What is your philosophy on teaching writing?

[HeWillSoar]

I am just kind of confused about this.  You have Bravewriter, and the focus is on enjoying writing, and creative writing.   Then there is WWS and SWB who puts more of an emphasis on  academic writing.  I don't even know where IEW stands.  Do they do both?

 

Now that my son(13) has been doing narrations with WWS1 for a few weeks now,  I am understanding the benefit of that more.  It forces him to actually read and understand the material and not just skim.  I know if he hasn't read it thoroughly because he can't narrate it back.   I could see that transferring over to when he has to write an expository essay in that he will really have to read his sources. 

 

We started doing some of the Killgallon sentences and I really like that.  But is that just good for creative writing?  Or will that transfer over to his WWS?  I

 

So what is your philosophy on teaching writing, and do you have any thoughts about what I just said?   I'm trying to wrap my brain around all of this still! 

[warneral]

If my son could do quality work through WWS, I will be thrilled. For dd, who takes more to writing, style will be explored in addition to WWS.

[warneral]

As you can see, I have no philosophy. Writing is not natural to me, DH or our kids, so I want to provide them with the skills they can use to better their academics.

[Momling]

I like thinking of writing as building up from small to big: letters (handwriting), words (spelling), sentence (punctuation and grammar), paragraph, essay, thesis/dissertation/book. With my own kids we worked our way up - working on one or two skills at a time. My 6 yr old is still learning to read, so his writing focus is on handwriting. There is no point for him to deal with spelling yet. My 10 yr old is working on spelling and sentence level mechanics. At her co-op, they have the kids doing essays, but it makes me cringe because she hasn't yet mastered writing sentences. So we work on spelling and punctuation and grammar at home. My 12 yr old has good ability to construct sentences and paragraphs. She's definitely working on developing her ideas in essays. Maybe in a few years she can tackle a longer project, but for now, her essays are around one or two typed pages.

[lewelma]

I wondered the same thing, and spent quite a bit of time thinking through lots of curricula and what they offer.  I wrote up the results of this self study on this thread: My Evaluation of Numerous Writing Curricula.  Although it does not exactly answer your question, it might be of use to you in forming your ideas. 

 

Ruth in NZ

[Farrar]

We're Brave Writer folks. I don't think the focus is actually "creative writing" though it comes across that way. The focus in BW is on building a strong writing voice that can carry into a variety of different models (so in the BW line of thought, yes, learning to write based on models, even from literature, would very much carry over into writing essays because a solid sentence is a solid sentence). BW is really about writing as a lifelong thing as opposed to a more narrow academic writing focus. It's an approach that's harder to fit in a box because it's meant to be really customized to the student's needs. It takes some really loosey goosey sounding creative things like freewriting and some really traditional things like long dictations and oral narrations and meshes them together into one vision.

 

I think there are a lot of different threads in teaching writing... some methods really start with the child's words and impulse to write, others start with models, others start with mechanics and then structures. Some methods are more big picture - you learn to write a better composition by writing lots of compositions and slowly honing them. Others focus on the building blocks - you learn to write a better composition by first learning better words, then better sentences, then better paragraphs and so on. And then some of it is less about method and more about approach - do you want to approach writing as a specific skill with clear parameters, do you want to approach it as a creative endeavor (yes, even research papers can be seen as creative), do you want to approach it thinking about a specific type or a few types of writing or thinking about a wide variety of ways in which people write.

 

And, of course, no method is all one thing. And it's also okay to be practical and use whatever is working. It sounds like WWS is working for you guys so even though I know it wouldn't be right for us, I'd say you should stick with it.

[HeWillSoar]

Ruth, Wow, that was very informative!  You said about WWS, "She always wants the student to logically connect sentences, but does not teach them how to do this." One of the issues we had so far is when my son was doing the narration, I had to show him how to connect the sentences, using words like "when" and "so."  Perhaps in earlier books (WWE) that was taught and we missed it because we are starting with WWS1?  I have to do a lot of hand-holding with him, but if he's learning and it's helping him, I don't mind.  I am loving Killgallon but I think we need something at a more basic level as well.

