Fifth grade question about writing and History Odyssey level 2

[Guest mrmeadors]

My son is a pretty weak writer. He has some problems with motor skills, so the physical act came difficultly, and he's got some other developmental issues which made him slow with narration, etc. I was going to start him with WWE level 2 over the summer, and get him used to things because I think he's finally ready to do a more formal thing with writing (he's paranoid of dictation, so I'm trying to move a little slow). He has a good memory, and he loves history and science and even grammar (we'll be doing FLL 3).

 

My question is this. In the fall he will be in the 5th grade. We've done SOTW for history. I was thinking of moving on to History Odyssey level 2, because it sounds great. But it has the outlining thing. It's really hard for me to tell if I should start him with that, OR if I should sort of keep him in HO level 1 for now (and repeat the SOTW stuff, which he won't mind at all!) until he's at a further point in his writing. I know he would still enjoy HO1, I'm just wondering how much I should push.

 

My other related question is... writing with skill. I should probably NOT try this until later, after we do more WWE, right? Mind you, he's made some natural progress, and can probably write down a summary of a chapter of something (or type it at the very least). But if he is not ready for Writing With Skill, would that mean he's not ready for History Odyssey level 2?

 

I've noticed that HO level 3 only has two years. Does anyone know if they are planning on completing the last two?

 

Does that make sense? My concern is that I don't want to hold him back TOO far. He's a very bright boy, who just has a problem with writing. But i don't want to scar him for life by pushing too much, either ;) .

[Susie in CA]

You are right to be questioning his readiness. My reluctant writer could not do HO Level 2. It required way to much writing for him. It killed his love of the story. It was not easy, but doing history the WTM way without any other curriculum worked so much better for him. He started our simply making fact lists from the Usborne Encyclopedia; one sentence per paragraph. We did tons of other reading or projects, of course, but that was the extent of his writing. Once he was very comfortable with this I added a paragraph about one person a week. Then I added filling in the timeline etc. He is in 7th grade this year and really has no problem with the amount of writing. He still complains, but he can do it all now. And for the first time I am thinking of having him do all writing requirements for history as outlined in the WTM. He is also working through WWS this year. He could not have done it in 5th grade.

 

FWIW, I say don't kill his enjoyment with writing too much. Keep plugging along with WWE. My 6th grader is finishing WWE this year. He is doing 2 weeks in one every week now. Next year, his 7th grade year, he'll be doing WWS.

 

Just my two cents. :001_smile:

[Create Your Ritual]

We are doing HO Level 2 Middle Ages as well as WWS (We are currently on Wk 31). I did not do assign the writing assignments in HO, just the short summaries and occasionally the outlining. I kept dd10 (5th grade) plenty busy with the WWS writing assignments as well as CC Fable/Narrative.

[Heathermomster]

The Special Needs Board has recently engaged the writing/composing question. Be open to taking non-traditional writing approaches in order to tailor teaching to your son's needs.

 

The content of HO Lev 2 Ancients is great. I like the reading list and Lev 2 Ancients is supposed to be a gentle WTM skill introduction. Several lessons contain vocabulary look ups and simple narrations. You could easily scale back the writing significantly, substituting plenty of discussion, and your son would not lose the essence of the period under study. Also, you don't need WWS prior to HO Lev 2 Ancients. I see the HO Lev 2 Ancients as a backbone for discussion, where you can venture off and do your own thing, especially when you may need some comic relief in your day.

 

ETA: HO Lev 2 Ancients uses The Story of Mankind by Van Loon, which many find objectionable. The book can be found for free at Google docs. You don't need that book, and it is used minimally anyways. Also, the timeline suggestions start before 4004 BCE, so if you are YE, you may opt to try some other history or ignore those lessons. The red Kingfisher History book is the spine for HO2 Ancients.

Edited May 1, 2012 by Heathermomster

[Mom in High Heels]

We will be using HO level 2 ancients next year. I already have it so I can look through it before we start. It does have a good deal of writing, but that can be scaled back. You could assign some of the outlining or writing, but make it a lighter version. I like that it comes with the maps, a list of great books as well as an appendix with extensive reasons for the fall of Rome and chapter summaries of Caesar's Gallic War. Oh, and if you need it, there is a mini timeline with it. We'll be using HO's big timeline though.

FTR, we will be using Human Odyssey Vol 1 instead of the Van Loon book. I have no objection to Van Loon, I just like Human Odyssey better. I've read through some of it and can't wait to read more. I found it on used Amazon for $29. It was listed as "very good" but is in almost perfect condition. They have some listed as low as $12. An added bonus is that it goes up to the middle ages, so I won't have to buy another book for 6th! BTW, I have a chart that lines up HO level 2 ancients and middle ages with Human Odyssey.

Edited May 2, 2012 by Mom in High Heels