A Bit Confused about 1st Grade WWE and SOTW

[Wonder]

We've done a bit of WWE1 and we're currently using vol. 2 of SOTW.  I have a few questions:  In WWE1, it just has me ask the girls "one thing" that they remember.  In SOTW, I think I'm supposed to be trying to get summaries from them?  Is this how I'm supposed to be doing this?  Up until now, I haven't been asking them to give me a summary in SOTW, but I tried it today, although it really didn't go very well.

 

Also, if they're writing for SOTW, do I still do WWE?  Right now, their writing for SOTW isn't completely monitored by me, so there are of course lots of mistakes (spelling, etc.).  I usually point out a few things after they write, and then they fix it.  But the focus isn't so much on the writing as it is on what they remembered.  I usually write down main words on our white board for all three girls when we do history narration.  So I'm guessing...if I wanted to skip WWE sometimes, then I would just want to focus more on the writing for history?

 

How do some of you all approach this if you do narrations for history and also use WWE?  Especially in 1st grade. :)

[ByGrace3]

SOTW progresses much like WWE so SOTW 2 summaries more align with WWE2. For first grade, align your SOTW narrations like you do wwe. Just ask for one thing they remember, and write it for them.

 

My first grader does not write his own narrations. We follow the WWE model and I write it den for him and then he opines it-- this eliminates the creative spelling, guesses, and poor writing that ones about when they do it alone.

[Chrysalis Academy]

WWE 1 just has them pick out 1 thing.  WWE 2 is where you teach them to actually summarize.  You teach them this skill through a guided process.  It might take the whole 2nd grade year to teach this.  So, no surprise that it didn't go to well with summarizing SOTW!  It's a hard skill to learn, I wouldn't expect them to be able to do it without a lot of practice.

 

If it were me, I'd pick one of the two for writing.  If you are doing WWE, don't have them write for SOTW.  You can have them answer comprehension questions or give you oral narrations (tell back what happened - not a summary, just tell back what happened).  Use WWE to focus on the writing skills.

 

Or, don't bother with WWE, and have them alternate between copywork and oral narrations (or "tell me one thing that happened") using WWE.

 

I think doing writing with both with 1st graders is overkill.  JMO.

[elliotterae]

We are going about it a little backward from you, we are doing WWE2 and SOTW1 but I think the same question applies. We are working on narrations and do several a week for our literature choices and writing program. It is not easy for either of my girls to grasp the central ideas but they can almost completely retell the story. (But no one wants to write all that, lol)

Right now, what I am doing with SOTW, and my younger one's science, is a fact page. Instead of a narration, she tells me 5 facts about the topic or reading, in complete sentence form, and I write them down and put them in the history binder. If she gives me 2 that are very similar or on the same line of thought I try to prompt her with questions so that she tells me what basically amounts to an outline. Sometimes what she remembers isn't exactly a main point but I'm OK with that.  We also go through all the comprehension questions in the activity guide. 

[Tonia]

I did like the previous posters - used WWE as the base and applied those methods to other things. So my daughter was not writing her own narrations in 1st grade. We did the weekly lessons in WWE and for history, we went through a few of the questions and I wrote her narration for her.

[chelsmm]

We are doing SOTW 1 and WWE 1. It's our first year hsing, and I have a 2 and 1 grader. We do WWE as directed. For SOTW, they each give me a few sentences that they think of, and I write them. They don't copy. Ds has is still learning to form capitals. He can barely manage WWE 1. Dd can but doesn't like to write, so for now this is how we do it.

[Wonder]

Thanks everyone for the input.  Sometimes I think my expectations are just a bit too high.  But often my girls (especially one of my twins) just LIKE to write.  I think it has to be spaced out, though.  For example, today they each wrote a bit for history.  When it came time for WWE, we did two days in one, so they did the "easy" copywork.  Then, when it was time for their "one thing" narration, I said I would write it for them, but they WANTED to write it.  Not every day is like this, though.

 

But this just brings up more questions in my mind - one in regards to penmanship.  If they're writing quite a bit outside of specific penmanship time, I often wonder if they don't need to work specifically in a handwriting book each day.  They still have some letter formation issues, as there was not much focus on that last year in PS.  

 

And then...with the one DD who sometimes LOVES to write a story...can't I just let her do that, even if her punctuation and spelling is terrible?  Sometimes she'll ask how to spell a word, but many words are still misspelled.  Is this really such a horrible thing?  Or is it okay as long as I'm working on capitalization, spelling, etc. when we do WWE?

[kateingr]

I stopped using formal handwriting this year for. exactly that reason: the copywork in WWE seems ample. I just make sure to watch my son do his copywork sometimes and look out for any letters that he is forming incorrectly. (And when there's an incorrect letter, we just do a quick practice session right then and there.)