 

Also, when looking at other programs, "Jump In" and "Wordsmith" seem sort of fun in comparison.  Creative writing.  And I'm wondering how I could incorporate that in as well.  I know WWS is a four day a week program, but just one day of creative writing doesn't seem like enough time to get anything going.  And then when we are also doing Killgallon and grammar, I don't want it to be too much!

 

I wrote this earlier and went to make dinner.  After thinking some more, I believe what I'm going to do is rotate between creative writing and WWS.  WWS1 is not very enjoyable for my son, though he tolerates it, but I can see it's use already just with the narration.  Not everything in life that is worthwhile is going to fun.  But I'd like him to find the fun in writing so I think I'll switch between creative writing and WWS.  He is a very creative person and has some amazing thoughts in his head, although he doesn't like writing them down at this point. 

 

 

[Diana B]

He is a very creative person and has some amazing thoughts in his head, although he doesn't like writing them down at this point. 

 

This is my kid. Every now and then he decides to write pieces to a story (and he talks of becoming an author) but he hates the actual writing process right now. 

 

My goal / philosophy right now is just to have him able to coherently take his thoughts and put them on paper - whether they be factual essays, opinion essays, creative writing, etc. Slowly making those thoughts become stronger & longer. If he truly decides to pursue creative writing, then we'll focus more on that in high school. {A lot of writing will be outsourced in high school as my husband and I are NOT writers. At all.}

 

We used Meaningful Composition last year, thinking that the shorter lessons and step-by-step approach would appeal to his logical side. He learned quite a bit from it (went from never writing anything to writing 3-paragraph essay!) but he didn't enjoy it. It was too scripted and didn't give enough room for creativity or opinion. I did love the 'Checklist Challenge' that it uses to edit the papers. It's designed to build stronger sentences!

 

This year we are going to give Jump In! a shot. He's liking the idea of more open-ended writing assignments. I like the idea of letting him free write for most of the week but then choosing a paper to edit and learn more from. The author talks about how middle school age is pretty selfish/self-centered so she starts with the more opinion type prompts because they are more likely to write about it! 

 

I think I'm also going to move him into writing his SOTW narrations more. We've done some where he narrates, I write, we edit together and he copies. I think we'll do this more, moving into him writing rather me being the inbetween. We'll continue to use the 'Checklist Challenge' from MC to encourage stronger words/sentences! 

[regentrude]

My philosophy? I use no "writing program". I teach some basics of academic writing when I have my students write about literature and history, and some persuasive essay when we prep for the SAT. The kids improve their creative writing by simply writing a lot - a kid who works on his novels for several hours each week over several years will improve just through time on task.

 

The above approach worked with phenomenal success for DD.

 

 

[kiwik]

My philosophy? I use no "writing program". I teach some basics of academic writing when I have my students write about literature and history, and some persuasive essay when we prep for the SAT. The kids improve their creative writing by simply writing a lot - a kid who works on his novels for several hours each week over several years will improve just through time on task.

 

The above approach worked with phenomenal success for DD.

I think this requires more confidence than many of us have.

[MinivanMom]

I don't think it's an either/or question. Both creative writing and academic writing serve a purpose. At certain stages, one may be more important than the other, but writing is writing. A solid sentence is a solid sentence and a well-constructed paragraph is a well-constructed paragraph whether they are in a letter or a research paper.

 

I don't know that I have a "philosophy", but I try to teach both sides of writing. I give my kids lots of opportunities for free and creative writing, and I teach the academic side of writing with copywork, summaries, outlining, and some direct instruction in writing (structure, style, transitions, etc). I tend to emphasize free writing in the younger grades and academic writing as they get older. I have always had a daily writing block rather than using a writing curriculum, but we use MCT starting in 4th and Killgallon starting in 5th. Our daily writing block is 100% free choice writing, though my oldest does use Writers Inc as a reference. I teach my kids the writing process as they work through self-chosen projects.

 

For example, right now my 1st grader has a daily free writing block along with journal writing and spelling instruction. My focus with her is teaching the writing process and making writing fun and enjoyable. My 4th grader has a daily free writing block, but he also has spelling practice, MCT Island, does written narrations for history and science, and will write two reports this year. My oldest has a daily free writing block, but is also working through MCT and Killgallon. She is studying from textbooks for the first time this year (K12 Human Odyssey and Story of Science), and I have been teaching her how to read and outline each chapter. She writes a short science paper on her independent science reading every couple of weeks, and she will be doing history and science research papers later in the year. I'm planning to use that as an opportunity to teach her how to outline her papers before she starts writing (rather than the simple webs she's been using for years) and as an opportunity to work on paragraphs and transitions (applying what she's been learning in MCT). 

