LolaT Posted February 27, 2014 Share Posted February 27, 2014 So, we've stuck it out with WWE Levels 1 through 4 with DD9 although it's been more or less of a struggle at times. She will be completing WWE4 in a few months and although I've already purchased WWS1 and plan to continue with this methodology for the sake of consistency if nothing else, I think I do want to try an alternate curriculum for writing in 5th grade. Because, DD struggles with writing in general, I would prefer not to over challenge her by starting WWS Level 1 in 5th grade but waiting until 6th instead. I'm wondering what might be a good 5th grade writing curriculum to try for a reluctant writer to fill in this time between WWE4 and WWS1. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrysalis Academy Posted February 27, 2014 Share Posted February 27, 2014 I truly believe that the very, very best bridge would be to do what SWB suggests in her middle grades writing lecture. You write across the curriculum, doing 2 narrations, 2 1-level outlines, and write about 1 book per week: http://peacehillpress.com/audiobooks-lectures/a-plan-for-teaching-writing-focus-on-the-middle-grades-mp3-download/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Perogi Posted February 27, 2014 Share Posted February 27, 2014 I found myself in a similar predicament. We stuck it out with WWE 1-4 even though it was a struggle. Well, truthfully, we canned level 4 at week 20 or something. Anyhow, as much as I love SWB's philosophy of writing instruction, I was starting to feel uneasy that dd hadn't done more writing and that her peers at public school were turning out "reports" and "essays". All that to say that I opted with Essentials in Writing, Level 5. It goes over paragraph construction, pre-writing exercises, mechanics and grammar, as well as exposing the student to narrative, persuasive, descriptive, and compare and contrast writing. There is also a section on writing a research report. It's definitely a more traditional approach to writing but dd has enjoyed it, and as an added bonus for me, there are DVD lessons! It's given me a break and her an exercise in independence as well as exposure to another teacher and teaching style. Additionally, we have LOVED The Creative Writer, and I've already purchased level 2 for next year. And I do intend to begin WWS 1 with dd next year, for sixth grade. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Perogi Posted February 27, 2014 Share Posted February 27, 2014 I truly believe that the very, very best bridge would be to do what SWB suggests in her middle grades writing lecture. You write across the curriculum, doing 2 narrations, 2 1-level outlines, and write about 1 book per week: http://peacehillpress.com/audiobooks-lectures/a-plan-for-teaching-writing-focus-on-the-middle-grades-mp3-download/ I'm sure you're right, but I needed a bit more hand-holding. We are doing the narrations, but not the outlining or writing about a book a week....maybe I need to give that lecture a re-listen! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TarynB Posted February 27, 2014 Share Posted February 27, 2014 After completing WWE4 in 4th grade, I knew DS wasn't ready for WWS1 as a 5th grader. So he did IEW's SWI-B in 5th grade, which greatly built his confidence, provided the structure he craved, and gave him practice with lots of different writing tools to put into his mental toolbox. We followed that with a quick run through some other (easier than WWS1) resources to build his outlining and paragraphing skills, namely Outlining by Remedia Publications, parts of Writing Skills by Diana Hanbury King, and Paragraph Writing Made Easy. All of those set him up really well for WWS1, and he just told me today - as a 6th grader, halfway through WWS1 - that writing is now his favorite subject because of WWS!!! We could have probably fought our way through WWS1 at half-speed starting last year, but I really believe a lot of it would have gone over his head, so waiting a year - and that one year truly made a big difference - was a good decision, for us. Disclaimer: DS seems to have a brain geared towards something like an engineering career and is very much a parts-to-whole learner. So all of the curricula/resources I've mentioned were chosen with that in mind. If he wasn't that type of kid, I would have spent his 5th grade year teaching him to write across the curriculum as prescribed in TWTM. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrysalis Academy Posted February 27, 2014 Share Posted February 27, 2014 You might check out CAP's new Writing & Rhetoric program, if this is for next year? We're starting with the Fable book (with my 2nd grader, just now this spring) and I loooooooooooooooooove it! So far they just have the first two books out, but the 3rd and 4th books are due in April and September, if I'm not mistaken, and they are for 4th-5th grade level. I have a hopeful feling that this program will be a game-changer, a great option for a lot of people for the later elementary and middle school years. I'm super impressed with what I'm seeing in the first two levels. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Halcyon Posted February 27, 2014 Share Posted February 27, 2014 Oh, Rose, Rose, Rose..... Just link us, already, will ya? ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrysalis Academy Posted February 27, 2014 Share Posted February 27, 2014 :lol: :lol: :lol: Just sharin' the love http://classicalacademicpress.com/writing-rhetoric-1/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Halcyon Posted February 28, 2014 Share Posted February 28, 2014 Oh my. That looks lovely. I wonder what would be the right book for my younger-we are working through WWE4 but won't do the whole thing, and I am looking for something for next year. Any advice? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Halcyon Posted February 28, 2014 Share Posted February 28, 2014 Oh my. That looks lovely. I wonder what would be the right book for my younger-we are working through WWE4 but won't do the whole thing, and I am looking for something for next year. Any advice? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Halcyon Posted February 28, 2014 Share Posted February 28, 2014 Oh my. That looks lovely. I wonder what would be the right book for my younger-we are working through WWE4 but won't do the whole thing, and I am looking for something for next year. Any advice? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Halcyon Posted February 28, 2014 Share Posted February 28, 2014 Oh my. That looks lovely. Where have I been?? I wonder what would be the right book for my younger-we are working through WWE4 but won't do the whole thing, and I am looking for something for next year. Any advice? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrysalis Academy Posted February 28, 2014 Share Posted February 28, 2014 Wow, Halcyon, you *really* think it looks lovely! :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roadrunner Posted February 28, 2014 Share Posted February 28, 2014 The gap in text difficulty in WWE relative to CAP selections is huge. What makes CAP appealing to us is the creative aspect, but I do wonder if WWE selections do more to brain/develop language arts abilities. I have been looking over Sandlier Writing Workshop as an additional resource for writing practice and even though it's intended for a middle school, it might work just fine for a 5th grader. My DS8 is working through CAP Narrative. We love it, BUT the text selections need to mature soon if I am going to hold his interest. I would keep that in mind if buying the first level. I am also finding that between MCT Caesar vocab and Paragraph Town writing assignments, I have very few days left to do an additional program. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Halcyon Posted February 28, 2014 Share Posted February 28, 2014 Wow, Halcyon, you *really* think it looks lovely! :lol: Hehe! I told you, I need something for my 8 year old! I think WWE is great but right now, I think it's stifling his natural love of writing. I think CAP might be better, but maybe Book 3? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redsquirrel Posted February 28, 2014 Share Posted February 28, 2014 You might check out CAP's new Writing & Rhetoric program, if this is for next year? We're starting with the Fable book (with my 2nd grader, just now this spring) and I loooooooooooooooooove it! So far they just have the first two books out, but the 3rd and 4th books are due in April and September, if I'm not mistaken, and they are for 4th-5th grade level. I have a hopeful feling that this program will be a game-changer, a great option for a lot of people for the later elementary and middle school years. I'm super impressed with what I'm seeing in the first two levels. How useful is the teacher's book? I looked at the sample and am not convinced I would need it. I use Song School Latin 1& 2 an haven't needed the teacher's book. The sample of the teacher's book for the writing program seemed to be a filled in version of the student book with some classroom activities thrown in. Would the program not work properly without the teacher's book? 40$ for a one semester program (so 80$) for something I think would be supplemental seems steep. I am pretty happy with WWE, but think my son would find the CAP program fun. I am not certain I am willing to spend 80$ for fun. I might be convinced to spend 40$ though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roadrunner Posted February 28, 2014 Share Posted February 28, 2014 You need a teacher's book for dictation passages if you decide to use it. Otherwise you are probably all right without it. I like having answers though. It gives me an idea of what the expectations are for that grade level. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrysalis Academy Posted February 28, 2014 Share Posted February 28, 2014 Yeah, I bought the teacher's books, but the only time I look at them is for the dictation passages. I'm thinking of not buying the next ones, and just using dictation sentences straight out of the passage. I haven't found them to add too much value yet, but keep in mind I'm only 3 lessons in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrysalis Academy Posted February 28, 2014 Share Posted February 28, 2014 The gap in text difficulty in WWE relative to CAP selections is huge. What makes CAP appealing to us is the creative aspect, but I do wonder if WWE selections do more to brain/develop language arts abilities. I have been looking over Sandlier Writing Workshop as an additional resource for writing practice and even though it's intended for a middle school, it might work just fine for a 5th grader. My DS8 is working through CAP Narrative. We love it, BUT the text selections need to mature soon if I am going to hold his interest. I would keep that in mind if buying the first level. I am also finding that between MCT Caesar vocab and Paragraph Town writing assignments, I have very few days left to do an additional program. Interesting. I guess that is the benefit of starting slow with a 2nd grader - I'm not anxious to have it get hard too soon! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrysalis Academy Posted February 28, 2014 Share Posted February 28, 2014 Hehe! I told you, I need something for my 8 year old! I think WWE is great but right now, I think it's stifling his natural love of writing. I think CAP might be better, but maybe Book 3? Hard to say, since book 3 isn't out yet . . . book 2 might work for him, though! It's the Narrative 1 book. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
