Remedial Writing for 5th Grader

[luckymom]

Hello. I am helping a 5th grader who has been pulled from public school.  She is struggling to write even the simplest sentences.  I purchased Winning With Writing Level 5 because that seemed straightforward enough, but it is too hard for her.  She needs something that will teach the basics without making her feel like a baby.  Please share any resources you think may help.  Thank you.

[Laura Corin]

What is getting in her way? Can she speak grammatically? Can she not go from speech to paper?

[luckymom]

Thank you for asking. Her oral and written attempts are disorganized and full of non-related information.  She leaves out words necessary for basic sentence structure.  Her sentences are wordy but neither clear nor effectively descriptive.  Her vocabulary is limited.

 

She is intelligent and in casual conversation does just fine.  But, she has never learned how to communicate information in a well-organized and interesting way.  

[Arcadia]

 My DS10 who needs more hand holding used Evan Moor Daily 6 Trait Writing.  It was structured enough and bitesize enough to not scare him off writing. He could write once he gets started but he get stuck starting. It is also used in schools so she may find it similar to what she is accustomed to.

http://www.evan-moor.com/p/3472/daily-6-trait-writing-grade-5

 

[kiwik]

Have a look at Essentials in Writing.

[Storygirl]

You might look at Writing Skills by Diana Hanbury King. Book 1 is meant for 5/6 grade. Take a look at Book A, which is a lower level. Since these books do not have grade levels on the covers, it is not obvious to the student that they are using a lower level book. The books provide step-by-step instructions and scaffolding for writers who need that.

[SilverMoon]

Wordsmith Apprentice is very gentle. It starts with some basic grammar and works up to a basic essay by the end of the book. It was just right for my reluctant 5th grader.

[luckymom]

Thank you all!

[Jyhwkmama]

Once she can write sentences, I highly recommend The Paragraph Book Series. Using it to remediate my 6th grader.

 

http://www.rainbowresource.com/prodlist.php?subject=English%2FWriting/7&category=Paragraph+Book+Series/1650

 

 

 

[MerryAtHope]

I was going to say to look at Essentials in Writing as well. If it looks like a fit, I'd call them to see which level would be good for her.

[shinyhappypeople]

She sounds familiar :)

 

Essentials in Writing doesn't provide enough scaffolding for an older child who is struggling as hard as the student you describe.  It's fine for a kid who's just a bit behind or whatever, but for a kid with full-blown writing LD.... no.

 

"She's struggling to write even the simplest sentences."  This isn't within the realm of normal for a kid who's been in school for nearly six years.  Not even close.  Has she had an educational eval yet?  That might be really beneficial.

 

For curriculum, I suggest Super Sentences and Perfect Paragraphs with you providing a seeming overabundance of modeling and over-teaching each sentence type to mastery instead of following the 1 week per sentence pacing in the guide.  Basically, it takes as long as it takes. (If you go to amazon, you can look inside the book)

 

How is she with writing individual words?  Does she understand parts of speech?

 

Edited December 12, 2015 by shinyhappypeople

[Kiara.I]

Can she do copywork?  If she has a sentence in front of her, can she copy it in her own writing correctly?

[OneStepAtATime]

I agree she needs an evaluation if that is possible. There could be several things tripping her up. Without knowing what the underlying cause is, you could be hopping curriculum forever and never effectively remediate the problems. How does she do with reading out loud? Is there any sort of family history of reading/writing struggles? Maybe stealth dyslexia/dysgraphia? A child can even be gifted and still struggle with reading and/or writing

Edited December 12, 2015 by OneStepAtATime

[Storygirl]

I agree with those who suggest evaluations. From your OP, it sounds like this may not be your child, but maybe a friend? I think if there is a learning disorder, you will find it very difficult to help her make progress, no matter what curriculum you choose. With a learning disorder, the underlying skill deficits need to addressed. Before promising to help this child, you might indicate to the parents that there may be only so much that you can do without having some evaluations.

 

The schools can be a (free) place to start, but it may take private neuropsychological evaluations to sort out the underlying problems. We've done both, and they have been helpful in different ways.

Edited December 12, 2015 by Storygirl

[ElizabethB]

You can start with a reading grade level test and the MWIA, easy to do yourself.

 

http://www.thephonicspage.org/On%20Reading/readinggradeleve.html

Edited December 13, 2015 by ElizabethB

[PeterPan]

nt

Edited December 13, 2015 by OhElizabeth

[PeterPan]

nt

[Peaceful Isle]

Maybe Jump In writing would help, or she could do WWE 2, just for copywork.

 

Also, Spelling u See might be a good resource for her. 

[Heathermomster]

Poor yourself a drink, download these PPT sheets, and watch the writing webinar given by Dr. Charles Haynes. The webinar was hosted by the Dyslexic Advantage blog; however, all of the teaching strategies discussed in the video would apply to your situation.

 

By 2nd grade, my eldest child was diagnosed 2e with dysgraphia by a PhD neuropsychologist. DS sat in a classroom at the time, and we discovered first hand that dysgraphia is poorly understood by just about everyone. Dysgraphia can affect all of the brain processing and sequencing prior to the actual written output plus legibility. Handwriting can also be beautiful but painfully slow By mid-year 5th grade, we made a dedicated effort to teach DS typing and he now types everything. In 7th grade, DS worked with an experienced O-G and IEW certified tutor that taught through a level A thematic IEW unit. The tutor worked slowly and methodically through the materials while I scribed and talked through the writing process with DS. It took several months before DS could write a coherent paragraph on his own, but by the end of 7th grade, DS was sending emails requesting tech support help to companies. As a 10th grader, DS continues to work on his writing using EIW. Unless the student is typing, copywork would be a nightmare handwriting exercise for DS due to motor planning, processing, and working memory deficits.

Edited December 14, 2015 by Heathermomster

[djmama]

My son sounds similar...

 

Poor yourself a drink, download these PPT sheets, and watch the writing webinar given by Dr. Charles Haynes. The webinar was hosted by the Dyslexic Advantage blog; however, all of the teaching strategies discussed in the video would apply to your situation.

 

Thanks for these links! I read the Eides books and blogs years ago but haven't followed them recently and these videos are great resources!

 

In 7th grade, DS worked with an experienced O-G and IEW certified tutor that taught through a level A thematic IEW unit. The tutor worked slowly and methodically through the materials while I scribed and talked through the writing process with DS. Unless the student is typing, copywork would be a nightmare handwriting exercise for DS due to motor planning, processing, and working memory deficits.

This sounds like my son - and the direction I want to move in. How do you go about finding a tutor like this?

Edited February 22, 2016 by djmama

[Jess4879]

I agree with others about seeking an evaluation.  While you wait, I'd do copywork and lots of reading.  Out of curiosity, how does she copy from dictation?  If she can transfer what she hears to paper, you could try having her record her work and then copy it from dictation. 

 

We've used a few levels of Essentials in Writing, and it is a very gentle program, but it won't go back as far as you need to, unless you started at the very beginning grade levels.  Writing Skills, as another poster suggested, may work well.  Starting with the A level would probably be best.