Hyacinth Posted June 17, 2015 Share Posted June 17, 2015 Fill in the blank.I'm knee-deep in planning and I'm doing that thing again...that thing where I get all excited about the many possibilities followed by overwhelmed by the many possibilities. Confusion soon ensues and then I decide I'm hungry and put my scribblings away.Properly fed now, I'm trying to take a step back and define just what it is I want to gain from writing instruction.Help me brainstorm please. Can you put into a sentence or two what your primary goals are for writing instruction before high school? (And if you want to add in how you plan to achieve those goals, I'll read that too!). Thanks. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Targhee Posted June 17, 2015 Share Posted June 17, 2015 I really like the LToW way of parsing out the "canons of writing" - Invention, Arrangement, and Elocution. For us this year it is Invention. My oldest, unlike the rest, doesn't like to take a stand, voice and opinion, or synthesize ideas to create one. When it comes to creative writing she is great, but we really need to get her to think deeply about real things so she has something to write about in her expository, persuasive, and analytical writing. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loesje22000 Posted June 17, 2015 Share Posted June 17, 2015 - get a thought / idea on paper. (& just stick to the assignment and don't turn everything in an original creative story espacially not lab reports....) 12 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrysalis Academy Posted June 17, 2015 Share Posted June 17, 2015 (& just stick to the assignment and don't turn everything in an original creative story espacially not lab reports....) This cracked me up - my dd turned a narrative essay assignment into a short story recently. She now understand the difference between a thesis and a theme, however, so not all is lost! ;) This is a great topic. I always get more from the goals threads than from the curriculum threads. Hm, let's see: 1) To continue to develop the ability to think critically and analytically about what she reads (and to think before she writes) 2) To be able to write thesis-driven essays about a variety of topics, and to use the different types of writing - narration, description, cause & effect, compare & contrast - effectively for a rhetorical purpose 3) To be able to write answers to short essay questions in a timely and efficient manner 4) To develop her understanding of Story - character, plot, setting, theme, etc. and to use this understanding to improve her skill in creative writing and apply it to her own projects That last one is there because this is an interest of hers. I wouldn't include creative writing as a must-do goal for a kid who didn't want to write creatively - but since fiction writing is one of her interests, I think she needs to increase her understanding of how effective stories are created. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loesje22000 Posted June 17, 2015 Share Posted June 17, 2015 This cracked me up . Me too, after all, but I just gave a explicit explanation about 'how to write a lab report' and then you get a lab report in a short engaging original story with the conclusion on rhyme... She did mention everything she used, and mentioned what she had noticed so she had fullfilled the assignment in her eyes. Reaction of dd: you didn't say it had to be boring.... I was not able to let her rewrite the report... I plan to enroll dd for Kidswrite Intermediate at Bravewriter in spring 2016. I think she can write better then I get to see. I don't think it will give better lab reports, but I do think they offer the guidance she doesn't accept from me (in writing) 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sebastian (a lady) Posted June 17, 2015 Share Posted June 17, 2015 Fill in the blank. I'm knee-deep in planning and I'm doing that thing again...that thing where I get all excited about the many possibilities followed by overwhelmed by the many possibilities. Confusion soon ensues and then I decide I'm hungry and put my scribblings away. Properly fed now, I'm trying to take a step back and define just what it is I want to gain from writing instruction. Help me brainstorm please. Can you put into a sentence or two what your primary goals are for writing instruction before high school? (And if you want to add in how you plan to achieve those goals, I'll read that too!). Thanks. To be able to write a brief essay in response to something they read or in support of a thesis. A formulaic 5 paragraph essay is fine for 8th grade. I will move them beyond it as they advance. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Momling Posted June 18, 2015 Share Posted June 18, 2015 My daughter's done really well with expository and literary analysis essays, but we have never done a lab report or written a paper with proper MLA (or whatever) citations and formatting. I think we should focus on the different kinds of writing she'll see at public high school in 9th. