Concerned about "Writing" in my 4th grader

[A.J. at J.A.]

We are currently using Sonlight LA level 4 (he has used Sonlight LA since 1st grade) and I have always liked their writing assignments. (NOT handwriting). However, I'm starting to feel like the directions do not provide enough instruction for me as a parent. If I knew what I was doing (okay...sidebar, I write well enough but have always been better at Math. While I can write fine for my needs in professional and personal life, it is completely different than TEACHING and CORRECTING my son's writing), then the directions might be clear enough. However, I'm not clear on how much I should expect from my fourth grader.

 

UGH...so what am I trying to say?

* What do you think is appropriate for a 4th grader? ie, a 3 paragraph report? How well-done should it really be?

* Is there something that might be better at teaching writing (creative writing, letter writing, poems, essays, fictional, etc.) for this age range?

 

Thanks so much,

Angela

[A.J. at J.A.]

I don't expect all of that from a forth grader. My fourth graders are working on writing good complete sentences, thank you notes and occasional friendly letters. Essays and reports are above most 4th graders. Have you seen Writing with Ease?

 

I have not but I will look into it.

 

Thanks,

Angela

[FloridaMomTo5]

Angela,

I've used IEW this year and like the direction it gives. Andrew Pudewa is an EXCELLENT speaker. If you ever get the chance to listen to him; go! One of the reasons he started IEW (along with others I believe) is b/c he wanted to reach out specifically to boys. His goal is to give very specific directions and tools to get them writing good pieces of work that they can be proud of. Side Bar: Andrew Pudewa was a violin teacher prior to teaching writing! He has no college degree in English Grammar, but yet is asked by Public and Private schools alike to come and teach their teachers how to teach writing. ( :

 

I wouldn't worry about the amount of writing your fourth grader can produce at one time as much as the content.

 

Hope that helps.

[A.J. at J.A.]

Angela,

I've used IEW this year and like the direction it gives. Andrew Pudewa is an EXCELLENT speaker. If you ever get the chance to listen to him; go! One of the reasons he started IEW (along with others I believe) is b/c he wanted to reach out specifically to boys. His goal is to give very specific directions and tools to get them writing good pieces of work that they can be proud of. Side Bar: Andrew Pudewa was a violin teacher prior to teaching writing! He has no college degree in English Grammar, but yet is asked by Public and Private schools alike to come and teach their teachers how to teach writing. ( :

 

I wouldn't worry about the amount of writing your fourth grader can produce at one time as much as the content.

 

Hope that helps.

 

Thank You! I will definitely look into that. I think I just missed a conference on IEW in our area...UGH!

 

Blessings,

Angela

[Colleen in NS]

* What do you think is appropriate for a 4th grader? ie, a 3 paragraph report? How well-done should it really be?

* Is there something that might be better at teaching writing (creative writing, letter writing, poems, essays, fictional, etc.) for this age range?

 

:iagree: with the Writing With Ease recommendation. Have a look at the intro chapters here. Scroll down and read chapters 3 and 4 - they should answer your questions and worries.

[Tree House Academy]

I use Writing Tales II instead of WWE, but I agree with the others. My 4th grader is working on proper capitalization and punctuation, and making sure his sentences make SENSE. LOL That is a tough one for him apparently. He is a young 4th grader (9 in August) and I am not sure if that makes a difference or not. Probably not. When he writes for Writing Tales, he writes his story by hand. Then, we sit down together and go sentence by sentence as I type. We talk about what it says, what makes sense, capital letters, and so on. I feel like I give him a "shot" at it and then we work together on making it good. That gives him a sense of what he did wrong, but also allows him to work through it and not feel insulted by my corrections. A lot of red ink on a page is enough to upset even me (and you should have seen the red ink I got by my editing teacher as an English major in college!).

 

In the end, though, his Writing Tales II stories are usually around a page in length (the stories are quite long now) and generally at least 3-4 paragraphs (but it is material that is being "re-told" and not "thought up").