real car! He had to deliver it to Mum. Her orther one has brocken down. So she ascked for another one from Santa. He maneged to get it here by driving and flying it.

 

When Mum lokked out of the window, she was happy. She went outside and got in, found a botten that made it fly. that was the bigginning of many advesess (adventures).

I asked him to write about an unusual thing Santa might do. He hasn't revisited this to edit it at all. He spent perhaps 20 minutes on this.

 

I know that Spring is nearly here...

Yellow buttercups are growing on the grass.

Beautiful pink blossom is growing on the brown trees.

Wighte and yellow daisies are growing behind the garden and on the front lawn.

There is more sunshine, and there is more daylight.

More flowers are growing.

 

Spring is here!!!

I asked him to write one sign that Spring is on the way each day, so this is one week's worth of writing, perhaps 5 minutes each day.

 

I am going to tell you about Blood. Blood is very speacil to man.

 

Blood moves through the body. Then it goes back to the heart. It goes around the body again.

 

Vamperis like to suck blood. Red blood cells carry oxegein and white blood cells fight disizis.

 

15 or so minutes to write.

 

Spelling wise he can spell most the essential spelling lists in isolation, and usually in his written work too. We're slowly meandering through AAS.

 

Any advice would be gratefully accepted.

[Beth in SW WA]

 

I know that Spring is nearly here...

Yellow buttercups are growing on the grass.

Beautiful pink blossom is growing on the brown trees.

Wighte and yellow daisies are growing behind the garden and on the front lawn.

There is more sunshine, and there is more daylight.

More flowers are growing.

 

Spring is here!!!

I asked him to write one sign that Spring is on the way each day, so this is one week's worth of writing, perhaps 5 minutes each day.

 

I am going to tell you about Blood. Blood is very speacil to man.

 

Blood moves through the body. Then it goes back to the heart. It goes around the body again.

 

Vamperis like to suck blood. Red blood cells carry oxegein and white blood cells fight disizis.

 

What a creative little guy you have! No advice, just kudos. :)

[Dmmetler]

You might want to look at MCT LA and see if it's a good fit. We started it with my DD at age 6, and it's really pushed her writing ahead. Michael Clay Thompson just plain seems to know how Gifted kids think and what they need to encourage them to move to the next level. I suspect she could have done it at 5 (she's also PG, and definitely a "Languagy" kid), but I just plain didn't find it until after that point.

[Grover]

You might want to look at MCT LA and see if it's a good fit. We started it with my DD at age 6, and it's really pushed her writing ahead. Michael Clay Thompson just plain seems to know how Gifted kids think and what they need to encourage them to move to the next level. I suspect she could have done it at 5 (she's also PG, and definitely a "Languagy" kid), but I just plain didn't find it until after that point.

 

I'm interested to hear more, if you could elaborate. By pushing her writing ahead, do you mean that it's quite intensive? Writing is far and away DS's weakest area and he really struggles with the desire to write... it's like pulling teeth (that lovely perfectionism thing I suspect). So if there's a lot of writing expected right off the bat I don't think he'd stick at it without making everyone miserable.

 

Would you suggest the whole 'package' (grammar, vocab, poetry etc) or just certain parts)? And would you recommend we come in at level 1 or somewhere else?

 

thanks!

[Dmmetler]

What I discovered with MCT was that it made her WANT to write, starting out with the grammar book, where there were activities involving picking parts of sentences from multiple columns and then using them to create a sentence-which was then used as the start of a story. Or, in the vocabulary book, trying to write sentences, stories, or poems using as many words with a given prefix as possible. And Music of the Hemispheres REALLY sparked a lot of poetics and creative writing. We'll go into Sentence Island (which I saved for the very end precisely because I was concerned about the amount of writing it takes) after Christmas-we've been low-key between Thanksgiving and Christmas because of DD's dance schedule.