 

Learning to write well is a long process. I try to be flexible enough to come alongside each child and support them through each stage of development. I want them to learn skills, but I also want them to feel confident and enjoy writing at the end of the process.

[Wildiris]

I really like MinivanMom's approach. It makes sense to me. In addition to her comments, I think good writing comes from exposure to reading good writing and taking note of writing style across genre and time. We always have a stack of The New Yorker, The Atlantic, or Harper's laying around for the kids to read. I also think good writing comes from a firm grasp of grammar. First and foremost, kids should feel comfortable with expressing themselves in writing, then kids should become familiar with the many forms of writing be they a summary, a lab report, a speech, a monolog, a micro fiction story, a formal letter, or any kind of writing a person might encounter in life.  Any type of writing can be creative, but all writing should be engaging and interesting to read. To be proficient writers, kids need to write all the time for a wide array of purposes. Is there a single program that teaches this? No. It takes research and commitment on the parent/teacher's part to cobble together resources for the student as they progress. Hence the beauty of homeschooling.

[Penguin]

My philosophy is that learning to write is a lifelong endeavor.  There is always room for improvement and something new to learn.  I just keep trying to move him forward.  I want him to feel confident enough to dig into a vague assignment and attentive enough to complete a very detailed assignment, as I imagine that both types will be given to him by somebody at some point. 

 

Beyond that, I look for a method to teach that (1) I enjoy and (2) DS doesn't hate.

[Pen]

My philosophy is pragmatism: Learning to write is important, and often one of the hardest of skills to acquire; furthermore, different students may need different approaches, or even the same student may need different approaches at different times. Also different teachers may do better with one or another approach. Figure out something that works for you and your student, make changes as needed. I also believe that writing tends to improve writing, and an imperfect program or non-program that gets done is better than a perfect program that sits on a shelf.

 

How much material will "transfer" to some degree depends upon the attention placed on the material and actual work put into making it transfer, IME, though I suppose some children will require more explicit work on this and others will have it come more easily to them. Certainly something like Kilgallon is relevant to academic sentence writing, but it may not affect the student's own work unless the student practices using these more complex forms beyond the workbook.

[Shellydon]

I believe that academic type writing is essential in life.  You use it in college and in many/most jobs.  In contrast, very few people use creative writing in day to day life. If you desire to become a fiction writer, you can always develop that later. 

[...................]

I like the traditional method with which I grew up.  Learn sentences, learn paragraphs, learn different essay models, learn to outline, and then just discuss excellent writing.  Use a polishing checklist.  I have tried many other styles and they just never seem logical enough to me.  So far our favorite writing program has been that which we used through Calvert, and this year we are sticking with traditional style after a short foray into CAP for my dd.  She will be using BJU and my son will use JUMP IN (which is just a fun, step by step, friendly happy but traditional writing program.)

 

I don't like KWO, CM just loses my kids because they have way too much to say and it will never end, and too much dictation and copywork just makes me feel like we aren't actually getting anywhere.  

[...................]

I think the single most important thing is to read aloud to your kids, and for them to read lots of truly quality literature. Both of my kids churn out some amazing sentences, ideas, witty sayings, and interesting plots, which are all more or less inspired by quality literature. Many times, they will tell me exactly what literature inspired something funny or witty.  Amazingly, they are not copying and just quoting.  They have actually owned the humor, the wit, the allusions, the vocabulary and they work it into their writing.  I am not saying my kids are writing geniuses, but I can say, that whatever truly great elements that are in their writing, are largely due to my reading to them and their own high quality reading.

[HeWillSoar]

Thank you for all of your responses.  I asked the question because I really didn't know how I wanted to approach writing for DS 10 or what was the right approach.   I've decided to do WWE3 two to three days a week and creative writing two days a week.  I think that my ten year old will enjoy the Wordsmith Apprentice book, and then he will get what he needs from  WWE.  I also have the Killgallon book I will add in here and there.    Maybe we'll do a freewrite on Friday depending on time. 

