Best age to start SWI-A with a very reluctant writer?

[Lots of boys]

My oldest ds will be in gr. 4 next year (9 years old). He is a very reluctant writer in every way. We have been using WWE and WWW (a grade behind - so just finishing up WWE2 and WWW2) so far with him. I would like to try IEW SWI-A with him either next year or the year after (or the year after that). If we didn't try it next year we would stay the course with what we are using and do WWE3 and WWW3.

 

For those of you with reluctant writers that have tried SWI-A, can you tell me when you think I should give this a try with my ds? I would really like to see him writing more but don't want to overwhelm him and him decide he "hates" the new writing curriculum.

 

Thanks for your thoughts!

[mhaddon]

I would like to know this as well, I'm thinking this will be us next year. I know my younger son will probably be ready before him, but want to combine them.

[Lots of boys]

I know it is intended for Gr. 3-5. but I am looking for others that have used it to give me their opinion on what the writing expectations are at the beginning of this and how quickly it progresses. I know I will be using this program, but just not sure what timeframe would be optimal for a reluctant writer.

[prairiewindmomma]

When we were in the same boat, we introduced the program when he was 10/5th. IEW was MUCH easier for him than wwe.

[robsiew]

I just heard Andrew speak at our HS conference and he sold me! I have 4 (yes all 4 kids!) reluctant writers. I'm only part way through the DVD's, but I'm already sold. So far bonuses in my book are:

 

1. You can go as slow or fast as your child can handle. You decide the pacing. So, I will start this with my 7 y/o, just going at a slower pace.

 

2. I can combine my kids and do the brainstorming together, but then have a different checklist for each kid so each is working at his/her own level. Again, this makes it easy to do it with any child that is reading fluently enough that you can put a short paragraph in front of him and he can be successful.

 

In our house writing promotes tears and much frustration. I went to the conference last weekend and began implementing some ideas with my 12 and 11 year old. No tears and the only whining I got was the up front "We hate writing." Once we started there was no complaining and they actually seemed to somewhat enjoy it.

 

I have yet to use it with my 9 and 7 y/o. My 9 y/o has some more significant issues we're working on first, but I'm planning on using it with all 4, again just going at the pace that each child needs. Another great thing is they are almost guaranteed success the first time. If you follow the program there is really no way they can "mess" up. This is what my reluctant writers need the most. They have no confidence that they CAN DO IT!

 

Another idea that I added this week for my dd, who is more right brained is illustrations. I learned this technique from Dianne Craft at our conference. As an additional step for my dd11, we drew a picture of the writing. So, we did a little excerpt on rivers. After doing the key word outline I sat down with her and we drew a diagram of the content. She loved it and even took a picture of it with her iPad before I erased it from the board. It helped the outline stick in her mind and she was able to write her paragraphs much easier. I'll use this technique from the beginning with my younger two.

 

Anyway... probably much more than you wanted.... I was scared of IEW for several years, but am now convinced for our family this is a great investment. I've done WWE, WWS and we tried WWW this year, but IEW takes the cake for us.

 

My suggestion would be to give it a try, but GO SLOW!! Go slower than you think you need to. Let him gain confidence.... use interesting paragraphs to hold his interest... and watch him succeed! :-)

[mom31257]

I taught a class of 12 kids (3rd-6th) this year using SWI-A. Some were very reluctant writers while others were eager. I think 4th grade is a perfect age to start the program, and I think it's great for a reluctant writer. My son was reluctant (in 4th) this year, so I did feel that he required a lot of input from me in the beginning. The group is meeting again next year using a theme-book. My plan is to give easier checklists/assignments to the youngest in the group in order to help them become more independent with the program.

 

Just remember that you can always modify the assignments to what your child needs.

[boscopup]

I started it in 3rd, but only did half of it.We'll finish it next year in 4th. IEW helped my son get over the fear of spelling something wrong. Even with the SWI, you can still go at your child' pace. In the beginning, I had my son write half a paragraph at a time, so he would write one over 2 days. Now he has the writing stamina to complete a paragraph in one day.

[HeatherH720]

My 4th grade son is a very reluctant writer. We started SWI-A this past school year. We will only get through unit 4, but I'm okay spreading A level out over two years for him. I'm not going to say he now LOVES writing, but he complains a lot less. Doing the keyword outline and having the structural steps helps a lot, I think. He also likes Andrew in the videos too.

 

I don't think there are set writing expectations with the program. I feel like Andrew is good at recognizing some kids progress faster than others. I believe he has a severely dyslexic child, so he of all people knows about tailoring to fit a child. The teacher guide (which I highly recommend getting the teacher/student combo package) tells you not to get bogged down in units 1 and 2, which are the basics of keyword outlining and writing simple paragraphs from those. They recommend covering one unit per month, 9 units total. Obviously I'm not following that schedule, and that's ok.

 

I recommend signing up for their yahoo group, even though I hate yahoo groups. They have a ton of downloadable helps to go with each unit. They will also answer any question you have, if you run into problems. Jill helped me plan for my 6th grader (late writer due to language disorder) that will get him to high school level by high school. Very helpful people!