Just started WWS this week....

[Kim C]

.....and it has been rather stressful. My ds 11 wants to be an author and he has a great start on a novel. He's great with creative writing, but when faced with the restrictions of the narrations in the first week of WWS, he panicked. He has always been a very reluctant writer because he's afraid he will not do it 'right'. He's a perfectionist and does not like mistakes, so having me pointing out his mistakes this week, even though it was done very gently, was painful for him.

 

He's a rule follower, so when the assignment was 'write 5 or 6 sentences summarizing the passage' he did his best to write 5 to 6 sentences.....even if that meant he had run-on sentences. He had a hard time deciding what was important, so he got creative with combining sentences in order to not exceed the 5 to 6 sentence goal.

 

All 4 lessons ended in tears because he could not stand to hear me go over his mistakes. I know this is due to the fact that he has done little writing in the past and it will get easier as we continue through the rest of the curriculum. Still, it was hard to see him so upset about the process.

 

If you got this far, thanks for reading. I just wanted to share with those who will understand. :001_unsure:

 

Kim

[Mom-ninja.]

I'm sorry. Has he done WWE at all?

 

 

We just started this week as well. The first 2 lessons were a breeze. Today was a bit harder. It's non-fiction and he has a harder time summarizing non-fiction for some reason.

 

He wrote his summary and it's okay. One sentence doesn't make sense so I need to go over it with him.

[Chrysalis Academy]

How is he liking The Creative Writer? I see that you are using it. We just started it last Friday. WWS can definitely be challenging for a creative writing type, but so good at giving them the skills they will need for expository writing, I think it's definitely worth trying to persist with it.

 

Are you using the rubric to offer feedback? I noticed that at the beginning I was being too critical - critiquing everything I saw wrong in the paper, rather than just focusing on the key skills identified in the rubric. I've tried to back off on that and pick maybe just one major thing to critique each time, rather than overwhelming her with feedback. We're even working on the spelling separately, so that I don't spend all of our writing time correcting spelling. Anyway, I don't know if that helps at all, but I do sympathize and just encourage you to try and persist with it! He may need to slow down and do some of the longer exercises over two days, we do that, too. :grouphug:

[kokotg]

I've got a confident/prolific creative writer who is much more reluctant with assigned/academic writing, too....and I'll just encourage you to stick with it. We're around 2/3 of the way through WWS right now, and his writing and confidence have come so far.

 

One thing that we kind of discovered by accident is that he responds better to criticism when we do it all online. He'll be upstairs typing his assignments on google docs, then send it to me, and I'll give him feedback on his document.

[snowbeltmom]

.....and it has been rather stressful

 

He's a rule follower, so when the assignment was 'write 5 or 6 sentences summarizing the passage' he did his best to write 5 to 6 sentences.....even if that meant he had run-on sentences. He had a hard time deciding what was important, so he got creative with combining sentences in order to not exceed the 5 to 6 sentence goal.

 

You are not alone; it has been stressful here as well. :D

 

My dd11 has just started with WWS, and your post is describing my dd's experience to a tee. My D also followed the rules and wrote 6 sentences, all major run-ons. She told me before I even looked at her work that she had to combine many sentences because she couldn't say all she needed to say in just 6 sentences. She was not at all happy when I had her redo the assignment.

 

I was starting to wonder if I should delay this program for another year, but she is in Week 3, and it is going much better.

[Halcyon]

Well, I would like to say it gets easier, but IMO, Week 15 (where we are now) is the hardest yet. He too doesn't like to "conform" to the narrative--he writes well when given more open ended assignments, but this week is just TOUGH. There were a few weeks between 2 and 14 that we easier for my son, however. It seems to vary in terms of difficulty week-to-week.

 

Hang in there!

[redsquirrel]

I did it last year with my son and it was a challenge. He's more the type to shout "OMG, 5 to 6 sentences!?? Is she mad? Who can do that? It's impossible!" :rolleyes: Then he almost does it. Almost.

 

Anyway, hang in there. I think WWS was one of the hardest and best things we have ever done.

[Mom-ninja.]

I did it last year with my son and it was a challenge. He's more the type to shout "OMG, 5 to 6 sentences!?? Is she mad? Who can do that? It's impossible!" :rolleyes: Then he almost does it. Almost.

