x-post, writing for 11-yo dyslexic dd

[momto2Cs]

My dd has only recently really caught on to reading. She can now read at a roughly 5th grade level, though fairly slowly still. I am thinking of startig a real writing program with her in January, so am casting about to find a good one for someone in her situation. I was looking briefly at IEW's Fables, Myths & Fairy Tales, which might work (yes, I know it is aimed at 3rd-5th graders), but would love some other suggestions as well.

 

What I am looking for is a program that would be enjoyable, and offer both structure/hand-holding, and some creative license.

 

Any ideas welcome (and please note, I prefer secular materials overall, but can bend a little).

[OneStepAtATime]

There have been a zillion posts about writing on this board in the past few weeks.  You might skim through those as you wait for responses.  LOTS of good info around to be had.  Best wishes.

[Pen]

What is she currently able to do or not do? Can she deal with putting anything at all onto a blank page? If she has written anything with or without help, can you post a sample of it? Can you explain more of what you know of her strengths and weaknesses?

 

What sort of structure and hand holding do you think she needs? 

 

Can she come up with ideas of things she'd like to write about on her own?

 

What are her interests? What books does she like? 

 

Does she do any copywork or dictation? Does she do any oral narrations, whether formal or just to tell you about things she reads?

 

Does she like to try to imitate what she reads?

 

Does she have trouble getting out ideas while talking, or is that easy for her?

[PeterPan]

Writing Tales would work for that.  You have models to imitate, but she encourages creative changes.  It also includes games and fun things IEW doesn't.  I did it  (WT2) with a group of kids one year, using the co-op lessons, and it worked out great.  You could do that yourself, meeting once a week and then assigning the rest as homework, if that's a method that works well for you.

 

Do you have Inspiration software?  Can she type?  If she can't type, you might want to get dictation software or type for her.

 

When we did WT2, I gave my dd modifications.  Usually I said she could retell a *scene* from the model or to hit a minimum page amount.  

[momto2Cs]

What is she currently able to do or not do? Can she deal with putting anything at all onto a blank page? If she has written anything with or without help, can you post a sample of it? Can you explain more of what you know of her strengths and weaknesses?

She writes occasional very short stories, with some creative spelling. A few times, we've gone through, corrected the stories, and had her copy them back out.

 

What sort of structure and hand holding do you think she needs? 

I'd like some basic writing instruction, with clear directions. Something that covers the basics of grammar, punctuation, sentence and paragraph structure, etc.

 

Can she come up with ideas of things she'd like to write about on her own?

Sometimes, yes. Usually about animals.

 

What are her interests? What books does she like? 

Animals, fairies, mermaids. Right now, she is reading (a junior edition of) Black Beauty.

 

Does she do any copywork or dictation? Does she do any oral narrations, whether formal or just to tell you about things she reads?

She has done copywork, and a little dictation. She can narrate pretty well.

 

Does she like to try to imitate what she reads?

About half the time!

 

Does she have trouble getting out ideas while talking, or is that easy for her?

Easy.

 

 

Writing Tales would work for that.  You have models to imitate, but she encourages creative changes.  It also includes games and fun things IEW doesn't.  I did it  (WT2) with a group of kids one year, using the co-op lessons, and it worked out great.  You could do that yourself, meeting once a week and then assigning the rest as homework, if that's a method that works well for you.

 

Do you have Inspiration software?  Can she type?  If she can't type, you might want to get dictation software or type for her.

 

When we did WT2, I gave my dd modifications.  Usually I said she could retell a *scene* from the model or to hit a minimum page amount.  

 

Would you recommend WT 1 or 2? I've downloaded the samples, and am thinking this might be a good program for her. I like the inclusion of games, activities, and short books.

[Pen]

You might also want to take a look at CAP's (Classical Academic Press, I think) "Writing and Rhetoric" program. 

 

Possibly you might also want to look at Zaner-Bloser's writing program (not the handwriting, but the composition)--it tends to run hard, so I'd look at its 3rd grade level--it goes through writing friendly letters, a tale based on an example, and more academic writing. 

 

Either of these could perhaps follow Writing Tales, since both assume basic sentence knowledge that gets taught in Writing Tales.

 

I also agree with typing being a helpful thing to work on, and maybe a dictation program and or scribing as needed.

 

Additionally, having a reference book that gives a good guide to grammar and so on could be helpful, and perhaps an electronic spelling help, whether that is computer spell check, or a small hand held device.