BW: Help me with placement, please?

[give_me_a_latte]

I'm not sure where to place my son in BW. He's in 1st, and we've been doing WWE1. He hates it. I love where it's leading, and the skills it's developing, but it's so boring and monotonous. I think combining WWE and BW might be a great combo for us. I'm just not sure where to place him. He's a very advanced reader, so I'm thinking The Wand may be too basic for him. But he's also a reluctant writer, so I'm wondering if The Arrow would be too much? Maybe we would be better off easing in with Jot it Down? Thoughts?

[Walking-Iris]

I'm not sure where to place my son in BW. He's in 1st, and we've been doing WWE1. He hates it. I love where it's leading, and the skills it's developing, but it's so boring and monotonous. I think combining WWE and BW might be a great combo for us. I'm just not sure where to place him. He's a very advanced reader, so I'm thinking The Wand may be too basic for him. But he's also a reluctant writer, so I'm wondering if The Arrow would be too much? Maybe we would be better off easing in with Jot it Down? Thoughts?

 

There's no such thing as a "placement" in Bravewriter. It's simply a lifestyle of writing.

 

That being said I would NOT use Arrow with a 1st grader. Just my opinion. Most of the meat of the Bravewriter program (Arrows, Boomerangs, Slingshots) have  advanced dictation....whole paragraphs to work on throughout the week as well as literary element work and writing activities.

 

I'm not familiar with The Wand, but I have been using Jot It Down with my 1st grader. Jot It Down is for 5-8 year olds. There are no copywork activities included, merely advice on how to do copywork.

 

My 1st grader also uses WWE1, BUT loads of people don't start WWE1 until 2nd grade. 

 

If a 1st grader truly didn't like WWE1 I'd set aside for another year. Remember WWE is leveled, not graded. That 1 does not mean 1st grade. It means level 1. 

 

Reading The Writer's Jungle is a necessity for understanding what Bravewriter is about, if you want to continue with it.

[sunnyday]

I have read TWJ and have listened to all the podcasts but I don't own the other products. That said, as I understand it, the Bravewriter stages aren't strictly tied to age or grade but to development as a writer. The products are meant to support students at the various stages and give you as a teacher some tools to implement the ideas from The Writer's Jungle a little more painlessly than if you just winged it. The Wand and the Arrow support the copywork/dictation/reading/mechanics/literary analysis aspects. Jot it Down and Partnership support the writing project/implementing the lifestyle aspects, and are named for the stages of development they correspond to. A first-grade "reluctant writer" is *firmly* in the Jot it Down stage. You might find a good start with the descriptions and podcasts about the stages of development: http://blog.bravewriter.com/2013/07/21/the-natural-stages-of-growth-in-writing/ And of course the descriptions of the elements of the Bravewriter Lifestyle: http://www.bravewriter.com/program#4

 

FWIW I have heard that the Wand ramps up quickly in difficulty, so that the sample (from Hop on Pop, right?) is not really representative. I am in the same boat with strong readers who are technically beyond the reading level of the literature in the Wand, but for my kids anyway, I am kind of considering level 3, especially for my younger one. Spelling rules for suffixing, syllable rules and other advanced phonics made explicit for my little natural readers, and having copywork and dictation all laid out for me, and all of it in the context of books that, while classic kid lit, are not going to overwhelm my sometimes-tentative readers, are all reasons I'm a bit tempted. On the other hand I have other grammar and spelling resources that I don't want to feel I'm wasting or duplicating...dilemma. :)

 

So yeah. What products you choose just depends on where you want to go with your student as a writer and what areas you feel you need outside support for. Like Christopher Perrin says, the curriculum is the course of study that *you* teach. The materials you buy are just resources. ;)

[give_me_a_latte]

Okay, "placement" was the wrong word. I know levels are a fluid thing in homeschooling ;-) I just figured that was the quickest way to verbalize what I was trying to ask. 

 

So it seems like The Arrow is definitely not going to work for us now. My son already gets dramatic with the short copywork in WWE, so longer copywork/dictation isn't going to happen! I've read in several places that The Wand ramps up and that the sample (yes, Hop on Pop!) isn't really representative. So hmm.

 

I think I'm pretty much sold on getting Jot it Down. I think that will help him see that writing isn't just a neverending series of monotonous copywork and narrations. Bless his heart, I fear he'll be so turned off to writing by WWE and I don't want that to happen. BUT I really don't want to stop using WWE. So Jot it Down may just work for us. 

 

I kind of think I'm not going to really "get it" until I have the books in my hands. Which is why I asked what level would be most appropriate. I don't want to over buy or under buy at this point. And I don't want to dismiss a program that could work for us because I bought the wrong level to look through, KWIM?

[dbmamaz]

The sections in the Arrows can be done as copywork or dictation, sometimes I did first as copywork and then as dictations.  Its not boring and meaningless because its an excerpt from the book  you just read.  My 10 (who is behind in LA areas) often cried at dictation in our spelling program, but not when it was from Harry Potter or Phantom Tollbooth.  Tho I did sometime split the selection to two days.  You could just look at the back titles and pick a book you know he'll love and TRY one for $10 and see.  Not a huge risk.  The arrows are really very short - 4 dication (or copywork) selections, short explanations of what to discuss about this section, and in the end, some larger discussion and assignment, but still really light.  My understanding is that the  . .wand? is that the younger one?  includes basic phonics and might not be appropriate for a reader?