 

One thing that surprised me was how creative this child is.  He doesn't normally share his ideas but I was waiting on his WWE and Wordsmith books to come in so I had him do a freewrite.  I was talking to him, trying to help him come up with an idea of something to write about.   I would normally write about an experience in my life so I was trying to lead him that way, and he says he wants to write about a nuclear marshmallow man. 

 

So after thinking about it some, I think that creative writing can be used to work on skills such as grammar, strong sentences, etc so it has to have some value, but the academic writing must be learned as well for college.  Makes sense to me!

[Farrar]

I don't think academic writing is the writing we do most of the time. If you end up in a job that requires writing, that writing usually has its own conventions, conventions that you learn either in professional or on the job training. So grant writing, legal briefs, medical reports, business proposals, magazine articles, resume cover letters, worksheet instructions, contracts for work performed, etc. are all much, much more common than academic writing. Academic writing is so narrow. And, yes, while many if not most kids will need to jump through academic writing hurdles in order to get where they're going in life thanks to college, a traditional "essay" isn't even the only writing you do in college. There's lab reports and geometric proofs and a million other things. I think the key skill is being able to learn to convey your ideas well and then being able to learn new forms. I think setting it up as academic writing versus creative writing is a false dichotomy. Most writing is neither a research paper nor a short story. And while both of those are good forms to learn, I think the key thing is learning multiple forms and learning to follow different sets of writing rules.

[MinivanMom]

I don't think academic writing is the writing we do most of the time. If you end up in a job that requires writing, that writing usually has its own conventions, conventions that you learn either in professional or on the job training. So grant writing, legal briefs, medical reports, business proposals, magazine articles, resume cover letters, worksheet instructions, contracts for work performed, etc. are all much, much more common than academic writing. Academic writing is so narrow. And, yes, while many if not most kids will need to jump through academic writing hurdles in order to get where they're going in life thanks to college, a traditional "essay" isn't even the only writing you do in college. There's lab reports and geometric proofs and a million other things. I think the key skill is being able to learn to convey your ideas well and then being able to learn new forms. I think setting it up as academic writing versus creative writing is a false dichotomy. Most writing is neither a research paper nor a short story. And while both of those are good forms to learn, I think the key thing is learning multiple forms and learning to follow different sets of writing rules.

 

This.

[texasmama]

My philosophy is pragmatism: Learning to write is important, and often one of the hardest of skills to acquire; furthermore, different students may need different approaches, or even the same student may need different approaches at different times. Also different teachers may do better with one or another approach. Figure out something that works for you and your student, make changes as needed. I also believe that writing tends to improve writing, and an imperfect program or non-program that gets done is better than a perfect program that sits on a shelf.

 

How much material will "transfer" to some degree depends upon the attention placed on the material and actual work put into making it transfer, IME, though I suppose some children will require more explicit work on this and others will have it come more easily to them. Certainly something like Kilgallon is relevant to academic sentence writing, but it may not affect the student's own work unless the student practices using these more complex forms beyond the workbook.

This is similar to my philosophy.

 

My focus is on academic writing.  I will find an outlet for a kid who likes to write creatively, but I place no emphasis at all on creative writing for my kids who do not express an interest.

[texasmama]

I don't think academic writing is the writing we do most of the time. If you end up in a job that requires writing, that writing usually has its own conventions, conventions that you learn either in professional or on the job training. So grant writing, legal briefs, medical reports, business proposals, magazine articles, resume cover letters, worksheet instructions, contracts for work performed, etc. are all much, much more common than academic writing. Academic writing is so narrow. And, yes, while many if not most kids will need to jump through academic writing hurdles in order to get where they're going in life thanks to college, a traditional "essay" isn't even the only writing you do in college. There's lab reports and geometric proofs and a million other things. I think the key skill is being able to learn to convey your ideas well and then being able to learn new forms. I think setting it up as academic writing versus creative writing is a false dichotomy. Most writing is neither a research paper nor a short story. And while both of those are good forms to learn, I think the key thing is learning multiple forms and learning to follow different sets of writing rules.

