Does anyone know of a good at home program to teach 2nd grade or elementary kids good writing skills (written expression).
Writing Program
The writing instruction at my childrens’ schools has been very disappointing. I have used the Institute for Excellence in Writing with some success with my own kids as a supplement. (Bearing in mind supplementing school with even more instruction and work is difficult to sell to kids who are already feel overburdened with homework.)
Site is www.writing-edu.com. I particularly recommend reading the site’s article “Writing Without Tears,” which gives a very good feel for the philosophy behind the program and how the introductory part part works. This program is relatively easy to use at home and provides a strong background for kids, particularly reluctant writers who find it very difficult to get over the hump of “I don’t know what to write about.” IEW is suitable for second grade and older and is popular with many homeschoolers.
A number of teachers like “Step Up to Writing” by Sopris West, but I understand it is hard to implement for at home use.
Other programs you may want to look into include Writeshop and Writing Strands. I personally have avoided any program where the opening exercise is along the lines of “describe a pencil” (as is true of these two programs) because my ds would be instantly at a loss for what to say. I prefer IEW’s approach, which separates content from style by having students begin by imitating others’ writing. Others, however, prefer the somewhat more creative approach of these other two programs.
Re: Programs teaching Written expression
I am homeschooling a 12 yr old with verbal LDs
I purchased a book called “the Four Square Writing Method” in a teacher supply store. It is designed for classroom use with 4-6th graders but I think it could be easily adapted for younger kids(and I have no problem using it with one kid at home)
It is very step by step which works well for me because writing lengthy and detailed dialogues comes quite easily to me(I love message boards)and its difficult for me to comprehend how challenging finding words can be for him. This lays specific strategies out nicely!
Re: Programs teaching Written expression
I have both IEW and WriteShop. Just wanted to say that WriteShop’s approach is very similar to IEW’s in that it is a very gentle approach. However, WriteShop is much more structured, which can benefit a parent who does not have a lot of prep time. Every writing assignment is broken down into many parts, so before the child ever writes a “sloppy copy”, he/she has already completed worksheets with material that can be used in the paragraph.
That having been said, WriteShop really is suitable only for about 6th grade and up. IEW is more adaptable to younger children.
Nancy
My son’s school uses a program that is supposed to be extremely good - its what they are known for. (its an LD school…) Here’s an excerpt of a write up about the program which is called “basic writing skills”. I have no idea what the materials cost, but they may be able to point you in the right direction in either case.. good luck!
” It was developed by Dr. Judith Hochman, the former head of the Windward School, a nationally renowned school for bright children with learning disabilities in New York. You can get more information about the book, Basic Writing Skills, by contacting the Windward Teacher Training Institute at http://www.windwardtti.org or 914-949-1279. “