1st/2nd grade Language Arts

[mitten]

I'm trying to figure out Language Arts for my son who is currently 6.5 and in first grade. I am planning for next year, but might add some things in before then. When I pulled him out of public school in the Fall, I decided to focus on phonics and handwriting because he needed so much help in those areas (he was recently diagnosed with specific learning disabilities in reading and in written expression). He has been progressing in reading and handwriting at a pretty good pace although I think public school would still consider him behind. He has an excellent vocabulary for his age, comprehends language well, and is quite bright, contrary to what public school had me thinking.

We read books aloud, of course, and he tells me stories that I write down and attempts to handwrite letters and such, but I would like to try adding some more formal instruction in writing and grammar (and other components I may be missing?). I have The Writing Revolution and have been using some of its ideas for working on sentence structure (orally at this point), but I want something that requires less prep on my part, even if I have to modify it to suit our purposes.

I've been considering trying WWE (level 1) and FLL (maybe level 2?) but I'm open to other suggestions. I don't know if these programs would be a good fit for us or not.

[mjbucks1]

I absolutely loved FLL for that age and used it with all my children.  I felt like FFL was gentle yet solid.  FLL lays a solid foundation in grammar that helps with writing in the later grades.

[Hillcottagemom]

Hi! Welcome to the board. I can't speak to FLL, but I have used WWE and would recommend it as an open and go curriculum. WWE contains short stories for narration as well as copywork and dictation exercises. I used the student book and didn't miss the teacher's guide, but if you're unfamiliar with this style of teaching it may be helpful as there's a section in the teacher's guide that explains the philosophy behind the approach and techniques for implementing it. 

Once you're comfortable with Writing With Ease it's simple to come up with you own narration/copywork/dictation from your child's favorite books. It's so handy to have the passages already chosen for you in the beginning though. 

 

 

 

[mitten]

32 minutes ago, mjbucks1 said:

I absolutely loved FLL for that age and used it with all my children.  I felt like FFL was gentle yet solid.  FLL lays a solid foundation in grammar that helps with writing in the later grades.

Do you think it's best to start with level 1 for FLL? I know the website says to start there for a second grader. We have covered some of the content (eg. he's familiar with basic parts of speech), but maybe it would be best to start with level 1 and just move quickly through things he knows?

 

35 minutes ago, Hillcottagemom said:

Hi! Welcome to the board. I can't speak to FLL, but I have used WWE and would recommend it as an open and go curriculum. WWE contains short stories for narration as well as copywork and dictation exercises. I used the student book and didn't miss the teacher's guide, but if you're unfamiliar with this style of teaching it may be helpful as there's a section in the teacher's guide that explains the philosophy behind the approach and techniques for implementing it. 

Once you're comfortable with Writing With Ease it's simple to come up with you own narration/copywork/dictation from your child's favorite books. It's so handy to have the passages already chosen for you in the beginning though. 

Thank you! I have read WTM so I'm not totally unfamiliar with the approach but I do want some hand-holding for now. I like that it separates out the skills of narration and copywork in the beginning; I think that would work really well for my son.

[Foofaraw]

You will find many people to recommend FLL and WWE on these boards, but another option to consider: Cottage Press Primers

Kathy Weitz wrote the workbooks for the Classical Writing curriculum, which people on these boards recommended in the past, and the upper levels were recommended in the WTM book. She's gone on her own and started Cottage Press. The grammar is softer to start in the tradition of Charlotte Mason, but the upper levels walk you through Harvey's Grammar. 

https://cottagepresspublishing.net/language-lessons-for-children/

More expensive, but also more lovely! (And the intermediate levels up are non consumable)

[ElizabethB]

If he is still guessing a bit from sight words and predictable readers from when he was in school, nonsense words help, I have a fun game that makes both real and nonsense words:

http://thephonicspage.org/On Phonics/concentrationgam.html

I also have free phonics lessons designed with nonsense words to help students coming out of public school get up to grade level.

