AAS, FLL, WWE, English Lessons Through Literature: Which would you eliminate?

[chilliepepper]

I'm working on putting together a Language Arts package for my 7yo who will also join Classical Conversations this year after two years in Public School. Based on suggestions from other parents, I've been looking at the four programs in the title of this post. I think I need to cover spelling, writing and grammar. The first three (AAS, FLL and WWE) obviously cover all of those, but I'm wondering which category English Lessons through Literature would fall into, and whether it would be a substitute for any of those three.

 

In other words: of those four, which three would you recommend? Also, if I have three different books, should we do a little of each every day, or devote one day's LA time to each of them? I'm such a newbie.  :blush:

 

Oh---I should also mention, his handwriting is pretty bad. Will one or more of the above resources help with that?

[kiwik]

My seven year old reluctant writer is enjoying Essentials in Writing. It covers grammar and composition. You would still need spelling and handwriting though i guess you could combine them. I don't really think spelling is an actual subject.

[desertflower]

I don't have an answer to your question. However, I can tell you that we are doing.

 

AAS about twice a week.

FLL about twice a week.

WW3 about 4xs a week.

 

Of course we are only on level one.

 

Hth

[WahM]

Not sure what would be best for you guys, but English Lessons Through Literature would cover writing and grammar, so no need for FLL and WWE. They also have a spelling/reading program which has directions for teaching proper letter formation, just in case you might be interested in that.

[SeaConquest]

We opted for ELTL in lieu of FLL and WWE. I prefer reading entire literature selections vs. excerpts.

 

ETA: We also dropped AAS and use RLTL for spelling.

[kiwik]

I forgot: do either fll and wwe OR ELtL not both. Or if your child is going into 3rd look at 8's new programme Treasured Conversations.

[Coco_Clark]

I would do ELTL and AAS. ELTL will cover your writing and grammar (with literature and poetry added to boot) and AAS will cover your spelling.

 

Doing both WWE and ELTL would be redundant. They are both copywork, narration, dictation based programs.

 

I have no experience with FLL, so can't help there.

[CrunchyGirl]

I would do ELTL and AAS. ELTL covers the same general content as WWE and FLL.

[lorisuewho]

AAS is a good choice for spelling. Then go with WWE and FLL or just ELTL. These are good programs, just pick. ;-)

[Heidi]

We opted for ELTL in lieu of FLL and WWE. I prefer reading entire literature selections vs. excerpts.

 

ETA: We also dropped AAS and use RLTL for spelling.

This.

[rachelpants]

Since eltl and wwe/fll are so similar you might choose between them based on the literature selections.

 

We read or listened to the audiobooks for most of the wwe books. DS loved most of them.

 

Choose whichever program you think has the most appealing books. :)

[Korrale]

Either....

ELTL and AAS.

Or just Logic of English Essentials.

[TyraTooters]

Glad to have found this post! I'm trying to decide between FLL & WWE and ELTL. I downloaded a free sample of ELTL and I have a question. Where there are poems or parts of stories do you just read those aloud? The copy work is obvious as it says 'copywork.' I'm just confused a little on the other parts. Anyone care to give me a quick rundown on how a typical lesson might go?

 

And those who have used both...which did/do you prefer?

[chilliepepper]

For those of you who've used WWE...I'm looking at it on Amazon and Barnes & Noble, and at BN, the same book, same ISBN, is described as "A student-friendly supplement to Writing with Ease. This companion text to Writing with Ease..."

 

So I'm confused as to what exactly I should buy. If we do WWE, is there more than one book to get?

 

And...is there some homeschool-insider place where most of y'all get your books for less? Is shopping at Amazon/BN a newbie mistake? What are the tricks to know when it comes to buying curriculum?

[stutterfish]

Glad to have found this post! I'm trying to decide between FLL & WWE and ELTL. I downloaded a free sample of ELTL and I have a question. Where there are poems or parts of stories do you just read those aloud? The copy work is obvious as it says 'copywork.' I'm just confused a little on the other parts. Anyone care to give me a quick rundown on how a typical lesson might go?