 

Island, which is the first level, is written for gifted 3rd graders, and I'd say start there. It was redundant for DD as far as many of the concepts went in the grammar book, but she still enjoyed it (even when she was arguing that "it's NOT just a noun-that's the Predicate Nominative!") and the poetics, especially was quite advanced. I think the vocabulary is the weakest, if your child has done any classical languages at all, but again, she enjoyed it and the personification of the different characters and trying to write stories using de, re, un, sub, super and the like were IN character gave her a lot of motivation to write (we also now have cute little clay figures of them sitting on her desk that she spent most of a day creating).

 

I haven't used the literature component yet-DD had already read the books in it by the time it was available, but may consider it at higher levels.

Edited December 14, 2011 by dmmetler

[Grover]

thank you. I think I'm nearly convinced to take the plunge. Now I need to find out how much postage is... eek!

[lewelma]

I have used both IEW and MCT with both of my boys.

 

for the oldest:

2nd-4th grade: IEW

5th grade: MCT paragraph town, musical hemispheres, grammar town, CE 1

6th WWS. CE 2

 

for the youngest in 1st and beginning of 2nd grade

Tried WWE - a big bust

Used MCT - grammar island and musical hemispheres (and own the rest and have read them extensively)

IEW - started 6 weeks ago

 

Here is my take:

 

Musical hemispheres - definitely use this. It is an absolutely wonderful book and I think a PG 5 year old would loooove it.

 

Grammar Island - definitely use it. My son has told me now that grammar is his favorite subject. We will finish it and then move to KISS grammar which is harder grammar town and grammar voyage.

 

Building Language - skip it. Too easy for the price.

 

Sentence Island - skip it. This is very similar to grammar island, and there is not much writing instruction in it. You could buy it and read it over a month, but that is about it, really. Kind of pricey for what you get, IMHO

 

I have already told you in the K-8 board that IEW would be my suggestion for a boy who does not love writing. IEW, in contrast to MCT writing materials, actually instructs in writing. MCT's writing books focus on increasing the passion, and giving a big picture. However, Sentence Island is the least inspiring of the 3 writing books, IMHO. Paragraph Town and Essay Voyage are pretty good but too old for you ds.

 

Hope this is helpful,

 

Ruth in NZ

[Grover]

Thank you for that. I've been looking at the IEW site. I'm wondering how much is left in the PAL programme if we skip the letter formation and fluency stuff - he's ok with that. Is there still enough in just the composition section if we start with that to justify the cost or would you suggest I look at one of the older programmes?

 

Your insight in to the MCT books is very useful, thank you - it's hard to know what we need.

[lewelma]

I'm wondering how much is left in the PAL programme if we skip the letter formation and fluency stuff - he's ok with that. Is there still enough in just the composition section if we start with that to justify the cost or would you suggest I look at one of the older programmes?

 

I was definitely thinking of the older programs. Given what you have posted of his writing, he is ready for the key word outline from a source of his choice, and its rewriting using the style suggestions. I am talking about the Structure and Style curriculum. I would not give him something to watch directly. Instead, you should watch the instructional videos and teach him the material. After about 1 year of the program, my ds(HG, and age 7.5 at the time) rewrote an aesop fable using spaceships for an amazing result. I have written it below. Before IEW his writing was mostly 1 sentence long, and he hated to write because what he wrote "sounded bad."

 

Please read the story, knowing it is a product of IEW, tailored to his interests and needs. It is a powerful program. He outlined an Aesop fable, changed the main characters and settings, and wrote it within the style guidelines. IEW gives structure and style to writing, just like the title.

 

Ruth in NZ

 

 

 

Peace Made on That Day. A retelling of the Lion and the Mouse

 

The Quivlixgs and the Scrac were warring civilizations who were related to human kind. In the year their sun exploded a Scrac destroyer was releasing its metallic junk and getting ready for an intergalactic voyage. A tiny Quivlixgs hopper unexpectedly got stranded near the Scrac ship, thrown by the shock waves of the dying sun; and in its fright and haste to escape, it scraped the noes cone of the destroyer.

 

The Scrac, disturbed abruptly from their prelaunch acquisition of gases, targeted their guns unmercifully at the Quivlixgs hopper. The Quivlixgs pilot in desperation radioed a message pleading "Spare me for someday I will surely repay you." Amused at the thought of such a minuscule possibility that a hopper could ever help them (especially because they were warring civilisations), the Scrac finally let the hopper go.