 

As far as writing a story goes, I think it's just fine for kids to do their own writing as long as they are consistently being exposed to correct spelling, grammar, punctuation, etc. (And in fact, I think SWB even says something like that in the LA part of WTM. I just looked it up, and here it is on page 64: "if your first grader has a sudden desire to write a story, poem, or letter to a friend (or to Santa Claus), by all means put the copying away and help him do it....But the next day, get the copying work back out.")

 

 

[Wonder]

I stopped using formal handwriting this year for. exactly that reason: the copywork in WWE seems ample. I just make sure to watch my son do his copywork sometimes and look out for any letters that he is forming incorrectly. (And when there's an incorrect letter, we just do a quick practice session right then and there.)

 

As far as writing a story goes, I think it's just fine for kids to do their own writing as long as they are consistently being exposed to correct spelling, grammar, punctuation, etc. (And in fact, I think SWB even says something like that in the LA part of WTM. I just looked it up, and here it is on page 64: "if your first grader has a sudden desire to write a story, poem, or letter to a friend (or to Santa Claus), by all means put the copying away and help him do it....But the next day, get the copying work back out.")

 

Okay, I may try cutting out the specific handwriting practice...at least on some days. :)  It's not so easy to watch BOTH girls at the same time to catch errors, but I try. :)  In your SWB quote, it says "help him do it."  Unfortunately, I can't always stop what I'm doing to "help" my daughter (with spelling, etc.) write a page long story, ya know?  So far, I've just gone back over it with her and pointed out a few errors.  I think to point out ALL the errors would make her NOT want to write. 

[redsquirrel]

Do you have the Activity Guide for SOTW? It has written guided narration. There are specific questions for each section and then a couple of examples of what a narration could look like. Written narrations are not asked for with SOTW 1 Activity Guide, it is all done orally. I don't think written narration shows up until SOTW 4 and even then it was optional.

 

And WWE 1 does not call for the student writing their own narrations....does it? I thought it was the narration was written by the parent while the student watches. Then there are 2 days with copywork and then a 4th day is narration again.

 

Sigh, it was only last year so you think I would remember, lol.

 

In WWE 2 it is day 1: narration that is written by the parent while student watches them. Day 2: Copywork.  Day 3: Dictation. Day 4: Narration with brief dictation

 

WWE 2 I do know because we are doing it this year.

 

 

[boscopup]

SOTW runs a year ahead of WWE, so what's expected in SOTW 1 is what you'd see in WWE2.

 

When I used it with a first grader, I was happy with anything he told me.

 

Also, at first grade level, SOTW does not expect the child to write their narration at all. It's an oral narration. My son did zero writing in history that year.

[Wonder]

Do you have the Activity Guide for SOTW? It has written guided narration. There are specific questions for each section and then a couple of examples of what a narration could look like. Written narrations are not asked for with SOTW 1 Activity Guide, it is all done orally. I don't think written narration shows up until SOTW 4 and even then it was optional.

 

And WWE 1 does not call for the student writing their own narrations....does it? I thought it was the narration was written by the parent while the student watches. Then there are 2 days with copywork and then a 4th day is narration again.

 

 Yes, I have the Activity Guide. :)  Both Activity guides (vol. 1 & 2) say somewhere in the beginning "Write down the child's narration if the child is not writing independently.  Good writers can be asked to write the narration down themselves."

 

I did most of vol. 1 last year with 3rd grade DD (twins were in school).  Even at that point, since we were just starting out, I wrote her narrations for her, then we progressed to copywork, and she maybe did a couple written narrations by herself towards the end.  Now she does her own writing.  But I never "started from the beginning" with her.  We didn't start with SOTW in 1st grade, ya know?  So I wasn't sure how it was "supposed" to be.

 

So all of your responses have been helpful!  It's funny, though, because sometimes my 1st graders DO seem to want to "do it themselves." :)  Today in WWE, I was supposed to write down their one sentence narration and they were supposed to copy it.  Instead, they just wanted to write out their sentence themselves.  So I let them, while I watched and corrected.

 

We've only done spelling a few weeks so far, and now I'm wondering if I should just work with them on spelling as they write....hmmm....

 

 

[T'smom]

Okay, I may try cutting out the specific handwriting practice...at least on some days. :) It's not so easy to watch BOTH girls at the same time to catch errors, but I try. :) In your SWB quote, it says "help him do it." Unfortunately, I can't always stop what I'm doing to "help" my daughter (with spelling, etc.) write a page long story, ya know? So far, I've just gone back over it with her and pointed out a few errors. I think to point out ALL the errors would make her NOT want to write.

I'm not sure where I saw it but I am 99% sure that SWB says not to correct things that the kids do on their own for fun. I don't think it was in the book, but maybe one of those question/answer videos she does sometimes.