A sample of Brave Writer copywork for 7yo

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[Guest kcorey]

Thank you for posting this. I don't reply often but I wanted to drop a note to let you know that someone is reading it and found it helpful.

 

Karen

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Welcome to the boards, Karen. :001_smile: It was sweet of you to pop out of lurking to post that reply.

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I can't see the images. Help!

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[Walking-Iris]

Yllelk shared this link in another thread and I wanted to try to bump it, even though it's an older thread, because I found her description of scaffolding copywork and dictation a la BW style extremely helpful!!!

 

 

Thanks Yllelk!

 

Anything else you want to share about Bravewriter writing techniques I'm all--- :bigear:

[FairProspects]

Huh. I don't know what to think. On one hand I love seeing an example of how to tie this all together, which is what I would like to do in our homeschool, but I just see ds's physical production of writing getting in the way. Ds would love the discussion on mythology, punctuation, grammar, etc. in Yllek's example (which is actually similar to what we do) but there is no way he could physically copy anything at his interest level. This is a kid whose alphabet fluency writing level is at approx. 5.5 yrs old. I'm really wondering how the instructor would handle that big of a discrepancy in thinking and output, but maybe I need to take the class to find out.

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Wow, so I had asked about the copywork and dictation and the Bravewriter class and I'm just overwhelmed. Thank you SO much for this! I know we're doing good work with IEW, grammar and spelling. But, like you, I sort of string things together from different programs in order to make it a good fit for my kid. I'm not sure if she has working memory issues and at the end of summer we are getting a developmental vision exam- also sorting out hearing loss. BUT I *do* want to use the time this summer (and possibly going into early next year) to further fine tune what our language arts program in its entirety will look like. I like the idea of some copywork & dictation, but just actually am not sure how to go about it and whether (similar to what Fair said) whether my dd will tolerate the amount of writing.

 

It does sound like you can tailor it quite a lot. I'm thinking maybe using parts of this throughout the year.

 

I'm really wondering how the instructor would handle that big of a discrepancy in thinking and output, but maybe I need to take the class to find out.

 

:iagree: This is me, too. I think I will seriously consider the class. My dd is a rising 4th grader, but this year she was reading the 6th grade Abeka readers and can comprehend and discuss way, way beyond her years. Getting her to write has been a challenge, but she is doing well with the IEW concepts and me scribing. I would just like to work on little bits and chunks of her writing solid sentences on her own, too.

 

Thanks for posting this- it's *exactly* what I was looking for- wish I could see all the links ;)

 

Paula

Edited July 4, 2012 by pwhaley

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[TippyCanoe]

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[FairProspects]

Wow, Yllek, that is amazing! What a great teaching process!

 

Zero chance ds could copy that. The first line of text alone would cause tears and likely take half an hour to an hour. We're just not talking about the same level at all.

 

Now, I'm thinking about Doodler's post and whether we could get the same benefits out of going through the process orally. Ds "wrote" a pretty great story today for a stop-animation video he was making in science, it just wasn't written down by him word for word (although he did make story boards and describe it to me in full detail orally).

 

Yllek, remind me again, the instructor will not allow typed copywork, correct? Even if you go through the entire process but allow dc to just type the passage instead? I may have to think about this...ds's disparity of thought to output is extreme (3x the level for accommodations/diagnosis).

 

ETA: Well, I put in a message to Bravewriter, so we'll see what they say about the whole typing business.

Edited July 4, 2012 by FairProspects

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[FairProspects]

The response from Bravewriter is that typing would be acceptable, for anyone else who is considering this class. That probably makes it worth it for us to sign up.

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[Walking-Iris]

I hadn't heard that podcast before, but I just listened to it and I've had an epiphany. I use WWE materials, mainly so I don't have to busy myself looking for narration passages or copywork/dictation sentences on my own. And something Julie said at the end of that podcast about "never ask a child to write a sentence" really was a light bulb moment. When we do our WWE questions and I ask my ds for a narration, I faithfully follow the script and ask for him to summarize in 2 or 3 brief sentences, and every time he looks at me blankly.

 

Of course!!! How boring. He's not thinking about the passage we just read, he's trying to think how to say something in a complete sentence. I think from now on I'm just going to let him re-tell me the story and not worry about the summarizing, main details, and "2 or 3 brief sentences." And then use the partnership scaffolding techniques to take what he chooses to tell me (which will likely or not already be in a sentence duh!) and re-say them and write them down for him.

 

I absolutely agree with you about having to follow our own timetables when we are dealing with kiddos with various SNs. My ds doesn't struggle in the language arts mechanics, but with math I've had to put aside the "official timetables" and work at his pace. Especially when you're exploring classical homeschooling methods, the pressure to produce a little genius working above "grade" level can sometimes feel overwhelming.

 

I'm not trying to press BW materials either. I honestly can't afford that much for an online class, so I'll pass. But I do think what Julie says in TWJ is amazing and inspires me a heck of a lot more than the other writing programs I've looked at---Writing Strands, WTM/WWE, Classical Writing, Winning With Writing, The Paragraph Book. All great programs. But something about TWJ just makes me feel like it's all manageable and can be fun and beautiful and a part of normal life.

 

I don't think kids *need* to do copywork/dictation, and honestly I wasn't sold on it until I started reading TWJ, and now it just makes sense to me to make it a part of our life.

 

I think it gives enough information to allow a parent to adapt writing to any need a child may have. Other programs just seemed too strict to me. We definitely had angst before when I was trying to get my ds to write exactly what an assignment called for and frustrated when he couldn't. The problem is with the programs, not the kid.

Edited July 4, 2012 by Walking-Iris