I told him he doesn't have to do it, but now what??

[SereneHome]

I posted awhile ago that my 3rd grader was having a really really hard time with dictation.  We are doing WWE3

 

And then it was narration.  I would ask him to read the pages and write 2-3 sentences to summarize it.  Tears and "I hate this" followed.  So, I told  him last week that he doesn't have to do it.

 

We are doing AAS3 and a bit of MCT and that's it for LA.

 

I don't want to completely give up on narration and dictation, but I need to figure something out.  I don't believe that daily tears will result in good learning.

 

Please give me some suggestions.

 

Thank you!

[Julie Smith]

The dictation and narration in WWE3 is hard.

 

I'm guessing you would get better results if you start really easy and work up till you find a comfortable level.

 

When my boys started WWE3 for dictation they would just have to do a few words, and not the whole recommended amount.

[EmilyGF]

How about a CM style of narration - just telling it back instead of summarizing? Then work in summarizing every once in a while over time.

 

What about a Bravewriter style of dictation - use as copywork one day, then remove words and work on it again, and then dictate?

 

Emily

[Coco_Clark]

I have a couple kids that really struggle with written narration. I ease them into it.

 

Step 1. Get them really comfortable with oral narration. I'll assume you are already there. If not, start with Aesops fables. They are my fav. early narration.

 

Step 2. Begin writing down their oral narration yourself and having them copy it.

 

Step 3. Start writing down just an OUTLINE of their narration, key words only, and have them write it from the outline.

 

Step 4. Teach them how to write their own outline, and then use it to write the narration. Eventually it becomes more work and they just go straight to writing it.

Edited April 16, 2017 by Coco_Clark

[MerryAtHope]

He's not very far in spelling for the kind of dictation in WWE. I'd just keep doing the AAS dictation--keep things doable and let him build up his skills. 

 

My kids both found narration difficult at this age. Instead of formal narrations, I did things more informally. We'd read science and then I'd say, "choose a picture you like and tell me what you remember about it." Or, what was his favorite part of history today? Why was that his favorite? And so on.

[SereneHome]

Thank you guys!!

 

I do have BW, (I need to see which one I have), so I might start there.

 

He did so well with WWE1 and fairly well with WWE2, I just really didn't expect this at all!

[ScoutTN]

We do WWE 3 narrations orally and I think that is how the book directs the exercises to be done.

 

The dictations are often hard. We do some as studied dictation and occasionally one just as copywork.

 

Even with my natural writer, I did not begin written narrations until 4th grade. Every kid is different. Do what is helpful for him.

[Farrar]

We found the BW style method much easier for us, though I do think this is something BW could stand to have more materials about and ideas about how to get kids talking and summarizing. It's not a natural skill for all kids.

 

I think there are some different approaches and there's not a one size fits all model for getting kids to do narrations. Some kids may need things broken down and scaffolded more. Some kids may need it to be more loose and conversational to practice. My kids struggled to do it until they could write it out. And then they liked to have a conversation about it first. We had to go as well from writing a sort of rambling "stuff I learned and thought about as I read this" model to learning more about summaries. To do that, one of my kids needed a really dopey workbook (we got something through Scholastic Dollar Days one year). And then it just clicked how to get the main idea.

 

Basically, I'd say ease off and play around with different approaches. Don't call it narration if that helps. Sometimes they get stuck on the name.

[Hunter]

Some students need to work more slowly through any series, spending 2 or even 3 years on a book, before starting the next one, no matter what curriculum you use. Lessons can often be repeated, suplemented with something similar, or mom/teacher can make up her own lessons special for the student using things that are familiar and important to the student.

 

I borrowed WWS 1 from the library, and I like the book a lot, but think it will move too fast for many students. For ME that is an asset. Less books to buy and store. The lessons can serve as templates for me to create lessons using the books we like better. A lot of the lessons would work great with the Bible, and despite no longer being a Christian, I tend to use the Bible a LOT as a literature book and with schizophrenic and bipolar manic students who are clinging to one as their lifeline. I'm intending to buy the Kindle version of WWS 1.

 

I only have the Kindle and the little hardcover TM for WWE and don't have the workbooks. I can just make up my own stuff, on the student's own timetable, using resources that we have and like. I like the WWE TM so much I bought it in Kindle and hardcover, but have no use for the workbooks. At the WWE level of development, I am very adaptive to students and use very little prepared curricula with them. They are fragile and easily distracted. WWE is for ME, not them.

Edited April 16, 2017 by Hunter

[ByGrace3]

My older dd struggled with WWE. So much so that I had enough with the tears and struggle over a subject I knew she could do well. We switched to Bravewriter style dictation and narration, ( a lot of French dictation), and after years of BW style writing and Treasured Conversations, we have moved to WWS 1 this year with no issues.