HELP! My 7th grader son still hates writing

[naturalhomestead]

SO we are a few weeks into our school work. It all started out good until about yesterday.  :sad:  So soon??? 

Our first child, a son who just turned 13, is 7th grader this year and has always hated writing. It was always a struggle and not knowing really what I was doing I decided to just let it slide and not make him write that much. We started out homeschooling so we have had him from the beginning. We was a rather a slow learner and so he was always in tears a lot when he felt like he was doing to much. I finally learned to back off and school started to get better. He became a fluent reader at 10. And CANNOT put books down. 

Yesterday, during our meeting time that I have with each of my schooling children, I was reviewing his school work with him. I was looking at his reading and it appears he is still struggling with writing even one full sentence. If he does, then it usually doesn't start with a capital or end with punctuation. He knows this, we've learned these basics since grade 1. He can tell me the answer fine but when it comes to writing things out, he can't. He hates it. He thinks it is too much. I myself don't think that it is to much at all. Here is a picture of what he is doing during the day. Maybe I am asking him to write to much?

 

Math finishing grade 6 in T.T. and almost on grade 7 (started grade 6 in Jan. after struggling with another math) 

Fix it grammar (the second one) he hates grammar but seems to like this one the most, but still struggels in getting a lot wrong

Getty-Dubay cursive italic copywork. Just one - two lines a day if it is done neatly. He doesn't have the best of penmanship. 

EiW 7th grade - Just started it this year. We are doing the grammar at the beginning just to help since I feel he is behind. He hates                               how he has to re write the sentences. But this is writing, isn't he supposed to write them? I don't get it. 

CLE Reading 7 - First year using this as well. It is bit of a stretch for him. He loves the reading part but hates all the questions. I don't                            know what to do about this. He's really good at reading and can tell me a lot about what he reads about even when                            he doesn't have to. But he is struggling with how long it is taking and I think that he is just really rushing through                                  things to get it done. So his answers are one word, or a small sentence with no punctuation or capitals, or he didn't                              grasp what they were really talking about. 

AAS - almost finished with level 3. Struggled with spelling. Another subject that he was just in tears over growing up until last year. He           is grasping things so much better now with this then when we tried it in 2nd grade. Hallelujah. 

Apologia Science - General Science including the student book. He loves science but once again hates the writing. He told me all                                      about what he was learning but when he went to write it down, before he told me, it was all in one sentence.                                        UGH!!! 

History we do all together and he reads a book on what we are studying and then writes a dictation 2 times a week on the computer. He seems to do really well on the computer but my husband and I think that he can't do everything on it. He has to write with his hand. Doesn't he?

Then for fun he does programming, which he loves

Language - spanish

and then spends a lot of time on our small farm outside with animals or creating things. All he wants is to be done with school so he can do what he wants outside or read. 

 

He doesn't do all of these everyday. We only work 4 days a week. Math, copywork, fix it and writing he does every day. Science 3 days a week, and everything else 2 times a week. We were really wanting to be mostly done with school work by lunch time. That is our best time. We have 6 kids. 13 down to a just turned 1 year old. I poured my heart out to my husband this morning and to God. I am at a loss. Am I doing something wrong? Is there something that I should be doing more of or less of? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. 

 

Sorry this is so long. Thanks for reading!

 

Thanks,

Jennie

 

[LinRTX]

Sounds like my son. Except he started reading at 5. Teach him to type and it might go easier. I only di one or two papers a year for actual writing. He could verbally talk for hours on any subject of interest to him (like Roman history) but ask him to write it down and you got a few sentences. We may work all year to get a well constructed paper two pages in length from the hours long tirade.

 

When he got to college he could write quite well. And was commended by several professors on his writing. He majored in electrical engineering, so not much writing was needed except for the core classes, but he did do well in those. He typed everything he turned in to me because he did not like to physically write. We did not have much writing output in our homeschool, but I made certain what was required was done well.

 

Hope this helps.

[mom2scouts]

I must have your child's twin living at my house.  He's the same age and we have the same issue.  My son reads all the time and can tell people all kinds of things about his interests, but writing just doesn't happen.  I let him type and that seems to help.  

