Writing with Ease

[SewingMom2many]

Can I just jump into level 4 of Writing with Ease? My kids have not done dictation before and I'm not understanding if I need to dial back to WWE 3 or even 2 if this is the case. My kids are age 9-14.  From what I'm reading I need to start with at least some WWE before moving to WWS.

Also, I'm pretty sure we are going to use Grammar for the Well Trained Mind.  I assume this can be used concurrently with WWE?

Thanks in advance for any advice!

[Miss Tick]

Highly not recommended. WWE 4 is a big leap in difficulty. I would start everybody in level 3 I think, then let your older one peel off once he/she has a bit of practice. We do all 4 levels of WWE here, but break 4 up over two years mixed with some other writing things. Some people skip 4 altogether. 

WWE doesn't teach grammar, so doing a grammar program alongside is fine.

[SewingMom2many]

Thank you so much, Susan! I'll get level 3 and begin with that.

I read HERE that the progressions can go backwards (for example, WWE3 followed by WWE2) so I guess we'll start 3 and see how it goes moving ahead or back as needed.

I appreciate your reply!

[Miss Tick]

30 minutes ago, SewingMom2many said:

Thank you so much, Susan! I'll get level 3 and begin with that.

I read HERE that the progressions can go backwards (for example, WWE3 followed by WWE2) so I guess we'll start 3 and see how it goes moving ahead or back as needed.

I appreciate your reply!

Sure. Definitely use your judgement about where your kids are at and how much you do or don't want to push. I think the first half of 2 had you write down their narrations and then they write the first couple sentences from dictation, and then the second half had them do all the writing. 3 just continues that. So if any are less than enthusiastic writers, you might even want to start with 2 and have your older one(s) do their own writing.

[stlily]

I agree. The reading passage in level four are longer and a little more complex. I think starting with level 3 is a good idea.

[caffeineandbooks]

11 hours ago, SewingMom2many said:

I read HERE that the progressions can go backwards (for example, WWE3 followed by WWE2) so I guess we'll start 3 and see how it goes moving ahead or back as needed.

I wonder if you might be misreading that table?

Certainly start with WWE3 if that's where you think your kids are at, and if after a week or two it doesn't seem like a good fit you might move some or all kids back to 2, on to 4, or on to a different program.  You would not, however, complete all of WWE3 and then go back and do WWE2.

This is a little different from Grammar for the Well Trained Mind.  In that program, there are four workbooks providing different exercises at the same skill level, so you can complete the various books in any order.

[El...]

I think this book might be helpful. Instead if using the workbooks, you might be able to jump into each skill where your kid needs work. I use the workbooks sometimes because they are so easy for me to implement, but this book helped me understand the bigger picture. 

https://www.amazon.com/Complete-Writer-Writing-Ease/dp/193333925X

 

Edited September 19, 2020 by elroisees
Posted before I was finished typing!

[SewingMom2many]

Yes,  I must be misreading the table. I was understanding it that WWE is similar to the grammar program but maybe I'll  understand more after I learn more about the program.  

Thank you for the recommendation for Writing With Ease, The Four Year Guide, I'm going to read that today. I also purchased SWB's audio lecture for elementary nearly 10 years ago and today I'm going to buy the middle and high school lectures as well so I can listen to all three. 

I'm really looking forward to working through this with my kids, it's definitely a weak area in our homeschool.  Due to a move and a major health event, my kids were doing Monarch online the past two years with almost no involvement from me.  They did the bare minimum the program had them do and it was all on the computer so nothing was hand written.  I hope I can help them become confident writers this late in the game.