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Is this enough for 5th grade?
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I’m feeling pressured to get my son writing more, but I don’t want to make him hate it by suddenly asking for way more.
Writing just didn’t get done much with my oldest the first few years (supposedly we did copy work, but it didn’t happen consistently. We did do oral narrating regularly.) This year I’ve tried so many things trying to find a doable way to get my son writing more. First we tried a climbing to good English workbook (same publisher as the pathway readers), but he hated it. And it left no time and energy to begin written narrations. Then we tried learning language arts through literature the orange book, which was better, but it felt like busy work. Then I found English lessons through literature. Since there was only a few months left to this school year, I didn’t do the whole program. I bought the level 2 workbook and gave him cursive copy work everyday. This has been the first time copy work has gotten done consistently, yay. I also began using their spelling program with him and that has gone well. These things were simple, doable, and I was also able to add in written narrations once a week. My sons oral narrations are brief and so are his written narrations.
But now I’m wondering if what I have planned for next year is enough. It’s certainly less than my friends kids are doing. The thing is, I don’t really feel like tackling advanced grammar till middle school, so I was planning on using ELTL 3 (he’ll be in 5th grade, turning 11 shortly after the school year starts). But the real writing instruction doesn’t begin till level 4. when I look at the length of the copy work/dictation passages in level 4… They are so much longer than what we’re doing now. But my son is probably capable of more than I’m asking. And he is one to want to do as little school as possible.
How does this sound for 5th grade LA? Too little?
English lessons through literature 3, which includes cursive copy work daily, dictation too if he’s ready for it, grammar lessons three days a week, also some narration lessons but those may be strictly oral.
reading lessons through literature twice a week for spelling
One oral narration each day from his independent reading
oral narration from history once a week
written narration once a week from his independent history reading
I also want to have him notebook his science once a week, instead of the lab/worksheets we used this year.
It’s fine! Don’t compare to what other homeschoolers do. It’s very hard when you are CM and others seem to be doing so much more. My oldest 2 are now high school and I’m realizing that thougbwe tried to be CM we wasted so much time doing busy work with added grammar and spelling and so on. My younger 2 are benefiting because I’m trying to back off more and more for them. I know it doesn’t seem like we do a lot with this method but what we do works and is chosen for a reason. Resist the temptation to always supplement with other things. One thing I’ll say though– do you have any art and music? You also don’t mention math but I assume that’s in there somewhere.
Yes, we will be doing those things. I just didn’t include those on my list, I was just listing language arts things. 🙂
I think your plans sound wonderful! You are doing plenty for a 5th grader. That’s the wonderful thing about Charlotte Mason’s methods: they are simple, short and sweet but, oh so effective! There’s no need to do more when what you’re doing is working so well. 🙂
Kids in school do much busy work but it doesn’t necessarily make them good writers. I can’t tell you how pleased I am with my daughter’s language arts skills after sticking with CM methods through elementary and middle school. She is starting highschool now and learning more formal methods of writing and it is so easy for her after so much great literature, copy work, dictation and oral and written narrations. CM methods really do work! And they work much better than the typical language arts scope and sequence IMO.
Thank you for the encouragement. It is so easy to compare to others and feel we aren’t doing enough.
On a related note, what would a typical 4th grader s written narration look like? My son’s seem so short. Shorter even then his oral narrations, which are usually fairly short too. I have been letting him type his narrations because he hates writing.
Here’s his latest: (after reading the first three chapters of Archimedes and the door to science)
Archimedes was born, and named 10 days afterwards. His name was supposed to give him good luck. When he was older he joined some other scientists and then he went to Egypt to study.
Thank you.
After I posted that, he gave me his narration for this weeks Archimedes reading, this time oral. It was much longer, actually today I noticed his oral narrations have gotten much longer and more detailed. Which makes me feel better too. If he’s ‘composing’ longer oral narrations, that will eventually translate to his writing. Gotta trust the process. 😀
Here are my 4th grader’s last 2 written narrations:
When water heats up it evaporates to water vapor. When water evaporates in a tea kettle it comes out in the shape of a cloud and then it turns into water vaper.
Curdie heard the goblins and he told the guards to let him out and they did. Curdie and the men at arms looked for the servents and battled the cobs (the goblins). They looked for the princess but they didn’t find her. The cobs took her.
We started written narrations at the beginning of this year and they have improved. Of course, when he gives oral narrations they are much better but this is a new skill, much like oral narration was in the beginning, and will take some time to develop.
I did want to say that would never have my elementary age child compose a written narration on 3 chapters. It becomes overwhelming and they aren’t sure which parts to include because there is so much to choose from.
I think his narrations will improve if you stick with one chapter at a time and it’s also important to have him write his narrations immediately after reading the material.
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