Sarah00 Posted January 13 Share Posted January 13 Is writing necessary for grade 3? Could I just use EWS C, and some Lit House learning level 1 guides or her history guide and call it good? I don't think he'll be ready for W&R without some sentence composition first. He doesn't do much free writing so writing is pretty foreign to him. I could use ideas from Peggy Kayes Writing Games which he likes, just to get him more practiced in the act of writing things by hand. He still finds handwriting very cumbersome. He hates answering questions orally and doesn't like narration so I think WWE would not be a good for him (EWS seems to be about all he can handle of this). For instance, he really hates all the oral conversing about grammar in LOE Foundations D and hardly pays attention but ends up learning it because there are activity pages where I can reteach him to show him what he needs to do. He does great with activities that teach content. I've looked at EIW which I like (although I'd probably have to make it more fun at this age) but I think it would be best to wait a few years since the program seems quite repetitive. Any other programs out there with a structure like EIW (teaching sentences and planning/outlining paragraphs in different genres among with self editing rubrics - even better if it includes grammar) but maybe with activities or some way to make it fun? Assuming writing doesn't include grammar, do you think Beowulf's grammar would be good for a kid like this? He doesn't like cut and paste lapbook type things - but little activities that help him learn the content or gamify the content is great. It's hard to get him to pay attention otherwise and I feel like I'm just yelling at him to please return his attention to me every 5 seconds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nm. Posted January 14 Share Posted January 14 (edited) I like rod and staff 2 in grade 3. It covers writing and grammar. Not “fun”, but quick & to the point (10 minutes or so a lesson). I have 4 children doing R&S this year (levels 2,3,4,6). They do not want to switch to something more “fun”. You can’t work on paragraphs until sentences are solid. It includes a lot of copy work woven throughout level 2. https://samples.milestonebooks.com/1-12202-3/#32 Edited January 14 by Nm. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnneGG Posted January 14 Share Posted January 14 I would stick with Writing Games, especially if he likes it and you see progress with the activities. I have a reluctant writer. I always thought it was because he found the act of writing laborious, but now I actually think it was because he was not a confident speller. Once we started getting serious with spelling, his ability to write a beautiful sentence soared. I also began incorporating copy work. I don’t know how much the copy work has helped, but he is more willing to copy sentences than write his own. We use Primary Language Lessons by Emma Serl and Montessori grammar symbol manipulatives. It’s not gamified but it seems enjoyable enough as none of the boys complain. It is very short, around 10 minutes so that they stay focused and engaged and I don’t lose my mind. We also like the Ruth Heller grammar picture books. This, along with some occasional variety from free internet games or apps seems to be enough. We listened to Mary’s Grammar on Librivox and I hope to listen to Grammar Land at some point before the year is over. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clarita Posted January 14 Share Posted January 14 I don't know if this thread would help you. It helped me see possible progressions of writing through to high school. 23 hours ago, Sarah00 said: He does great with activities that teach content. You may want to look at The Writing Revolution by Judith C. Hochman and Natalie Wexler. It talks about teaching writing through content rather than creative writing. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malam Posted January 15 Share Posted January 15 On 1/14/2024 at 4:11 AM, Sarah00 said: but I think it would be best to wait a few years since the program seems quite repetitive How and where does it repeat? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarah00 Posted January 16 Author Share Posted January 16 On 1/14/2024 at 12:34 PM, AnneGG said: I have a reluctant writer. I always thought it was because he found the act of writing laborious, but now I actually think it was because he was not a confident speller. Thanks! What do you use for spelling? We have gone through all of LOE Foundations and his spelling is pretty decent but he is slow to spell. More practice is definitely needed. Mine won't do copywork though. Yesterday, I tried to get him to copy one word in the sentence. He couldn't get his first letter perfectly how he wanted it and after 3 attenpts, gave up, upset. I'm not sure what to do with that. It's not like I'm demanding it to be as perfect as he's going for. I will keep up with the games and look into your other suggestions! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarah00 Posted January 16 Author Share Posted January 16 On 1/15/2024 at 5:57 AM, Malam said: How and where does it repeat? It's just the same sort of format year after year, slowly building on the previous year, from what I can tell. But I'm just judging that from samples. There's not necessarily repitition week after week within the same year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnneGG Posted January 16 Share Posted January 16 4 hours ago, Sarah00 said: Thanks! What do you use for spelling? We have gone through all of LOE Foundations and his spelling is pretty decent but he is slow to spell. More practice is definitely needed. Mine won't do copywork though. Yesterday, I tried to get him to copy one word in the sentence. He couldn't get his first letter perfectly how he wanted it and after 3 attenpts, gave up, upset. I'm not sure what to do with that. It's not like I'm demanding it to be as perfect as he's going for. I will keep up with the games and look into your other suggestions! Re: copywork refusal. Letter magnets, stickers, tiles.. whatever. That is how we started when one my kids didn’t like the act of holding the pencil. Eventually we moved up to writing on a water board type thing with a water pen, and any other gimmicky kind of writing tablets. Idk we have a lot. 😂 I slowly started requiring one sentence a week done by pen and paper and moved the requirements up from there. Also I think it’s important to narrow down if he’s refusing to write because he can’t or because he doesn’t want to. What happens when he says no? Re: Spelling We use a procedure list I created based on SOR and workshops I’ve taken to teach spelling. Our word list comes from the Aldine Speller (vintage.) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.