WWE - exactly what do I need?

[MeganW]

It looks like the following materials are available for WWE:

- The Complete Writer: Writing with Ease Instructor Text (book or PDF)

- The Complete Writer: Writing with Ease Workbook 1 (workbook or PDF)

- Student Pages 1 for Writing with Ease (consumable or PDF)

 

I hope to take 3 or 4 kids through the program simultaneously. I do NOT want to pick out my own copywork or narrative material - I want to use hers.

 

I have listened to SWB's writing lecture (several times), and read about it in the WTM book, so I understand her philosophy. Do I need the instructor text?

 

Is the Workbook a full self-contained program? Can I buy ONE workbook, and just have the kids use looseleaf handwriting paper? Or am I going to be wishing I had a copy for each child? The student pages are cheap enough that it might be worth just buying the paper versions rather than the PDF, but of course if I can just use regular paper that would be the cheapest yet!

 

So, what should I be buying? My initial thought was 1 instructor book, 1 workbook, and 3 sets of student pages. Is all that necessary? THANKS!

 

ETA - I have StartWrite, and we are using HWOT. Am I going to be wanted to re-type all her sentences to have it in the same format that we have been using? I'll definitely nix the student pages if so!

Edited December 18, 2011 by MeganW

[Kathryn]

If you get the philosophy, you don't need the instructor text. How you want to do it beyond that is up to you. I have a Hard copy workbook and the PDF student sheets because I like the book to stay clean but DS likes to write on the page with the sentence at the top and the picture. You could easily use notebook paper though.

[Mommy22alyns]

You don't need the instructor text. I had my workbooks split with the instructor portion spiral bound and the student pages 3-hole punched. Then I just bought extra student sheets for Sylvia. If you're determined to keep your kids on HWOT style handwriting, you might want to just use HWOT lined paper instead of the student sheets.

[Tracy]

I used SW because I wanted a particular font. I typed everything in over the summer in a couple of hours.

[boscopup]

The WWE1 workbook pages have HUGE lines, so that may be something to consider, if you're thinking about using them. Some kids do well with huge lines, but some have an easier time with smaller lines. They were too big for my son.

 

I always redo the copywork in Startwrite, so I don't use the student pages at all. I think WWE3 has the passages in the student pages? But for levels 1 and 2, you don't need the student pages at all if you plan to do the copywork in Startwrite. Also, the days where you write the narration are MUCH easier if you make nice, small lines in Startwrite (or TYPE THEM!) instead of using the huge 1st grade lines in the student pages. Yes, the instructor lines are the same size as the student lines, and sometimes I didn't have enough room to write his narration because of that! I usually type the narrations now, as that's so much easier for me (I can't hand write that fast).

 

Anyway, I agree that you don't need the instructor text. The lecture you listened to explains everything very well. I started out with WWE1 and the lecture. I later bought the instructor text with the intention of picking my own passages in WWE2. Then we got started, and I immediately placed an Amazon order for WWE2 workbook. :lol:

 

Every 6 weeks, we take a week long break, and during that time, I plan out school. That includes making copywork pages for WWE. It doesn't take long at all. That way, it's still open and go, but we're using lines appropriate for my son's abilities. I also used HWT lines when we were doing WWE1 (I've switched to GDI lines this year).

 

So what you need:

 

WWE1 workbook in either hard copy or pdf form, whichever is your preference (I'd get the hard copy if you don't plan to read off a portable device of some sort)

 

That's it!

[laundrycrisis]

Just the workbook. If you get the hard copy workbook, it is allowed per the copyright policy printed in the book to make copies of the student sheets for the use of multiple children within your own family only, not in order to resell the workbook.

[MeganW]

Thank you thank you thank you all!!!

[Tarreymere]

I have the workbook as a pdf download. You don't need the instructor text if you have the workbook because the teaching is in it, the instructor text is more about the philosophy. You don't need the student pages at all, really. I read the narratives from the workbook, and DD and I do the work on plain paper. The student pages are nice, but if you have a tight budget why buy special paper that has a space for your kid's name and a few lines on it?