3rd grade composition

[lea1]

What have you used or are you using for 3rd grade composition?

 

I have two recently turned 8 YOs (end of Sept and early Nov) and we are finishing up WW2, after also having used WW1.  I already have WW3 and they enjoy the narrations so we will keep using it but I feel the need to diversity a bit.

 

I have been reading tons of old threads about writing and have been reviewing CAP's W&R along with products from Classical Composition and IEW.  I'm a bit overwhelmed.

 

What are you doing / have you done for third grade comp?

[boscopup]

I did WWE2 (2nd half) and IEW SWI-A (first half)... not in that order. :lol:

 

I also used R&S English 4, written, so that added some "composition".

[lea1]

I did WWE2 (2nd half) and IEW SWI-A (first half)... not in that order. :lol:

 

I also used R&S English 4, written, so that added some "composition".

 

Thanks Boscopup.  Did you like IEW and did you get the teacher's course also?

[boscopup]

Thanks Boscopup. Did you like IEW and did you get the teacher's course also?

Yes and yes, though I'm not using it now. This is my year of flip-flopping all year. I'm now using CAP and WWE3 (alternated), but next year I'm strongly leaning toward WWS, maybe taken at a slower pace.

 

What IEW did for DS was to get him over his fear of putting something on paper. It was worth it just for that! I'm still not crazy about the stylistic things. They get to be overkill to the point of sounding funny. I love the keyword outlines!

[Halcyon]

We flip flopped around too, a bit of the Arrow, some random paragraph writing books...Now we're back to WWE4. It just fits with our family, and the WWE turned my older into a good writer for his age and I feel it's a great, solid curriculum. So that's where we are now.

He also does SOTW narrations.

 

ETA: he's age-wise a 3rd grader but doing mostly the work of a 4th-5th grader.

[Soror]

My son used WWE2 at just turned 8. I moved him to WWE3 this year at just turned 9 and then added WR1. Now we are using WR1 as our primary program, doing one lesson a week and filling in w/ WWE3 w/ anytime that is left- so usually that is 1-2 days a week.

[lea1]

There are just so many choices of where to go with this.  And I really find it hard to tell if something would be right for us until I have it in my hands and can really look it over.  I can see spending a good deal of money trying to get this right.

[Soror]

Fwiw WR1 has about a 3 wk sample that you can try if you want. CC had a week or so I think.

[lea1]

Fwiw WR1 has about a 3 wk sample that you can try if you want. CC had a week or so I think.

 

Thanks so much for this.  I didn't know they had this and it will be very helpful.  Going to find them now.

[lorisuewho]

With my oldest (who just turned 8), we did IEW's Bible Heroes to start the year and now we are doing WWE2.

[Aurelia]

DD did WWE3. We tried out Imitation in Writing (fairy tales), but didn't like it much. She also did a few of the writing assignments in Sentence Island. 

[FairProspects]

We're doing IEW SWI-A, but I leave out most of the stylistic techniques. Basically I'm using the passages and key word outlining to do retells. Ds doesn't really need the stylistic help anyway, and his writing is great when he can get it out. I could probably do it on my own, but this is easier and ds thinks Andrew Pudewa is funny. IIRC, SWB even recommends that as one of the options in WTM.

[LindaOz]

We mostly do written narrations. Aesop Fables have been great for my 3rd grader because they are short and to the point but have a story line.  Sometimes I copy a picture from our read aloud (currently By the Shores of Silver Lake) and he colors it, sticks it in his journal, and writes about the picture. This is essentially a narration too, but with the difference of starting with a picture from the book.  He also writes history narrations from time to time. Sometimes he will write about an event or occasion that we have experienced.  We do dictations and copywork too but I don't count those as composition.

 

And that's about it.

[sbgrace]

I've used a lot of things-much you've looked at.

 

But this year I found The Most Wonderful Writing Lessons Ever. They are wonderful. I'm using it now in 4th grade. If I could re-wind, I would use it starting in 3rd.

 

She tells me exactly what new writers typically do. These are the things my boys were doing! And, more important, the book gives me lessons to explicitly teach them otherwise without tearing apart their writing or being too prescriptive/cookie cutter. I probably didn't explain that well.

 

I've owned and used a lot of writing programs (WWE, Essentials in Writing, CAP W&R--which I do like, Write Source, NMID, Writing Lessons for the Overhead; I think I'm forgetting something). I've reviewed even more, including IEW. I've never seen anything like this one. I'm a fan and plan to use more of her materials going forward. I do think I'll go back to CAP and maybe some more WWE too. But, because of this program, I think our quality of writing will be much better than it would be otherwise.

 

 

[lea1]

Wow, this is all great information!  Thanks so much.  I will check in to some of these further.