Interestingly, I like this, too.  :)  I think you are correct with the bolded.  My hope in giving my kids a strong background in academic writing is that they will generalize that to the other, more practiced types of writing needed.

[Farrar]

Interestingly, I like this, too.  :)  I think you are correct with the bolded.  My hope in giving my kids a strong background in academic writing is that they will generalize that to the other, more practiced types of writing needed.

 

Right, I think that totally works for many kids - achieve strong competency in one form of writing, usually academic, and carry that over into learning all those other kinds you might need one day.

 

But it also sort of gets to one of the biggest dichotomies in philosophies of writing. Some people think of writing as another language to be learned. That's essentially SWB's view of writing. It's a foreign tongue in a way and children have to approach it as such and learn all its conventions. Other people think of writing as stemming from spoken language and voice, and that's the Brave Writer/Peter Elbow view of writing. You just learn to hone your own voice and then get that on the page. I (obviously!) tend to lean toward the latter, but I certainly think both can work instructionally, they're just very different approaches.

[Chrysalis Academy]

This is going to be way more concrete than much of the discussion here, but I think if I boil down more core philosophy, it would have to be something like "Don't ask a child to do two hard things at the same time."  Obviously this is cribbed from SWB and underlies the whole design of the WWE series, but I'm realizing more and more how true this is, for both of my kids, even well beyond the grammar stage where they are just learning to get words down on paper.  It is as true for my 7th grader, just learning to write essays, as it is for my 3rd grader who is writing independently for the first time.

 

Also "Think first, then write."  That's my other writing philosophy, for sure. I should follow it myslef more often! :p   ;)  :D

[texasmama]

Right, I think that totally works for many kids - achieve strong competency in one form of writing, usually academic, and carry that over into learning all those other kinds you might need one day.

 

But it also sort of gets to one of the biggest dichotomies in philosophies of writing. Some people think of writing as another language to be learned. That's essentially SWB's view of writing. It's a foreign tongue in a way and children have to approach it as such and learn all its conventions. Other people think of writing as stemming from spoken language and voice, and that's the Brave Writer/Peter Elbow view of writing. You just learn to hone your own voice and then get that on the page. I (obviously!) tend to lean toward the latter, but I certainly think both can work instructionally, they're just very different approaches.

Never looked at BW so I will take your word on that. One of my kids is a concrete dude who is a parts to whole kinda guy.  An incremental, building skills program like WWS is a necessity.  This kid has no "voice".  lol  He needs to create one from scratch.  WWS has worked even better than I had thought and imagined!  Middle kid could probably do well with many approaches.  Youngest kid is a creative writer who writes clever stories in her spare time for kicks.  She has a voice already and might  be more of the BW type.  :)

 

I am a natural, creative writer so older son is an enigma to me.  

[PeterPan]

I'll just add that it's easy to push WWS too early.  

 

You mentioned that one of your kids has the thoughts but doesn't like to write.  Can the dc *type*?  Has he tried using dictation like Siri or Dragon?  In our house, improving her ability to type, getting her something with a keyboard so she could do it, and working on working memory (via metronome work with digit spans added) made a huge difference.  That and time.

 

Sometimes the assignments are too dull.

 

Killgallon isn't necessary if you're doing WWS, mercy.  SWB is bringing the copia and word play in.  Killgallon isn't necessary for some kids anyway.

 

Yes, in general they'll write like what they read.

 

I find the biggest problem in our house is clear thinking.  Clear thinking leads to clear writing.  If the dc has any SN (your dc does, right?), then look into Inspiration software.

 

And no, we've never limited ourselves to just *one* type of writing.  Even SWB suggests alternating WWS with something like Creative Writer.  I got BW (the kiddie version: Jot it Down) to try with my ds.  This year my dd is doing food writing, and for a couple years she did a TON of fan fiction.  Blend types of writing and keep it spicy.  :)

[texasmama]

I agree that it is easy to push WWS too early.  My older son has managed to stretch it over a  2 1/2 year period.  The two year stretch was planned.  The extra half year was due to goofing off.  lol  I have taken longer to do the program with son #2, as well.   It gives them time to grow into the program at a doable pace for them.

