Bloggermom Posted January 5, 2012 Share Posted January 5, 2012 My son is going into 6th grade and I am considering adding WWS to our current IEW writing assignments. He did not do WWE. Does WWS build upon that or is it totally separate? Also, does anyone know if WWS can be done independently or if it is scripted where I need to sit down and do the lesson with him? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redsquirrel Posted January 5, 2012 Share Posted January 5, 2012 I think it can be started on its own. It does build on skills learned, but the approach is very different. If your middle grade student can turn inarticulate thoughts into words and put words on paper then he can use WWS. As far as teacher involvement, I see it as a 'tweener'. It is written to the student but IMO you must check every assignment. The teacher book is very helpful it letting me know what to look for. It gives specific examples of mis-steps or errors. It gives examples/approximations of what a correct assignment should look like. And while it is written to the student it assumes that you are nearby in case the student needs help. There are instructions and guidance for that as well. My son has not yet needed any assistance but I know he will sooner or later. I think it is a great program and worth every single penny. I don't think you should pass it by just because you didn't use FLL 1-4. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5LittleMonkeys Posted January 5, 2012 Share Posted January 5, 2012 It is written to the student but if your student has trouble the TM gives you a script to follow to talk your dc through the lesson. I use the TM with one of my dc and the other works through completely on her own except for me checking her work against the rubric. Both of my older dc went through about a month of WWE4 just to make sure our dictation and summary\narration skills were not at rock bottom. I think it could be used without ever having done WWE though. The first 20 weeks are free so you have nothing to lose by trying it out.:D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiramisu Posted January 5, 2012 Share Posted January 5, 2012 We did some WWE 2 a few years ago and never finished the whole text. We got a little bored actually.:001_smile: Dd jumped right into WWS without a problem. She is doing amazingly well as a 6th grader. I think it's better for her this year than it would have been last year. She's a reluctant writer but likes it and can work through the lessons independently. She did Writing Tales 1 & 2 before WWS. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lewelma Posted January 5, 2012 Share Posted January 5, 2012 My ds did IEW (grades 2-4), and MCT PT (grade 5), and has done very well with WWS (grade 6). We did have to backtrack to WWE3 for a month to practice summarizing, which he had very little previous experience with. Ruth in NZ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PollyOR Posted January 6, 2012 Share Posted January 6, 2012 Thanks for the replies. I have been wondering the same thing also. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sewpeaceful Posted January 6, 2012 Share Posted January 6, 2012 Another poster tried to go straight into WWS1 and found her dc wasn't prepared enough and had to back track and do WWE4 this year. The answer: every kid is different. Try it. If your dc is struggling with determining the main point in a paragraph, then step back, do WWE4 and keep on moving. You won't know until you try. Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HSMom2One Posted January 6, 2012 Share Posted January 6, 2012 We didn't use WWE at all, just went from a mixture of writing lessons (R&S, TOG, WS and my own ideas) straight to WWS, and dd is doing just super. She has found WWS to be very easy to understand and implement. She thinks SWB rocks! Somewhere I had read or heard SWB say that a student does not need to have used WWE in order to succeed with WWS. I took her for her word and found that it was so. Blessings, Lucinda Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bloggermom Posted January 7, 2012 Author Share Posted January 7, 2012 I decided to start him in WWE4 just to be safe. It is better to have a more solid foundation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deniseibase Posted January 7, 2012 Share Posted January 7, 2012 We went straight into WWS without doing WWE - the first three weeks (which you can get for free in the sample PDF) are basically diagnostic to see if the student is ready for WWS. DD did fine on those first three weeks (well, after a little initial trouble grasping the concept of 'Yes, you really do have to follow the directions, even if you think you know a better way to do it!!' :lol: ), so we have continued with WWS and have encountered no problems. You might try the first three weeks and see how he does before you decide on WWE4 or WWS. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HSMom2One Posted January 7, 2012 Share Posted January 7, 2012 We went straight into WWS without doing WWE - the first three weeks (which you can get for free in the sample PDF) are basically diagnostic to see if the student is ready for WWS. DD did fine on those first three weeks (well, after a little initial trouble grasping the concept of 'Yes, you really do have to follow the directions, even if you think you know a better way to do it!!' :lol: ), so we have continued with WWS and have encountered no problems. You might try the first three weeks and see how he does before you decide on WWE4 or WWS. :iagree::iagree::iagree: I agree completely, especially since you are already doing IEW in addition. In all truth, I don't think SWB herself would suggest that you do FLL4. WWS holds the student's hand well and is very easy to jump in to for any student that has basic writing skills. Honest. ;) Why not give the WWS free sample a try and find out before you take the plunge all together? Blessings, Lucinda Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jilly Posted January 8, 2012 Share Posted January 8, 2012 We did some WWE 2 a few years ago and never finished the whole text. We got a little bored actually.:001_smile: Dd jumped right into WWS without a problem. She is doing amazingly well as a 6th grader. I think it's better for her this year than it would have been last year. She's a reluctant writer but likes it and can work through the lessons independently. This was my experience also. The twins worked on WWE 2 for a while, but they didn't like it. They found it boring. This year my son started WWS, and he is working through it very successfully. He is a very reluctant writer, but this program is working great for him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom22ns Posted January 8, 2012 Share Posted January 8, 2012 Dd is in 7th and we jumped into WWS having never done WWE and had no trouble at all. She is in week 11 and really likes it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bloggermom Posted January 8, 2012 Author Share Posted January 8, 2012 Great to know. I would RATHER not have to go through WWE4 with him since he is already coming up on 11 years old. I will go straight into WWS. Good thing I have younger kids I can take through the entire WWE/WWS series. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kareng Posted January 14, 2012 Share Posted January 14, 2012 (edited) I'd like to jump on this bandwagon as well. My dd is 14 and dyslexic. As a result, we've done little writing and grammar. Should she start with WWS or should she begin with WWE4? Also we have not done any FLL. Should she do some of that? If so, which level? FYI -- She writes complete sentences that are punctuated properly. She knows what nouns and verbs are. She's not quite sure what a paragraph is, other than something that is indented and consists of a few sentences. And, that's about it. Any thoughts on where should she begin? Edited January 14, 2012 by kareng Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MtnTeaching Posted January 14, 2012 Share Posted January 14, 2012 I'd like to jump on this bandwagon as well. My dd is 14 and dyslexic. As a result, we've done little writing and grammar. Should she start with WWS or should she begin with WWE4? Also we have not done any FLL. Should she do some of that? If so, which level? FYI -- She writes complete sentences that are punctuated properly. She knows what nouns and verbs are. She's not quite sure what a paragraph is, other than something that is indented and consists of a few sentences. And, that's about it. Any thoughts on where should she begin? My dd is 13 and is also dyslexic. I just ordered both WWS books and we are excited to get them in. She has done some IEW, but the thing that really got her writing was Brave Writer. She has also done Jr. Analytical Grammar. Now, she needs the program to put it all together in a coherent, organized way. WWS really looks as if it could be the answer. We are just going to start with WWS and see how it goes. If we have to go slow, then we go slow. Have you looked at SWB's video on WWS? It sold me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kareng Posted January 14, 2012 Share Posted January 14, 2012 (edited) Can you tell me more about Brave Writer -- what it consists of, what was it about Brave Writer that got your dd writing. No I haven't seen SWB's video. Do you have a link for it? Edited January 14, 2012 by kareng Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheAutumnOak Posted January 14, 2012 Share Posted January 14, 2012 Not sure if this is posted somewhere on the forum, but I found by SWB helpful in answering questions about WWS... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momto2Cs Posted January 15, 2012 Share Posted January 15, 2012 Can you tell me more about Brave Writer -- what it consists of, what was it about Brave Writer that got your dd writing. :bigear: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovemykids Posted January 15, 2012 Share Posted January 15, 2012 We used a little of the WWE TE text and we may use some of WWS as well. It looks excellent, and like it will be very easy to skip assignments as needed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HSMom2One Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 No I haven't seen SWB's video. Do you have a link for it? I don't recall a video that addresses this exact question. When WWS was being finished up and we were all anxiously awaiting the release, we were all talking about it extensively here in the Hive and on FB though. During those conversations this very topic was brought up more than once. I actually asked SWB on FB if my dd would need to go back to WWE before starting WWS since we had never used WWE. She personally answered me and explained that the early lessons give a good review of narrative writing that is taught in WWE, and that I could go ahead and begin WWS with the idea of seeing how my dd would do in those early lessons on narrative writing. She suggested that if if my dd struggled, I could go back to WWE if necessary. We took her advice, and dd did just fine with WWS. She LOVES SWB's teaching methods and is doing very, very well in writing this year. I've seen a huge improvement already! I hope this helps. Blessings, Lucinda Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MtnTeaching Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 Can you tell me more about Brave Writer -- what it consists of, what was it about Brave Writer that got your dd writing. No I haven't seen SWB's video. Do you have a link for it? Sorry for not replying earlier - my weekend was nuts and I was never able to get back to the forum. The link I was referring to is the same one as below. Not sure if this is posted somewhere on the forum, but I found by SWB helpful in answering questions about WWS... Regarding Brave Writer... I love this program. It works more on the creative side of writing. I like IEW for the editing and more "mechanical" side of writing, but after a few years, the kids and I were both feeling as if the words just would not come (and I usually love to write). I purchased "The Writer's Jungle" and started doing the fun exercises with the kids, adding Tuesday Teas, and freewrites. It was as if a dam had let loose. Words and images and entire stories just flow now. It was the "it" we were looking for in our writing. Since then, the kids have both taken several of the online classes as well. We have been pleased with every one of them. They are short classes with excellent teachers for all ages. (The expository essay class that my ds took in 8th is EXCELLENT.) Here's the website. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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