momto2Cs Posted February 19, 2014 Share Posted February 19, 2014 We've been having a blast this week, not using any one curriculum. Cassia has been working on writing this week absolutely guide/curriculum-free. What she has been doing is writing short stories, which she then gives to me for correction (super unique spelling from this one!). I correct them, copy them out in cursive, and then she copies that and illustrates the story! Handwriting, spelling, grammar, and creative writing all in one fell swoop! It is a two day process, so she's got one completely done, and another in the works. I have to give the credit for this project to her dad. Cyrus is flitting back and forth between WWS1 and Thinking in Threes. He's gearing up for some good essay writing with the second book, which I may combine with the writing project advice from Brave Writer, and we have finally decided that, for us, WWS is a great toolbox, not something we need to follow religiously. He's also been writing on his blogs, one for game reviews and the other is dedicated to everything about cars. Without strictly following any writing plan, my kids have actually put out a lot more writing this week! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momto2Cs Posted February 19, 2014 Share Posted February 19, 2014 Erin, thanks for sharing, these are super helpful! I agree! We're a little "behind" compared to these, but they certainly give me something to shoot for! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodland Mist Academy Posted February 19, 2014 Share Posted February 19, 2014 Can anyone tell me how you go through the revision / editing process? I find it difficult to decide when he is done and it is time to move on. A good portion of our day is spent in the revision/editing process across subjects. An essay question in science or history that is not well written is returned for revision, even if it is technically correct. Mechanics usually aren't an issue at this point, so our focus is elsewhere most of the time. Knowing when we're done depends on various factors. We sometimes try to stop before we are to the point of going sideways--just experimenting with words. Of course, there are plenty of times we do that, but if we did that all day long we would. . . well, do that all day long. ;) If I still see room for significant improvement we keep editing. There does, however, come a point of diminishing returns. I use a mix of WWS rubrics, MCT's editing process, and goodness knows what else. I also usually try to include a large dose of sarcasm to ease the pain a bit. ;) The editing process is a fluid time of discussion and brainstorming. It's usually relatively enjoyable. (At least for me, let's not ask Lily. ;) ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scrapbabe Posted February 19, 2014 Share Posted February 19, 2014 We've been having a blast this week, not using any one curriculum. Cassia has been working on writing this week absolutely guide/curriculum-free. What she has been doing is writing short stories, which she then gives to me for correction (super unique spelling from this one!). I correct them, copy them out in cursive, and then she copies that and illustrates the story! Handwriting, spelling, grammar, and creative writing all in one fell swoop! It is a two day process, so she's got one completely done, and another in the works. I have to give the credit for this project to her dad. Cyrus is flitting back and forth between WWS1 and Thinking in Threes. He's gearing up for some good essay writing with the second book, which I may combine with the writing project advice from Brave Writer, and we have finally decided that, for us, WWS is a great toolbox, not something we need to follow religiously. He's also been writing on his blogs, one for game reviews and the other is dedicated to everything about cars. Without strictly following any writing plan, my kids have actually put out a lot more writing this week! . This sounds wonderful! What a great week! Can you tell me a little more about Thinking in Threes? I've been thinking about using it with my oldest. Maybe just what it contains, what your thoughts about it are, anything else you wanna share. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hollyhock Posted February 20, 2014 Share Posted February 20, 2014 I also usually try to include a large dose of sarcasm to ease the pain a bit. ;) Please give me an example of how you do this! I think this would be really helpful. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodland Mist Academy Posted February 20, 2014 Share Posted February 20, 2014 Please give me an example of how you do this! I think this would be really helpful. :) Sometimes I read a particularly bad portion of her writing aloud dramatically, over and over. I think hearing it read aloud by someone other than herself helps her see how um...not good....it is. By the third or fourth reading of the sentence she often yells out what is wrong with it. (And then begs me to stops...lol) I sometimes act like a convoluted sentence has some secret meaning that is just waiting to be discovered. I try bit by bit to decipher what the deeper meaning could be. She often gets frustrated that I don't understand what she meant, which helps illustrate the need to be detailed and use the terminology of the subject at hand--not just generic terms. If a section is just boring, I read it in a dull, flat voice. Those times she often just blushes before going off to revise without much being said. Sometimes I just sigh. I think she hates that the most--the sigh. Sometimes I say something is brilliant and go on and on about how I particuarly like the errors she added to give the paper flair. :tongue_smilie: I balance this by giving genuine praise when she hits it over the moon. (After checking it isn't plagiarism of course. Sometimes something seems too good to be true :sneaky2: ;) . . .When I decide praise is warranted, she gets it in spades. :hurray: ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hollyhock Posted February 20, 2014 Share Posted February 20, 2014 Thanks. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodland Mist Academy Posted February 20, 2014 Share Posted February 20, 2014 For the record, editing time isn't always fun and games. There are times when we are serious, such as when something new is being addressed, when there is a recurrent issue, or when she truly isn't understanding a concept. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brownie Posted February 20, 2014 Share Posted February 20, 2014 The problem is...I just stink at this. So we are attempting to study narrative essays. Yesterday we read an esay entitled "Attititude is Everything". We looked at sentence style alot. Discussed the overall structure, use of dialogue, and the purpose behind writing the essay (which was obviously stated). It went pretty well. I picked up The Norton Sampler for more easily accessible samples of good narrative essays to study. The problem is, I am really having a hard time articulating the purpose of these essays simply. Most of them do not clearly share their purpose (which I told him a good essay would). I really need a teacher's guide, not a student book I think. But really there just does not seem to be anything out there that tears apart sample essays the way I would like to do it, and I don't quite have the skill to do it either :( Now I did pick up The Language of Composition as well, and now that I am looking at it, it seems to have a greater selection of narrative samples as well as topics more appropriate and interesting for my 11 year old. Brownie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dovrar Posted February 20, 2014 Share Posted February 20, 2014 . This sounds wonderful! What a great week! Can you tell me a little more about Thinking in Threes? I've been thinking about using it with my oldest. Maybe just what it contains, what your thoughts about it are, anything else you wanna share. Thanks! :bigear: I'd also like to hear about Thinking in Threes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KeriJ Posted February 20, 2014 Share Posted February 20, 2014 From Copywork to Composition This was so helpful to me and helped me figure out my own plan. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scrapbabe Posted February 20, 2014 Share Posted February 20, 2014 From Copywork to Composition This was so helpful to me and helped me figure out my own plan. Thanks for sharing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scrapbabe Posted February 20, 2014 Share Posted February 20, 2014 The problem is...I just stink at this. So we are attempting to study narrative essays. Yesterday we read an esay entitled "Attititude is Everything". We looked at sentence style alot. Discussed the overall structure, use of dialogue, and the purpose behind writing the essay (which was obviously stated). It went pretty well. I picked up The Norton Sampler for more easily accessible samples of good narrative essays to study. The problem is, I am really having a hard time articulating the purpose of these essays simply. Most of them do not clearly share their purpose (which I told him a good essay would). I really need a teacher's guide, not a student book I think. But really there just does not seem to be anything out there that tears apart sample essays the way I would like to do it, and I don't quite have the skill to do it either :( I'm with you. Some kind of guide or how-to along with samples would be really useful. There's gotta be a resource somewhere out there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Penguin Posted February 20, 2014 Author Share Posted February 20, 2014 I just wanted to let y'all know that I am still working on moving all of your suggestions for books and websites to the top of the thread and putting links in. Sorry it is taking so long. I haven't forgotten!! Our writing this week is creative writing. DS will take the National Mythology Exam and he is writing a short play about one of the assigned myths. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scrapbabe Posted February 26, 2014 Share Posted February 26, 2014 Okay so my son has a desire to write fiction. He wants to be an author. There've been discussion on this thread about some books with essays to read and evaluate (such as Norton's). Is there anything like that for short stories? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WishboneDawn Posted February 27, 2014 Share Posted February 27, 2014 Sometimes I read a particularly bad portion of her writing aloud dramatically, over and over. I think hearing it read aloud by someone other than herself helps her see how um...not good....it is. By the third or fourth reading of the sentence she often yells out what is wrong with it. (And then begs me to stops...lol) I sometimes act like a convoluted sentence has some secret meaning that is just waiting to be discovered. I try bit by bit to decipher what the deeper meaning could be. She often gets frustrated that I don't understand what she meant, which helps illustrate the need to be detailed and use the terminology of the subject at hand--not just generic terms. If a section is just boring, I read it in a dull, flat voice. Those times she often just blushes before going off to revise without much being said. Sometimes I just sigh. I think she hates that the most--the sigh. Sometimes I say something is brilliant and go on and on about how I particuarly like the errors she added to give the paper flair. :tongue_smilie: I balance this by giving genuine praise when she hits it over the moon. (After checking it isn't plagiarism of course. Sometimes something seems too good to be true :sneaky2: ;) . . .When I decide praise is warranted, she gets it in spades. :hurray: ) Oh gosh, this reminds me of when I'd read my daughter's writing out lid for everyone, spelling mistakes and all. We'd all be laughing so hard we'd be crying in the end. I don't know if I could do this with my son as he'd either get embarrassed our exaggerate mistakes for the read aloud but it was the right approach for her and we all had a ball. To this day she's a fan of real critique and doesn't have much time for empty praise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pen Posted March 10, 2014 Share Posted March 10, 2014 bumping this back up... could it be pinned at the top? And sharing a quote I like from E.B. White--despite being a master stylist and co-author of the elements of style: "...writing is an act of faith, not a trick of grammar..." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrysalis Academy Posted March 22, 2014 Share Posted March 22, 2014 Wow, Penguin! You have added so much to this thread since I last checked the top post! Thank you so very much!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justme824 Posted March 22, 2014 Share Posted March 22, 2014 Great topic. I look forward to spending some time reading everything! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Penguin Posted March 23, 2014 Author Share Posted March 23, 2014 I think that I have everyone's input moved to the top of the thread. If I overlooked one of your recommendations, please let me know. I tried to catch everything...I still have a few links to hunt up. And I added a few things, including a section for literary journals. The next time that I get a bit ambitious, I would like to go through and make the list within each category go (roughly) by age level. :tongue_smilie: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abrightmom Posted March 30, 2014 Share Posted March 30, 2014 Subbing. Don't want to lose track of this again ..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrysalis Academy Posted April 13, 2014 Share Posted April 13, 2014 Ok, I just had to post here to share the book I'm currently reading, which is without a doubt the very best book about teaching writing that I've ever read. There, I said it. I got the rec from a poster here, but I don't remember who or on what thread, but whoever you are, you have my gratitude. Here's the book: Engaging Ideas: The Professor's Guide to Integrating Writing, Critical Thinking, and Active Learning in the classroom. http://www.amazon.com/Engaging-Ideas-Professors-Integrating-Classroom/dp/0470532904/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1397352445&sr=1-1&keywords=engaging+ideas It's targeted at university professors, but I've learned more big-picture ideas about writing across the curriculum and teaching writing from the first three chapters than from the whole stack that has resided on my bedside table for the past year. And I still have 13 chapters to go! :hurray: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momto2Cs Posted April 14, 2014 Share Posted April 14, 2014 . This sounds wonderful! What a great week! Can you tell me a little more about Thinking in Threes? I've been thinking about using it with my oldest. Maybe just what it contains, what your thoughts about it are, anything else you wanna share. Thanks! :bigear: I'd also like to hear about Thinking in Threes. Okay, sorry it took so long to get back to this. I really, really like Thinking in Threes, as does my son. It is very straightforward, written to the student, and easy to use. So far, due to using other writing sources as well, we have only made it through the first two sections -- The Power of Three and Brainstorming. We're going to start tackling thesis writing this week with the third section, in conjunction with writing work from Write With the Best. Looking ahead in the Thinking in Threes book, if we really take the time to go through it carefully, we will accomplish one of my main goals for the next school year, which is writing a solid, general essay. Once he has that down, I may use the Lively Art of Writing as a follow-up -- I think it would work really well to do so. Let me know if you have more questions, and I hope this helps a little! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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