WWE 2 or 3?

[beffers]

I'll be homeschooling my rising 3rd grader next fall after a year of at-home, virtual learning. She's bright but young for her grade, reads voraciously (just read the LOTR trilogy last month after her dad suggested it), and seems to have a good grasp of both the surface and deeper levels of meanings in most of what she reads.

She writes just fine for her grade at her public school, but is reluctant in her output. We have already been practicing oral narration for over a year now, and it's still a struggle for her, although I've seen significant improvement. She is hesitant to speak out, and struggles to express herself. She's able to tell a story chronologically, and we're working on orally summarizing the main idea and adding details. Because she is quite shy about her narrations, it's sometimes difficult to get her to speak in full sentences. Her 5 year old brother, by contrast, gives long and rambling (and sometimes out-of-left-field) narrations which have a lot more detail than she's willing to give. I feel like I see it within her, and when she does open up about her thoughts she has insightful things to say, but she's hesitant to let it out. Because she reads so much and thinks deeply about what she's reading, I believe she has the potential for strong writing. I want to encourage her to bloom--she's sensitive and shy about performing in any way--and help her gain the skills needed. I also don't want to bore her, because she shuts down very quickly if she's not challenged.

I'm thinking I will use WWE with her next year to introduce some structure, but wonder if I should start with level 2 or 3? She has never done dictation, so even if I start with 3, I'll probably ease her into those over the course of the year. What would you do to support and engage a child like this? I think she could probably do fine with WWE3--but would it help her more to back up and do something a little slower and rack up an easy win? For what it's worth, I work part-time as an editor and writer, so overall I do feel equipped to help my kids in this area.

[caffeineandbooks]

Hi, and welcome to the WTM forums!

In your shoes, I'd start with WWE 2.

WWE 1 begins the child copying a short sentence two days a week and telling one thing they remember, any one thing at all, from a short reading the other two days.  You're clearly beyond that level.

WWE 2 moves into dictation two days a week and summarising passages the other two days.  The questions in the book guide the student to identify the main points and the scaffolding is very gently decreased over the next two years, so that by the end of WWE 3 the child is able to read a passage of a couple of pages' length, then summarise it accurately in 3-5 sentences.  If you find WWE 2 is too easy you can always move a bit faster (eg complete every second lesson until you find the part that challenges her), but it's better to start easy and gentle and give her lots of experiences of successful narration than jump in a bit too hard with something she's already hesitant about.

FWIW, I've been really happy with WWE for my kids.  The readings are intrinsically interesting and enjoyable, the "lesson" only takes about 10 minutes, the dictation work has improved their spelling (we don't use a formal spelling program), and the steady incremental work builds really strong skills.

If you're looking for a history program, you might consider Story of the World, also by Susan Wise Bauer.  Its activity guide has scripted comprehension questions that guide the child to identify important details in complete sentences, and sample narrations so you can see what an acceptable answer might look like.  It doesn't replace WWE but is a lovely complement and a very fun program.

Best of luck as you make plans for the coming year!

[Helpdesk]

To find correct placement, you can also use the diagnostic tests linked in this article from our Help Center FAQ.  Each product page in the store has extensive samples for you to look at, as well.  --Helpdesk

[beffers]

Thank you so much! These are really helpful thoughts/resources.