 

 

Ha! That's my ds.

[Penguin]

My DS is also 11 and he just finished Week 2, Day 3. My son has similar tendencies - he enjoys creative writing and he finds summarizing difficult.

 

You know that part in the Instructor's Text called "Customizing the Course?" I decided to adapt the assignments. I let his summaries be longer than what SWB recommended. They are not ridiculously long, they don't ramble, and they don't contain run-on sentences. They are just longer than the directions.

 

When he did the Challenge Exercise (Week 1 Day 4), I had him mentally break the story into scenes.

 

What is the first scene? In the forest. OK, write two or three sentences. What is the next scene? At the inn. OK, write another couple of sentences. And so on.

 

I could have given up and gone back to WWE, but I decided not to. And he just sailed through the first three outlining exercises. We will keep going, and he can also keep working on summarizing. We have a subscription to Newsademic and I am going to assign him some summarizing from there.

 

ETA: I am also using a Carson Dellosa Summarizing workbook for grades 5-6. I think that it is helpful.

 

HTH.

Edited September 6, 2012 by Penguin

[Kim C]

I'm sorry. Has he done WWE at all?

 

 

We just started this week as well. The first 2 lessons were a breeze. Today was a bit harder. It's non-fiction and he has a harder time summarizing non-fiction for some reason.

 

He wrote his summary and it's okay. One sentence doesn't make sense so I need to go over it with him.

 

We did not do WWE, which is part of the problem. I'm hoping it will get better as we go along.

 

Kim

[Kim C]

How is he liking The Creative Writer? I see that you are using it. We just started it last Friday. WWS can definitely be challenging for a creative writing type, but so good at giving them the skills they will need for expository writing, I think it's definitely worth trying to persist with it.

 

Are you using the rubric to offer feedback? I noticed that at the beginning I was being too critical - critiquing everything I saw wrong in the paper, rather than just focusing on the key skills identified in the rubric. I've tried to back off on that and pick maybe just one major thing to critique each time, rather than overwhelming her with feedback. We're even working on the spelling separately, so that I don't spend all of our writing time correcting spelling. Anyway, I don't know if that helps at all, but I do sympathize and just encourage you to try and persist with it! He may need to slow down and do some of the longer exercises over two days, we do that, too. :grouphug:

 

My son has really enjoyed The Creative Writer. I just ordered level 2 because level 1 has been such a hit.

I have tried to stick with the rubric. I have made sure the sentences are in chronological order and grammatically correct. I knew it would be a struggle going in, but I didn't expect tears every day. Thanks for the support! :)

Kim

[Kim C]

You are not alone; it has been stressful here as well. :D

 

My dd11 has just started with WWS, and your post is describing my dd's experience to a tee. My D also followed the rules and wrote 6 sentences, all major run-ons. She told me before I even looked at her work that she had to combine many sentences because she couldn't say all she needed to say in just 6 sentences. She was not at all happy when I had her redo the assignment.

 

I was starting to wonder if I should delay this program for another year, but she is in Week 3, and it is going much better.

 

All week I have tried to tell my son that it will get better as we go along and he gets more comfortable with this. After he did his assignment today I had him read SWB's example in the instructor's text to give him an idea of what is expected. I think that helped him some. At first he said, "Wow, she's good at this." :001_smile: It helped him to see how he could have better worded his narration.

 

Although I know it will be a struggle at times, I plan to work through this program. He needs to work on this type of writing and it will only get harder if I put it off. We will take breaks as needed, but I hope to finish this program over the next year.

 

I hope things continue to improve for you and your daughter.

Kim

[EKS]

If you're not working with him, I'd do that--discuss the narration first so that he won't have mistakes to correct. Be sure he understands that WWS does not teach creative writing and that the writing it teaches can be tricky to learn for anyone! Once he is more on track with the expectations of the program, you can hand off the lessons to him to do independently. Also sometimes it helps to just correct one thing in the writing (so perhaps you could focus on run on sentences next week, or whatever) so that it doesn't feel as overwhelming.

[snowbeltmom]

All week I have tried to tell my son that it will get better as we go along and he gets more comfortable with this...

 

Although I know it will be a struggle at times, I plan to work through this program. He needs to work on this type of writing and it will only get harder if I put it off. We will take breaks as needed, but I hope to finish this program over the next year...

