Halcyon Posted December 3, 2013 Share Posted December 3, 2013 Kill me now. That is all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrysalis Academy Posted December 3, 2013 Share Posted December 3, 2013 :lol: You have now reached the point where we completely bailed on WWS1. I thought Weeks 27-31 were awful. I ended up teaching the skills myself and having her write a research report and just tossing that whole section. Drove me completely nuts. WWS 2 seems much better, btw. After hemming and hawing I bought the download on sale yesterday - I figured for $30, it was worth having even if I don't use the whole thing. Shannon is doing Week 5, the compare & contrast essay, without any trouble, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Penguin Posted December 3, 2013 Share Posted December 3, 2013 Yep, we bailed after Julius Caesar. Ds told me that the assignment killed Caesar for him, and that bummed me out. That was one that I had him do as written, because he had previously been really fascinated by Caesar. I am hoping that Shakespeare will give Julius a revival, but I'm gonna wait until the assignment-pain has dulled! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Penguin Posted December 3, 2013 Share Posted December 3, 2013 Dp Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BatmansWife Posted December 3, 2013 Share Posted December 3, 2013 Kill me now. That is all. No, no, no....that is NOT all. You have to explain....please. And take on of these too: :chillpill: :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Haiku Posted December 3, 2013 Share Posted December 3, 2013 Perhaps you should eat some ... cake? ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrysalis Academy Posted December 3, 2013 Share Posted December 3, 2013 Perhaps you should eat some ... cake? ;) :hurray: Good one!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RootAnn Posted December 3, 2013 Share Posted December 3, 2013 Hmmm. I'm hoping to get through Week 28 (WWS1 - taking our time) by the end of the school year. :bigear: Do any of you who survived have other advice for when the rest of us get to those sections ... besides killing ourselves or bailing? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrysalis Academy Posted December 3, 2013 Share Posted December 3, 2013 Let them choose their own topics, and/or let them choose and use their own sources (if they want to do the topics in the book). The sources in the book are all old, open-source stuff, and they are pretty archaic, and definitely above a 5th grade reading level. And definitely don't leave them alone for the citing sources lessons. The discussion of plagairism is awesome, but the lessons on how to actually cite sources in text and in the works cited (endnotes vs. footnotes vs. MLA style) is very confusing. Honestly, I don't think these sections are necessary before moving on to WWS2. Yes, by all means teach them about notetaking and citing sources, have them practice this a couple of times, then have them move on to the final project if you want to. Or just skip ahead to WWS 2. One of the first things you do is review that stuff, anyway, and then you learn to write a compare and contrast essay, and then you learn to write introductions and conclusions. Then, finally, you are actually ready to write a whole report on your own. That all happens w/in the first 9 weeks of WWS2. With my 2nd student, I plan to try WWS 1-26 and 32-34 (the poetry section) and then move straight into WWS 2. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wind-in-my-hair Posted December 4, 2013 Share Posted December 4, 2013 pardon me for asking, but what is wws? i am terrible at communicating by these anagrams. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ErinE Posted December 4, 2013 Share Posted December 4, 2013 pardon me for asking, but what is wws? i am terrible at communicating by these anagrams. Writing with Skill. It takes time, but after awhile, the acronyms just roll of the tongue (or the keyboard in this case). Now when Susan Wise Bauer comes out with Writing With Style, the board will have to figure out a new acronym. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redsquirrel Posted December 4, 2013 Share Posted December 4, 2013 That assignment all comes down the the prepwork, lol. My son learned that lesson the hard way. But, it hasn't been an issue since. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melissa in Australia Posted December 4, 2013 Share Posted December 4, 2013 We are up to that lesson this week with Ds16 and Dd13. Ds has pretty bad dyslexia so I have completely dropped the citing sources part of the lessons completely. I also encourage him to underline key points in the text as an visual aid to finding the main points, I have found this really assists him, As for the topic. He is slightly more interested in this topic then the digestion system in the previous writing lesson- she does after all get guillotined. we will just plow through it- like I do with every other bit of schoolwork. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melissa in Australia Posted December 4, 2013 Share Posted December 4, 2013 That assignment all comes down the the prepwork, lol. My son learned that lesson the hard way. But, it hasn't been an issue since. :iagree: as I keep telling my son, the more prep work he does in the beginning the easier is in the end. