WTM Style History Compositions: Help, please

[Penguin]

I have the first edition of the WTM, and it recommends that a 6th grader prepare a weekly composition on at least one topic. Let's say that the child has read the spine (K12 Human Odyssey in our case) and done some supplemental reading. What would be a reasonable length?

 

We were using the online portion of K12 History, but I am ditching it and will just continue using the text.

[Catherine]

When I re-read TWTM last spring, I realized that we were not really coming close to doing the volume of writing that the method requires. Everyone has to adapt the recommendations to meet their child's capabilities and needs, and my ds is definitely a reluctant writer, but he is my third child and I finally understand that a part of overcoming a kid's reluctance to write is just doing plenty of it, in manageable chunks.

 

So my approach this year, his sixth grade year, is informed by that background. I'll also add that he is doing WWS this year. I'm having him write a history composition each week of 4-5 sentences. I am hoping to build up to compositions twice as long by the end of the year. HTH.

[Penguin]

Certainly helpful - thanks.

We are also doing WWS, which of course take up a lot of writing energy.

[Colleen in NS]

I have the first edition of the WTM, and it recommends that a 6th grader prepare a weekly composition on at least one topic. Let's say that the child has read the spine (K12 Human Odyssey in our case) and done some supplemental reading. What would be a reasonable length?

 

We are also doing WWS, which of course take up a lot of writing energy.

 

I think WWS (and WWE for that matter) trumps the specific recommendations for number of paragraphs, frequency during the week, length, etc. in WTM. WTM is ideal, whereas SWB's later-written writing programs are more realistic for many kids.

 

We've been doing WWS (and now are beta-testing WWS 2), and though I haven't incorporated this yet due to the energy-consumption you mentioned, I plan to have my kids do one extra (in addition to WWS) writing assignment per week, in any one of the content area studies. So, they maybe read a spine, read supplemental books, and then I would create a writing assignment based on what they know how to do so far in WWS. Does that make sense?

[linders]

Also doing Human Odyssey with a 6th grader (who has an IEW writing class as well). Each week, I have him write 1-3 paragraph response (4-7 sentences per paragraph) to a question I make up from HO (e.g., How was Rome governed in the beginning and how did it transition to a republic?).