 

Kim

We have similar goals, and it sounds like we approached our kids' frustrations similarly as well. I told D that this program is harder than what she has been used to, but if she knew how to do everything, then there would be no point in completing the program.

 

She has been more encouraged this week, but I am sure that there will be more bumps in the road.

 

Good luck to you and your son as well.:001_smile:

[Halcyon]

My son has really enjoyed The Creative Writer. I just ordered level 2 because level 1 has been such a hit.

I have tried to stick with the rubric. I have made sure the sentences are in chronological order and grammatically correct. I knew it would be a struggle going in, but I didn't expect tears every day. Thanks for the support! :)

Kim

Doyou think the Creative Writer would work for an accelerated 7 year old? Ds is almost done with wwe3 and he really needs a change.he lives creative writing. Thanks

[Chrysalis Academy]

Doyou think the Creative Writer would work for an accelerated 7 year old? Ds is almost done with wwe3 and he really needs a change.he lives creative writing. Thanks

 

Well, we just started, so maybe someone with more experience will jump in here, but I would say it would be really tricky for him to do alone (as it's written, to the student, just like WWS) but he might be able to do it with you actively "teaching" it. I mean, the stories he has you analyze are a lot longer, more like you see in WWS, not in WWE3, kwim?

 

I feel like Miss P at 9 probably wouldn't have gotten much from the program before now, even though she has been scribbling her own stories for years.

[Colleen]

My 12 yo began WWS this week as well. I've been surprised and disappointed at how things have played out thus far. He's a competent writer, but I think gaining familiarity with the whole writing process as laid out in WWS will be invaluable to him. The fact that WWS speaks directly to the student and allows him to work independently is a bonus, as my involvement tends to frustrate him. I honestly expected these first few summaries to be a cake-walk. Um, no. Suffice it to say I've had to guide him via the Instructor's Text each day and he's already developing a less-than-positive attitude about it all. I don't even want to think what lies ahead. Sigh.

[lewelma]

I honestly expected these first few summaries to be a cake-walk. Um, no. Suffice it to say I've had to guide him via the Instructor's Text each day

 

I was so horrified with my ds(11)'s summary skills in that first week that I bought WWE3 and we spent 4 weeks doing all the summaries in the text. So I know how you feel!

 

The fact that WWS speaks directly to the student and allows him to work independently is a bonus, as my involvement tends to frustrate him.

I too like that it is written to the student. I also like that there are 36 weeks of 4 days each, so my ds knows that he has to get something done or he will fall behind. No arguing with mom.

 

I don't even want to think what lies ahead. Sigh

There were weeks (especially the descriptions) where I had to become much more involved. I wrote a VERY extensive post about it here: http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/showthread.php?t=348864&page=12 (post 114), and a small addition on post 56 on http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/showthread.php?t=325945&page=6

 

Ruth in NZ

Edited September 6, 2012 by lewelma

[Kim C]

I did it last year with my son and it was a challenge. He's more the type to shout "OMG, 5 to 6 sentences!?? Is she mad? Who can do that? It's impossible!" :rolleyes: Then he almost does it. Almost.

 

Anyway, hang in there. I think WWS was one of the hardest and best things we have ever done.

 

:001_smile: I think it will be really good for my ds once we get going. It's forcing him outside his comfort zone right now and I'm hoping that gets better with time.

 

Kim

[Mandarinmom]

http://www.bmiestore.com/estore/product/FSH104561EB/?sid=e04fb73087d8f90d377d71f1a9991b52&fs=1

[Kim C]

Doyou think the Creative Writer would work for an accelerated 7 year old? Ds is almost done with wwe3 and he really needs a change.he lives creative writing. Thanks

 

It's hard to say. Some of the lessons might be a bit tough for him. Several of the lessons are about creating characters, writing dialouge, describing scenes. My son has always enjoyed creative writing, but he would not have enjoyed The Creative Writer when he was 7.

 

Kim

[Halcyon]

It's hard to say. Some of the lessons might be a bit tough for him. Several of the lessons are about creating characters, writing dialouge, describing scenes. My son has always enjoyed creative writing, but he would not have enjoyed The Creative Writer when he was 7.

 

Kim

 

Thanks. He writes a lot of dialogue already, and creates characters all the time. I do think if i got it, i would have to read aloud the instructions if they are anything like WWS.

