language arts third grade

[MarigoldHS]

I am looking for language arts recommendations for my rising third grader.  He is an advanced reader, but his writing mechanics are weak.  He is a good speller and he loves grammar.  I was looking at LOE-essentials, phonics road, rod and staff and FLL.  We did WWE and he hated it (he calls it writing with pain).  He also does not do well sitting alone with workbooks (he is very hyperactive and easily distracted).  This year we have done MCT-island and he loves it, but he has difficulty with the writing assignments.  We also use Spelling Power which is fine, not great.  He does happy scribe copy work, memorizes poems, and we do some dictation and narration.  The options out there are very overwhelming, so any guidance is greatly appreciated.

Thanks so much

[Ellie]

I am looking for language arts recommendations for my rising third grader.  He is an advanced reader, but his writing mechanics are weak.  He is a good speller and he loves grammar.  I was looking at LOE-essentials, phonics road, rod and staff and FLL.  We did WWE and he hated it (he calls it writing with pain).  He also does not do well sitting alone with workbooks (he is very hyperactive and easily distracted).  This year we have done MCT-island and he loves it, but he has difficulty with the writing assignments.  We also use Spelling Power which is fine, not great.  He does happy scribe copy work, memorizes poems, and we do some dictation and narration.  The options out there are very overwhelming, so any guidance is greatly appreciated.

Thanks so much

 

So, you're wanting grammar and composition, yes? I wouldn't consider either LOE or Spelling Road for either of those.

 

He's just 7? 8? (age means more than grade level :-)) I'd consider Writing Strands, Level 3, and Easy Grammar.

[MarigoldHS]

Yes he's seven now, but he will be 8 when we start third grade.  Thank you so much....i need to check out writing strands and easy grammar.

another one i have heard about is CLE.....any thoughts on that one.  

why would phonics road and LOE be a bad fit?  are they very heavy on the spelling or is it more workbook 

[Farrar]

I think Ellie meant because you primarily want grammar and composition and they don't cover those.

 

I'll recommend what I always do...  Brave Writer. :D

[MarigoldHS]

Is bravewriter a complete Language arts curriculum or would i need to supplement for other areas?  I have heard really cool things about it but it looks like a ton of work for the parent to get ready to do it....is that true?  the website sort of confuses me.  thank you!!!!

[TGHEALTHYMOM]

Have ypu read this?

 

 

http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/495070-i-may-have-found-what-im-looking-for-in-a-program-that-truly-uses-literature-to-study-la-skills/

 

 

 

 

[Ellie]

I think Ellie meant because you primarily want grammar and composition and they don't cover those.

 

 

Exactly. :-)

[Farrar]

Is bravewriter a complete Language arts curriculum or would i need to supplement for other areas?  I have heard really cool things about it but it looks like a ton of work for the parent to get ready to do it....is that true?  the website sort of confuses me.  thank you!!!!

 

Is it complete?  Yes and no...  It claims to be complete.  I think it could be complete for a child who can already read and is a natural speller.  I think many kids need more explicit phonics and spelling instruction than BW seeks to provide, though she does provide some.  We use All About Spelling as well.

 

Is it hard to implement?  I think it really, really depends on your style.  It was easy for us.  It's probably hard for others.  The idea behind it is that instead of having a single program that's step by step - do this, then do that, now this other thing - you make a routine where you just keep practicing the same skills.  Into this routine you build copywork/dictation, narration, freewriting, and other elements that she suggests such as a movie day to discuss film and plots, a poetry tea to read and discuss poetry, and so forth.  The Arrow guide gives you copywork/dictation passages about a single book so you don't have to pick them.  She talks about how to do narration and freewriting a lot in all her various things.  It's all process.  But once a month, you do a writing project that you revise and work on slowly.

 

I think the whole package isn't for everyone.  I think the ideas she puts forth in The Writer's Jungle can help nearly anyone be a better writing teacher.  It's a good book.  It's well written.  It's informative.  There's a lot of ideas in there and even if a person doesn't end up doing the whole thing, I think there can be a good take away from it.  (Though I hesitate to say this because there's at least one person on here that I convinced to buy it and she HATED it.  Ack!  So there are clearly detractors from this sentiment.)  However, what you describe about your ds sounds like you're already doing a lot of the things she suggests like poetry and copywork.  I think it might help you build that into a routine that you feel like is working for you.

 

The nice thing is that now there's Jot It Down, which is the supplement that tells you about the writing projects.  It's much less expensive, it has ten laid out projects, and it summarizes the information in The Writer's Jungle and gives a schedule for kids this age.  I think it's a lot more accessible than any of her other products and the price is much more reasonable too.  So I think it's the perfect thing to get if you want to try it.

[MarigoldHS]

Farrar, thank you so much!  bravewriter sounds really really good.  do you use it also for grammar?  do you just use AAS and bravewriter for language arts?

 

the language lessons through literature looks really cool too.  

 

there are so many great programs.