 

Some days later the Scrac were on an intergalactic voyage to an uncharted world. As they travelled deeper into space, the terrain became rougher and rougher. Unknowingly, they were preparing for an impending disaster, which would one night destroy their guns. That night came quite soon. The captain was attempting to stay awake while all the other Scrac were sleeping. Then there was a horrible crash as their guns were knocked out by a table-sized chunk of ice.

 

The next day they were struggling in an unpredictable and destructive asteroid belt. Unable to free themselves since their guns were badly damaged they filled the radio links with their horrified cries for help. The Quivlixgs who were attempting to dodge the asteriods, were inconspicously following the Scrac because they wanted to steal their world. The Quivlixgs who had heard the Scrac struggling in the nearby asteroids, quickly and decisively destroyed the asteroids to free the Scrac. The Quivlixgs piolot exclaimed "You laughed to think that a small Quivlixgs hopper could ever repay you, but even a hopper can help a Scrac destroyer." And they made peace that day.

Edited December 15, 2011 by lewelma

[Grover]

Thank you for all of the information, it's really helpful.

 

Would you suggest just the teacher part or the student intensive materials as well?

 

I was looking at the theme based material and thinking he'd probably enjoy the all things fun and fascinating and/or the fables and myths materials. Are these worth looking at or should I be looking at the main Structure and Style curriculum only?

[lewelma]

My kids have never used the student intensive. Some people really like Andrew's teaching style. But what I really like about IEW is that I can learn all the material by sitting down and watching the instructional videos (teaching writing: structure and style), and then I can teach it at my kids level using source material at his level also. For a HG child such as mine, we went through a lot of material very quickly and used very complex source material that would never be found in a 1st grade curriculum. IEW is completely adaptable.

 

For HG and PG children very few curriculum can be used without major adapting, making it almost useless. The best for us have been the materials where I learn the material and teach it at their level. IEW is one of those curriculum.

 

Oh, I have also never used the theme based units. Once again, my kids like choosing what they will write about. Typically something they are studying or interested in. The theme based units will move at a pace more appropriate for a grade-level child. In my experience, even bumping a child up 2 or 3 grades does not fix this problem, because they still assimilate the material faster than a typical kid.

 

I have used IEW as a course for me. I learn how to teach writing. Then I can wing it at my kids pace.

 

FWIW, my ds(7 now 8) loves memorizing the poetry from "linguistic development through poetry memorization." Just buy the book. Great for his memory and his love of language.

 

Ruth

[Grover]

thank you so much, I can see I have some more researching to do.

[Lasthenia]

For 5 years old that's pretty impressive writing. Hope you find what you need for this bundle of talent!

[Grover]

For 5 years old that's pretty impressive writing. Hope you find what you need for this bundle of talent!

 

thank you... and I hope so too, because the child keeps scaring me! I suppose technically it's 4 year old writing - I don't think any of the ones I put up were from after his birthday.

 

I have to share his santa letter because it's too cute:

 

Dear Santa

 

I am still here in Christchurch. I am making sure you know because lots of people have gone away from here now but I did not. I still have a chinmy too because it was not made of bricks. Don't be scared to come to see us this year, no more bildings will fall down. The engineers have checked them all and they are ok now. Tell your raindeer I checked and I know they like apple with skin so I will not eat the last one before they come. My mum said you would like a chocolate brownie to eat so she will make one and she won't eat it. If you have room in your sleygh I would really like a new game but if your elfes can't find one a surprise would be very nice. My sister would like a halmet for her new bike. She likes pink and stars and she needs a small one because she is small.

 

On Christmas night I will go to sleep as soon as I can and if I hear your bells I will go to sleep fast. I hope you can find everyone who has moved but I think your raindeer will know.

 

Merry Christmas Santa

 

from DS

 

p.s. Santa, if there is an aftershock when you are here you have to make a turtle and keep safe. Please don't run outside or you might get squashed. Tell your raindeer too.

 

I love you.