[PeterPan]

I agree that it is easy to push WWS too early.  My older son has managed to stretch it over a  2 1/2 year period.  The two year stretch was planned.  The extra half year was due to goofing off.  lol  I have taken longer to do the program with son #2, as well.   It gives them time to grow into the program at a doable pace for them.

I totally respect this because I think it's important to work WITH the student and do it in a healthy way.  So just for a laugh, I'll say what I've said before, that with my dd (whom I guess I push rather hard but who CAN be pushed) I had her do it double pace and cut out a bunch, completing it in more like a semester.  We've done that with WWS1 and 2 and I assume we'll do that again with WWS3.  

 

But I love what you're saying, because I can totally see how a different child, who maybe shouldn't be skipping things, who maybe benefits from taking their time, would totally thrive on a different pace.  And I like how FLEXIBLE we can be with this.

 

What I've hated was the "SWB wrote it, I have to do it when she said, as she said, or we're doing it LATE and failing"...  That I didn't like to see as it came out.  But with people flexing it and using it, cutting and modifying and re-pacing and making it fit their kids, that's AWESOME.  And you know, I could even see alternating weeks with some kids, where the alternate week is something totally different like technical drawings and writing instructions for their lego creations or something WAY out of the box and validating.  For my dd it was fan fiction.  It was a huge step when I finally realized I needed to VALIDATE her pursuits and count them as school and not act like I had to crush them out or pile a ton of other stuff on top.

[Chrysalis Academy]

I totally respect this because I think it's important to work WITH the student and do it in a healthy way.  So just for a laugh, I'll say what I've said before, that with my dd (whom I guess I push rather hard but who CAN be pushed) I had her do it double pace and cut out a bunch, completing it in more like a semester.  We've done that with WWS1 and 2 and I assume we'll do that again with WWS3.  

 

But I love what you're saying, because I can totally see how a different child, who maybe shouldn't be skipping things, who maybe benefits from taking their time, would totally thrive on a different pace.  And I like how FLEXIBLE we can be with this.

 

What I've hated was the "SWB wrote it, I have to do it when she said, as she said, or we're doing it LATE and failing"...  That I didn't like to see as it came out.  But with people flexing it and using it, cutting and modifying and re-pacing and making it fit their kids, that's AWESOME.  And you know, I could even see alternating weeks with some kids, where the alternate week is something totally different like technical drawings and writing instructions for their lego creations or something WAY out of the box and validating.  For my dd it was fan fiction.  It was a huge step when I finally realized I needed to VALIDATE her pursuits and count them as school and not act like I had to crush them out or pile a ton of other stuff on top.

 

Amen!!!   :hurray:

[texasmama]

What I've hated was the "SWB wrote it, I have to do it when she said, as she said, or we're doing it LATE and failing"...  That I didn't like to see as it came out.  But with people flexing it and using it, cutting and modifying and re-pacing and making it fit their kids, that's AWESOME.  And you know, I could even see alternating weeks with some kids, where the alternate week is something totally different like technical drawings and writing instructions for their lego creations or something WAY out of the box and validating.  For my dd it was fan fiction.  It was a huge step when I finally realized I needed to VALIDATE her pursuits and count them as school and not act like I had to crush them out or pile a ton of other stuff on top.

Yes.  And I think if SWB popped in here, she would say that she did not intend rigidity in the use of the program and would endorse the adjustments being made to it.  It is a TOOL, a very helpful one, but a tool.  The parent is expected to use the tool as it works for their own students.

 

Doing WWS1 in a year would have likely frustrated my sons to tears and would have not had a good result.  Then I would have quit the program and posted about how terrible it is.  lol  It is, in fact, a great program used in a way that works for my individual students. 

 

I suspect that my little dd might be fully capable of using the program at its written pace.  If not, it is not a problem.  :) 

[HeWillSoar]

I'll just add that it's easy to push WWS too early.  

 

You mentioned that one of your kids has the thoughts but doesn't like to write.  Can the dc *type*?  Has he tried using dictation like Siri or Dragon?  In our house, improving her ability to type, getting her something with a keyboard so she could do it, and working on working memory (via metronome work with digit spans added) made a huge difference.  That and time.

 

Sometimes the assignments are too dull.

 

Killgallon isn't necessary if you're doing WWS, mercy.  SWB is bringing the copia and word play in.  Killgallon isn't necessary for some kids anyway.