[Kim C]

Thanks. He writes a lot of dialogue already, and creates characters all the time. I do think if i got it, i would have to read aloud the instructions if they are anything like WWS.

 

Yes, I think you would. The lessons are written to the student, but I think you would have to take a more active role in the lesson. It can't hurt to try. If you find he's not ready for it, you can put it aside for a while.

 

Kim

[Kim C]

My DS is also 11 and he just finished Week 2, Day 3. My son has similar tendencies - he enjoys creative writing and he finds summarizing difficult.

 

You know that part in the Instructor's Text called "Customizing the Course?" I decided to adapt the assignments. I let his summaries be longer than what SWB recommended. They are not ridiculously long, they don't ramble, and they don't contain run-on sentences. They are just longer than the directions.

 

When he did the Challenge Exercise (Week 1 Day 4), I had him mentally break the story into scenes.

 

What is the first scene? In the forest. OK, write two or three sentences. What is the next scene? At the inn. OK, write another couple of sentences. And so on.

 

I could have given up and gone back to WWE, but I decided not to. And he just sailed through the first three outlining exercises. We will keep going, and he can also keep working on summarizing. We have a subscription to Newsademic and I am going to assign him some summarizing from there.

 

ETA: I am also using a Carson Dellosa Summarizing workbook for grades 5-6. I think that it is helpful.

 

HTH.

 

I thought about dropping back and doing WWE, but I'm not quite ready. I want to give him more time to adjust. I'll check out the summarizing workbook. That might be just what we need. Thanks!

 

Kim

[Kim C]

I was so horrified with my ds(11)'s summary skills in that first week that I bought WWE3 and we spent 4 weeks doing all the summaries in the text. So I know how you feel!

 

 

There were weeks (especially the descriptions) where I had to become much more involved. I wrote a VERY extensive post about it here: http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/showthread.php?t=348864&page=12 (post 114), and a small addition on post 56 on http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/showthread.php?t=325945&page=6

 

Ruth in NZ

 

Why did you drop back to WWE3 instead of WWE4? I have not looked at them so I was thinking of dropping back one 'level' and purchasing WWE4 to work on his summarizing skills.

 

Thanks for referencing your other posts. I always enjoy your detailed posts and find them quite helpful. I think I will have to take a more hands-on guiding approach for a while, until he gets better at non-creative writing.

 

Kim

[kwg]

We just started WWS this year and we are on week 3. My ds compared it to being in a torture chamber :001_huh: :lol:. I think it has great skills. That comment did make me wonder if maybe I should find something else :lol:

[lewelma]

Why did you drop back to WWE3 instead of WWE4? I have not looked at them so I was thinking of dropping back one 'level' and purchasing WWE4 to work on his summarizing skills.

 

I dropped to WWE3 because I thought I might use it with my younger son one day. I had heard that WWE4 dictations were pretty awful, so I expected not to use it with ds the younger. Right now looks like we will move from IEW to WWS1 with younger ds, so the whole issue will probably be moot. I have never seen WWE4, but I assume that the summaries would be closer to WWS1.

 

Thanks for referencing your other posts. I always enjoy your detailed posts and find them quite helpful. I think I will have to take a more hands-on guiding approach for a while, until he gets better at non-creative writing.

Writing things out always helps me to think, and that very long post did help me think out how exactly *I* was implementing WWS1. I know that the program is written to the student, but my student has needed serious "big picture" help. I think it is easy for a student to get lost in the details of WWS because SWB is trying to make explicit what is implicit to most good writers. I definitely have found that my son's first drafts are better when I have spent the time to read ahead and orient him to what he will read *before* he reads it.

 

Ruth in NZ

[Colleen]

There were weeks (especially the descriptions) where I had to become much more involved. I wrote a VERY extensive post about it here: http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/showthread.php?t=348864&page=12 (post 114), and a small addition on post 56 on http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/showthread.php?t=325945&page=6

 

 

Thanks for these links, Ruth. One thing I realized immediately upon receiving WWS is that while it is written to the student ~ which, as I said, I prefer ~ I need to be actively aware of where the program is going, and why. The big picture, if you will. This isn't the way I learned to write because I in fact never did "learn" this particular subject. Writing is my one forte, something that's always come naturally to me.

