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What writing program to use for 5-6 graders in co-op setting


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We will be offering a 5-6 grade writing class at our co-op. Although we hear great things about IEW, wondering how you use that program with 5-6 graders that are just now beginning to write? Is there a better program to teach how to write? Does anyone have experience with Classical Conversations Essentials and how they use the IEW for that age group? Any recommendations would be most appreciated.

 

Thank you,

Teresa Rasnake

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I think IEW would be a wonderful program for 1st time writers, especially for older children. The fact that you can use age appropriate models makes this program extremely flexible. I've used IEW methods in my writing classes for the last three semesters at our co-op, and it has worked out really well. I've done ages from 2nd grade up to 11th grade. I add other elements that I like from other writing programs (Killgallon, WWS), however the essence of the class is to learn how to take notes from key words, eventually moving into traditional note taking (for the older ages), how to transfer those notes to sentences, and learning stylistic techniques. We also talk a lot about grammar and punctuation, sentence structure, and paragraph organization.

 

If you are interested in how I structure my classes you can pm me.

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I think IEW would be a wonderful program for 1st time writers, especially for older children. The fact that you can use age appropriate models makes this program extremely flexible. I've used IEW methods in my writing classes for the last three semesters at our co-op, and it has worked out really well. I've done ages from 2nd grade up to 11th grade. I add other elements that I like from other writing programs (Killgallon, WWS), however the essence of the class is to learn how to take notes from key words, eventually moving into traditional note taking (for the older ages), how to transfer those notes to sentences, and learning stylistic techniques. We also talk a lot about grammar and punctuation, sentence structure, and paragraph organization.

 

If you are interested in how I structure my classes you can pm me.

 

Not the OP, but a group of us are thinking of doing this next year. Sending you a pm...

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I think IEW would be a wonderful program for 1st time writers, especially for older children. The fact that you can use age appropriate models makes this program extremely flexible. I've used IEW methods in my writing classes for the last three semesters at our co-op, and it has worked out really well. I've done ages from 2nd grade up to 11th grade. I add other elements that I like from other writing programs (Killgallon, WWS), however the essence of the class is to learn how to take notes from key words, eventually moving into traditional note taking (for the older ages), how to transfer those notes to sentences, and learning stylistic techniques. We also talk a lot about grammar and punctuation, sentence structure, and paragraph organization.

 

If you are interested in how I structure my classes you can pm me.

 

I agree with the IEW suggestion. OP, IEW is a very flexible writing program. What makes it perfect for new writers, even at those ages, is that you can use any level or type of writing for the lessons. So, you can be doing very basic concepts without using babyish literature. I love that I can integrate writing with my kids' interests and curriculum. It gives a natural flow to our school day. I think using it in a co-op would be great. You could do examples in class and have the kids' homework be to apply what they have learned to the subjects they are studying at home. We mostly integrate history and science, but DD likes to write about art and I am moving DS10 into writing about current events.

 

5LittleMonkeys, if the info about your class structure isn't private, would it be possible to share in this thread? Others of us would love it! Totally get if you can't though. :)

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Well no, it isn't really private...I just didn't want to type it all out if no one was interested. :p

 

Let me start by saying that I do not call these classes IEW classes since I'm not a registered instructor, nor do I share any of my IEW material with the students. Any reference material I give to my students is either not copy written or has been created by me. Our co-op is enrichment so there are no grades administered and I don't ask the parents to buy material since this may not be their main writing program.

 

I don't have a set in stone lesson plan for my classes because it always depends on what age groups I have, how experienced they are, how quickly they pick up on the skills...it just works better for us if I stay flexible. There are often times that I will have something planned but then change my mind once I look over their homework.

