WWS: speaking sentences aloud

[caffeineandbooks]

I'm currently working through Writing With Skill myself, ahead of assigning it to DS.  (As usual with SWB's material, actually working through it reveals what a beautiful tight structure the program has.  I am so impressed with the careful way it builds skill upon skill, and with the genuinely interesting passages included.)

Anyway, a common instruction in the student book is to have the student recite their summary three times aloud before writing (or typing) it down.  This seems to be an extension of the WWE dictation practice of saying the sentence aloud, holding it in mind and then writing.  Perhaps it also allows the student to do some editing/improving on the fly without the need to erase.  I as a mature writer have been skipping the step of saying aloud before writing.  Do you see any benefit that a developing writer might miss out on if they also skipped this step?  Or, assuming the assignments are still completed successfully, would you regard the saying aloud part as optional?

[SoCal_Bear]

I do encourage my son to say what he has written aloud because he can't "hear" what might be wrong or awkward about what he has written. I don't have him necessarily say it aloud before he writes though. Just afterwards. It probably would help him more if he did and make less editing work on the back end. He just won't do it that way, and it isn't a hill I want to die on. We have agreed that he will read his entire paper aloud all the way though after drafting it. I will also say that I have seen a lot of improvement though so far in his writing halfway through WWS1.

Edited December 11, 2020 by calbear

[Porridge]

I think there is great benefit to having the child read their own writing out loud. When they proofread silently, they often rush through (you can read faster than you can speak), and end up missing things.  Reading aloud also gives them the opportunity to hear the tone of their writing. Sometimes, a piece may "read" well to a child, but not "sound" good once read aloud.

[SilverMoon]

I encourage but don't require this, for my WWS student and my high schoolers. Sometimes you just don't see a big ole brainfart, but it's obvious when you hear or speak it. 

[caffeineandbooks]

Thanks, ladies.  I love it when all the advice goes in the same direction 🙂