vlshort Posted July 2, 2008 Share Posted July 2, 2008 My ds is going into 5th/6th grade. I have been "attempting" to follow WTM recommendations for topics studied, as well as narration, dictation, writing, etc. However, it seems in hind sight I appreciate and understand the recommendations more now than I did. And unfortunately, I didn't persist through the difficult times, and we are woefully behind when it comes to the writing skills. I think I will "press on" more diligently with ds number 2 who's startiing 1st grade, but I need to work on catching up my ds number 1. He should be at the point of outlining this year. He HATES to write, and responds to every assignment with how many sentences do I need to write. He writes the bare minimum. We have not done the narrating like we should have. We did about half of Writing Strands Level 3 this last year. He hated it! His spelling is o.k. He doesn't seem to struggle with it. We've done SWR very loosely. His grammar is o.k. Unfortunately we haven't done much formal grammar. Here is my plan for this coming year. We have TOG Year 1. I will be stressing the outlining (which I'll have to hold his hand through for a while) and short reports at least one each week. That combined with science writing and Literature reports - oh my gosh it's a lot! But I want it to be our focus! Additionally, I have IEW for the ancients - I think this will be perfect for him. Easy and fun writing to start off. I have Abeka Grammar for 5th grade which will probably be easy for him. We will skip most of the writing and just do the grammar. Finally, I have Spelling Workout, levels E and F. Since there's a lot of repetition, I'm hoping we can work through both of them, skipping whatever is repeated. I'm a little worried as I see this 5 or 6 or even 7 hour school day for next year, because I have a very slow worker. Even my husband is a little worried about how we're going to get it all done. (I didn't mention adding in the logic and Latin!) I know this is LONG. I would appreciate any encouragement or advice, especially from anyone who has been at this point, and successfully caught up with the skills. Blessings, Vanessa in Virginia Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WTMindy Posted July 2, 2008 Share Posted July 2, 2008 My ds is going into 5th/6th grade. I have been "attempting" to follow WTM recommendations for topics studied, as well as narration, dictation, writing, etc. However, it seems in hind sight I appreciate and understand the recommendations more now than I did. And unfortunately, I didn't persist through the difficult times, and we are woefully behind when it comes to the writing skills. I think I will "press on" more diligently with ds number 2 who's startiing 1st grade, but I need to work on catching up my ds number 1. He should be at the point of outlining this year. He HATES to write, and responds to every assignment with how many sentences do I need to write. He writes the bare minimum. We have not done the narrating like we should have. We did about half of Writing Strands Level 3 this last year. He hated it! His spelling is o.k. He doesn't seem to struggle with it. We've done SWR very loosely. His grammar is o.k. Unfortunately we haven't done much formal grammar. Here is my plan for this coming year. We have TOG Year 1. I will be stressing the outlining (which I'll have to hold his hand through for a while) and short reports at least one each week. That combined with science writing and Literature reports - oh my gosh it's a lot! But I want it to be our focus! Additionally, I have IEW for the ancients - I think this will be perfect for him. Easy and fun writing to start off. I have Abeka Grammar for 5th grade which will probably be easy for him. We will skip most of the writing and just do the grammar. Finally, I have Spelling Workout, levels E and F. Since there's a lot of repetition, I'm hoping we can work through both of them, skipping whatever is repeated. I'm a little worried as I see this 5 or 6 or even 7 hour school day for next year, because I have a very slow worker. Even my husband is a little worried about how we're going to get it all done. (I didn't mention adding in the logic and Latin!) I know this is LONG. I would appreciate any encouragement or advice, especially from anyone who has been at this point, and successfully caught up with the skills. Blessings, Vanessa in Virginia Honestly, for a kid who hates writing, I would not push outlining right away. It is a very dry form of writing and I could see it backfiring on you. He sounds like a great candidate for IEW!!! It is very concrete and sequential, and I think it would be good for him. You could do it with both of the kids also, which is nice. I don't know that I would go for quantity of writing, it sounds like you had a LOT in there, but quality. IEW walks you through basic outlining if you complete all the units. You have a lot going on. If it were me, I would focus on TOG (the history and the literature and even do the questions orally together.) I wouldn't do a separate literature report. To me, that would be overkill. I also wouldn't do a weekly report apart from the IEW lessons. I would have that be my main source of writing for the year. In science, you could be a bit more creative and have him do some notebooking or lapbooking, which has writing in it, but it isn't as long or tedious as a narration or a report. Narrations can also be oral. Remember that the point of narrations is to make sure they are comprehending what is read. This is a separate skill from writing them down. I would do a little dictation each day because it reinforces the grammar/spelling/good sentence structure. Take a deep breath. You are not that far off!! Many boys do not like to write, and I don't think you need to over-correct the problem. Just be consistent and thorough with the writing that you are doing. One great thing about IEW is that is gives confidence to writers who struggle. It really helps them to know what to say. There are just my thoughts, but best of luck to you this year as you focus on writing!