[OneStepAtATime]

Is it more the physical act or getting ideas on paper or trying to remember spelling/grammar/punctuation while also trying to hold ideas in his head long enough to write them down? Or a combination?

 

How well does he do if you scribe for him then have him go back through with you to correct his work? Can he type? If so, how is his writing if he types? Do you provide a checklist of things he needs to go back and look for after he has written his assignment?

 

You might consider looking into dysgraphia and stealth dyslexia and low working memory as possible origins for some of his issues. Reading The Mislabeled Child by Brock and Fernette Eide might also net you some helpful advice.

 

Hugs and good luck.

[Tawlas]

What's your purpose in having him use CLE Reading 7? If he's a great reader and can tell you all about his reading, maybe this is redundant. I've never used CLE REading though. . . what's the goal? Comprehension? Literary devices? Something else?

 

My kids are quite a bit younger, but I can definitely see my son following this same path. If that is so, I think I'd continue to do what I'm doing now. Make one subject writing intensive (in your case EiW). Make copywork about the perfect handwriting - or skip the copywork and use copying grammar sentences about perfect handwriting? Everything, else, do orally, if possible. Maybe he could even record what his answers and/or narrations if you don't have time to discuss each question with him. Talk about it with him, share your concerns, set some standards together. If he answers in complete, interesting, neat sentences in "x" subject, then "y and z" subjects can be done orrally. If he agrees to type up his EiW assignments to the best of his abilities - no skimping to get it done quickly - then he doesn't need to hand write them.

 

I dunno. I *get* wanting him to be able to hand write. I'm determined my kids will have legible cursive handwriting. But I feel like 90% (99% ?) of the time, writing as an adult will be done on the computer. I know mine is. So if it's tainting the entire day and killing his joy for school, it's probably not a mountain to die on.

 

Of course, ymmv :)

[Ellie]

Unless he has some sort of actual learning disability, including a physical disability, I'd look him in the eyeball and tell him he's old enough to write so deal with it.

 

Yes, of course, he has to write things by hand. He must know how to do that, because (1) he cannot depend on always having a device of some kind to communicate with, and (2) he will absolutely learn it better if he has had to write it down.

 

I'd start correcting his punctuation and capitalization and giving him that grade. The end. No do-overs. No editing. The final grade. Because he knows what he is supposed to do and chooses not to. 

 

You understand that I am a very relaxed homeschooler, so when I say that I think he's old enough, at 12, to do the writing, I really mean it. :D

[Momofeat]

It sounds like he could have a learning disability in writing (dysgraphia). Sometimes when kids hate a subject, they hate it because it is overwhelmingly difficult. If possible, I would recommend that you have him evaluated. That would help you to know how much to realistically expect from him.

 

Also, I second the idea of teaching him how to type.

 

Finally, you might want to look at IEW. It's often a perfect match for kids who hate to write.

[Guest]

Andrew Pudewa had some *excellent* points about reluctant boy writers, and he has a $3.00 download of the lecture I heard on his website (at least he did).  He made several suggestions that helped us a lot, including some very simple things like choosing the right pen (I hate gels, never buy them.  My son worked much better with gels...which I bought as a test run after hearing AP's speech).  I can't remember the rest, or I would tell you.  But it's only $3.00, adn it really was helpful.  Something about Teaching Writing to Boys Who Would Rather Be Buliding Forts.  My friend also found that his suggestions were helpful with her sons.  

 

My son is now 20, and one of his jobs is doing technical writing for a software startup.  I will never stop laughing.  

 

[knitmama]

I'm with a previous poster--writing is non-negotiable.  Yes, it's hard.  Yes, there's a lot going on that you have to deal with, from spelling, punctuation, and grammar to handwriting and--the most important thing--thinking.  Valuable things are ALWAYS hard.  Do them anyway!

