Sarahkay Posted October 17, 2012 Share Posted October 17, 2012 I posted on logic board, I'll post here, too.... My 5th grade son just finished WWE 3. We started a lower in WWE because the format was new to us, so I thought I'd get used to it and begin there. He blazed through it writing all his own summaries after reading the passages. He very rarely narrated anything to me. He even went back to proof/revise his summaries. They have all been spot-on with the provided samples and his sentence construction and word choice are very well done. So, I think he's writing at above the WWE3 level. WWE has been a wonderful option, But... He's bored of the WWE formula and how it limits his writing to summaries/dictation. He's a very capable writer and has asked to do more "creative" writing, which means anything other than reading a passage and writing a summary. I know there's WWE4, but I think the 4-day format and more summary will turn him off. I think there's value in continuing some WWE, but I need something else to complement the summary formula. Any suggestions for a writing curric for a capable and eager 11-year-old writer that has some assignment structure like WWE, but gives the child freedom to bust out of the summary mold and be a little more self directed? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
everlastingstarflower Posted October 17, 2012 Share Posted October 17, 2012 I would recommend Institutes for Excellence In Writing. We began using IEW last year, and it has improved my dds writing immensely. Plus, it isn't boring, and you can choose whichever edition of the materials that you would like to use. Over the summer, we used Fairy Tales, Myths and Fables so that my son could get used to the format. It's for 3rd grade. This year, we're using IEW History-Based Writing Lessons Ancients. All of the writing assignments are based on Ancient events: The Epic of Gilgamesh, Ziggurats, the Exodus, etc. There are three Levels in the History-Based writing lessons...A, B, and C, so you can choose to scale projects either easier or more difficult if you see that your child is mastering the concepts explained. If you have access to borrow the IEW: Teaching Structure and Style DVD set, it will help you as teacher to completely understand the concepts in each of the IEW Parent Manuals & Student Notebooks. I wouldn't buy them because they are expensive, but if you can borrow them I would highly recommend them. The DVDs contain a 3-day seminar for teachers that explains in more detail how to use the IEW materials. There are nine basic units to IEW books. They cover nine types of writing, and although these are not all of the types of writing a student will do in the course of his lifetime, they are the big basic types that will be used many times in years to come. If you look at their website, you will be able to see which History-Based book accompanies your child's grade/writing level. Their web address is: http://www.excellenceinwriting.com Additionally, once you learn the skills you can apply them to any text/subject. So should you begin with Ancients and desire to move to American History, you can repeat the basic nine units and just use your own source texts for the assignments. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mazakaal Posted October 17, 2012 Share Posted October 17, 2012 You could look at Writing Tales. It's similar to WWE in that child has to re-tell stories, but it does offer a bit more variety. Each story takes two weeks to complete with work on copywork, outlining, vocabulary, spelling, grammar, writing, and expanding on the story. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colleen in NS Posted October 17, 2012 Share Posted October 17, 2012 I posted on logic board, I'll post here, too.... My 5th grade son just finished WWE 3. We started a lower in WWE because the format was new to us, so I thought I'd get used to it and begin there. He blazed through it writing all his own summaries after reading the passages. He very rarely narrated anything to me. He even went back to proof/revise his summaries. They have all been spot-on with the provided samples and his sentence construction and word choice are very well done. So, I think he's writing at above the WWE3 level. WWE has been a wonderful option, But... He's bored of the WWE formula and how it limits his writing to summaries/dictation. He's a very capable writer and has asked to do more "creative" writing, which means anything other than reading a passage and writing a summary. I know there's WWE4, but I think the 4-day format and more summary will turn him off. I think there's value in continuing some WWE, but I need something else to complement the summary formula. Any suggestions for a writing curric for a capable and eager 11-year-old writer that has some assignment structure like WWE, but gives the child freedom to bust out of the summary mold and be a little more self directed? If he has been successful with WWE 3, at his age he can move right on to WWS 1 http://www.welltrainedmind.com/store/language-arts/writing/writing-middle-grades.html and skip WWE 4. It starts with review of narration, but quickly moves on to additional skills. For creative writing, he can use The Creative Writer alongside WWS. I think the common suggestion for that is to do WWS four days a week, and TCW on the fifth day. It's available from PHP (same place as WWS): http://www.welltrainedmind.com/store/the-creative-writer-pdf.html and it's far more student-driven. It's very fun, I think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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