 

This is one reason I'm such a critical mentor, utterly lacking in patience: It all seems so obvious to me. And yet, simply handing the book off to Luke and assuming he'll understand what's expected of him won't work, either. I need to be involved in such a way that I can augment SWB's guidance as needed, yet not get in the way. Easier said than done, I find.

 

I had heard that WWE4 dictations were pretty awful, so I expected not to use it with ds the younger.

 

Pretty awful? How so? Curious, as I've just started WWE4 with my 5th grader.

 

Back to the matter of how I assist in the writing process, I'm flummoxed even with SWB's rubrics. As an example, I don't know what to make of Luke's summary of the Grimm fairy tale in Week 1, Day 4. Imo this is less-than-ideal material for summarizing, but I kept that opinion to myself.

 

Technically, Luke did meet all the requirements as set out by the rubric. It's the sentence structure and lack of clarity that bother me. I praised him for covering all the main points and emphasized that this is a difficult tale to compress into one paragraph. I pointed out that he could have written two more sentences, allowing him to clarify why the princess laughed and/or why the king gave Dullhead the impossible tasks.

 

* * * * *

 

Dullhead had two older brothers who refused to share their food and drink with an old man. When Dullhead gave the man some of his wine and cake, the man gifted him with a golden goose. Seven people tried to take the feathers off the bird, and they all stuck to it! When Dullhead heard that who ever made the princess of a nearby town laugh could marry her, he went there. The princess laughed long and hard, but the king gave Dullhead three impossible tasks. With the help of the old man, he completed the tasks and married the princess.

[lewelma]

This isn't the way I learned to write because I in fact never did "learn" this particular subject. Writing is my one forte, something that's always come naturally to me.

I too have found writing to be easy which is why I have had to spend so much time and money learning how to teach it to a son who needs it broken down into baby steps. WWS has those baby steps, but my son simply couldn't see the forest through the trees without my weekly explanations about how each piece fit into the whole - both the whole of 6th grade writing and the whole of high school writing.

I need to be involved in such a way that I can augment SWB's guidance as needed, yet not get in the way. Easier said than done, I find.

I set aside 30 minutes at the beginning of the week to talk about the big picture, not about the instruction. I have to tell him about the new topos he will be learning before he outlines the example passage, or he will not notice what he is supposed to notice. During this time we also do some research on the topic he will be writing about, especially if he knows very little about it. Pictures, essays, wikipedia, whatever.

 

I also set aside 30 minutes at the end of the week to help him edit. We go through a bit of a check list. Is your paragraph about 1 thing? Do you have a topic and concluding sentence? Do you have repetitive words? Do you have strong verbs? etc. I ask the questions, but he decides if he has any of the items we are looking for.

 

DS does all the reading and interpreting of the instructions. He asks for help if he needs it, but I typically don't offer it unless I expect serious trouble (like with descriptions) or we have a particularly stressful week.

Pretty awful? How so? Curious, as I've just started WWE4 with my 5th grader.

Oh dear, I shouldn't have said anything since I have not seen it. There have been some people who have said that expecting a student to remember an entire passage from memory is not realistic. But really, I don't know what I am talking about.

I'm flummoxed even with SWB's rubrics. As an example, I don't know what to make of Luke's summary of the Grimm fairy tale in Week 1, Day 4. Imo this is less-than-ideal material for summarizing, but I kept that opinion to myself.

For the summaries, my son and I have taken turns summarizing the entire story in 1 sentence, 3 sentences, and then 6 sentences. This exercise has helped him to really think about what *can* be left out. For stories, we use 1 sentence for the set up, 1 for the conflict, and 1 for the climax/resolution.

 

I don't really use the rubrics. But my son has enjoyed comparing his work to SWB's example essays. I just read them outloud and then we discuss the differences between his and hers.

 

Ruth in NZ

Edited September 8, 2012 by lewelma

[Colleen in NS]

Technically, Luke did meet all the requirements as set out by the rubric. It's the sentence structure and lack of clarity that bother me.

 

* * * * *

 

Dullhead had two older brothers who refused to share their food and drink with an old man. When Dullhead gave the man some of his wine and cake, the man gifted him with a golden goose. Seven people tried to take the feathers off the bird, and they all stuck to it! When Dullhead heard that who ever made the princess of a nearby town laugh could marry her, he went there. The princess laughed long and hard, but the king gave Dullhead three impossible tasks. With the help of the old man, he completed the tasks and married the princess.