 

My DD is a sort-of reluctant writer.  She'll write volumes (literally--she fills up entire notebooks) when she wants to, but often screams bloody murder if she's assigned a simple, short paragraph. After "knowing" for years that every sentence begins with a capital letter and ends with a punctuation mark, she'll (purposely? I'm still not sure) leave them off half the time on stuff I've assigned. There's a big difference between knowing and doing.

 

The approach I've found the most success with is to separate positive feedback and the editing process.  

 

When she first turns in an assignment, I praise what she does well (which is a lot) and try to keep my mouth shut about the stuff she's still not paying attention to.  On the second day, I point to each sentence and ask if she can spot what can be improved.  I used to point out misspellings, run-on sentences, etc. but I don't anymore; my ultimate goals is for her to edit herself.  If she really can't tell what needs to be changed, I prompt; if she still doesn't see it, then I point it out.  But mostly, at 11 she can spot her own mistakes.  She learned proofreading marks a couple of years back, so if we're rushed for time I have her proof her own work using proofreading marks.  If we've got time--and at least once a week I make the time--I have her not only proof her own writing, but rewrite it.  She hates this, but it's a necessary part of the writing process. 

 

Some stuff--short stories and poetry, for example--I don't critique like this; I just praise.

 

I've seen great improvement in her writing using this strategy, and the push back is lessening, too.  (It didn't disappear, though :-)

 

If your sweet kiddo has a learning disability, of course, disregard.

[Storygirl]

I'm a natural writer, and my kids all struggle with it. It's hard. Here are a few thoughts to add to what others have said.

 

1) CLE Reading is hard. It's good stuff, though. If you want him to do it, drop back to level 6 or even level 5. Because it is a half-year program, he can do it year round for a couple of years and catch up. The program builds on itself, so a student who is starting with level 7 but did not do level 5 or 6 will find it hard going. It's okay to move down. Just save the level 7 for future years. If you think that the material in level 7 is right for him, consider doing it orally instead of having him write everything.

 

2) It sounds to me like he needs some remedial writing practice. Whether that is due to a need to practice more, or a disability, is hard to say. You can ask your public school to evaluate him. My son has dysgraphia, and it is a real thing. If it is a LD, just expecting him to get busy and do it will not help. I have to give my kids a lot of scaffolding to make writing happen. That means breaking it down into manageable steps. I'm not familiar with EIW. We found that Writing Skills by Diana Hanbury King -- an inexpensive workbook -- was a good choice. I'd start him in the 5/6 grade level or maybe even level A. Again, this is a program that would not necessarily take the whole year to complete, and there is not a separate workbook for each grade. Level A is for something like 3/4 grade. Level 1 is 5/6, Level 2 is 7/8, and Level 3 is high school (I may have the levels wrong but it is easy to check). So you can work through a level and quickly bump up to the next one during a single year. It may be a way to remediate some of his writing skills in a structured and non-intimidating way. And because the levels do not have a grade on the cover, he won't know you are choosing a lower level program for him.

 

3) This is the hard one. He's probably going to need more time from you. With six kids, I don't see how you can get all the schoolwork done in the morning, especially as he heads toward higher level work. I'd set aside an hour or two each afternoon to work with him even if the other kids are done. I know this is easier said than done, but it may be necessary for him to progress. You'll have to dig in and teach him deliberately and daily.

 

Even though writing is my strength, I find it the hardest subject to teach to my kids. We just have to keep working at it.

[Alice]

I agree with having him evaluated for a learning disability. I think before you figure out how to approach teaching him to write it would be essential to know if there is a deeper issue. 

[Miss Marple]

 

 

I was looking at his reading and it appears he is still struggling with writing even one full sentence. If he does, then it usually doesn't start with a capital or end with punctuation. He knows this, we've learned these basics since grade 1. He can tell me the answer fine but when it comes to writing things out, he can't. 

Can he write a correctly punctuated and formatted sentence on a computer? Typewriter?  

 

I have a son who still deals with the mechanics of writing.  Letters with "tails" ride high above the line, capital letters are formed incorrectly, if at all.  He was tested when he was about 13 and diagnosed with mild dysgraphia.  The solution was to let him do as much on the computer as necessary.  We still worked on handwriting, but I understood his limitations.  Any typewritten/computer work was graded more severely.  I still cringe when he writes "thank you" notes...it looks like a kindergartner.  He's a science/math whiz, though.

