What is your very favorite writing program for grades 2-4?

[Mommy7]

I would soooooo love to know what works great and why you love it!!!!

 

Thanks!!! :) (I am meaning writing as in composition, btw, not handwriting!)

Edited May 8, 2009 by Mommy7

[Mommy7]

:)

[HiddenJewel]

One that utilizes narration. It finally clicked this year how narration lays a firm foundation for future written communication.

[NancyNellen]

I agree...copywork and narrations have laid a very solid foundation for writing in the later elementary years around here.

[sted]

Great program for those grades (includes grammar as well).

 

Shannon

[Narrow Gate Academy]

Grade 2 - copywork

Grade 3 & 4 - CW Aesop and dictation.

 

HTH

[Novafan]

WWE has worked for my children. We use the workbooks and I like that I do not have to plan. We just open the book and do the next lesson and it all gets done in a timely and logical manner.

[mcconnellboys]

I used (in addition to copywork and dictation) McGraw Hill's Spectrum series writing.

[annabanana1992]

Love, love, love WWE!!!!

[PeterPan]

My new fav is WWE, hands down. I would do WWE and then go into WT.

[Mommy7]

OhElizabeth, when you say do WWE, then WT, are you meaning do all 4 levels of WWE?

 

I have pretty much decided to do WWE...I was trying to replace the writing in Shurley. One poster suggested that I go through Levels 1 & 2 quickly, then decide about whether to do WWE3 or WT. The only thing about going through it quickly is that I am wondering how long that would take per day? I can't spend lots of time on it. Too many other things going on.

 

Do you have any thoughts about that?

[razorbackmama]

I love WWE.:D

 

When we went through WWE 1 for my olders, we went at the pace of 1 week per day. It took about 15-20 minutes. Now we are into WWE 2, and we are doing it at the rate of 1 week per 2 days, and that takes about 10-15 minutes.

[Melissa in CA]

After looking at samples of WWE the other day, that is definitely what I would have used when my son was younger. Definitely. In fact, I tried to do something similar with the old version of Sonlight's LA Activity sheets. I like SWB's literature selections and set-up much better.

[Melissa in CA]

I love WWE.:D

 

When we went through WWE 1 for my olders, we went at the pace of 1 week per day. It took about 15-20 minutes. Now we are into WWE 2, and we are doing it at the rate of 1 week per 2 days, and that takes about 10-15 minutes.

 

How old are your kids using it? I was soooo tempted to buy the full hardback book for my son for the level 3 and 4 dictations, but I made myself take it out of my bookbasket. :glare: I wanna put it back in. :D Can you say curriculum junkie?

 

{ETA: I just read in another post that the Lit selections for dictation are not included in the hardbound text, I thought they were. :confused: So I guess I won't be buying it afterall. ;)}

Edited May 10, 2009 by Melissa in CA

[razorbackmama]

How old are your kids using it? I was soooo tempted to buy the full hardback book for my son for the level 3 and 4 dictations, but I made myself take it out of my bookbasket. :glare: I wanna put it back in. :D Can you say curriculum junkie?

 

My oldest is in 6th. We are zooming through just for those foundational skills.:D

 

 

Correct. If you just had the hardbound, you'd have to pick your own selections.

[PeterPan]

Melissa, I'm new into my WWE, only had it since the Cincy convention (a month?), but here goes. The hardback version I have is the condensed version of each level. So for level two you have 5 divisions, with a full week entirely spelled out (EVERYTHING) for each of those divisions. You do division one, fully modeled, fully implemented for dummies, then have instructions on how to repeat more weeks using your own material. Repeat with the next division with a full week all spelled out, filled with terrific dictation, copywork, and narration, then instructions on how to repeat that skill more weeks. Each grade/level is that way.

 

Now that I'm into it, I think WWE is fabulously useful at plugging holes for anyone with an older, reluctant writer. My dd is ENJOYING doing level 2. She tends to be on the advanced side with things, but she's a reluctant writer. I went down to Cincy looking for an answer (think Mecca, penitent on knees here) and came back with WWE. It's NOT disappointing. I have no clue if you need that or not, but I will say that if someone DOES need to patch some holes, does have a reluctant older student, WWE is no-brainer and a user-friendly way to get there. I suggest someone in that position start with WWE, do the mastery evaluations to find where they are starting, and work forward. Then you just jump out to a workbook when you find yourself at a level that needs more than that quick time. I've been doing a week's worth at a time for my dd. So Monday she did level 2 week 1 material (the first fully spelled out week in those). She enjoyed it, nailed it, and so we skipped the instructions for the review weeks. Tuesday we did the next fully spelled out week. Again she nailed it, enjoyed it, and we skipped the instructions for review weeks. Repeat Wed. Thursday we skipped (bad day in life, don't ask). Friday we did the 4th fully spelled out week. We carried the skills over to a read aloud (The Matchlock Gun, good book!) and had her summarize each chapter. I'm still not sure my dd has really nailed those skills, so I might break out and spend some more time on them. Or I might go on. I'll do the mastery evaluation for that level on Monday and see what I think. With an older, capable student, it's like that quick, explicit instruction is just what they needed to turn the lights on. Before her narrations were all over the place. WWE gives you a concrete, sequential way to teach summarizing to kids (and adults, hehe) who don't summarize. And with the way we did narrations and writing all those years, it's really possible to be able to NARRATE but not SUMMARIZE. They are two different skills, at least the way we did them. Narration does not weight or value certain details while summarization not only weights details but puts them in logical order. WWE has multiple approaches to summarization and is really interesting to me as a new approach from what we had done before. I think it's a perfect fit for a student at or just beyond the WT2 level, a great tool to add to their arsenal.