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Magic Wand Posted July 2, 2008 Share Posted July 2, 2008 Mindy has given you excellent advice. I agree that you should narrow your formal writing down to IEW and really give it diligent attention and focus. Too many programs will thwart the results you're seeking and give your son mental indigestion! You may even find you have adequate time for Latin and logic! Wanda Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoffeeBean Posted July 4, 2008 Share Posted July 4, 2008 I don't think you're so far behind. MY son hated to write until 5th grade amd no he "writes books" (mostly superhero conic types) in his spare time for fun. I had to find something to spark his interest. He liked wordsmith apprentice beause it was slightly corny like he is. We never actually finished it but it sparked his creativity. I think you need to cut it down as well and the others have given you god advice for that. I consssidered IEW but thought it was too formulaic and bland. I couldn't see it promoting the spark I wanted. If your son wants the specific number of sentences (mind did for a while too) IEW may give him the structure he want but maybe he just wants something closer to his interest to write about. Just a though. COffee Bean Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
praisefor3 Posted July 4, 2008 Share Posted July 4, 2008 My ds 5th grade also needs to catch up in writing and doesn't enjoy it. However, I am just not attracted to IEW so I hope there are some other suggestions. I have even considered getting the WWE book and just moving through it quickly choosing our own writing suggestions (which scares me a bit) to get going in the right direction. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dragons in the flower bed Posted July 4, 2008 Share Posted July 4, 2008 Is he spelling on grade level? If so, I would leave out both spelling and grammar this year. (You say his grammar skills are okay.) Or perhaps just have him keep a running list of words he misspells in his writing for oral review. Then, as the others have recommended, I'd dive in to IEW with full force. If you add in writing in the content areas, your day might drag out so that you never get to anything consistently. I don't think it's necessary or helpful to do more, but definitely do it everyday no matter what. Persistent daily effort helps a lot more than extra curricula. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dragons in the flower bed Posted July 4, 2008 Share Posted July 4, 2008 My ds 5th grade also needs to catch up in writing and doesn't enjoy it. However, I am just not attracted to IEW so I hope there are some other suggestions. My fifth grader took to Igniting Your Writing and picked up outlining and other basics that way. It's humorous and chatty and solved many of the writing problems that distracted him from getting to what needed to be done, in his writing. (However, I don't think his success last year was the composition program we used. I think it was that I finally decided the problem wasn't the program and made him do it no matter what he said about it. Chances are your kid doesn't suffer from the same problem as mine.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhonda in TX Posted July 4, 2008 Share Posted July 4, 2008 I will have a 6th grade DS next year who is a reluctant writer. We started IEW this past spring and it has been a wonderful fit. Not for everybody, I know, but perfect for him. I know if I tried to do that much writing with my DS it would be a fight and a struggle. My goals are one writing assignment a week, cross-curriculum, working through the IEW units. I plan on getting through Unit 6, which would basically be a 3 paragraph report. I feel this is a good goal for 6th grade. If he can do a 3 paragraph report each week by the end of the year, I will be thrilled. If you look at my signature, you can see the rest of our plans for next year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PollyOR Posted July 5, 2008 Share Posted July 5, 2008 There is hope. :) A little over a year ago, my dd cried when her dad asked her to write a couple of sentences about a trip they had taken. I don't know what happened, but several months ago she decided to write a book. She works on it daily. It has been shocking to say the least! Edited to add that it is my 12 yodd. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peso Posted July 5, 2008 Share Posted July 5, 2008 hates to write too - and is a rising 5th grader. I got Wordsmith Apprentice for her (newspaper reporter format) and she's enjoying some of it (not all) - it's not classical, but it's helping her to enjoy some writing, and hopefully it will lead to more and better writing for her down the road. It's recommended in WTM, too, by the way, so I feel pretty good about using it! Good luck! Penny Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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