 

This boy can produce some incredible "doodles" but still struggles to write a proper sentence on paper..

[Tiramisu]

It would help to have him evaluated by an occupational therapist. It would be a good start and it might be covered by insurance. If it's dysgraphia, you need to know before high school and have it documented. Figuring these things out is really worthwhile and will reduce your stress level and his.

 

At this age, I would not worry about writing by hand at all and move everything over to typing. At that age, my second dd typed almost everything but math. She's doing great in high school but my oldest dd has some accommodations in college because of the writing fluency issue. I didn't realize she had a genuine problem until she was a senior in high school. I thought it was just that she was a lefty.  :sad:

 

ETA: Writing with two of my kids improved after vision therapy. It's something to look into.

[Tiramisu]

dp

[naturalhomestead]

I must have your child's twin living at my house.  He's the same age and we have the same issue.  My son reads all the time and can tell people all kinds of things about his interests, but writing just doesn't happen.  I let him type and that seems to help.  

 

Ha ha that made both my husband and I laugh. That is encouraging that he isn't the only one out there like this. 

Thanks!

[naturalhomestead]

Is it more the physical act or getting ideas on paper or trying to remember spelling/grammar/punctuation while also trying to hold ideas in his head long enough to write them down? Or a combination?

 

How well does he do if you scribe for him then have him go back through with you to correct his work? Can he type? If so, how is his writing if he types? Do you provide a checklist of things he needs to go back and look for after he has written his assignment?

 

You might consider looking into dysgraphia and stealth dyslexia and low working memory as possible origins for some of his issues. Reading The Mislabeled Child by Brock and Fernette Eide might also net you some helpful advice.

 

Hugs and good luck.

I think it is just getting the ideas down on paper that bogs him down. He doesn't really care about the grammar stuff when he is writing. He remembers the grammar sometimes. I did notice that he seems to do better on a white board today with his punctuation and grammar mechanics then when he writes in a book with a pencil. Hmmm  . . . . 

 

Yes he can type and when I tell him he can answer the questions on the computer he loves it. He does better on the computer then in writing for sure. But is it because the computer highlights mis spellings or improper sentences? I don't know. 

[naturalhomestead]

What's your purpose in having him use CLE Reading 7? If he's a great reader and can tell you all about his reading, maybe this is redundant. I've never used CLE REading though. . . what's the goal? Comprehension? Literary devices? Something else?

 

My kids are quite a bit younger, but I can definitely see my son following this same path. If that is so, I think I'd continue to do what I'm doing now. Make one subject writing intensive (in your case EiW). Make copywork about the perfect handwriting - or skip the copywork and use copying grammar sentences about perfect handwriting? Everything, else, do orally, if possible. Maybe he could even record what his answers and/or narrations if you don't have time to discuss each question with him. Talk about it with him, share your concerns, set some standards together. If he answers in complete, interesting, neat sentences in "x" subject, then "y and z" subjects can be done orrally. If he agrees to type up his EiW assignments to the best of his abilities - no skimping to get it done quickly - then he doesn't need to hand write them.

 

I dunno. I *get* wanting him to be able to hand write. I'm determined my kids will have legible cursive handwriting. But I feel like 90% (99% ?) of the time, writing as an adult will be done on the computer. I know mine is. So if it's tainting the entire day and killing his joy for school, it's probably not a mountain to die on.

 

Of course, ymmv :)

I guess I want to make sure that he has reading comprehension. He can tell me all about books that he has read but if I haven't read them I don't know for sure if he has gotten the main point from the book and relayed it to me correctly. 

[naturalhomestead]

It sounds like he could have a learning disability in writing (dysgraphia). Sometimes when kids hate a subject, they hate it because it is overwhelmingly difficult. If possible, I would recommend that you have him evaluated. That would help you to know how much to realistically expect from him.

 

Also, I second the idea of teaching him how to type.