 

And those who have used both...which did/do you prefer?

The poems are for read aloud (kids can memorise if that's your thing, it's not ours). The poetry selection didn't really work for us (a bit old fashioned/religious for our tastes) so we used our own collections and dd chooses a poem each session that I read to her. 

 

The parts of stories? If this is what I think you mean these are usually a few lines from the chapter of the book that is being read. There is usually some grammar activity associated with these - e.g. underline the adjectives/linking verb/pronounn etc. - at least that's how it works in ELTL2, I don't know about ELTL1. There is also a fable or short story (for narration). The box next to the text is if your child likes to draw pictures associated with the story. Mine doesn't!

 

I like ELTL in that pretty much everything is there, some grammar, copywork, narration, poetry read aloud, plus occasional picture study. It's adaptable for secular families, but has the occasional bible quote/copywork, for those that aren't. Even if you choose not to use all of it, supplement it with more,  or substitute a little of your own (as we do for poetry), it's an easy structure to slot in to the day. It gets done and without tears or tangrums  :)  My dd is older (10) than most using ELTL2, but she was a late reader and it suits her well. There's enough repetition to learn, yet at the same time enough variety to not make it the same each day. We download the books as audiobooks and she listens to a chapter each morning while eating breakfast. The rest of the session takes us around half an hour at most. 

 

We did WWE1 and started WWE2. Each day felt like the same format and it became rather a drag. Like others, we found it frustrating only getting to read excerpts of a book. (I had good intentions of reading the whole books, but y'know)...so we bailed out and opted for ELTL instead. 

 

There's a yahoo group where you can ask the author of ELTL any questions.

[TyraTooters]

The poems are for read aloud (kids can memorise if that's your thing, it's not ours). The poetry selection didn't really work for us (a bit old fashioned/religious for our tastes) so we used our own collections and dd chooses a poem each session that I read to her.

 

The parts of stories? If this is what I think you mean these are usually a few lines from the chapter of the book that is being read. There is usually some grammar activity associated with these - e.g. underline the adjectives/linking verb/pronounn etc. - at least that's how it works in ELTL2, I don't know about ELTL1. There is also a fable or short story (for narration). The box next to the text is if your child likes to draw pictures associated with the story. Mine doesn't!

 

I like ELTL in that pretty much everything is there, some grammar, copywork, narration, poetry read aloud, plus occasional picture study. It's adaptable for secular families, but has the occasional bible quote/copywork, for those that aren't. Even if you choose not to use all of it, supplement it with more, or substitute a little of your own (as we do for poetry), it's an easy structure to slot in to the day. It gets done and without tears or tangrums :) My dd is older (10) than most using ELTL2, but she was a late reader and it suits her well. There's enough repetition to learn, yet at the same time enough variety to not make it the same each day. We download the books as audiobooks and she listens to a chapter each morning while eating breakfast. The rest of the session takes us around half an hour at most.

 

We did WWE1 and started WWE2. Each day felt like the same format and it became rather a drag. Like others, we found it frustrating only getting to read excerpts of a book. (I had good intentions of reading the whole books, but y'know)...so we bailed out and opted for ELTL instead.

 

There's a yahoo group where you can ask the author of ELTL any questions.

Thank you so much!! I was thinking that you read the book along with the lessons but I was just making sure. So the lessons are to be done three times a week...do you also read from the book three times a week or daily? Sorry for all the silly questions!

[Coco_Clark]

For those of you who've used WWE...I'm looking at it on Amazon and Barnes & Noble, and at BN, the same book, same ISBN, is described as "A student-friendly supplement to Writing with Ease. This companion text to Writing with Ease..."

 

So I'm confused as to what exactly I should buy. If we do WWE, is there more than one book to get?

 

And...is there some homeschool-insider place where most of y'all get your books for less? Is shopping at Amazon/BN a newbie mistake? What are the tricks to know when it comes to buying curriculum?

 

Rainbow Resource is almost always going to be cheaper than Amazon.  Wait until you have $50 worth so you get free shipping.