http://thephonicspage.org/On Reading/syllablesspellsu.html

[caffeineandbooks]

FLL and WWE both sound like great choices to me.  In WWE 1, he's narrating two days a week and copying a sentence two days a week.  There's just the one sentence on the page so it's not visually cluttered, and that might be helpful.  Level 2 moves into dictation as well, and you'll probably begin to see spelling improve as you work through that level.  A previous poster mentions a teacher's guide and I'm not familiar with that.  I have "The Complete Writer: Strong Fundamentals: A Guide to Designing Your Own Elementary Writing Curriculum" which lays out how to DIY your own sentences, but we ended up just using the workbooks (Writing With Ease Level 1 Workbook).  They're super carefully graded so that sentence length increases very incrementally and punctuation is only included after it's explained, and then regularly recurs to help you remember how to use it (commas, question marks, direct speech, etc).  You don't need the other book if you're going with the workbook. 

I've never used anything else so can't comment on alternatives.  My fourth grader can write a solid summary paragraph with good spelling and mechanics after finishing WWE3.  I also afterschool an 8th grader who was public schooled through the end of 5th grade, and although she can write pages long waffly stories, she still struggles with that basic skill and those basic mechanics.

First Language Lessons 1 and 2 are designed to be done orally while snuggling on the couch.  It's great with early grades and emerging readers because they can engage and discuss without taxing the small resources they have available for physical reading and writing, which means they still have something in the tank for history or lit or math.

[mitten]

1 hour ago, Foofaraw said:

You will find many people to recommend FLL and WWE on these boards, but another option to consider: Cottage Press Primers

...

More expensive, but also more lovely! (And the intermediate levels up are non consumable)

Thank you, they do look lovely. (I like anything that starts out with an Emily Dickinson poem!) There appears to be quite a bit more physical writing than in WWE level 1, though.

50 minutes ago, ElizabethB said:

If he is still guessing a bit from sight words and predictable readers from when he was in school, nonsense words help, I have a fun game that makes both real and nonsense words:

Thanks for sharing this, it's helpful. He was barely reading at all when kindergarten ended; I don't think he even knew enough to guess. I got All About Reading and started working with him over the summer, and he's progressed so much. We have sometimes mixed and matched the word-flippers from AAR to make nonsense words and he enjoyed that, so I think he would enjoy these activities too.

1 hour ago, caffeineandbooks said:

FLL and WWE both sound like great choices to me.  In WWE 1, he's narrating two days a week and copying a sentence two days a week.  There's just the one sentence on the page so it's not visually cluttered, and that might be helpful.  Level 2 moves into dictation as well, and you'll probably begin to see spelling improve as you work through that level.  A previous poster mentions a teacher's guide and I'm not familiar with that.  I have "The Complete Writer: Strong Fundamentals: A Guide to Designing Your Own Elementary Writing Curriculum" which lays out how to DIY your own sentences, but we ended up just using the workbooks (Writing With Ease Level 1 Workbook).  They're super carefully graded so that sentence length increases very incrementally and punctuation is only included after it's explained, and then regularly recurs to help you remember how to use it (commas, question marks, direct speech, etc).  You don't need the other book if you're going with the workbook. 

I've never used anything else so can't comment on alternatives.  My fourth grader can write a solid summary paragraph with good spelling and mechanics after finishing WWE3.  I also afterschool an 8th grader who was public schooled through the end of 5th grade, and although she can write pages long waffly stories, she still struggles with that basic skill and those basic mechanics.

First Language Lessons 1 and 2 are designed to be done orally while snuggling on the couch.  It's great with early grades and emerging readers because they can engage and discuss without taxing the small resources they have available for physical reading and writing, which means they still have something in the tank for history or lit or math.

Thanks for this information!

[Porridge]

15 hours ago, mitten said:

Do you think it's best to start with level 1 for FLL? I know the website says to start there for a second grader. We have covered some of the content (eg. he's familiar with basic parts of speech), but maybe it would be best to start with level 1 and just move quickly through things he knows?

