Writing ideas as well as scheduling with many

[countrymum]

   Writing

 I am considering how to add in more writing to our school next year for upcoming 5th and 7th graders. We used All About Spelling and Rod and Staff grammar this year. These went very well and I want to continue them. 

     The will be 7th grader is dyslexic (reads at level though) and just is finishing up AAS 3 and Rod and Staff 5. He doesn't like to write and has trouble getting his thoughts on paper. I am wondering about teaching him typing next year. 

     The will be 5th grader is finishing Rod and Staff 4 and All About Spelling 2 (it's easy for her...we just switched to it as regular spelling didn't seem to be helping. No learning disabilities here just not a natural Speller). She will write little notes for fun and perhaps a little story if she's board enough.

 

I don't think the children are writing enough though. We have done some written narrations ala Charlotte Mason, we have done some in Apologia science notebooks. I'm not really sure what I want. Not a full blown program like IEW. They would both rather play or even work than write any day. We live on a few acres in the country and they have lots of siblings to play with. This is good too. I don't want to overwhelm them.

 

My goals are 

fluent legible writing, 

ability to write a cohesive paragraph (they have both written several paragraphs this year and need to work on speed, flow, style...) 

Communicate clearly ones thoughts and ideas in written form

Eventually write a multi-paragraph essay or composition

Take notes and write journals for one's own enjoyment and help

 

I'm not too worried about college at this point. I'm not sure whether they will go or not...depends on what they decide to do. Regardless of their future plans clear written communication is necessary in my opinion. Correct essay form and citations ect can be added easily later.

 

Scheduling

     We have a new baby in the summer so that will make 6. I don't have much if any time after teaching 3 math lessons, 1 phonics lesson, 2 Spelling lessons, and 2 language lessons, and a bit of preschool. 

 

Ideas: 

Could we cut some lessons from Rod and Staff to put in a few units of writing sometime in the year? 

Some people alternate grammar and writing. How do you do that?

How about more guidance for me to learn style so I can help the kids polish their written narrations from history or maybe science better? The trouble here is I have to come up with the discussion questions/ essay prompts myself.... when do I do that?

Something else?

Thanks for any thoughts!

 

[Nm.]

I do rod and staff 4x with funschooling on Fridays which is a lot of writing.  It’s fun though and they write about their interests.  One is doing autumn core, baking, endangered animals, and a history newspaper one.  Another is doing a reptile/amphibian one, rocks&minerals, a pet Minecraft one.  Another is doing the American history timeline journal (lots of prompts), Minecraft 400 activity one (has prompts), and writing strands 2x a week since he prefers the structure.

This may not work for all your children, but you might find it works for 1 or 2, which lessens your load a bit.  Some journals (especially research ones like endangered & newspaper) have a lot more writing than others.  At some point I’ll start IEW Middle Ages next year- since apparently per HOD that particular course doesn’t require anything except the teacher manual /student vs the dvd package. You can also see what other writing programs HOD uses for more ideas.  

Edited March 10, 2023 by Lovinglife123

[caffeineandbooks]

This might be a simple suggestion, but in case you haven't thought of it, do consider separating composition and penmanship for your dyslexic kiddo.  If he uses talk-to-text software or dictates to you and you write it down for him, this truly does count as "writing", and lets him develop his thoughts without being hampered by his dyslexia.  Whatever program or approach you choose, you could have him answer some (many) questions orally and only require him to physically write answers to some.

[Green Bean]

You don’t need to add additional writing instruction with R&S. It is very thorough and picks up as you move through the series. Grammar is the spine of all good writing. You are setting the stage.

To add more, have the kids write a paragraph once a week about a topic from another subject.

I think you could skip the poetry and phone etiquette lessons in R&S.

Text to talk software is an awesome idea to use for your kiddos- dyslexic or not.
 

[Nm.]

That’s another reason I haven’t done much extra writing, it is thorough.  Even for writing strands- it’s written to the child, so I just let him do it on his own (level 3 in 6th grade..).  He has characteristics of mild ASD/adhd so I think it helps him be more “creative”.