[ByGrace3]

I definitely wouldn't use The Aorrw for 1st. It is perfect for my 3rd grader and will be for a few more years.

 

Jot it Down is great for that age. If WWE I is not working, you could just do narration and copywork from good literature alongside Jot it Down.

[bluedarling]

I used Partnership Writing and Arrow for my 7-8yo advanced reader and writer, and it was a perfect fit for her (2nd grade by age).  However, unless your son is good with writing, he may find it challenging.  I think the writing ability is a better fit for level than reading ability.  There are some lessons in Partnership Writing that would be fine to do with a weak writer (or you assist....hence the "partnership").  I think when I looked at Jot It Down there was more "early reading" activities in there that might not be appropriate....maybe you do want to use Partnership Writing....just know that you'll be doing a great deal of the work alongside him!  The size of a few of the projects are quite extensive...so my dd8 would get overwhelmed by the quantity of work.  The assignments can be a lot of fun to do together, though!  The last assignment we did (Imaginary Continent) I ended up writing every other sentence, after she orally told me all about her continent.  It worked great, because I knew a lot about what she was wanting to design already from our discussion, so I knew what to say when it was my turn to write. A rough start on that project turned out to be a lot of fun for both of us!   I think Partnership Writing/Arrow is doable with a younger advanced child, with some assistance.  Arrow was not her favorite activity, though....she HATES copywork with a passion.  If I did over, I would have nixed Arrow and used grammar/spelling workbooks with her.

[ByGrace3]

I used Partnership Writing and Arrow for my 7-8yo advanced reader and writer, and it was a perfect fit for her (2nd grade by age). However, unless your son is good with writing, he may find it challenging. I think the writing ability is a better fit for level than reading ability. There are some lessons in Partnership Writing that would be fine to do with a weak writer (or you assist....hence the "partnership"). I think when I looked at Jot It Down there was more "early reading" activities in there that might not be appropriate....maybe you do want to use Partnership Writing....just know that you'll be doing a great deal of the work alongside him! The size of a few of the projects are quite extensive...so my dd8 would get overwhelmed by the quantity of work. The assignments can be a lot of fun to do together, though! The last assignment we did (Imaginary Continent) I ended up writing every other sentence, after she orally told me all about her continent. It worked great, because I knew a lot about what she was wanting to design already from our discussion, so I knew what to say when it was my turn to write. A rough start on that project turned out to be a lot of fun for both of us! I think Partnership Writing/Arrow is doable with a younger advanced child, with some assistance. Arrow was not her favorite activity, though....she HATES copywork with a passion. If I did over, I would have nixed Arrow and used grammar/spelling workbooks with her.

There are no reading activities in Jot It Down. Perhaps you are thinking about The Wand?

[bluedarling]

There are no reading activities in Jot It Down. Perhaps you are thinking about The Wand?

 

Yes, my mistake.

[give_me_a_latte]

I used Partnership Writing and Arrow for my 7-8yo advanced reader and writer, and it was a perfect fit for her (2nd grade by age).  However, unless your son is good with writing, he may find it challenging.  I think the writing ability is a better fit for level than reading ability.  There are some lessons in Partnership Writing that would be fine to do with a weak writer (or you assist....hence the "partnership").  I think when I looked at Jot It Down there was more "early reading" activities in there that might not be appropriate....maybe you do want to use Partnership Writing....just know that you'll be doing a great deal of the work alongside him!  The size of a few of the projects are quite extensive...so my dd8 would get overwhelmed by the quantity of work.  The assignments can be a lot of fun to do together, though!  The last assignment we did (Imaginary Continent) I ended up writing every other sentence, after she orally told me all about her continent.  It worked great, because I knew a lot about what she was wanting to design already from our discussion, so I knew what to say when it was my turn to write. A rough start on that project turned out to be a lot of fun for both of us!   I think Partnership Writing/Arrow is doable with a younger advanced child, with some assistance.  Arrow was not her favorite activity, though....she HATES copywork with a passion.  If I did over, I would have nixed Arrow and used grammar/spelling workbooks with her.

 

This is exactly where my concern lies. I think the activities in The Wand may not be appropriate for his level. But I also think the activities in the higher levels would be too writing intensive. Like your daughter, my son HATES copywork. He also hates handwriting work. It's not that he struggles with it....he can do it just fine. He just HATES it. So I'm thinking if I go with the higher BW levels I may be shooting myself in the foot. 

 

Right now I think I'm leaning towards trying Jot it Down first. If all goes well, I can try to figure out whether Wand or Arrow would be better for him. And heck, if Wand ends up being a bad fit, it might work for my youngest in a year or so. I've read where others say you could implement Jot it Down without utilizing other aspects of BW, so maybe that's a great starting point.... I just wish I could have all the pieces in front of me and flip around, back and forth.