kamariden Posted August 8, 2016 Share Posted August 8, 2016 To those with IEW SWI experience: We are seasoned, confident, second generation homeschoolers, but this is our first attempt at using anything by IEW, and I have questions about 2 of my students. One is in 6th grade, the other in 3rd. The former is a voracious speed reader, the latter is a struggling, but perseverant reader. My plan this year (on advice from someone on IEW staff) was to have them both do the SWI Level B videos but have my 3rd grader do the Level A reinforcements while the 6th grader did the Level B reinforcements. However, we are just starting Lesson 2 and it is already abundantly clear this is not going to work. I keep having to pause the video so my 3rd grader can catch up with writing and underlining the key words, meanwhile my 6th grader is racing ahead and completing the entire key word outline before Andrew (the dvd teacher) finishes outlining the 3rd sentence. So it feels like I am push, push, pushing my 3rd grader to keep up, and pull, pull, pulling my 6th grader back to slow him down. While the work is getting done (well, mostly. I ended up having my 3rd grader skip his second reinforcement for Lesson 1, because he ran out of time in the school week and my 6th grader had already finished both of his reinforcements), they are just too far apart in pacing and everyone is winding up frustrated. So.... now I am wondering if I should: 1) just buy a second copy of the SWI Level B videos and have them watch them separately so they can work at their own pace. OR 2) just buy the workbook to go with the SWI Level A videos I bought secondhand and have my 3rd grader do that while my 6th grader continues with SWI Level B My hesitation with option 1 is of course the cost, but also wondering if the Level A would just be a better fit for my 3rd grader. My hesitation with option 2 is wondering how much more work that will create for me as a teacher trying to keep up on what they are learning so that I can support them and also trying to keep up on the grading for 2 different courses. The appeal with my original plan was that it saved teaching time AND grading time. Do you have an alternate suggestion or an opinion on whether option 1 or 2 is more likely to solve the trouble? Thanks! (P.S. Yes, I own & have watched TWSS.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OneStepAtATime Posted August 8, 2016 Share Posted August 8, 2016 Probably your best bet is to have them watch the videos separately or not even have the 3rd grader watch the videos. Get very familiar with the program through the TWSS, maybe watch the Level B SWI videos with your 6th grader, get the materials for A level for your 3rd grader and just work directly with the 3rd grader using only the A level materials. I wouldn't even buy the videos for SWI-A. It sounds like the 3rd grader is going to need a lot of one on one support anyway and the 6th grader does not need much at all. Work with the 3rd grader and let the 6th grader move at their own much more accelerated pace. Good luck. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cintinative Posted August 8, 2016 Share Posted August 8, 2016 (edited) So the difference between A and B is going to be 1) pacing and 2) reading level of source material. If I assume your 3rd grader is reading at about 3rd grade level, I would probably not try to use SWI-B. Option One: IF your oldest has never done SWI-A (I assume this?? Since you don't do SWI-A and then SWI-B, just one or the other), I would suggest doing SWI-A and occasionally replacing his source material with something a bit harder (like you intended to do for her, but in reverse). If you have the Writing Source Packet (freebie from Christmas promotion) you can use that, or you can pull your own sources. I would totally have them watch the videos together, and then work with them separately on their assignments. See comment below on IEW's return policy if you need to return SWI-B. I just noticed you said your 3rd grader is having trouble with the scribing. Two options: scribe for her, or watch separately and pause it so she can write. It's all up to you. I do think the source material is going to be tough for her in B and since at this point we are all about giving her lots of opportunity for success, I would probably not push SWI-B. Second option: use the SWI-A videos you have and go through SWI-A with your third grader (get a student packet) separately from your son. Son is largely independent in his work and does SWI-B with occasional input from you. Third option: skip SWI-A altogether and do All Things Fun and Fascinating with her. Continue with SWI-B with your other son. ETA: IF you bought from IEW, they will exchange the SWI-B for SWI-A at no cost to you, even return shipping. Or refund the lot. Just explain your situation. They have a no time limit, satisfaction guarantee. Edited August 8, 2016 by cintinative 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cintinative Posted August 8, 2016 Share Posted August 8, 2016 did a massive edit on my post. It was really hard to understand and after going back and reading your first post I had to clarify some things. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kamariden Posted August 8, 2016 Author Share Posted August 8, 2016 Cintinative - Can you elaborate on the difference in pacing between Level A and Level B? I have been watching Level A Lesson 1 with my 3rd grader and we are not really noticing any difference when comparing to Lesson 1 in Level B. My 3rd grader is saying it doesn't seem any easier and that I would still need to pause for them to write. (My third grader also audibly objected to Andrew's instruction to write sloppy, so that is part of the problem. He takes pride in his neat handwriting as opposed to my 6th grader who could care less and still uses capitals in the middle of words.) Is it farther along in the course that the difference is more apparent? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cintinative Posted August 9, 2016 Share Posted August 9, 2016 (edited) Cintinative - Can you elaborate on the difference in pacing between Level A and Level B? I have been watching Level A Lesson 1 with my 3rd grader and we are not really noticing any difference when comparing to Lesson 1 in Level B. My 3rd grader is saying it doesn't seem any easier and that I would still need to pause for them to write. (My third grader also audibly objected to Andrew's instruction to write sloppy, so that is part of the problem. He takes pride in his neat handwriting as opposed to my 6th grader who could care less and still uses capitals in the middle of words.) Is it farther along in the course that the difference is more apparent? We did SWI-A with my then 3rd and 4th grader last year and we *always* had to pause so they could write. I have no idea how the kids on the video wrote that fast. My kids will gladly write sloppy but still do so at a slow pace. My 4th grader could sometimes finish in the time shown but my 3rd grader never could. ETA; sometimes I would scribe for him. Since I have not done SWI-B my only information regarding the pacing being faster is from people who worked in the IEW booth. My understanding is that maybe less time is given for assignments and/or that it introduces the units a bit faster. I think as far as the actual video pacing, that is unchanged. Edited August 9, 2016 by cintinative 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kamariden Posted August 9, 2016 Author Share Posted August 9, 2016 Cintinative - Okay, thank you. That matches what I have heard elsewhere, but wasn't clear on. :) It's good to know my 3rd grader isn't the only one struggling to write fast enough. You've given me helpful information to think on. Thanks! :) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SebastianCat Posted August 9, 2016 Share Posted August 9, 2016 We did SWI-A when my kids were in 5th and 3rd grades and did have to pause the videos for writing. I would have your kids watch the videos separately and let the 6th grader work independently, while you work with the 3rd grader. My then-3rd grader could not have done the program totally independent of my help at first, but by the end of the year, she needed less from me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Momto6inIN Posted August 9, 2016 Share Posted August 9, 2016 I am not a seasoned IEW user, this will be our 1st year using it. But I will be doing it with a 7th and 3rd grader, so I'm in kind of a similar situation. I am planning on doing SWI-B with the 7th grader at her pace and moving on to SICC-B as soon as she's ready. For the 3rd grader I am doing a theme based book, All Things Fun & Fascinating. It's still got the IEW style writing assignments and is all laid out for me what to do and teach, but it doesn't have her watching Andrew. She's only doing writing for half the year, we're concentrating on grammar the rest of the year. I figure I'll have her watch the DVDs when she's in middle school. It does mean 2 different writing lessons are using my time, but the time spent with the 3rd grade will be much shorter than the time with the 7th grader, and it's only part of the year. Incidentally, I'm also using SWI-B with my 9th grade in a "writing boot camp" kind of situation where he'll do it all over 10 or 11 weeks. So maybe if your 6th grader was free to go at her own pace she could complete it more quickly (maybe over a semester) and then you could concentrate on writing lessons with the 3rd grader? Just an idea ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dragonflyer Posted August 9, 2016 Share Posted August 9, 2016 I was also going to mention that 3rd is the very youngest that they recommend using SWI-A. If she is a struggling reader, it could also be okay to put IEW away for a year and spend this year solidifying reading skills, spelling, and writing sentences. You could also look at IEW's All Things Fun & Fascinating to slow things down a bit. After you finish SWI-B with your 6th grader, you should feel better equipped to teach the material to your struggling child as well. Just bringing up the possibility of "not ready" as opposed to needing to slow down. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwik Posted August 10, 2016 Share Posted August 10, 2016 Buying a second copy of the same video seems odd - can't they just watch them at different times? How about. The sixth grader keeps going and the third grader does something else then tries again next year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom2att Posted August 10, 2016 Share Posted August 10, 2016 (edited) I was also going to mention that 3rd is the very youngest that they recommend using SWI-A. If she is a struggling reader, it could also be okay to put IEW away for a year and spend this year solidifying reading skills, spelling, and writing sentences. Just bringing up the possibility of "not ready" as opposed to needing to slow down. I totally agree with this. In fact, I did this. 3rd grade is very young. If the child is struggling, just put it away and continue with the older child, who seems to be excelling with it. There's plenty of time for the younger one to pick it up again in a year or two. My experience is that I tried SWI-A with my youngest in 3rd grade. He was not ready--continuing would have been an exercise in frustration for both of us. His next exposure to IEW was in a co-op class in 6th, where he did well. Edited August 10, 2016 by mom2att 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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