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Momto6inIN Posted June 18, 2015 Share Posted June 18, 2015 (& just stick to the assignment and don't turn everything in an original creative story espacially not lab reports....) :iagree: It would be very good for him to learn that not everything has to be funny ... and that it's actually very rare for hobbits to appear appropriately in academic writing. :lol: We'll be using Wordsmith Craftsman to (hopefully!) accomplish this. ETA: "This" means writing expository, narrative, and persuasive 5 paragraph-ish essays with a clear thesis that do not involve hobbits. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hollyhock Posted June 18, 2015 Share Posted June 18, 2015 It depends on your kid, where they are at, what your goals for the next year are (public high school or homeschool, etc.). There are so many factors that influence this and lots of kids are in different places. For my son, my goals before high school are to get him ready to learn to write essays once he hits 9th grade. He probably could learn to write essays earlier but I am basically just trusting SWB on this one and going at the pace she recommends. I figure why rush it, especially since he's not going to public high school. We have all four years of high school to perfect the essay so I'm delaying until then. With that in mind, my plans for 8th are: 3-level outlines, rewriting those outlines and lit. essays with the goal of doing longer compositions of each I am also going to throw in a few chapters of WWS 2 on things we haven't covered yet; the ones on intros/conclusions and citing sources once that's all done, I want to get him to make up an outline and write an essay from it just to get his feet wet and see how he does. Starting in 9th, he's going to work through The Lively Art of Writing, so that's where this plan is headed (for now). 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoJosMom Posted June 19, 2015 Share Posted June 19, 2015 - get a thought / idea on paper. (& just stick to the assignment and don't turn everything in an original creative story espacially not lab reports....) :lol: Me too, after all, but I just gave a explicit explanation about 'how to write a lab report' and then you get a lab report in a short engaging original story with the conclusion on rhyme... She did mention everything she used, and mentioned what she had noticed so she had fullfilled the assignment in her eyes. Reaction of dd: you didn't say it had to be boring.... I was not able to let her rewrite the report... I plan to enroll dd for Kidswrite Intermediate at Bravewriter in spring 2016. I think she can write better then I get to see. I don't think it will give better lab reports, but I do think they offer the guidance she doesn't accept from me (in writing) I have the same plan for MY comedian, but I've not yet decided during which term. FWIW, Susanne Barrett at Brave Writer ( :001_wub: ), in response to my articulated concerns about said comedian's lack of structured academic writing skills, pretty much told me to chill out. Very nicely and in a very well-supported way. :blushing: 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brehon Posted June 21, 2015 Share Posted June 21, 2015 I like your list, Rose. Those are pretty much my goals for my ds. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amy Jo Posted July 4, 2015 Share Posted July 4, 2015 To be comfortable putting things on paper, to not freeze up and to just get his thoughts out. (He is dyslexic and language in general is difficult for him.) I'm not sure how far we'll get, I have a few resources and ideas, but will only plan term by term. I'm also going to go by time instead of lessons, so if in half an hour he works through 2 lessons or a fourth of a lesson that is fine. I do not want to overwhelm him. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sweet Home Alabama Posted July 4, 2015 Share Posted July 4, 2015 Christine Miller has a wonderful way of explaining writing stages. I am loosly using her organization to teach 7th grade writing to have my ds ready for an outsourced high school level composition class that he will take in 8th grade. Home page: http://www.classical-homeschooling.org/dialectic/#overview Dialectic Writing: http://www.classical-homeschooling.org/dialectic/writing.html 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
historically accurate Posted July 5, 2015 Share Posted July 5, 2015 Goal #1: Write a paragraph without tears. Use more than 5 words per sentence. Goal #2: Write 2 paragraphs (with or without tears). Use more than 5 words per sentence. Goal #3: Write 2 paragraphs without tears. etc, etc. Can you tell she despises writing? This year we focused on outlining/key words/lists. I have found the way she likes to organize her thoughts, now she has to put them in an organized paragraph or two. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heartsjoy Posted July 9, 2015 Share Posted July 9, 2015 3 pronged parallel thesis for most papers SEE structure in most body paragraphs ( statement followed by example followed by explanation how the example proves the statement) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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