petepie2 Posted February 28, 2014 Share Posted February 28, 2014 This year in 4th we're doing Classical Composition: Fables and some WWE4. In 5th we're going to continue with CC: Narrative to put in a buffer year before Writing With Skill. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lewelma Posted February 28, 2014 Share Posted February 28, 2014 I think that you should plan to take 2 years to cover the material in WWS1. Part of what made it so difficult for my son was the amount of work that was required. Plus, if you move at half speed you have time to practice the skills learned by writing across the curriculum. Ruth in NZ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roadrunner Posted February 28, 2014 Share Posted February 28, 2014 Interesting. I guess that is the benefit of starting slow with a 2nd grader - I'm not anxious to have it get hard too soon! I didn't mean I want harder content. I meant something other than fables and parables. It seems like we have been reading and rereading fables since kindergarten. :) We think difficulty level of actual excercises are just right grade wise. I am hoping to see more short stories and non-fiction in 4th and 5th grade books. My second grader isn't ready for CAP yet, but I think he will enjoy the program next year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrysalis Academy Posted February 28, 2014 Share Posted February 28, 2014 I didn't mean I want harder content. I meant something other than fables and parables. It seems like we have been reading and rereading fables since kindergarten. :) We think difficulty level of actual excercises are just right grade wise. I am hoping to see more short stories and non-fiction in 4th and 5th grade books. My second grader isn't ready for CAP yet, but I think he will enjoy the program next year. Gotcha, that makes sense. I'm actually excited, because Morgan always resists my desire to read the classic age-appropriate stuff to her - if it comes out of a dry-looking book (like the Junior Classics set, which I love and want to read to her), she'll have none of it. So I'm stoked to be able to sneak in the Fables. She doesn't even realize they are something she "should" be reading at this stage! :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redsquirrel Posted February 28, 2014 Share Posted February 28, 2014 I truly believe that the very, very best bridge would be to do what SWB suggests in her middle grades writing lecture. You write across the curriculum, doing 2 narrations, 2 1-level outlines, and write about 1 book per week: http://peacehillpress.com/audiobooks-lectures/a-plan-for-teaching-writing-focus-on-the-middle-grades-mp3-download/ That is exactly what we did. It wasn't on purpose though. We were finishing WWE4 in 5th grade and we restarted the history cycle as suggested in the 3rd edition of TWTM. I find those instructions to be quite manageable and they are not dependent upon having any particular resource at your disposal. So, we did a weekly 1 level outline and a weekly written narration. I think that was all we did. When we started WWS1 in 6th grade it was still a stretch, we both had a whole lot to learn, but it was manageable. We continued it doing history that way through 6th (two level outline) and much of 7th grade (three level outline). In 6th grade he was using WWS1 and in 7th he was using WWS2. We haven't continued with history outlining etc during 8th grade and now just do reading and discussion. Mostly because WWS3 takes up a good deal of time and it is plenty of writing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss Tick Posted February 28, 2014 Share Posted February 28, 2014 I think that you should plan to take 2 years to cover the material in WWS1. Part of what made it so difficult for my son was the amount of work that was required. Plus, if you move at half speed you have time to practice the skills learned by writing across the curriculum. Ruth in NZ Ruth, is your suggestion to go ahead and do WWS1 in 5th, but just plan on half, and then finish it in 6th? Would you then apply the lessons to other content as time permits, or perhaps have time to do something completely different, or maybe doing half in 5th will just be plenty? I read your previous post about how to implement it with my students and appreciated the time and thought you have put in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kathryn Posted February 28, 2014 Share Posted February 28, 2014 We're a year ahead in WWE, so I'm going to have a gap year because I definitely don't want to start WWS in 4th. So far, my plan has been to do Classical Writing Aesop (which I already have) in the one year between WWE and WWS. But, then I clicked on the link for CAP's new program. Why did I click the link?!?! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lewelma Posted February 28, 2014 Share Posted February 28, 2014 Ruth, is your suggestion to go ahead and do WWS1 in 5th, but just plan on half, and then finish it in 6th? Would you then apply the lessons to other content as time permits, or perhaps have time to do something completely different, or maybe doing half in 5th will just be plenty? I read your previous post about how to implement it with my students and appreciated the time and thought you have put in. If WWS is a good fit for your student this is definitely what I would do. My older did WWS1 in 6th. He is a bright cookie and still struggled because there was just so much material. We actually could not finish it in a year, and skipped about 6 weeks of work at the end. I also felt like quite a few times he needed to practice the new topos again to master it, and given that we wanted to beta test WWS2, there just was no time to do it. Because of the lack of practice, I felt like he simply forgot a lot, which is why I started reviewing previous material when we did WWS2 using a big chart for memory work. I started WWS1 with my 4th grader at the end of last year (we are on a Jan-Dec school year), and he did just fine for the first month. Now I know that it ramps up, but my plan was to do it at 1/2 speed this year and next year (5th and 6th). I also would make sure to switch out any topics that are not suitable. You don't need to follow the program exactly as written. If your kid doesn't like the topic, or the readings, pick something else. No big deal! Where the program shines is not the readings, but rather the way it teaches the student to think about writing. Happy to answer more questions, Ruth in NZ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrysalis Academy Posted February 28, 2014 Share Posted February 28, 2014 We're a year ahead in WWE, so I'm going to have a gap year because I definitely don't want to start WWS in 4th. So far, my plan has been to do Classical Writing Aesop (which I already have) in the one year between WWE and WWS. But, then I clicked on the link for CAP's new program. Why did I click the link?!?! Yeah, I think that program is pretty amazing so far. I'm planning on using it with my current 2nd grader and if I keep liking it as much as I do now we probably won't use WWS at all. But I think it's a great "gap year" option for WWE-to-WWS as well, especially as new levels come out. My impression so far is that it is broader than WWE (i.e. includes much more - summary and narration and amplifying and copia/style work and some basic grammar) but that the reading selections are easier (at least so far, in the first two books). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crazyforlatin Posted February 28, 2014 Share Posted February 28, 2014 How useful is the teacher's book? I looked at the sample and am not convinced I would need it. I use Song School Latin 1& 2 an haven't needed the teacher's book. The sample of the teacher's book for the writing program seemed to be a filled in version of the student book with some classroom activities thrown in. Would the program not work properly without the teacher's book? 40$ for a one semester program (so 80$) for something I think would be supplemental seems steep. I am pretty happy with WWE, but think my son would find the CAP program fun. I am not certain I am willing to spend 80$ for fun. I might be convinced to spend 40$ though. I bought it but it's not very necessary for Fable or Narrative. I'm not sure for future books, however. I don't like their dictation passages as much as WWE's so I'm only using it for its creative aspect. It's suitable for DD as she loves to imitate and amplify. She doesn't like summarizing because all the interesting details get cut out, as she says, but it's a necessary skill that we need to work on and CAP does it for every chapter in Fable. It's a great program for a creative kid as there is room for the kid to play around with her writing yet has structure and guidance for the teacher. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soror Posted February 28, 2014 Share Posted February 28, 2014 We are finishing up Bk 2 of WR and we love it. I've only looked a bit at the WWS samples so takes this fwiw but I would agree that WR could be a good thing for a gap year, bks 2+ especially. I don't know if we'll end up using WWS or not, I'm not sure if it would work best for ds, although we've used Levels 1 and 2 of WWE and it has been good (currently working on WWE3 along with WR). You can look at the samples of WR online, there are pretty ample samples for book 1 and 2, 3 and 4 aren't released yet but book 3 should be soon(March or April IIRC). Book 4 is supposed to have them writing multi-paragraph papers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JadeOrchidSong Posted February 28, 2014 Share Posted February 28, 2014 Ds11 iis doing IEW SWI B after finishing 8/9 of WWS1 and ds9 just finished SWI A after finishing 3/5 of WWE 4. They have improved a ton! They are doing SWI with 8 other kids each with a friend/mom who teaches these classes at her home. She is fabulous. The outside accountability worked wonders. After this, ds11 will finish up the poetry unit of WWS 1 and ds9 will finish WWE4. Then ds11 will start WWS2 and ds9 will take some time off writing across the curriculum and start WWS 1 when he turns 10 early in 2015. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JadeOrchidSong Posted February 28, 2014 Share Posted February 28, 2014 I would like to add that someone here used a google book School Composition with good results. I will try it for ds 9 in the fall. The book is free on google and sells for $8 or so on Amazon. Check it out! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mama2two Posted February 28, 2014 Share Posted February 28, 2014 Hehe! I told you, I need something for my 8 year old! I think WWE is great but right now, I think it's stifling his natural love of writing. I think CAP might be better, but maybe Book 3? Doing CAP with my 8 and 9 year old (after doing WWE 1-3) and we are really enjoying it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aurelia Posted March 1, 2014 Share Posted March 1, 2014 I've been trying to find a good fit for 4th-5th grade writing and struggling. DD did fine with Wordsmith Apprentice for awhile, but stalled out recently, so after reading (and reading, and reading) all the recommendations for CAP W&R, I ordered it today. I hope to go back to WA after either Fable or Narrative 1, but if we fall in love with the CAP program and it keeps pace with our needs we may stick with that instead of following my current plan of moving to WWS around age 11 or 12. It seems like a good bridge between WWE and WWS, at least. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Halcyon Posted March 1, 2014 Share Posted March 1, 2014 I think I am going to wait til April to see what Book 3 looks like before I buy book 2 of CAP. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Perogi Posted March 1, 2014 Share Posted March 1, 2014 Yeah, I think that program is pretty amazing so far. I'm planning on using it with my current 2nd grader and if I keep liking it as much as I do now we probably won't use WWS at all. But I think it's a great "gap year" option for WWE-to-WWS as well, especially as new levels come out. My impression so far is that it is broader than WWE (i.e. includes much more - summary and narration and amplifying and copia/style work and some basic grammar) but that the reading selections are easier (at least so far, in the first two books). I would really like to use this program but I checked it out yesterday and it would cost $40 to ship to Canada!!!! Their ebooks are a different format as well, not PDF, so I don't think I want to go that route either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LolaT Posted March 1, 2014 Author Share Posted March 1, 2014 Wow. Thanks for all the feedback. I haven't even had time to look at the thread until now. Finally. I'm wondering if CAP W&R is secular. I think I would also be more interested in later levels that aren't all about fables.What about IEW. Is that considered secular? I wouldn't mind doing WWS 1 over two years but I still think that would be better placed over 6th and 7th grade. My DD is at the younger end for her grade anyway. (I would prefer a secular program, but also, it has to be secular to qualify for a curric. reimbursement program we're on). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redsquirrel Posted March 2, 2014 Share Posted March 2, 2014 Wow. Thanks for all the feedback. I haven't even had time to look at the thread until now. Finally. I'm wondering if CAP W&R is secular. I think I would also be more interested in later levels that aren't all about fables. What about IEW. Is that considered secular? I wouldn't mind doing WWS 1 over two years but I still think that would be better placed over 6th and 7th grade. My DD is at the younger end for her grade anyway. (I would prefer a secular program, but also, it has to be secular to qualify for a curric. reimbursement program we're on). No, it is not secular. One sample I looked at was all from the bible. And Classical Academic Press is not a secular publisher. I use their "Song School Latin" because it is one of the few Latin programs for little ones and it has lots of Christian content. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soror Posted March 2, 2014 Share Posted March 2, 2014 Yes, parables from the Bible are used but they are used as a literary example. There are also examples from the Talmud, Chinese parables, Greek Myths, various folk tales and historical narratives. In the question and answer section various faiths are represented . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soror Posted March 2, 2014 Share Posted March 2, 2014 Also, the fact that the first 2 lessons in Narrative are based around biblical parables isn't really representative of the overall tone of the book. I actually had to look up the lessons as we are at the end of Narrative and I really didn't remember it being Christian focused, going by pure quantity of lessons it is more myth focused. It is religious in a similar manner as SoTW,.Just as SoTW has stories from various religious traditions as they play a large part of history they use stories from different religious traditions to illustrate and show different literary concepts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LolaT Posted March 2, 2014 Author Share Posted March 2, 2014 Also, the fact that the first 2 lessons in Narrative are based around biblical parables isn't really representative of the overall tone of the book. I actually had to look up the lessons as we are at the end of Narrative and I really didn't remember it being Christian focused, going by pure quantity of lessons it is more myth focused. It is religious in a similar manner as SoTW,.Just as SoTW has stories from various religious traditions as they play a large part of history they use stories from different religious traditions to illustrate and show different literary concepts. That's kind of what I was thinking it might be like. Maybe Level 3 will have less biblical content? I guess, I'll just have to wait and see. (I do have SongSchool Latin and Spanish). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrysalis Academy Posted March 2, 2014 Share Posted March 2, 2014 I think it is a secular resource. Yes, it has a couple of Bible parables at the beginning, so the sample makes it look more religious, but it is not religious in tone at all, and the rest of the selections are Greek and Roman Myths (the majority), american stories, west african stories, other stories from around the world. We run a 100% secular homeschool here, and dh and I are atheists. We have zero problem with this program. I don't consider it religious at all. I think something can draw on content that is sacred to a particular religious tradition, but not present it in a religious way. I think this program does a good job of that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrysalis Academy Posted March 2, 2014 Share Posted March 2, 2014 If WWS is a good fit for your student this is definitely what I would do. My older did WWS1 in 6th. He is a bright cookie and still struggled because there was just so much material. We actually could not finish it in a year, and skipped about 6 weeks of work at the end. I also felt like quite a few times he needed to practice the new topos again to master it, and given that we wanted to beta test WWS2, there just was no time to do it. Because of the lack of practice, I felt like he simply forgot a lot, which is why I started reviewing previous material when we did WWS2 using a big chart for memory work. I started WWS1 with my 4th grader at the end of last year (we are on a Jan-Dec school year), and he did just fine for the first month. Now I know that it ramps up, but my plan was to do it at 1/2 speed this year and next year (5th and 6th). I also would make sure to switch out any topics that are not suitable. You don't need to follow the program exactly as written. If your kid doesn't like the topic, or the readings, pick something else. No big deal! Where the program shines is not the readings, but rather the way it teaches the student to think about writing. Happy to answer more questions, Ruth in NZ :iagree: whole-heartedly. The material is complex, and most kids will *not* internalize it after one pass, so taking breaks and doing repetitions of the same assignment (using your own material) seems like a brilliant way to adapt WWS. I also agree that the first 10-11 weeks are easier than the next 20. And I agree with letting kids swap out topics which is often very easy. Shannon didn't want to write about Daniel Boone, so she asked if she could do Sacagawea instead. Same assignment, same steps, same rubric, she just had to read and take notes from her own books (which worked better for her anyway). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soror Posted March 2, 2014 Share Posted March 2, 2014 You guys are making me curious to look at WWS again. I'm doubtful we'd use it as written but I wonder what I could pull from it to complement the subsequent books of WR. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redsquirrel Posted March 2, 2014 Share Posted March 2, 2014 I think it is a secular resource. Yes, it has a couple of Bible parables at the beginning, so the sample makes it look more religious, but it is not religious in tone at all, and the rest of the selections are Greek and Roman Myths (the majority), american stories, west african stories, other stories from around the world. We run a 100% secular homeschool here, and dh and I are atheists. We have zero problem with this program. I don't consider it religious at all. I think something can draw on content that is sacred to a particular religious tradition, but not present it in a religious way. I think this program does a good job of that. That is good to know. And I understand and agree that just because something makes biblical references etc that it can be presented as an example of literature. I am also willing to use the occasional religious product if I can reshape it to suit. My son has a lot of fun replacing the christian references in R&S grammar with Doctor Who and Star Wars references. I have used other material by the same publisher and would not call it secular. Both of the The Song School Latin books contain christian vocabulary, christian holiday units and church related vocabulary and imagery. I will be interested to see if they chose to maintain the secular bent of the writing program as it continues. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrysalis Academy Posted March 2, 2014 Share Posted March 2, 2014 I will be interested to see if they chose to maintain the secular bent of the writing program as it continues. I sure hope so! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScoutTN Posted March 3, 2014 Share Posted March 3, 2014 We are going to use IEW for 5th, after WWE 1-3 and W&R Fable and Narration in 1st-4th.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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