WWS users: How important is it to say the sentences out loud first?

[SoCal Sandra]

Dss, almost 12, just started WWS. The instructions say the student should first write out five or six phrases or sentences, for example, then combine them into two or three sentences, and then read the sentences out loud before writing them down. Dss have been writing nice narrative summaries by skipping straight to the final sentences. It seems that they don't need to write the phrases first, or read the sentences out loud.

 

Are they missing any benefit from the WWS approach if they skip these steps? They may need to include them when the assignments become longer, but right now those steps don't seem necessary. What has the rest of the hive experienced?

 

TIA.

[luvnlattes]

My son writes the 5-6 sentences or phrases and then condenses them down. He doesn't read them out loud and I haven't required it of him since I've been pleased with his narrations so far. I think the read aloud part is because you can often hear mistakes when you read aloud that you miss when you read silently. However, if your son is not struggling with that I don't see a reason to force the issue.

[Susie in CA]

I think that this various with all children. Some may need to follow each and every step to get, other may not need to do that. We don't usually read out loud, however, I make my son read some of the directions out loud because he tends to skip things that end up being important.

In short, if he doesn't need to do it don't make him.

[Colleen in NS]

What has the rest of the hive experienced?

 

 

Well, guilt for not being right there to make sure my kids read the sentences out loud, :lol:

 

Seriously now. One kid would do a WWS lesson while I was busy with the other kid, and vice versa. So I never caught that part of the lesson. We are up to week 18 now, and I don't think I've seen that instruction recently, though I can't be sure (I sound like such a slacker!). I think it's a helpful technique to use, though, just to make sure they are saying sentences grammatically correctly - to make sure it "sounds right." So they can play around with phrasing until it sounds right.

 

I just didn't do very well in following through with that. However, both of my kids produce nice sounding sentences.

 

The need for it probably varies from kid to kid.

[Deniseibase]

It's only in the early weeks that you are doing narratives, so it's not something you do past the first half of the book. That said, I make my DD say the sentences aloud because she has a TERRIBLE tendency to run-on sentences and if she doesn't read them aloud they can go on for days and days and she will include too much detail for the narration and she'll miss the whole point of the narration which is to learn brevity so you don't end up writing sentences just like this one right here ;P

 

But I think if your child is able to do the narratives correctly without the reading aloud, that's fine. That's an 'error catching' step, and if he isn't making the errors, why bother? I would not let him skip the phrases, though. I believe the point there is to prepare the child to write from notes instead of directly from the sources, as they will do with later research papers. Writing the phrases will help them be prepared to write good notes for papers later on.

[Haiku]

It seems that they don't need to write the phrases first, or read the sentences out loud.

 

Are they missing any benefit from the WWS approach if they skip these steps?

 

In my opinion, yes. Writing down the phrases first, saying them out loud, and then writing the final sentence are all part of the self-editing process. Working through the process gives the writer time to think about word choice and sentence construction and improve their writing before they are committed to it. Once it's written down, young writers are often reluctant to change it.

 

Were it me, I would require the instructions in the book to be followed. Personally, I think it's hubris for a young person to assume their writing is so good that they don't need to follow the instructions in the text.

 

I used to be an editor. I dealt with huge amounts of writing from people who were convinced they were great writers (they weren't) who wouldn't take a few simple steps to improve the quality of their writing. I was supposed to be an editor, but I did an awful lot of rewriting.

 

Tara

[lionfamily1999]

In my opinion, yes. Writing down the phrases first, saying them out loud, and then writing the final sentence are all part of the self-editing process. Working through the process gives the writer time to think about word choice and sentence construction and improve their writing before they are committed to it. Once it's written down, young writers are often reluctant to change it.

 

Were it me, I would require the instructions in the book to be followed. Personally, I think it's hubris for a young person to assume their writing is so good that they don't need to follow the instructions in the text.

 

I used to be an editor. I dealt with huge amounts of writing from people who were convinced they were great writers (they weren't) who wouldn't take a few simple steps to improve the quality of their writing. I was supposed to be an editor, but I did an awful lot of rewriting.

 

Tara

:iagree: You read it aloud so you can hear the language. Imo, it is important.

 

 

 

On a side note... I had issues with middle ds believing he did not need to read or follow instructions. Regardless of low scores, and repeated problems with 'not getting' what he was working on, he still believed that instructions were a waste of time. I let him make brownies. He still believed that instructions were for sissies until the brownies turned out terrible. Now, he is cooking a lot (unlooked for bonus) AND he reads instructions. He even jokes that it must have been his fault for getting so many assignments wrong after all.

 

I haven't said, "I told you so." Instead, I am enjoying chicken cacciatore cooked by a ten-year-old. I love homeschooling.

[Colleen in NS]

I let him make brownies.

 

:lol: I love it! I might have to try something like this...

 

This thread is making me think I need to be on top of that reading-aloud part more. There are other parts of WWS where kids need to read sentences aloud. I guess even if I don't hear them (because I'm busy with the other kid) reading aloud while they do their lesson, I should get them to read aloud when I receive their papers for correcting. Even if they tell me they read aloud. Even if their sentences are fine. I need to make sure they are following all the directions.

[Rebecca M]

I should get them to read aloud when I receive their papers for correcting. Even if they tell me they read aloud. Even if their sentences are fine. I need to make sure they are following all the directions.

 

We're not very far in WWS but this is what we do. As I correct his work, my son reads his sentences to me. Usually it is fine as is, but he does occasionally find something he would like to correct as he reads it to me.

[Colleen in NS]

We're not very far in WWS but this is what we do. As I correct his work, my son reads his sentences to me. Usually it is fine as is, but he does occasionally find something he would like to correct as he reads it to me.

 

Thank you. I'm going to make sure I do this.

[lionfamily1999]

:lol: I love it! I might have to try something like this...

 

This thread is making me think I need to be on top of that reading-aloud part more. There are other parts of WWS where kids need to read sentences aloud. I guess even if I don't hear them (because I'm busy with the other kid) reading aloud while they do their lesson, I should get them to read aloud when I receive their papers for correcting. Even if they tell me they read aloud. Even if their sentences are fine. I need to make sure they are following all the directions.

I was amazed that I had to teach that. I thought everyone always read directions/instructions and followed them :lol: Try the cooking experiment... it shows how very important instructions are ;)