ellebro Posted September 5, 2014 Share Posted September 5, 2014 Hey everyone, I've just started using Essentials in Writing with my 3rd and 5th graders this year. I really love how it breaks every assignment down into tiny, separate steps that are each explained in great detail. (Choosing a topic, brainstorming, organizing ideas, drafting, revising for word choice, revising for sentence structure, editing for spelling and punctuation, etc) .so that the entire writing process is done completely but it doesn't seem burdensome since only one step is done each day. The sample writing is occasionally awkward, but I like that it is written like a child their age would write so that it seems like something they can strive for instead of a grownup's writing style which just makes them feel inadequate. My kids have really responded to this approach. It seems to bring out the best in their writing. However....I really, really, don't like the videos. It's not that I mind the teacher at all....he's fine. But the videos just seem boring to me and my kids just blank out and hate watching them. For the last few weeks I've been just using the workbook without the videos. There is a lot of instruction on most worksheets so it's been fine so far, but I'm wondering if I might end up losing some important instructions/teaching down the road if I do it like this. Does anyone else have experience with using this program without the videos? Ellen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zebra Posted September 5, 2014 Share Posted September 5, 2014 (edited) Last year when we used 5th grade I felt the same way as you, sometimes. We came from a different grammar and writing program and so I didn't always understand what he wanted. It was good for me to sit and watch the videos, just to make sure. Sometimes they are unnecessary, but I am not sure you'll be able to determine that ahead of time. This year(we've done about 7 weeks of school at this point), there have been a couple of things we would not have understood without the videos. I have also noticed this year that there were a few things that were explained really well. Maybe the videos are more important in 6th, maybe I am just in a better mood this year, who knows. IMHO it's the writing instruction where the videos are more important, and you haven't gotten to that section yet. I don't know if that really helps :) . Edited September 5, 2014 by Zebra Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwik Posted September 5, 2014 Share Posted September 5, 2014 They are really short. It would probably be a good opportunity for your kids to learn to be attentive when bored. Three to five minutes of attention doesn't seem unreasonable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ellebro Posted September 5, 2014 Author Share Posted September 5, 2014 I guess it's really more my issue than the kids'...I do prefer an open and go worktext format. But I like so many other things about the program that I guess I'll just have to suck it up, lol. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwik Posted September 6, 2014 Share Posted September 6, 2014 Maybe they'll grow on you. He reminds me a bit of the teacher in South Park. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zebra Posted September 6, 2014 Share Posted September 6, 2014 What drives dd and I batty is the music.....every day we groan when is starts playing :lol:!!!!! I can hear it running through my head right now. Make it stop :) ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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