Is there enough writing???

[tiffanieh]

My boys (9 & 11) will be doing Preparing next year. Other than the poetry and written narrations will they do any more writing?? I'm in Florida and have been hearing all over the news about the writing portion of the fcat and how the kids did so poorly, etc. I looked it up and I'm not sure mine would know much how to put together a 5 paragraph essay. Is this something that we, as homeschoolers, shouldn't be concerned about since we don't take the fcat? I want my boys to be able to write effectively. Has Carrie written more writing plans in future guides? Will Rod and Staff cover this?

Please help. Starting to freak out a bit and don't want to.

[chillin'inandover]

I just had a few questions for you to help answer your question. Are you doing extension for your 11 year old? Are you doing DITHOR? What level of Rod & Staff is your 11 year old doing? What have you done for writing in the past or have you been using HOD all along?

I believe that most homeschoolers have adequately prepared their children for writing and test taking.
My ds 9 received his state required testing scores and we used CAT. He was in the 98-99% in all categories and have used HOD for all his schooling. He started in 2nd grade and his spelling was (gasp) 33% and now 3rd testing year (4th grade) it is 98% (12.9 grade equivalent). He struggles with writing as a young 4th grade boy but has written 35 5-8 sentence written narrations this year.

Tammy

[MicheleW]

I don't live in a state that requires writing on the standardized test, so I can't speak to that, but I know my oldest (11th grade) couldn't put together a 5 paragraph essay (without me totally walking him through it) until 9th grade. Suddenly, it clicked and now puts essays together all on his own. The last couple years he has taken English at the high school and gotten an A, so I assume that means his writing turned out fine in the end.

We did Preparing last year and I don't think there was any more writing other than the narrations and the poetry (for poetry, sometimes they write a poem and sometimes they write a discriptive paragraph). R&S also has writing assignments sprinkled throughout. Not a 5 paragraph essay, but I think they do paragraphs, topic sentences, outlines, book reports, letter writing.

I don't know too many 9 year old that can write a 5 paragraph essay (especially without parent help). That seems awfully early to expect that, but maybe I'm just looking at my own kids.

[LynnH]

I can address the writing in the guides after Preparing. CTC uses Write with the Best vol 1 where they learn all types of writing. RTR uses Medieval History Based Writing lessons by IEW. This is more formulaic type writing and starts with 3 paragraph essays and for the final project they do a "Super Essay" on 3 different painters from the Renaissance. They take notes from 2 sources on each artist and then put together a 5 paragraph essay that has a introduction paragraph and a conclusion paragraph. They also put together a bibliography. In Rev to Rev the writing program is The Exciting World of Creative Writing, focusing back on creative writing. In MTMM the writing program is Write with the Best Vol 2. Carrie has made sure that different types of writing are taught in each guide.

[tiffanieh]

My 5th grader will be doing the extensions for Preparing, I believe I am going to put him in Rod & Staff 4 instead of 5 simply because he has taken a very easy year with grammar by being at a private christian school the past 6 months where they do Abeka Language and I just don't see that being a strong program.

He did however, learn how to do a 5 point paragraph while there (My 9 year old still hasn't though) using a web for pre-writing activities. I don't want him to lose his progress in this area and wondering if we should go a head and do Writing with the Best even though we are only in Preparing?

[LynnH]

I really think he will get plenty of writing without adding Write with the Best. That would just mess you up for CTC. He can learn those skills for writing paragraphs when he does his written narrations. If you really want to add writing then you could add Igniting Your Writing which is a good program and not used in any guide. Carrie sells it for those who are only doing DITHOR and not any other programs.

To give you a little reassurance. My ds came out of ps at the end of 4th grade. He did Preparing his first year home and we have used the recommendations for writing for each guide with the exception that for Preparing I wasn't using Rod and Staff. Since I wasn't using that I added Igniting Your Writing and used it at it's easiest level. I also felt like ps writing had really messed him up because they emphasized quantity over quality. He hated writing. If I had been using Rod and Staff I would not have added Igniting Your Writing. This year I have had a good friend of mine who used to teach 8th grade Honors English read some of his papers. She is very impressed. She has looked at each writing program we have used and said they are far superior to what the public schools are using. My ds with dysgraphia and Cerebral Palsy is now writing at an 8th grade level and she said with a little more revision at an 8th grade honors level. Pretty amazing since I am considering him only a 7th grader due to his age and CP. This has made me a firm believer in following Carrie's recommendations for writing. A plus is that he also now likes writing.

[tiffanieh]

I really think he will get plenty of writing without adding Write with the Best. That would just mess you up for CTC. He can learn those skills for writing paragraphs when he does his written narrations. If you really want to add writing then you could add Igniting Your Writing which is a good program and not used in any guide. Carrie sells it for those who are only doing DITHOR and not any other programs.

To give you a little reassurance. My ds came out of ps at the end of 4th grade. He did Preparing his first year home and we have used the recommendations for writing for each guide with the exception that for Preparing I wasn't using Rod and Staff. Since I wasn't using that I added Igniting Your Writing and used it at it's easiest level. I also felt like ps writing had really messed him up because they emphasized quantity over quality. He hated writing. If I had been using Rod and Staff I would not have added Igniting Your Writing. This year I have had a good friend of mine who used to teach 8th grade Honors English read some of his papers. She is very impressed. She has looked at each writing program we have used and said they are far superior to what the public schools are using. My ds with dysgraphia and Cerebral Palsy is now writing at an 8th grade level and she said with a little more revision at an 8th grade honors level. Pretty amazing since I am considering him only a 7th grader due to his age and CP. This has made me a firm believer in following Carrie's recommendations for writing. A plus is that he also now likes writing.

Lynn! Thank you so much...that DOES help! I've been meaning to PM you...I read your blog a week or so ago and wanted to share with you that my oldest also has CP (hemiplagia of the right side)...it's pretty mild from what they expected it to be (I attribute that to ALOT of occupational therapy AND prayer!). We noticed it before he was 2 months old, but the doctors blew us off for several months until I demanded they take my concerns seriously. At 5 months they did an MRI and sure enough...MASSIVE stroke. They wouldn't admit that it was during delivery, only that they see it occured late in conception, but I know with every fiber of my being that it happened during our tramatic delivery. oh well...he is wonderfully and perfectly made! I've enjoyed seeing your son go through the programs that we will look forward to in the future!