 

For us, the sentence structure and lack of clarity sometimes boils down to applying the student's current grammar knowledge. This is where we diagram problem sentences (either mentally or on paper - whichever solves the problem), and where the technicalities and vocabulary of grammar comes in handy.

 

For example, in what I bolded above - "they all stuck to it." I would ask, what is the antecedent for "they" - is it "people" or "feathers" - how can you make that clearer?

 

Your pointing out that he could have clarified the laughing and the impossible tasks is something I would have done, too. Only I would have posed questions so the student could fix sentences right then and there, and get the practice of fixing when the error is realized (saves time later) - "why did the princess laugh? OK, clarify that so it makes sense. Why did the king give Dullhead impossible tasks? Clarify that, too." And I'd have the student say the clarified sentences out loud so he/she can hear whether or not the sentences have been clarified, and can ask me for help if needed.

 

ETA: come to think of it, I think antecedents/pronouns are mentioned in the rubrics. Anyway, Colleen, I am like you and like to know the big picture (but I also very much need the nitty gritty detail to make that picture!!). If the Dullhead paragraph seems too simple or obvious to you, just know that WWS *will* get more detailed. The instruction in it will go quite in depth, making the student really think hard about exactly what he wants to say and why. When you can, try to look ahead in both the student book and teacher book, so you can see where it is going. And let the TM hold your hand, even when things seem so obvious to you - they might not be obvious at all to a student. Let your student's grammar knowledge guide your supervision, too. If you know that he knows how to fix some glaring grammar error, have him fix it. If something can be clarified via your question and his answer, do it. If he practices this on the simple Dullhead-like paragraphs, it will be easier for him to practice later on in the more involved assignments.

Edited September 9, 2012 by Colleen in NS

[shanezomom]

After reading words like "torture", "fear" and trembling in the kids' reactions to WWS, whether Week 1 or Week 17, is it really worth it? I've put it away once this year already and I sold WWE4 last year because it didn't work well for my son who loves to write. Are there good things to be said? It sounds like my son's reaction to Saxon which he said "sucked the life right out of him."

[Halcyon]

After reading words like "torture", "fear" and trembling in the kids' reactions to WWS, whether Week 1 or Week 17, is it really worth it? I've put it away once this year already and I sold WWE4 last year because it didn't work well for my son who loves to write. Are there good things to be said? It sounds like my son's reaction to Saxon which he said "sucked the life right out of him."

 

My son worked very hard this week writing about hydrothermal vents. It was HARD for him, took him a total of about 4-5 hours to write all the drafts and en the final. It was really challenging. But he is so, so proud of the final product. He knows how hard he worked, he knows how difficult it was for him to think about writing this way. I think it was worth it.

[rdj2027]

I think it really depends on the kid. We pulled our son out of PS in March at the end of 5th grade. Even though he always tested above proficient in LA he is a poor speller, lacks the most basic grammar skills, has illegible handwriting and while he professes to love reading, he never picks up a book unless being told to read. He hates writing with a passion and does not respond well to any criticism.

I bought WWS simply because I liked it but had no illusions that he would too. I expected major battles as far as doing the work.

Well, what do you know, my son loves it. Granted, his work is not anywhere close to the level of the samples that were posted in this thread but he actually is looking forward to doing English everyday. We have a long way to go and with his current positive attitude I believe he will greatly improve over the next year.

He is a visual-spatial, kinesthetic learner, really not the kind of child you think would do well with this approach but for whatever reason WWS resonates with him.

[Colleen]

There have been some people who have said that expecting a student to remember an entire passage from memory [in WWE 4] is not realistic.

 

Ah, gotcha. I thought you were referencing the quality of the passages. I don't advocate memorizing lengthy and/or multiple sentences in dictation; I don't consider it necessary or particularly beneficial. So in that respect, I set aside SWB's preference in lieu of what I've always done: Read the entire passage, then break it down by manageable portions.