 

Finally, you might want to look at IEW. It's often a perfect match for kids who hate to write.

We are looking into having him tested.  We have IEW but it's too teacher intensive for me with all the other kids. It really is to mind boggling for me. 

[naturalhomestead]

Andrew Pudewa had some *excellent* points about reluctant boy writers, and he has a $3.00 download of the lecture I heard on his website (at least he did).  He made several suggestions that helped us a lot, including some very simple things like choosing the right pen (I hate gels, never buy them.  My son worked much better with gels...which I bought as a test run after hearing AP's speech).  I can't remember the rest, or I would tell you.  But it's only $3.00, adn it really was helpful.  Something about Teaching Writing to Boys Who Would Rather Be Buliding Forts.  My friend also found that his suggestions were helpful with her sons.  

 

My son is now 20, and one of his jobs is doing technical writing for a software startup.  I will never stop laughing.  

Thanks I will look into that. 

[naturalhomestead]

I'm a natural writer, and my kids all struggle with it. It's hard. Here are a few thoughts to add to what others have said.

 

1) CLE Reading is hard. It's good stuff, though. If you want him to do it, drop back to level 6 or even level 5. Because it is a half-year program, he can do it year round for a couple of years and catch up. The program builds on itself, so a student who is starting with level 7 but did not do level 5 or 6 will find it hard going. It's okay to move down. Just save the level 7 for future years. If you think that the material in level 7 is right for him, consider doing it orally instead of having him write everything.

 

2) It sounds to me like he needs some remedial writing practice. Whether that is due to a need to practice more, or a disability, is hard to say. You can ask your public school to evaluate him. My son has dysgraphia, and it is a real thing. If it is a LD, just expecting him to get busy and do it will not help. I have to give my kids a lot of scaffolding to make writing happen. That means breaking it down into manageable steps. I'm not familiar with EIW. We found that Writing Skills by Diana Hanbury King -- an inexpensive workbook -- was a good choice. I'd start him in the 5/6 grade level or maybe even level A. Again, this is a program that would not necessarily take the whole year to complete, and there is not a separate workbook for each grade. Level A is for something like 3/4 grade. Level 1 is 5/6, Level 2 is 7/8, and Level 3 is high school (I may have the levels wrong but it is easy to check). So you can work through a level and quickly bump up to the next one during a single year. It may be a way to remediate some of his writing skills in a structured and non-intimidating way. And because the levels do not have a grade on the cover, he won't know you are choosing a lower level program for him.

 

3) This is the hard one. He's probably going to need more time from you. With six kids, I don't see how you can get all the schoolwork done in the morning, especially as he heads toward higher level work. I'd set aside an hour or two each afternoon to work with him even if the other kids are done. I know this is easier said than done, but it may be necessary for him to progress. You'll have to dig in and teach him deliberately and daily.

 

Even though writing is my strength, I find it the hardest subject to teach to my kids. We just have to keep working at it.

1) that is a good point. We just started it this year. I thought since he was a really good reader that it would be fine. My husband agreed we should go back a grade. 

2)I'll look into those writing books. We are looking into having him tested for dysgraphia. 

3)We just talked today and not that I have ever told him he needed to be done with school before lunch he feels like he has too before he has free time. Hmmm . . . We never set a time limit on school, except for certain times that I have set in place for family table time, or speed drills. 

[Loowit]

My 7th grader sounds very similar to your, other than he is not a big reader.  I had him test last year and he has dsylexia and dysgraphia.  There is therapy that was offered, but we can't afford to pay for it out of pocket, so I am doing what I can to remediate at home.  I decided this year we are going to focus a lot of our time on writing.  He knows all the rules of grammar and can repeat them back to me but if he goes to write a sentence it will almost always come back as a fragment with no capitols or punctuation.  I have moved him over to almost exclusively typing his work, but that has not improved his grammar thus far.  So right now I am having him dictate to me and then he types it up later.  I am hoping this will help, but I am not sure, we are only 3 weeks in right now.  We are working on his first real paper, an opinion with 5 paragraphs.

 

I think it is good to get an evaluation because those answers can help you find a direction to focus.