 

I guess the only way you'll know is to buy it. ;)

[PeterPan]

Mommy7, I guess I'm confused why you don't think WWE will be easy to use? It's INCREDIBLY easy to use, and quite efficient. I can do an entire week's worth (5 days of work) with my older student in 45 minutes. I'm thinking it is maybe 10 minutes or so a day with an age-typical child. The workbooks would make it a snap, and it's easy to use quickly with an older dc.

 

I think you could do it any way you see fit. You could do WWE 1-4 and then proceed into WT2. You could do WWE1 and 2, then start WT1 concurrent with WWE3. It would really depend on your dc, how much writing you want them to do, etc. I wouldn't feel compelled to add anything onto WWE, personally. Better to do WWE and carry it over to your other subjects. The other thing I like about WWE is the logical efficiency it creates. The copywork becomes our handwriting time, that sort of thing. We're nailing a whole bunch of skills at once.

 

I think WWE is about the most efficient tornado bullet of writing instruction I've seen in all my homeschooling research. I highly recommend it for those wanting efficient vitamin shots of writing in their students' pencil-holding arms.

[Mommy2BeautifulGirls]

 

I think WWE is about the most efficient tornado bullet of writing instruction I've seen in all my homeschooling research. I highly recommend it for those wanting efficient vitamin shots of writing in their students' pencil-holding arms.

 

I love your descriptions!

[Melissa in CA]

Thanks OhElizabeth! I didn't realize you were using WWE. :D

 

So, tell me...

 

I do feel like my son has some holes. He would have no idea how to summarize a chapter if I told him too. Oh, yes, he could tell me about the chapter, but I don't think he could put that in writing. The samples I have dug up on WWE look very good. I love SWB's systematic approach and wish this had been available years ago (sigh).

 

So, I am trying to decide. Do I buy the text and try to wing it on my own, or do I go with the Level 2 Workbook and adjust it. For example, I would not use the student pages as they seem awfully young for him. Instead he would use regular school paper. I would also choose larger passages for his copywork. Easy adjustments like that. Any dictation I would probably keep as written because he is really not good at dictation. I know that SWB allows a repeat of the passage only once (if memory serves me) and when we do dictation my son needs many repeats. So stepping back and doing it the SWB way will mean work for him and his wee brain.

 

I have seen level 4 samples and I know he would NOT be ready for those dictations per SWB's requirements. Level 3 is coming out in August, but I'd like to start before then...like now...and I don't know that level 3 wouldn't be too difficult in some areas as well. So, I am considering Level 2 with easy adjustments or just the textbook, though I do not want to have to find my own lit sources. I could because my son reads a lot...but I know myself, and I won't. :glare: How many actual hand-held weeks of Level 2 are there in the text? By hand-held, I mean actual daily assignments with everything you need, like in the workbooks. Razorbackmama has helped me a bit with that, but after your post, OhElizabeth, I am a bit confused again on what is actually contained in the text for each Level. :confused: Perhaps it's one of those items I am going to have to see in person before I can understand. I am very visual.

 

Any thoughts from those using WWE would be welcome. (Sorry op for hijacking your thread :blushing:)

[PeterPan]

Melissa, buy the main WWE book, get started, and see how he does. There are mastery/diagnostic tests at the end of each level. Do the test for level 1, then you'll know whether he needs that level work or can move on to two. It will all be obvious when you get into it. You might get through levels 2 and 3 and then decide to buy the workbook for level 4 when it comes out. He might fly through all 4 levels. It will be clear to you what to do when you get there.

 

Don't overthink the dictation and copywork stuff. There's actually progression to the skills and reasons she's doing each exercise each way. It's really quite whitty, so I'd just do it straight and be done with it. She's weaves together the transition from oral narration to written using the dictation exercises, so there's really no point in beefing them up. If the point were spelling, sure beef them up. But since the point is building summarization and get-it-on-paper skills, do her exercises as written.

[irizarry4]

For the newbies..... WWE is Writing With Ease? If so, where do you get to see samples of the books?

 

And 'WT' is...... ? :confused:

[mom4him]

What is WWE?

[Melissa in CA]

For the newbies..... WWE is Writing With Ease? If so, where do you get to see samples of the books?

 

And 'WT' is...... ? :confused:

 

Writing Tales