Writing - very reluctant student and somewhat reluctant mom

[SewingMom2many]

I've been very bad at incorporating writing into our curriculum over the years. My 12 year old balks at even writing a full sentence and feels I've asked him to conquer the world if I ask him to write a paragraph.  I've looked at so many writing curriculum choices and I'm intimidated by all of them.  What is out there that will hold my hand while at the same time, ease him into writing?  I did listen to Susan's audio seminar a few years ago and I'm sure I need to listen again.  We tried an online IEW class a couple years ago but he couldn't sit still and focus for that long (I think the class was an hour and a half).  I would greatly appreciate any suggestions ?

[alisha]

I have an 11 year old son who is similar. We tried IEW on our own, and it didn't work AT ALL. After doing a bunch of research, we're going to try "The Paragraph Book 1" this coming year for 6th grade. Not sure what to tell you since we haven't actually used it. There are 4 in the series. But at least you can put it on your list to check out. There are pretty good samples on the publisher website (http://eps.schoolspecialty.com/products/literacy/grammar-writing/the-paragraph-book/about-the-program), see right hand side of this page). And a few more pages to preview at Christian book.com. 

[alisoncooks]

Essentials in Writing was a good fit for my 11 year old last year. She's resistant to writing, probably because I never made it a priority. (She was a late reader, so writing seemed secondary.)

Anyway, EiW is structured and covers some grammar, too. The lessons are pretty concise and clear. We're finishing up a level, and then we'll either do the next level for 7th (in the fall) or give Cover Story a try. 

[kaxy]

Have you looked into Brave Writer?

What would happen if you let him dictate his idea/sentence/paragraph to you while you transcribed it? You could then have him copy what you've written.

 

 

[SporkUK]

Write On! by Karen Newell (self-described as "The Kid-Friendly Mother Pleasing, Gentle Way to Learn To Write" which I've found mostly accurate) has worked well for my very reluctant writers and has a lot of handholding through the parent section at the beginning of the book and each section has listed objects and steps and an example for you and your child to see. 

A recommendation I got on here - http://www.pobble365.com/ - has been great here for helping with talking through possible ideas and creative writing. 

Typing more has been helpful here and, as said by kaxy, having him dictate to you sometimes might help. Having my reluctant writers read an article or other short writing and then go over three or so of things of interest, to typing it as a list and working to make it a paragraph as helped. 

Writing has been the trickiest subject here, I fully sympathize - it's a struggle many have. 

[HomeAgain]

I used Writing Tales with a reluctant writer.  There are 2 levels, after which we found WWS a good solution.  The first level is learning how to imitate writing.  There is copywork that slowly morphs into original work over the year and each day is pretty light.  Hands on or active games round it out. 
You could also look at old-style Writing Strands, which starts in level 2 with a simple sentence: This is a pencil.  Again, it's nice and light but keeps the student moving forward with incremental expectations.  At his age, you could leave out the break weeks and complete more than one level in a year or leave them in and keep him plodding through. 

[Jess4879]

I second Essentials in Writing.  The DVD teaches the lessons so you don't have to and the work load is very manageable and would be very easy to break into several days if needed.  As mentioned, it's clear, concise and gets the job done. 

[mmasc]

I third Essentials in Writing. I did tons of research on here and went with EIW two years ago and it was a great fit. The lessons are very doable and not long, but I did see progress in my DS’s writing. 

ETA: We used levels 6 and 7.