 

  • I usually start out the classes at the beginning of the semester by going over basic parts of speech, punctuation, and basic sentence structure. I pass out reference sheets with information about these three topics for the dc to keep in their notebooks.
  • Next we talk about note taking and discuss different methods of outlining. We start with a KWO simply because it is the easiest for most dc to start with.
  • We practice KWO together using Aesop's fables. I then have the dc take turns creating sentences from each line of key words and sharing them orally with the class while I write them on the board. This is a wonderful group activity because the dc will discuss the sentences, either agreeing that the sentence is good or working together to change words or word order to make the sentence "sound" better. We don't spend too much time here since the point is to just get words written down...there will be time for revision later. If I have a class of all young dc their homework will be to do a KWO of another fable I've typed up for them and create sentences from each line of key words and repeat it orally to a parent to make sure it "sounds" good and then write it down or have the parent write it for them. If I have a class of older dc we skip the oral part and go right to re-writing the sentences. Younger classes probably need two sessions of doing this, but the older dc should pick this up with just one lesson. Remember that you will be working on KWO for weeks as you introduce the dress-ups.
  • This is the point I talk about banned words. I hand out a sheet with a list and let the dc fill in basic alternatives underneath. From this point on everytime we do a KWO and re-write in class the first thing we do in revision is replace banned words. I like to spend some time here discussing word choice. For example, if a character "said" something we need to pay attention to the mood or situation of the character before we can determine if he "screamed", "whispered", "pleaded", or "whined" instead of just "said".
  • Next I start to introduce the basic style elements. 1 or 2 at a time depending on the ages of my students. I've found the older dc can easily do verbs (along with dual verbs), adjectives(along with dual adjectives) and adverbs (along with dual adverbs) in one session. Next I do who\which clause for younger groups and invisible who\which clauses and restrictive clauses for the older groups. Then we do the adverb clause. I've found that the dc I've taught in 4th grade and above don't need to be restricted to using only "because".
  • Each time (each week) I introduce a new element we do lots of practice sentences on the whiteboard together and we discuss the grammar of each element - paying attention to what these elements are doing in the sentence. Lots and lots of grammar going on here. Once the dc are comfortable with the element, we do (on the whiteboard as a group) a KWO, re-write and then start revision work. We start with making sure there aren't any glaring sequence, grammatical or sentence structure mistakes and then we start on the banned words, then move onto adding in the elements we've gone over. Homework each week will consist of doing everything we've learned up to that point with an Aesop fable or non-fiction passage that I've typed up for them. They are given a checklist of all expectations.
  • Depending on the ages and how quickly they catch on we may do one to two more sessions of the whole process up to this point. If you have very young students you may find that you can spend a whole semester working on everything I've described above, especially if you only meet once a week for a short time.
  • At this point I like to spend 2-4 sessions working on Killgallon methods. I really like the Sentence Composing for Elementary School book due it's wonderful explanation of and practice using different types of phrases and clauses. However, if you have older students you could do section 4 of Sentence Composing for Middle School. It's much more condensed.
  • Note- from this point on I encourage, but don't require, my older students to use the types of phrases and clauses that they learned about with Killgallon in the assignments I give them (and with any other writing they do).
  • Next is on to report writing. We start work on report writing using KWO, but I also teach them how to do a traditional outline (WWS style). Some dc prefer one over the other. We spend only a couple sessions on learning how to take notes for reports and re-writing them...we don't often have time to go through the whole revision\adding style elements during class at this point so they will do that for homework.
  • I introduce the sentence openers next. One or two a week depending on age and\or skill. I will usually give them a printout of the passage(s) and then we will work together to take notes and do a re-write. Then, instead of spending time with all the other style element add ins we will just work on the sentence openers. If we have enough time in class we will go back and work on other revisions.
  • Homework at this point includes all the elements we've gone over so far, however, I encourage the students to be careful of stuffing them in just to check the box. If they feel adding an element makes their writing sound awkward I tell them to leave it out. If they use several phrases or clauses that they learned from Killgallon instead of several IEW type elements I'm fine with that.

 

 

I hope that wasn't too convoluted. I've never written it out before and have my 4yo sitting beside me trying to do "math" ...I probably should have waited to type it out when she was in bed. If anything isn't clear or you have questions let me know.

 

As I mentioned at the beginning I don't teach these as "IEW" classes, but as you can tell I rely heavily on IEW methods that I've found to work well within the co-op classes I teach. I think that is one of the wonderful things about IEW...you can teach it straight from the main program, from an SWI or SICC, from a themed program, or simply picking and choosing those aspects that work best for your students.

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