[Coco_Clark]

Thank you so much!! I was thinking that you read the book along with the lessons but I was just making sure. So the lessons are to be done three times a week...do you also read from the book three times a week or daily? Sorry for all the silly questions!

 

Yes, three times a week you read the selection from literature (not provided in the book, but she is careful to pick books that are available free online) as well as the poem, fable, ect.  Another option is to utilize audio books.  I know the author mentioned that she does for her own children.

[desertflower]

You can try buying certain homeschool books from christianbooks.com or used ones from homeschoolclassifieds.com. Also, peace hill press is running a sale now. 60% off scratch and dent books.

[Ad astra]

For those of you who've used WWE...I'm looking at it on Amazon and Barnes & Noble, and at BN, the same book, same ISBN, is described as "A student-friendly supplement to Writing with Ease. This companion text to Writing with Ease..."

 

So I'm confused as to what exactly I should buy. If we do WWE, is there more than one book to get?

 

And...is there some homeschool-insider place where most of y'all get your books for less? Is shopping at Amazon/BN a newbie mistake? What are the tricks to know when it comes to buying curriculum?

You can buy either WWE Workbook or Textbook but you don't need both. I got the workbook because I liked it all laid out for me.

 

I usually order Peace Hill Press books from Amazon with Prime. The prices might be a little higher at Amazon (21 cents difference for WWE1 workbook) but Rainbow Resource Center often puts your order on backorder without a pre-notice and the delivery takes longer so I don't order from RR unless I have to.

[stripe]

And...is there some homeschool-insider place where most of y'all get your books for less? Is shopping at Amazon/BN a newbie mistake? What are the tricks to know when it comes to buying curriculum?

Used.

 

And beware acquiring a large collection of (unused) PDF downloads.

[~Victoria~]

We are doing AAS and WWE the Complete Writer (not workbook) using excerpts I choose from books we are reading (following Reading Roadmap's booklist). I liked the look of ELtL but wanted the freedom to pick the literature.

[chilliepepper]

You can buy either WWE Workbook or Textbook but you don't need both. I got the workbook because I liked it all laid out for me.

 

I usually order Peace Hill Press books from Amazon with Prime. The prices might be a little higher at Amazon (21 cents difference for WWE1 workbook) but Rainbow Resource Center often puts your order on backorder without a pre-notice and the delivery takes longer so I don't order from RR unless I have to.

 

I'm still confused about the options for WWE. Looking at the workbook description and reviews on Amazon, I wonder...why would a person buy the textbook? What about it is different from the workbook?

 

Thanks...

[WahM]

The workbook lays out the entire year for you including passages, questions, copywork, etc. The text book is an outline/detailed plan for four years worth of writing, but find the copy work, passages, and make up the questions based on it tells you, you need to focus on for certain weeks. It also explains the philosophy behind the writing program.

[chilliepepper]

Ok, so it looks like the following screen from B&N is messed up, which may have contributed to my confusion:

 

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/writing-with-ease-susan-wise-bauer/1100881262?ean=9781933339252

 

Looks like the title and picture are for the textbook, while the description may be for the level 4 workbook. I wonder what shows up on your doorstep? LOL

 

Guess I'll just order from another seller, if I do get it. Still haven't 100% decided though...stay tuned for another question about ELTL.

[WahM]

Yes, that description is not quite accurate and confusing.

[WahM]

If you go with wwe and want open and go pick the workbooks. If you want to use other readings and have time to look through the readings and find the specific type of sentences for your copywork and narrations and are comfortable making up questions the textbook is a good deal.

[chilliepepper]

Ok. As for ELTL: For some reason, it seems less user friendly to me. When I open up to the first lesson (I did go ahead and order it), I see first a scripted section, which I am presumably supposed to read to my son after finding and reading the first literature selection (Peter Rabbit).

 

Then I see the poem for Lesson 1:

 

Happy Thought

by Robert Louis Stevenson

 

The world is so full of a number of things,

I'm sure we should all be as happy as kings.

 

So...what am I supposed to do with that? Just read it and move on? It seems a bit random, but without instructions I don't really know what else to do with it. Memorize it?