[MerryAtHope]

Hi Jennie,

 

First of all, I sympathize with you. My oldest was an extremely reluctant writer. Everything about it was difficult--the physical act, the spelling, the grammar, trying to figure out how to put his thoughts down, the quantity...you name it. He had several learning issues and did some therapy, and we did lots of accommodating and remediating. He started college this fall and is holding his own! I'm really amazed at how far he's come. This is a kid for whom we still did lots of oral writing/scribing throughout elementary and some into junior high (and had him recopy to work on stamina but he needed the tasks of writing broken down into doable parts). We did lots of modeling and partnership writing. He still struggled with writing half a page by 9th grade, and had trouble writing more than a paragraph in half an hour for most of high school. Guess what his college classes use for tests--every single one of them has had essay tests! (So, does your son need to write with his hand--I'd say yes, it's still important! Unless a student has a disability that allows for accommodations there, he's going to need those skills as well as the keyboarding skills.)

 

Today he had a history test that involved identifying items on a map and answering 3 essay questions with a minimum of 3 paragraphs each, 5-6 sentences per paragraph (I love that the instructor gave such clear guidelines--perfect for my son!). I about croaked (internally) when he told me how much though. I know how incredibly difficult this is for this student. He was the last one done with 1 minute to spare, but he wrote 10 paragraphs on the spot today! 

 

I tell you this not to overwhelm you about the future, but to say--a student with significant struggles that you never think is going to make it and you question yourself every step of the way even as you continue to diligently work on writing--that student really can make incredible progress and be successful. Don't give up! 

 

With kids who struggle, you need to do a lot more scaffolding--you have to do things very incrementally because they aren't ready to put all of those skills together at one time without separate editing sessions. As an example of this--if you have him write on one day, instead of giving him a new assignment the next day, let him go back over the same one. The next day, he can try to identify all capitalization and punctuation errors, and fix as many as he can. Praise him for what he finds and fixes. If he misses some, go over them and make sure he understands. Ask questions first to see if he can tell you about them, and if not, fill in the gaps. Don't assume that since he was taught this in younger grades, he has retained that information or has mastered it--he may have some swiss-cheese learning going on (remembers parts, has gaps in parts). And don't assume that since he knows it, he's choosing not to use the information--he may have working memory struggles and have trouble putting everything together at one time. Break it down for him and help him be successful.

 

The CLE comprehension questions are extra, unneeded writing, and would drop that writing for him. If you need them, have him do the questions orally--you can still check it against the answer key as he talks. But I always found that if I asked my students questions, even if I hadn't read the book, it was immediately clear whether they understood the material. Why did a character do what he/she did? Why did xyz happen? Ask for more information on the highlights he gives you and you'll know. Sometimes we pulled out the book and looked in the chapter they were in for an answer if they struggled. If it doesn't make sense for you as your student tells you the story, ask questions until it does make sense. My kids liked this--it felt like they were the teacher for once and helping me to learn something. 

 

Overall LA: I do think you are doing a lot for LA. Does it take more than 90 minutes? I usually aimed for:

 

30 minutes reading (just the actual reading)

10 minutes or so reading discussion (you could go over the comprehension questions orally for 10 minutes--don't feel you must use every last one if there are a lot)

20 minutes spelling

30 minutes for either grammar or writing. I focused on one or the other in units or for the year--doing both daily seemed overwhelming and didn't accomplish as much here. Sometimes we did a 10-week grammar unit at the beginning of the year, and then focused on writing the rest of the year--we did it different ways different years. If he can do both Fix-It AND EIW in the 30 minutes, you could continue that for now. I do think that would have overwhelmed my oldest though.

 

My other child wanted to work on handwriting in junior high (and needed it I'd say), and I counted that as part of her writing time that year since she was doing copywork. You'll have to evaluate that, but keep in mind the overall load and what you are trying to accomplish. It's hard for a kid to do a lot of writing successfully if there are struggles with basic skills like handwriting and spelling--until these are more automatic, they will interrupt his thought process and make it hard for him to remember what he wants to say--and you do end up with one-word answers and the like.

