4 Square Writing

[Mbelle]

I have never come across this before.  I'm not currently a fan. 

What are the opinions on this that I may not know about, because I do not know anything about it except it recently has appeared in our lives and my reaction is more to not liking.  

Anyway, I'm seeking views.

 

[Taffy]

I used the 4 Square program aimed at older elementary kids. When I used it, my kids were in 2nd, 4th and 5th.   I think there is a version for early elementary too.  Background:  During that school year, we were using WWE - so we wrote lots and lots of summaries.  But when it came to writing a simple paragraph on demand, my kids were stumped.  For example, during a meeting with our educational facilitator (EF) for our umbrella charter, the EF asked my kids to write a paragraph describing either their piano lessons or their golf lessons (i.e. tell about a skill they learned or describe what happens during the lessons).  IMO, it was not too much to ask of my kids.  Yet, two of my kids struggled; one fared slightly better.  My oldest kid had learned the structure of a paragraph in traditional school (using the "hamburger" method), but he still choked over the assignment.  Initially, I did some mental gymnastics to convince myself that it wasn't a big deal.  So what if they can't write a paragraph on easy topics relevant to their lives?...After all, they were doing fine with WWE... they could summarize short excerpts from Homer Price and Nurse Matilda!  But, I was bothered by my kids not being able to write one paragraph on easy topics.

My EF recommended 4 Square.  We used only the first section.  There was an example about spaghetti being the writer's favorite meal.  We used that format to write about our favorite holidays, vacations, toys, and more.  We incorporated the "time" words (next, then, later, after -- and first, second, finally).  It worked out really well for us.  The 4 Square program provided a framework for writing a paragraph that we were not going to get with WWE.  I was happy with the result, but I wasn't interested in completing the entire program.  The following year, we moved to IEW.  

For the part that we used, 4 Square was user friendly for the kids and for me.  

I hope that helps.

[Mbelle]

5 hours ago, Taffy said:

I used the 4 Square program aimed at older elementary kids. When I used it, my kids were in 2nd, 4th and 5th.   I think there is a version for early elementary too.  Background:  During that school year, we were using WWE - so we wrote lots and lots of summaries.  But when it came to writing a simple paragraph on demand, my kids were stumped.  For example, during a meeting with our educational facilitator (EF) for our umbrella charter, the EF asked my kids to write a paragraph describing either their piano lessons or their golf lessons (i.e. tell about a skill they learned or describe what happens during the lessons).  IMO, it was not too much to ask of my kids.  Yet, two of my kids struggled; one fared slightly better.  My oldest kid had learned the structure of a paragraph in traditional school (using the "hamburger" method), but he still choked over the assignment.  Initially, I did some mental gymnastics to convince myself that it wasn't a big deal.  So what if they can't write a paragraph on easy topics relevant to their lives?...After all, they were doing fine with WWE... they could summarize short excerpts from Homer Price and Nurse Matilda!  But, I was bothered by my kids not being able to write one paragraph on easy topics.

My EF recommended 4 Square.  We used only the first section.  There was an example about spaghetti being the writer's favorite meal.  We used that format to write about our favorite holidays, vacations, toys, and more.  We incorporated the "time" words (next, then, later, after -- and first, second, finally).  It worked out really well for us.  The 4 Square program provided a framework for writing a paragraph that we were not going to get with WWE.  I was happy with the result, but I wasn't interested in completing the entire program.  The following year, we moved to IEW.  

For the part that we used, 4 Square was user friendly for the kids and for me.  

I hope that helps.

Thank you!  That was very helpful and I can see the program in a better light now!