I have kids at 3 different levels: LG, UG and D. My 6th grade D student REALLY hates the TQs and AQs. I think it's mostly that he hates to write and really has a hard time getting thoughts and ideas formulated in his head and a worse time trying to write anything down. We are REALLY working on writing this year (using IEW). He also sometimes has issues with the D books- some can be long, tedious, not interesting for him...I even find some of them to be that way. Soooo, I KNOW that I can do whatever I want, but I'm just looking for some input on the situation. I am having him do a little less D reading and I add in some UG. I've gotten away from going over the TQ's and AQs and some of that is because the rest of school/life gets "in the way". I'm wondering if, in general, most 6th graders are ready for D work/

Sue

Hi, Sue!

Is this your first year with Tapestry? Or is it just your 6th grader's first year as a D? Either way, there is absolutely nothing wrong with gradually easing into D-level work -- even if it takes a year or more to do so. The levels are simply guidelines based on each student's capabilities. I readily mix levels up and down depending on the resource and the week.

How about simply discussing the AQs with him for a while, no written answers required. Once he's consistently giving oral answers you find acceptable, move slowing to have 1-2 written answers per week AFTER having discussed them aloud with you. That way you can gently guide him in organizing his thoughts. Gradually increase what you expect from him as you see he is ready to handle it.

As far as the TQs go, they can be more difficult if the student is a concrete thinker. Again, I encourage a very gradual approach and may even wait until next year to introduce these types of questions. Even then, I suggest you start with 1-2 per week orally.

As far as reading assignments go, does he tend to prefer a "give me the facts and nothing else" approach? Or does he like lots of description of what else is going on at the time? I'd tailor the assignments to what he seems to get the most out of when he reads. Maybe he'd be better off with encyclopedia articles or textbooks, or maybe it's the Usborne and DK pictures/facts stuff that appeals to him. Maybe he'd like more read aloud time with everyone. Or is he a computer kind of guy who can read from sites you've preselected on the internet? There is nothing wrong with the UG assignments across the board either for 6th grade. I believe the general guideline for UG is grades 4-6 and for D is 6-9 so you wouldn't be holding him back in any way if you spent this year doing UG only.

This is all just my two cents. My intention is to encourage you, not to overwhelm you!

Blessings,
Monica

BTW, where in Germany are you? I spent considerable time in various parts of the country when I was younger. I was fortunate enough to have been given a scholarship to study at a university in Kiel, too.

Hi Sue,

I, too, have a boy in 6th grade. (He is surrounded by two sisters who are in 9th and 11th grades working at the R level and a younger sister in 2nd/3rd who is working at the LG level.) I am viewing this year as his "transition" year. He is doing some work at the
D level and some at the UG level.

Each week, I look at the assignments for each level and see what I think will be most interesting to him, as well as challenge him a bit. (Since we live outside the states also, we can't rely on the library. I have to see what is on my shelves which does affect what I can assign him.) We are just finishing Unit 1 of Year 2, and I would say overall he has done the D history core reading with supplemental history reading from UG and the alternate pages. We have done the questions mostly as discussion. I give him the D questions to think about while he is reading, then we discuss the answers at the end of the week. He doesn't write out his answers. My plan is to slowly, over the course of this year, move him to writing out the answers to the history questions. He does not like to write, so I am having him use all of his "writing" energy on his compositions right now.

For literature, he has done about half from UG and half from D. I am planning to continue with this for the rest of the year, partly due to what is available to me and partly to push him a bit with one book and then give him a break.

So, I guess in answer to your question, at least in our family, my 6th grade boy is not ready for the full D load. I hope this helps and encourages you that you are not alone. :-)

Blessings,
Lilli

Ladies, Thank you so much! I am going to print your responses. I know I shouldn't compare my kids to any others, but I am glad to hear that others are doing what I am doing/hope to do.

Monica- We're in Heidelberg. It's the 2nd time I've lived here and it's great! That's great about getting your scholarship for school here. Wow. And...I'm from eastern PA and went to undergrad at IUP!

Lilli- Would you tell me what your son for composition? Do you use TOG? Is composition a separate course, or do you have write about what he's reading about?

Sue

Sue,

I am using a combination of TOG writing assignments with Writing Aids and IEW Medieval-based History Writing Lessons. He writes about what he is learning in history for the week since that is one of the many benefits of TOG to me.

He has taken the IEW student seminar (on DVD) so is familiar with the style and structure of IEW. Plus, his personality likes the way he can go through the IEW checklists to make sure his compositions are complete before turning them in. (He is a kid who much prefers facts to fiction. Give him a biography any day vs. a fictional story. So, the structure of IEW works well for him.)

For example, TOG Year 2 Weeks 8-10 assignment was to write a report. I gave my son the choice of writing the report using the TOG topics or using the report writing lessons in the IEW book. He chose the IEW report. (Knights won out over Chinese junks, although it was a close race.) He is still accomplishing the TOG skills, just doing it in a way that is familiar to him.

In previous weeks, we have done some of the TOG lessons and some of the IEW lessons. I like him to write about what he is learning in history, so if there wasn't an IEW lesson that correlated, he did the TOG assignment for the week. Up to this point, they have both been focusing on writing paragraphs. Since he is familiar with the IEW "method", we usually use an IEW checklist for his TOG assignments.

As we move into Unit 2, he will do the TOG assignments. The graphic organizers from Writing Aids are great for him, then we will use IEW structure and style methods with a checklist during the editing and revision process. He is now ready to take what he is learning in history and put it down on paper. He doesn't need the source text right in front of him to do his prewriting. I loved the key word outlines of IEW for my kids as they were learning to write. They were a great stepping stone. But now, he is ready to move beyond that and take the info he is learning overall each week and write about it. (I tell him this is like the lesson in the IEW seminar where he had to think of things to write "from his head." He doesn't make it up, but thinks about what he is learning and writes it in his graphic organizer.)

I hope this all makes sense. It is morning here and we woke up to a blanket of snow-the first one of the year. The kids have been in and out sharing their excitement as I have been writing, so sorry if it is a bit disjointed.

Lilli

That was soooo helpful. We JUST started using IEW. We are on lesson 3. I am so glad to hear there might be light at the end of the tunnel for my boys. My 9 and 11 yo boys are doing the IEW. It is great to hear that eventually they should be able to write, and to write about what they learning, etc. I 'm not familiar with the IEW history lessons, but I'm sure that's because we are at the beginning of the program.

So, you like Writing Aids and TOG writing program?? We started with TOG last year and I just couldn't incorporate the writing program. There wasn't enough spelled out for me about HOW to teach them. Also, my oldest was just not wanting to write at all- big battles. Do you have the Writing Aids in the hard copy? If you had the e-version, do you like this one better? I looked at my friend's briefly and it looked like it was improved since last year.

Enjoy your snow!

Sue

Hi Sue,

Yes, I like the TOG writing program and Writing Aids very much. It is working well for all 4 of my children. None of them LIKE to write, but I am pleased with what they are able to write with this program.

I used the e-version last year and now have it in the hard copy. I like the hard copy because I have the teacher's pages in front of me. Then, I can just print whichever student pages I need for the week.

Blessings,
Lilli