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lewelma Posted December 4, 2013 Share Posted December 4, 2013 We never did those lessons and had no trouble with WWS2. So skip them if they don't work for your student. And by the way WWS3 has very high expectations. This week we have a 700 word literary analysis essay written in 3 days....... Keeps me on me honest about my expectations (which have obviously been too low). Ruth in NZ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melissa in Australia Posted December 4, 2013 Share Posted December 4, 2013 We never did those lessons and had no trouble with WWS2. So skip them if they don't work for your student. And by the way WWS3 has very high expectations. This week we have a 700 word literary analysis essay written in 3 days....... Keeps me on me honest about my expectations (which have obviously been too low). Ruth in NZ I didn't know that WWS3 had come out yet! I only just received WWS2. Were they both released at the same time? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RootAnn Posted December 4, 2013 Share Posted December 4, 2013 I didn't know that WWS3 had come out yet! I only just received WWS2. Were they both released at the same time? She's beta-testing WWS3. There are a few (brave souls) out there who are. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori D. Posted December 4, 2013 Share Posted December 4, 2013 Writing with Skill. It takes time, but after awhile, the acronyms just roll of the tongue (or the keyboard in this case). Now when Susan Wise Bauer comes out with Writing With Style, the board will have to figure out a new acronym. Oo! Oo! May I be the first to suggest some acronyms: WwSk = Writing with Skill WwSt = Writing with Style Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melissa in Australia Posted December 4, 2013 Share Posted December 4, 2013 She's beta-testing WWS3. There are a few (brave souls) out there who are. Ah, thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cosmos Posted December 4, 2013 Share Posted December 4, 2013 Oo! Oo! May I be the first to suggest some acronyms: WwSk = Writing with Skill WwSt = Writing with Style And shall we pronounce them WHISK and WHIST? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melissa in Australia Posted December 5, 2013 Share Posted December 5, 2013 well we did the second part today. My dd13 read the excerpt on page 422 and said What???!!! I ended up reading the whole excerpt to her and greatly assisting her to find some points. She had no trouble with pp419-420 . But the writing style of the other reference was not a type that she had very come across before and really had her stumped. I am thinking I might get ds16 to skip this lesson and get him to write about something else. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LibraryLover Posted December 5, 2013 Share Posted December 5, 2013 lol How old is the student? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori D. Posted December 5, 2013 Share Posted December 5, 2013 And shall we pronounce them WHISK and WHIST? Exactly! :laugh: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SewLittleTime Posted December 5, 2013 Share Posted December 5, 2013 So glad I clicked on this thread. The Ceasar paper was awful. Granted, ds had pneumonia while we did it, but the whole process took 3 weeks b/c I had him go back and redo some steps he skipped. We took a different approach to the digestion paper. That turned out much better. I did a ton of hand holding in that paper. I'm hoping this to have to hold ds' hand a little less. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Halcyon Posted December 5, 2013 Author Share Posted December 5, 2013 Well, DS spent 3 weeks on the Marie Antoinette paper. It was good in the end, and all the prepwork was critical. We are now on to poetry. I thought we'd be done with WWS1 by end of October. Not. I am looking forward to WWS2 and hoping he is ready for it. We have spent just about a year and a half on WWS1 at this point, and I am DONE. (I am sure DS feels the same way LOL). I think I will place my order for WWS2 so I can peruse... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Halcyon Posted December 5, 2013 Author Share Posted December 5, 2013 So glad I clicked on this thread. The Ceasar paper was awful. Granted, ds had pneumonia while we did it, but the whole process took 3 weeks b/c I had him go back and redo some steps he skipped. We took a different approach to the digestion paper. That turned out much better. I did a ton of hand holding in that paper. I'm hoping this to have to hold ds' hand a little less. Yes, the Caesar paper was very hard, but the Marie Antoinette paper was harder LOL. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LibraryLover Posted December 5, 2013 Share Posted December 5, 2013 I do think WWS demands a certain level of hand-holding. There is a lot going on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrysalis Academy Posted December 5, 2013 Share Posted December 5, 2013 Shannon just did the compare & contrast beaver vs. platypus essay in WWS2 Week 5. It went well, but she said, "Really? Beavers and platypuses? Why couldn't it be about something more interesting?" So I assigned her another C&C paper on asteroids vs. comets. So there! :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SewLittleTime Posted December 5, 2013 Share Posted December 5, 2013 Yes, the Caesar paper was very hard, but the Marie Antoinette paper was harder LOL.Nooooooooo! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SewLittleTime Posted December 5, 2013 Share Posted December 5, 2013 Well, DS spent 3 weeks on the Marie Antoinette paper. It was good in the end, and all the prepwork was critical. We are now on to poetry. I thought we'd be done with WWS1 by end of October. Not. I am looking forward to WWS2 and hoping he is ready for it. We have spent just about a year and a half on WWS1 at this point, and I am DONE. (I am sure DS feels the same way LOL). I think I will place my order for WWS2 so I can peruse... After reading through this thread a little more, I think I will also go ahead and order WWS2. It's been on my Amazon wish list for months. I'm not sure we'll skip the last few assignments in WWS1, but I want to see where we are heading too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catherine Posted December 9, 2013 Share Posted December 9, 2013 I'm a meanie. I made ds do all of WWS1 including Marie and Julius. Yes, they were HARD. I am so relieved to hear that hand holding was par for the course because ds needed me to really get involved in sorting his notes into an outline, naming the topics, and putting it into a logical order. This is one aspect of WWS that I really, really appreciate though. It makes it crystal clear how much painting (of walls) and writing are similar: it's almost all prep work. The writing is an afterthought to some extent once your research, reading, note taking and outlining have happened. The way the student is scaffolded through all of the requisite skills is really, really good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kwg Posted December 9, 2013 Share Posted December 9, 2013 Off to check which weeks you all are talking about. We have met with neither topic yet. How much chocolate should I stock up on? :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catherine Posted December 9, 2013 Share Posted December 9, 2013 Off to check which weeks you all are talking about. We have met with neither topic yet. How much chocolate should I stock up on? :lol: I would recommend at least one bag of Hershey's Milk Chocolate chips. And some tylenol and tissues. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catherine Posted December 9, 2013 Share Posted December 9, 2013 But...you know what? When all of that was done and he did the research paper at the end of the book, he was SO THRILLED to complete it. That was long and challenging-he ended up doing a biographical sketch about Stephen Hawking and scientific description of his work on black holes. He was just over the moon when he finished that paper...he showed it to his father. It also took us about 2 weeks or even more, but it gave ds a big sense of accomplishment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JadeOrchidSong Posted December 11, 2013 Share Posted December 11, 2013 It took ds10 3 weeks to do the Caesar paper. I think he did great! Now that he started IEW SWI Level B with a group of boys and a great teacher, he dropped Marie Antoinette. But I still would like him to do Week 32- 34. Then we will go on to WWS 2. I am glad to hear that others also had a hard time with it and took 3 weeks to finish 1 week of work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SewLittleTime Posted December 11, 2013 Share Posted December 11, 2013 Still taking notes on Marie. It's taking a long time. Sigh... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prairiewindmomma Posted December 11, 2013 Share Posted December 11, 2013 Get the Costco sized bag of chocolate chips. We went through the small bag during the first two weeks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melissa in Australia Posted December 12, 2013 Share Posted December 12, 2013 Still taking notes on Marie. It's taking a long time. Sigh... So are we. DD13 thought she was finished with the not taking--- until I had a look. I ended up making some headings for her and telling her to take notes to put under each heading. She found that much easier. She now has her notes organized under each heading. Tomorrow she will begin the next step... Ds16 who is on the same lesson found a job splitting a neighbors yearly supply of firewood and is excused of all school work for a few days. (We school year round) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happypamama Posted December 12, 2013 Share Posted December 12, 2013 I am glad for this thread. DD is on about week eight (yeah, we are taking it a little slowly), and she's doing well so far, but I am SO glad to know that a lot of hand-holding is to be expected down the road. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodland Mist Academy Posted December 12, 2013 Share Posted December 12, 2013 Still taking notes on Marie. It's taking a long time. Sigh... It took Lily just short of forever. Hang in there. She actually enjoyed that lesson and the finished product was worth the wait, but what a wait it was! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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