 

AAS was so helpful here. The gradual writing progression helped to increase stamina even as he was mastering words, and the dictations and writing station exercises helped to build up writing skills. Keep up the work there.

 

Essentials in Writing was a turning point here. It didn't come out until my son was in 9th (he did level 7 in 9th grade). We never did the grammar--just focused on the writing aspects because he needed a lot of work on just getting thoughts out on paper. The progression from sentences to paragraphs to essays made a huge difference for him, and the incremental approach of just a bit each day made it doable for him. I think you'll see progress there. We used 3 levels for my oldest, and I wish we'd had time for 1 or 2 more (we did speech his last year in high school--I didn't want to send him off without any speech practice, and he still had to write for that too). But I'm glad for the levels we had time to do and think they set him up well (His Freshman English class actually started the same way--clauses, run-ons, fragments etc... review!)

 

Since I never did the grammar portion of EiW, I don't know if they require rewriting the sentence. You might ask them if you aren't sure. If they don't, I wouldn't for now. He'll get plenty of writing practice in the writing portion. The grammar may also be redundant on top of Fix-it--or vice versa. 

 

Look at how much writing your son does overall, and make some adjustments. Cut out some of the work. But also let him know that the only way for writing to become easier is to practice. I let my son know one year that I wanted writing to be easy for him. Did he want that too? (Of course he did!) Then I said, the only way to get there is to practice. Just like learning to swim or ride a bike or a new video game--you can't do level 10 instantly and find it easy--you have to work to get there and learn some things along the way--and it takes time and practice. Some practice is more fun than others. I let him know that it's okay if he doesn't like writing practice, but it's still something we have to do. However, we'd make adjustments to make it more doable too. 

 

Keep talking with him and working with him. Find what's challenging but doable versus completely overwhelming, and gently nudge a bit forward as you can.

 

Oral writing/speech to text--don't discount oral writing though. Yes, it's important for him to be able to write and he needs to practice that, but some oral writing is fine too. My youngest uses the email function on her Kindle Fire to do many of her rough drafts orally. You can speak the punctuation marks, paragraph breaks etc... so you can do a lot with it. Then she'll edit on the computer later.

 

Science--General science is definitely a step up in terms of learning how to study, answering questions and so on. Focus mainly on the science aspects and on helping him learn how to study and take tests. Ignore writing errors unless they lead to incomplete understanding. Ask him to leave a couple of lines blank between his study guide answers. When you go over the study questions, ask him questions orally, and if he gives a more complete answer, note when he says something important. "Wow, that's a great detail, I bet you'll need that for the test. I'm glad you remembered that. Let's add this to your study guide answers." And write it down for him. You are modeling how to use a study guide well by going through this process. It's a partnership/learning experience right now, but it's important work that will prep him for high school.

 

Let him spend more days on the study guide and get through less modules if needed. It will not be wasted time if he's learning to write more complete answers. Junior high is prep for high school, so think of it in those terms rather than "we've got complete all of this work!" If it takes more than a year to do General Science--so what? We did it for a year and a half. Then we did Physical for the last part of 8th & all of 9th, and put that on his high school transcript. By biology, he was a pro at the study guides and tests (and guess what, a lot of his college classes use study guides too--so they're very familiar to him). Help him build the skills he needs and don't worry about quantity. The time we spent on learning those skills--priceless. 

 

Total time spent: By Junior high, getting done by lunch is probably not a realistic goal unless you have a student who is a fast reader and writer. This is a time to prep for high school. We increased times to 45 minutes to an hour for most subjects (LA combined was 90 minutes though). So, it really takes at least 5-6 hours. Make sure that you and he have realistic expectations for school. By high school, all one-credit classes are an hour, and you don't want that to be a sudden shock.

 

My son thought I was a tough writing teacher because in high school I made him rewrite things (or as he says it: "and rewrite and rewrite and rewrite..." LOL! This fall, partway into his Freshman English class, he told me he's glad I did that. 

 

Your work and your struggles here are worth it, and they will pay off. Hang in there!