 

Yes, in general they'll write like what they read.

 

I find the biggest problem in our house is clear thinking.  Clear thinking leads to clear writing.  If the dc has any SN (your dc does, right?), then look into Inspiration software.

 

And no, we've never limited ourselves to just *one* type of writing.  Even SWB suggests alternating WWS with something like Creative Writer.  I got BW (the kiddie version: Jot it Down) to try with my ds.  This year my dd is doing food writing, and for a couple years she did a TON of fan fiction.  Blend types of writing and keep it spicy.   :)

 

My 13 year old is doing WWS 1.  He's the one with SN, and I sit with him most of the time and help because he has a hard time reading and following directions.  It is a challenge for him (in a good way) and he's doing alright with it and I think it's really going to be beneficial.  Typing is coming along, slowly but surely. 

 

My 10 year old is doing WWE3, alternating with Wordsmith to spice it up.  So far he can easily do two days of WWE3 in one day.  If it gets to be too much, we'll just take it more slowly.   When we decided to add him to the mix, I had to start thinking about curriculum choices all over again,  which got me reexamining writing.  I think we are pretty much set for now so hopefully it all goes well!

 

 

[sagira]

In materials? Hodgepodge: for ds11 in 6th grade we are using:

VIE 6 (only the grammar portion)

The Paragraph Book 2 (story)

Sentence Composing for Elem.

Writing & Rhetoric Narrative II Book 3

Wordsmith Apprentice

 

For dd7, 2nd grade:

VIE 3 (grammar only)

Serl's PLL

 

I see writing as both a structural process and an organic, creative process. As such I think my curriculum choices reflect this. I believe some children need time and more explicit instruction, but still lots and lots of reading and listening to books. We do narrations throughout as well in other subjects.

[Roadrunner]

I think this requires more confidence than many of us have.

And a gifted child.  :001_smile:

[stripe]

I don't think academic writing is the writing we do most of the time.

You make many excellent points.

 

Another interesting wrinkle is the personal-but-not-creative, e.g. the letter. I have noticed that some curricula emphasize or cover this; Climbing to Good English and Understanding Writing spring to mind, which both originate from particular Christian world views, although CtGE is basically secular with Christian references and Understanding Writing's perspective, but not content, is glorifying God through writing. I am no writing expert or curricula expert, but I don't see that so much in many other programs. I have noticed that Galore Park covers a lot of different formats-- plays, newspaper articles, etc. Obviously personal letter writing per se is becoming a bit old fashioned or is not done so much BUT emails and web posts are sort of its cousins, and usually contain a good bit of personal narrative that's not particularly invented. In other times letters were an enormous part of what people wrote, both more formal and very personal. I think there's something puzzling about the sheer volume of creative writing children are supposed to produce for academic purposes.

[HeWillSoar]

Ok, after working for over a month with my boys, my philosophy is now "flexibility."  What I thought my 10 year old would like, he hated and we had a lot of frustration and behavior issues!  We were alternating between WWS 3 and Worksmith Apprentice.  He didn't like doing either but he really acted out with Wordsmith (who wouldn't like that fun program?), to the point where he would just crumble and act out.  Once I was able to see objectively, past my irritation with his behavior, we talked and he said he'd rather do freewrites.  Ok, fine.  Now we are alternating between WWS 3 and Freewrites.  So far so good (crossing fingers)!

 

 

[8filltheheart]

I didn't have an opportunity to read through all of the responses, so sorry if this is redundant. Typing between kids. :)

 

My philosophy is that quality writing comes from understanding how to control language in order to convey the exact thoughts that are desired to be expressed in the exact way they are desired to be expressed. It is really that simple. If students control the writing process, they can adapt the language and form. If students do not understand how language works, they will most likely flounder.

 

There is no single correct way to develop strong writing skills. There are, however, innumerable wrong ways that deny students the proper understanding of how to formulate thoughts into a cohesive piece of writing. Writing is logical and orderly. Words, sentences, paragraphs, etc all serve specific purposes. Provide students the skills to command what they are doing, they will be strong writers. Let them believe that writing is simply sticking words on paper and that no conventions control their expression, maybe some will be lucky enough to be good writers, but many more will not be.