Another vote for FLL and WWE. Gentle, easy to implement, effective, short and sweet.

FLL 1 and FLL2 are mostly similar content - it’s a lot of review. I don’t recall off hand what new material is presented in FLL2, but both are very gently paced, so I don’t think FLL2 will be “too hard.” On the other hand, there is no rush to accelerate grammar, and FLL1 will have some fun poems and stories. I don’t think you can go wrong either way.

[Lori D.]

I would vote for FLL1 -- let him experience a lot of early grammar success, and use the "extra" brain energy and time (not needed by him for FLL1 or having to wrestle with grammar) to apply towards solidifying your other LA areas.

[mitten]

6 hours ago, MGS said:

I really like the first three of English Lessons through Literature.  A-C. Love most of the book choices, and they love all the fables and poetry that’s included.  Could easily do A this year, doing it daily, and add B next year.  A is mostly sentence structure, copy work, narration, and a little grammar.  Grammar is focused on much more in B, but it’s still pretty gentle.

https://www.amazon.com/English-Lessons-Through-Literature-Level/dp/1545302723/ref=pd_sbs_1?pd_rd_w=Iga2R&pf_rd_p=c52600a3-624a-4791-b4c4-3b112e19fbbc&pf_rd_r=5446MKKMK40A8KGSRBCF&pd_rd_r=1a0969fc-5895-4d11-9a5a-4c27b82a75b3&pd_rd_wg=N8zoP&pd_rd_i=1545302723&psc=1

Thank you for letting me know about these. I looked over the samples and it does look nice. Good to have options.

4 hours ago, JHLWTM said:

Another vote for FLL and WWE. Gentle, easy to implement, effective, short and sweet.

FLL 1 and FLL2 are mostly similar content - it’s a lot of review. I don’t recall off hand what new material is presented in FLL2, but both are very gently paced, so I don’t think FLL2 will be “too hard.” On the other hand, there is no rush to accelerate grammar, and FLL1 will have some fun poems and stories. I don’t think you can go wrong either way.

Good to know.

4 hours ago, Lori D. said:

I would vote for FLL1 -- let him experience a lot of early grammar success, and use the "extra" brain energy and time (not needed by him for FLL1 or having to wrestle with grammar) to apply towards solidifying your other LA areas.

That makes a lot of sense.

What I'm leaning towards at the moment is getting WWE 1 and starting that now, and then, if that's going well, eventually try adding FLL.

[mjbucks1]

23 hours ago, mitten said:

Do you think it's best to start with level 1 for FLL? I know the website says to start there for a second grader. We have covered some of the content (eg. he's familiar with basic parts of speech), but maybe it would be best to start with level 1 and just move quickly through things he knows?

I think starting with level 1 would be just fine.  You can easily go through the areas he is familiar with quickly.

[mitten]

Well, after changing my mind about twenty times, I actually decided to start with FLL 1. It came in the mail today and I've incorporated it into our plans for the coming week. We'll see how it goes!

[JMyers0365]

On 2/27/2021 at 5:05 PM, mitten said:

Well, after changing my mind about twenty times, I actually decided to start with FLL 1. It came in the mail today and I've incorporated it into our plans for the coming week. We'll see how it goes!

My oldest daughter is 6 1/2 and we pulled her out of public school in the fall too. We opted for WWE and FLL and I've been really happy. We started in Sept and she'll finish up level 1 next month. We plan to use level 2 right after. She has lots of fun with it. Not sure what we'll do after that, but it's been great for her this year.

[mitten]

1 hour ago, JMyers0365 said:

My oldest daughter is 6 1/2 and we pulled her out of public school in the fall too. We opted for WWE and FLL and I've been really happy. We started in Sept and she'll finish up level 1 next month. We plan to use level 2 right after. She has lots of fun with it. Not sure what we'll do after that, but it's been great for her this year.

That's great. Are you planning on homeschooling past this year or not sure yet?