Help me find the right writing program for us

[Aspasia]

Dang it! I was ready to place my order for next year's curricula, but I keep getting side tracked and here I am.

 

All this time, I sort of just assumed I would use WWE. I guess I really trust WTM materials and all the people on this forum that use them. But to be honest, I've never actually researched writing programs. :blushing: Now that I've looked into some others, I'm confused.

 

Helpful information:

-DD is almost 6 (rising first grader)

-She LOVES to write. She is forever writing and illustrating stories (which are hilarious).

-I am very comfortable teaching writing. I've done a lot of professional writing, as well as coaching, tutoring, editing, etc. I love to write. I feel like I know what good writing is and what the rules are for achieving it. So I don't necessarily need a lot of hand holding, though I certainly wouldn't reject a good program that happened to be a hand holder.

 

What do you recommend? I've seen a lot of people say that WWE is boring, monotonous, tedious, blah, blah, blah. I don't want my dd to decide that she hates writing, BUT I'm also a big believer in laying a proper foundation, BUT it would be nice if I could do that in a way that she finds interesting, BUT not at the expense of laying a proper foundation....Do you see the problem?

[Five More Minutes]

Have you looked at Bravewriter at all to compare to WWE? It sounds like it might be a nice fit, given your experience and comfort with writing.

 

ETA: We use WWE, and have not found it remotely boring. My dd writes on her own all of the time, too. But I like hand-holding, so WWE has been a good choice for us.

[Clear Creek]

For a 1st grader my goals in writing are to learn how to write a complete sentence as the answer to a question and as the caption to an illustration they drew, and to be able to give a decent two or three sentence oral narration of a passage I read aloud to them. I use their reading curriculum (R&S) to work on the first goal and SOTW to work on the second goal.

 

What are your goals in writing for your rising 1st grader?

[Sue G in PA]

I hesitate to advise, b/c we are in the same boat trying to figure out what to use. :/ BUT, I second Bravewriter based on your description of your daughter. She sounds much like my own dd7. That being said, I am starting her on WWE2 (seeing how it goes, might move to 1) once it arrives. I don't feel that her creativity will be squelched at all b/c this will simply be part of her LA studies and she can continue to write her stories. I need her to learn proper sentence/paragraph structure and since I don't "edit" her stories (for fear that I will cause her to stop writing), I feel like I need something else that will address issues such as capitalization, punctuation, sentence structure, paragraph structure, etc.

[Alte Veste Academy]

For a 1st grader who already loves writing, I would recommend No More "I'm Done!" And WWE.

 

http://www.amazon.com/No-More-Done-Fostering-Independent/dp/1571107843/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1365225152&sr=8-1&keywords=no+more+i%27m+done

[kiwik]

There was a thread the other day about combining WWE and Bravewriter that looked good. A bit much for this afterschooler but could be good for you.

[fourisenough]

I think WWE and Bravewriter or a Writer's Workshop approach (such as No More I'm Done) address very different, but equally important skills.

 

WWE will improve her listening comprehension, ability to summarize orally, hold a thought in her head and eventually to get it down on paper. It utilizes copy work, narration, and dictation to accomplish this (not all from the beginning in level 1).

 

There is nothing in WWE that looks at all like creative writing or original idea-based writing. Those skills, if you choose, can be developed using something like Bravewriter or a Writer's Workshop format. Or they can be introduced later. I remember SWB saying something to the effect that creative writing either appeals to your child or not. If it does, she will write creatively, but if it doesn't, no amount of instruction will turn her into a creative writer and that is okay, because no one is ever forced to write creatively, but we all need to know how to perform academic writing. Forgive any mistakes - paraphrasing is not by strongest skill.

 

Sounds like your daughter already writes creatively with joy. You could use WWE for the above-listed reasons and just continue to coach her independent writing as you have been.

[Aspasia]

There was a thread the other day about combining WWE and Bravewriter that looked good. A bit much for this afterschooler but could be good for you.

 

Yes, that did look like a really good idea. I just don't want to pay for two programs if I can avoid it--kind of a cheapskate. :)

[SFM]

You could always incorporate the Bravewriter Lifestyle and WWE. I like the creativity and "natural-ness" of the Bravewriter Lifestyle but the hand holding of WWE.

[Abeilles]

I like the idea of WWE with Bravewriter. You could find an inexpensive used copy of WWE1. Both would work well together and address two aspects of writing.

[Tanikit]

There is nothing in WWE that looks at all like creative writing or original idea-based writing. Those skills, if you choose, can be developed using something like Bravewriter or a Writer's Workshop format. Or they can be introduced later. I remember SWB saying something to the effect that creative writing either appeals to your child or not. If it does, she will write creatively, but if it doesn't, no amount of instruction will turn her into a creative writer and that is okay, because no one is ever forced to write creatively, but we all need to know how to perform academic writing. Forgive any mistakes - paraphrasing is not by strongest skill.

 

 

Thanks for quoting this - I did find that WWE and WWS seem to cover only one style of writing and I do think that she covers this style very well, but that I want to learn my child to write well in all styles - I feel my child must be able to determine who she is writing for and what she wants to convey and be able to do it in a good way. It is strange to me that WWE uses many different passages of writing and actually shows children descriptive and argumentative writing and discusses these forms if she only plans for children to write academic persuasive arguments later - many of the passages she uses were someone else's creative writing and therefore there must be some teaching indirectly of creative writing, yet she never expects the child to write their own creative piece.

 

I believe that creative writing can be taught and that SWB is mostly there already with it and all that it needs is encouragement and a little more teaching. I also think that poetry and letter writing and, even in this day and age, good email writing do also need to be covered - I want me child to be able to do any form of writing that is required of her or that she likes to do and to do it well. I have WWE and plan to use it, however I will supplement with other writing too.

[Farrar]

I agree with what others are saying... know what you're buying and choose the program that will work best for you and your dd and that reflects your philosophy of writing if possible.

 

There are lots of approaches to writing. One way that I've seen some people divide up and compare Bravewriter to WWE is that Bravewriter tries to build a child's own voice into a writing voice whereas WWE tries to teach a formal writing voice.

 

But there are other divisions. Some programs (including both BW and WWE) begin with copywork and narration and move toward independent writing while other programs teach children specific skills in little chunks, often on a worksheet, like Winning with Writing or Check the Deck.

 

I think WWE is a love it or hate it thing. And it's not always predictable which kids will love and hate it, I think.

[Alte Veste Academy]

I think WWE is a love it or hate it thing. And it's not always predictable which kids will love and hate it, I think.

 

I agree. I will also add that some of us prefer to use the WWE 1-4 hardcover book and pick our own passages from content subjects. I think my kids would dislike WWE if it wasn't integrally related to what they are reading. It blends so well here it's almost invisible...like ninja learning. LOL

[Walking-Iris]

I have to agree with others and say that a BW WWE combo may work for you. Since your child is young you could just do Bravewriter's Jot It Down and get The Complete Writer to get a feel for WWE and look online here or on amazon for it (and the workbooks) used. People do start WWE1 in 1st grade, but just as many people suggest starting 1 in 2nd grade. And I think that would be fine. I think Jot It Down and WWE will be enough for a 1st grader. Honestly a lot of TWJ assumes a bit of an older student at times (say 8 or 9 to start with) and the Arrows wouldn't be appropriate for a 1st grader.

 

BW does have a product called The Wand as well for younger students, but I have no experience with that. I do plan on just using WWE1 (slowly and ready to drop if it's too much) and Jot It Down with my 1st grader.

[teyover]

I heard about Writing Tales on another post. I took a look at it and seems to be a really good fit for us.