Help me pick something! LA's are driving me mad!

[m0mmaBuck]

OK, so.... I pulled DS from PS midway through 2nd grade. We started out with CLE 100 LA's and worked through CLE 200. Hated it. All the symbols and just the sheer amount of work were just too much. We also went through FLL 1&2 at that time and tried WWE but DS just hated it all. Went to R&S English 3 and focused on copywork/dictation from history with some journal writing. That was OK til about midway through R&S 4 when life changed and DS and I started sharing the teaching. He wanted something "simpler" where reading, writing and grammar came from one source. OK. LLATL Orange it was. DS likes it well enough but I just don't feel like it's very challenging for him (which may be why he likes it). However, we are going to work through it and finish that book, however long it takes (and we often do 1-1/2 lessons/week).

 

So.... now I'm looking for next year. I may keep LLATL (Purple) because DS likes it. He particularly likes the books so I could just get away with having him read their book selections and do book studies on my own... but DH likes it too. However, thus far I don't feel like there has been enough writing or grammar with LLATL alone.

 

I looked at Writing Tales but wonder if it would be too much for my reluctant writing. IEW is interesting but possibly a bit out of my price range for just a writing program. WWE causes tears and much frustration. The WWW samples interest me but how would I place him as a reluctant writing? Go a level below and work through however quickly he can? Or go with Level 5 and hope it's not too much?

 

And then there is grammar, which I also feel is weak in LLATL... Would GWG be too much to add in? The samples look gentle enough but you know how that goes.

 

And don't even get me started on spelling, the very bane of my HS'ing existance.... LLATL has you choose words from the lit passage but that leaves no instruction on rules which I constantly have to do for him. We've tried Spelling Workout, Spelling Power (which I liked but DH did not... so maybe I just do it on the days I teach and we skip spelling the other days?), AAS....

 

Please help me. Really.

[cjgrubbs]

We are going to try Character Quality Language Arts next year. I purchased the teacher manual a few ago and have been studying it along with the samples online. I ordered it yesterday for my rising 7th and 4th graders.

[m0mmaBuck]

We are going to try Character Quality Language Arts next year. I purchased the teacher manual a few ago and have been studying it along with the samples online. I ordered it yesterday for my rising 7th and 4th graders.

Oh sure, offer another choice that looks appealing! :tongue_smilie:

[Mrs Twain]

I don't know how to answer your questions, but here are a couple of thoughts.

 

I think WWW is a good program for reluctant writers. It is fairly inexpensive and covers many things similar to IEW. Level 3 is mostly about writing a solid paragraph, along with a other types of writing (compare/contrast, etc.). We can get a week's worth of lessons done in two days. Therefore, we could easily finish a whole year of the program in about half a school year or less.

 

If you son isn't good at writing paragraphs, you could start at WWW level 3, either with the first or the second workbook. If you think that is too basic, you could go up to the next level. Look at the table of contents for each book to see what you think the approprate level would be.

 

I use Spelling Power but I modify it somewhat to suit my kids. The kids write the test words on a white board, and we don't do any of the supplemental activities. I don't have my kids write out the spelling rules, but just orally discuss the rules with them. I do have them use the practice sheet as well as writing out the sentences with the words they missed which I think is the most valuable aspect of the program. I also keep a running list of the words they have needed to practice and do a lot of extra review. We spend ten minutes maximum on spelling per day (sometimes five minutes if they don't miss any words), and yet it has been quite effective. Maybe personalizing Spelling Power for your ds could work out, too.

 

I use R&S English only for the grammar component. I mostly skip the composition exercises so that a grammar lesson takes about 15-20 minutes per day. I think it is very solid even though it can be dull. I don't know what else to recommend for grammar. I also hated CLE LA and know where you are coming from regarding that.

[m0mmaBuck]

I don't know how to answer your questions, but here are a couple of thoughts.

 

I think WWW is a good program for reluctant writers. It is fairly inexpensive and covers many things similar to IEW. Level 3 is mostly about writing a solid paragraph, along with a other types of writing (compare/contrast, etc.). We can get a week's worth of lessons done in two days. Therefore, we could easily finish a whole year of the program in about half a school year or less.

 

If you son isn't good at writing paragraphs, you could start at WWW level 3, either with the first or the second workbook. If you think that is too basic, you could go up to the next level. Look at the table of contents for each book to see what you think the approprate level would be.

 

I use Spelling Power but I modify it somewhat to suit my kids. The kids write the test words on a white board, and we don't do any of the supplemental activities. I don't have my kids write out the spelling rules, but just orally discuss the rules with them. I do have them use the practice sheet as well as writing out the sentences with the words they missed which I think is the most valuable aspect of the program. I also keep a running list of the words they have needed to practice and do a lot of extra review. We spend ten minutes maximum on spelling per day (sometimes five minutes if they don't miss any words), and yet it has been quite effective. Maybe personalizing Spelling Power for your ds could work out, too.

 

I use R&S English only for the grammar component. I mostly skip the composition exercises so that a grammar lesson takes about 15-20 minutes per day. I think it is very solid even though it can be dull. I don't know what else to recommend for grammar. I also hated CLE LA and know where you are coming from regarding that.

 

Thank you for your insight on WWW. That was very helpful. He is getting better at writing paragraphs but does not use many adverbs or adjectives. His writing is very basic and not very detailed or varied with regard to sentence structure. RE: Spelling Power, I use it the same way but DH/DS can't seem to grasp it when they are together so maybe I'll just do SP on the 3 days I teach. I do like the program but for whatever reason those two can't "get" it. I think DH needs something that is very scripted. R&S was another DH/DS combo that didn't work, although it worked for DS and me. You would think it would given it is scripted to death.