 

I am like you and like to know the big picture (but I also very much need the nitty gritty detail to make that picture!!). If the Dullhead paragraph seems to simple or obvious to you, just know that WWS *will* get more detailed. The instruction in it will go quite in depth, making the student really think hard about exactly what he wants to say and why. When you can, try to look ahead in both the student book and teacher book, so you can see where it is going. And let the TM hold your hand, even when things seem so obvious to you - they might not be obvious at all to a student. Let your student's grammar knowledge guide your supervision, too. If you know that he knows how to fix some glaring grammar error, have him fix it. If something can be clarified via your question and his answer, do it. If he practices this on the simple Dullhead-like paragraphs, it will be easier for him to practice later on in the more involved assignments.

 

Thanks for this good advice, Colleen.

 

After reading words like "torture", "fear" and trembling in the kids' reactions to WWS, whether Week 1 or Week 17, is it really worth it?

 

Yes, I think in our case it'll be worth it, but in 12+ years of homeschooling, I've never had a child react that strongly to any curriculum. Yes, there are programs or subjects they enjoy less or more, and there are times when they make an assignment harder than need be thanks to their attitude. If I truly believed a program was not merely challenging but in fact self-defeating, I'd have to step back and consider whether it was a good fit. Sort of like the difference between training for a marathon and hating some of my long runs but knowing ultimately, I'll be glad I did it ~ or training and recognizing that I'm pushing too hard and need to either give it a rest, create a different goal, or find a new means of reaching the original goal.

[lewelma]

After reading words like "torture", "fear" and trembling in the kids' reactions to WWS, whether Week 1 or Week 17, is it really worth it? I've put it away once this year already and I sold WWE4 last year because it didn't work well for my son who loves to write. Are there good things to be said? It sounds like my son's reaction to Saxon which he said "sucked the life right out of him."

 

WWS is an excellent program, but just like any curriculum it is not appropriate for all students/families. It teaches academic writing explicitly and in small steps. So it is good if you want to teach academic writing (not all families want to). It is good if your student requires explicit instruction and you cannot provide it. And it is good if your student needs writing broken down into steps. Obviously, if your student does not need these attributes in writing instruction, than WWS is not for you.

 

IMHO, anything worth doing is going to be difficult. So if you find that WWS is appropriate for your student, then expect it to be difficult and find a way to accomplish what you want to accomplish.

 

Ruth in NZ

 

ETA: I just asked my son about WWS (he has finished WWS1 and beta testing WWS2): Q: Do you like it? "Yes, I think so." Q: Is it challenging? "Yes, why would I do it if it were not challenging?"

 

I thought this was an interesting response from a 12 year old who does not really like to write. I think he likes that it does not waste his time with assignments that are either too easy or just trivial. He definitely sees the value in what he is trying to learn from WWS.

Edited September 9, 2012 by lewelma

[Cosmos]

ETA: I just asked my son about WWS (he has finished WWS1 and beta testing WWS2): Q: Do you like it? "Yes, I think so." Q: Is it challenging? "Yes, why would I do it if it were not challenging?"

 

I thought this was an interesting response from a 12 year old who does not really like to write. I think he likes that it does not waste his time with assignments that are either too easy or just trivial. He definitely sees the value in what he is trying to learn from WWS.

 

Yes! This exactly. I think my ds would respond similarly. It is a hard program for him, and he has definitely had moments/days of frustration. But overall, he sees that each assignment wrings a little more out of him and moves him forward in writing skill. We do have to slow down the pace and/or increase my involvement sometimes so that it's not TOO frustrating, but the bottom line is that he sees it works and so he's willing to work hard at it. He can appreciate the efficiency of it.

[Mom-ninja.]

WWS is an excellent program, but just like any curriculum it is not appropriate for all students/families. It teaches academic writing explicitly and in small steps. So it is good if you want to teach academic writing (not all families want to). It is good if your student requires explicit instruction and you cannot provide it. And it is good if your student needs writing broken down into steps.

 

This is why I'm using it. My ds needs the broken down piece by piece approach.

 

He has struggled through all levels of WWE (yes even the beginning levels were hard for him at the time) and he has come so so far. I'm proud of him.

 

My 8 yr old (not dyslexic like older brother) does not struggle with WWE so far. We'll see how he does as he gets into the higher levels.

 

 

We're doing Week 1 Day 4 today. We'll see how it goes. :)

Edited September 10, 2012 by Kleine Hexe