Free shipping on USA orders over $129!
Need some help
- This topic has 8 replies, 2 voices, and was last updated 7 years, 2 months ago by
.
Viewing 9 posts - 1 through 9 (of 9 total)
- Posts
I have most of our curriculum picked out for next year, except my sons. He is going into fifth grade, and we use a mixed approach for him. I plan on using Intermediate Language Lessons for him because we already have that on hand. I’m buying him a traditional spelling list book because that’s what works for him. I’ll have him read books on history and science topics and have him do narrations twice a week (?). Would I need to add anything else to this, or is it sufficient for fifth grade? Also, do you recommend correcting the written narrations, or no? Writing has always been a struggle for him, it does not come naturally. Thanks for any tips and advice!
How long has he been doing written narrations? If he is just starting, I would say once per week. Get oral narrations on all his other readings. You can do partnership writing and work alongside of him to write, too. You might be interested in Bravewriter. I read Writer’s Jungle, a handbook for you to read to learn how to help your child with writing. It helped me relax and give more freedom in writing, and be more encouraging instead of critical. I rarely correct anything. If I do, it is only one thing. I have been working with my son on a/an because he consistently forgets to use “an” where appropriate. I do separate exercises for this, hoping it will show up in his writings. I also assigned a weekly journal entry, because he is not the type to journal on his own.
Yes, we have all other subjects picked out. I’m just trying to figure out the English parts. Our state requires us to teach spelling, reading, writing, and grammar for English. I have 7 other children, so I like to have the older ones work as independently as possible on math and English. He’s been doing narrations for 3 years. He only writes 1-2 paragraphs, and currently does narration once a week. I’m on a limited budget this year and that makes it hard to choose books/ curricula.
My son can’t remember to capitalize words or use correct punctuation. I’ll remind him before he writes, and he still makes the mistake. We’ve been struggling with this for two years 😔
I think copywork helps with the capitalization/punctuation issues you described, by constantly modeling good writing to copy (and study).
For “writing”, I would assign copywork/transcription three days per week. I buy many if mine on currclick and print out. And the other two days written narrations (or journal one day). Daily oral narrations are important still, as it helps them organize their thoughts and words, which is needed when writing. I am not familiar with ILL. Is that mostly grammar? Does it include copywork?
Thanks. I’m writing everything down so I don’t forget it lol. ILL includes copywork, oral narration, writing, and some other things as well. I do not believe copywork is weekly though. I’m also considering using Learning Language Arts through Literature. We’ve never used it, but it looks like it could work out for him.
I would assign copywork daily, using ILL the days they have copywork, and fill in the remaining days with a variety of copywork. They learn so much: grammar, punctuation, penmanship, spelling, vocabulary, growing in attention, writing styles, great ideas to ponder, and more. It does not have to be long either. A sentence or two or a paragraph. Or spend a set time on it like 5-10 minutes. Consistency is key, and giving best effort. He can copy a sentence or paragraph from his reading that day or straight from Scripture or a poetry book, etc. Give a nice variety for him to feast upon: Scripture, poetry, famous quotes, literature, Shakespeare, etc. Spelling Wisdom has a nice mixture, but I have also printed some myself and mixed it up before stapling. I buy cursive copywork at currclick or copycat. (Wow, great alliteration there.) I learned a lot on SCM and from their language arts handbook: Hearing and Telling, Reading and Writing.
http://www.copycatbooks.com/free_c_printables.htm
https://simplycharlottemason.com/store/spelling-wisdom/ You can see the great variety here. This could be used for copywork only if you don’t want to do dictation. I understand some children need a different approach for spelling.
Viewing 9 posts - 1 through 9 (of 9 total)
- The topic ‘Need some help’ is closed to new replies.