 

I think, looking back, that this is the same question that a previous poster asked, just in different words. :) The response was that the poems are for the student to read aloud. So that's it? Just have them read it and leave it at that? (I'm not trying to insinuate that this would be a bad thing; just trying to make sure I understand.)

 

Same with Aesop's Fables. Just read them? It looks like there is a narration exercise to go with the Fables every so often...but other than that, do we just read them and move on?

 

It's interesting to me that in the introduction, the author goes through most of the components of each lesson and gives a brief explanation of what it is and how to do it...but doesn't seem to cover the "poetry" component.

 

As a first time homeschooler I lack confidence...can you tell? ;) Do you think it would be better for me to go with something a little more scripted?

[chilliepepper]

I guess I'm leaning toward WWE, because it seems more idiot-proof. :)

 

The main criticism I've seen is that reading passages are taken out of context, whereas with ELTL you are reading the entire piece of literature. Which you can also do with WWE, right? In either case, you have to go find the literature if you want to read the whole thing; it's just that with WWE you do have the pertinent excerpts already printed in the workbook.

 

I wonder if anyone has posted lists anywhere of the WWE literature selections, in case a person wanted to start rounding them up before beginning. If anyone here has the Level 1 or 2 workbook, I would love to see lists!

 

Thanks.

 

ETA: Found a list! http://peacehillpress.com/media/downloads/pdfsamples/wwe1sample.pdf

[WahM]

As far as ELTL goes the poems and fables are in there just to read and enjoy. You're not supposed to do anything with them. You can have your child memorize one of the poems if you want to, but other than that there's no purpose for them other than just read and enjoy. I guess, you can use the fables to ask narrative questions, but that's not included in the program with each fable you would have to make that up.

[WahM]

For wwe workbooks, I wouldn't buy all the literature because it's only a couple passages used for a week then on to the next, unless it's a passage your kids really, really enjoyed which may happen.

[Korrale]

I

Ok. As for ELTL: For some reason, it seems less user friendly to me. When I open up to the first lesson (I did go ahead and order it), I see first a scripted section, which I am presumably supposed to read to my son after finding and reading the first literature selection (Peter Rabbit).

 

Then I see the poem for Lesson 1:

 

Happy Thought

by Robert Louis Stevenson

 

The world is so full of a number of things,

I'm sure we should all be as happy as kings.

 

So...what am I supposed to do with that? Just read it and move on? It seems a bit random, but without instructions I don't really know what else to do with it. Memorize it?

 

I think, looking back, that this is the same question that a previous poster asked, just in different words. :) The response was that the poems are for the student to read aloud. So that's it? Just have them read it and leave it at that? (I'm not trying to insinuate that this would be a bad thing; just trying to make sure I understand.)

 

Same with Aesop's Fables. Just read them? It looks like there is a narration exercise to go with the Fables every so often...but other than that, do we just read them and move on?

 

It's interesting to me that in the introduction, the author goes through most of the components of each lesson and gives a brief explanation of what it is and how to do it...but doesn't seem to cover the "poetry" component.

 

As a first time homeschooler I lack confidence...can you tell? ;) Do you think it would be better for me to go with something a little more scripted?

I just had my son memorize and recite the poem. I focused on speech skills. Standing straight, clear voice, good eye content. Vocal expression.

[Blessed with seven]

There is also a yahoo group for ETLT and RLTL and the author answers questions very quickly!  Not sure how to reference the yahoo group on here but I bet someone else knows how!

 

[CherryBlossomMJ]

https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/barefootragsmuffins/info

[chilliepepper]

https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/barefootragsmuffins/info

Thank you! I was searching yahoo groups for the title of the book, and that was getting me nowhere. :)

[Joyful Journeys]

For the poems, we are taking one day a week to read through them all. My dream is during during teatime. Then DD will pick the one she likes the best and memorize it for the next week. If she masters that then we move to the next. I believe in the intro it explains that the fables are for narration practice so I just have dd orally narrate the story and moral. It suggests the student draw a picture and have your child describe the story from the picture. This works them up to being able to go straight to narration. My dd is quite good at narration so I don't have her draw anything unless she wants to.