Faith Dean Posted March 4, 2016 Share Posted March 4, 2016 I hate to admit it, but I think I'm going to have to try a different writing program with my DD 8. My DD 10 and DD 9 both love IEW, understand the principles, think Andrew Pudewa is hilarious, and use the concepts pretty well in their own compositions. We are in SWI B (along with Fix-It grammar, which is going swimmingly) after using SWI A and SICC A, as well as a couple of theme-based books. We started early and slowly with IEW and I never thought I'd have to look to a different program. These DDs are the first of seven. Enter DD 8 who would rather run around the backyard, build forts, do paper crafts, play her violin, or do ANYTHING other than put pencil to paper. While I can push to get narrations out of her, she can't stand to sit still and apply any sort of stylistic techniques to her writing (i.e. dress-ups). I don't think it's just that she doesn't like writing, I think she really struggles with the concepts of IEW. We s.l.o.g.g.e.d. through Bible Heroes and All Things Fun & Fascinating, and we are about a third of the way through the Fables, Myths & Fairytales, but it is not clicking. Her writing doesn't seem to be improving. While I can get her to light up talking about what quality adjectives are or what strong verbs are vs. banned verbs, when we go to apply those things to any sort of paragraph structure, she melts down. I don't want to create a hatred of writing, so I need something simple and straightforward that perhaps just gets across some sentence and simple paragraph practice. We are using FLL 4 which is great, but it doesn't really address composition. I've just recently looked into WWE, but don't know if the narrations and copywork would bog her down. I might start with level 3 if we give it a try. Two other options I'm looking at are WriteShop and Writing Strands, but I have no clue if any of these would be a good fit. WWE looks pretty dry, and DD needs a creative outlet. Does WWE include enough opportunity for adding some stylistic techniques? If not, do WriteShop or Writing Strands offer some of this? My hope is to get back to IEW at some point in the future, but I don't want to set aside composition altogether right now. Any opinions or comparisons of these programs for a somewhat reluctant writer? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted March 4, 2016 Share Posted March 4, 2016 Writing Strands is my favorite. Simple, direct and to the point. :-) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom2att Posted March 5, 2016 Share Posted March 5, 2016 (edited) At eight she has plenty of time. Let her write creatively if she likes, or not if she doesn't. Read a lot, continue with FLL, add WWE if you like (because the narrations and summaries are really good writing skills, even if they are not a creative outlet). And listen to SWB's lecture on teaching writing in the elementary grades--it's kind of a "better late than early" approach. My oldest was sort of natural writer, but my two boys did only WWE in elementary, and that sort of half-heartedly. We didn't start IEW until middle school. The older in is in high school--a really good writer for whom writing is a favorite subject. The younger is in 7th grade, his 2nd year of IEW, and is doing just fine. Long story short--don't force it. She's young yet. Edited March 5, 2016 by mom2att Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
desertflower Posted March 5, 2016 Share Posted March 5, 2016 I don't know anything about Writeshop or Writing Strands. We use WWE and it teaches the child how to narrate and pretty much getting the child ready for the next step which is outlining. I don't view it as a curriculum for creative writers. You may enjoy The Most Wonderful Writing Lessons Ever. I got the idea from a mom on this thread: http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/553062-narration-based-1st-grade-creative-writing/?p=6866524The reviews look good. For me, my creative process looks like this. I'm combining Jot It Down from bravewriter, No More I'm Done!, and want to add in the book mentioned above. Do this until around the age of 9. At age 8, I'm not expecting much writing. Then I'm planning on something more formal. Which I haven't figured out yet! I do have this on my radar: http://classicalacademicpress.com/writing-rhetoric-book-1-fable-program/ Like you, my oldest (7yo) rather build and run around. For me, I'm hoping this will make it fun for him, and I can somewhat include my other 2 children just at different levels. Hth and that you find what you are looking for. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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