Writing Strands, Reading Strands & Writing Exposition

    

Level 1: Level One is a manual for parents and is designed to convince children between the ages of four and eight that language use can be fun and exciting. It has games, programs and projects to help young children understand that words are not just things to use to get what they want, but that they can have fun with them. It is a way to have a family demonstrate its value of language use, to present to children models of behavior, and to have all the members of the family help convince the youngest members that the family they are part of lives creating and sharing through language. It consists of a manual of games and projects and an audio tape of examples, made by the author and his son, of what can be done for and with very young children.

Level 3: Level Three is designed for students aged 8 - 12, or who have completed Writing Strands Level 2. It is designed to give beginning writers experience in organizing thoughts so that they can be understood easily by others. We have used it successfully even in tenth grade for students needing special help. Each book in Levels Three through Seven presents exercises that were written so that everything the students need to know to do the work is in the assignments. Most students take one year to complete a level. The instructions in each assignment in each level:

** Identify the skill being presented ** Suggest the number of days (sessions) the average student should need to do the work ** List objectives of the exercise, so that the parents will know what parts of the skill will be learned
** Present a model, so that the child will understand what the work will be like
** Give pre-writing exercises - the child is asked to examine things or is encouraged to talk about, or read about the subject before writing ** Is broken into manageable segments so that the child is not overwhelmed with the challenge
** Present clear and detailed instructions for the writing Each book presents parents with:
** Pages for recording the writing problems needing attention,
** Ways to record, at the semester break and the year's end, the skills mastered
** Places to list those areas that should be reviewed during the next year's work.

Level 4: Level Four is designed for students aged 13 - 14, or who have completed Writing Strands Level Three.

Each book in Levels Three through Seven presents exercises that were written so that everything the students need to know to do the work is in the assignments. Most students take one year to complete a level. The instructions in each assignment in each level:

** Identify the skill being presented
** Suggest the number of days (sessions) the average student should need to do the work
** List objectives of the exercise, so that the parents will know what parts of the skill will be learned
** Present a model, so that the child will understand what the work will be like
** Give pre-writing exercises - the child is asked to examine things or is encouraged to talk about, or read about the subject before writing
** Is broken into manageable segments so that the child is not overwhelmed with the challenge
** Present clear and detailed instructions for the writing Each book presents parents with:
** Pages for recording the writing problems needing attention
** Ways to record, at the semester break and the year's end, the skills mastered
** Places to list those areas that should be reviewed during the next year's work.

Level 5: Level Five is designed for students aged 15 -16, or who have finished Writing Strands Level Four.

Each book in Levels Three through Seven presents exercises that were written so that everything the students need to know to do the work is in the assignments. Most students take one year to complete a level. The instructions in each assignment in each level:

** Identify the skill being presented
** Suggest the number of days (sessions) the average student should need to do the work
** List objectives of the exercise, so that the parents will know what parts of the skill will be learned
** Present a model, so that the child will understand what the work will be like
** Give pre-writing exercises -the child is asked to examine things or is encouraged to talk about, or read about the subject before writing
** Is broken into manageable segments so that the child is not overwhelmed with the challenge
** Present clear and detailed instructions for the writing Each book presents parents with:
** Pages for recording the writing problems needing attention
** Ways to record, at the semester break and the year's end, the skills mastered
** Places to list those areas that should be reviewed during the next year's work

Level 6: Level Six is designed for students of any age who have finished Level Five.

Each book in Levels Three through Seven presents exercises that were written so that everything the students need to know to do the work is in the assignments. Most students take one year to complete a level. The instructions in each assignment in each level:

** Identify the skill being presented
** Suggest the number of days (sessions) the average student should need to do the work
** List objectives of the exercise, so that the parents will know what parts of the skill will be learned
** Present a model, so that the child will understand what the work will be like
** Give pre-writing exercises - the child is asked to examine things or is encouraged to talk about, or read about the subject before writing
** Is broken into manageable segments so that the child is not overwhelmed with the challenge
** Present clear and detailed instructions for the writing Each book presents parents with:
** Pages for recording the writing problems needing attention
** Ways to record, at the semester break and the year's end, the skills mastered
** Places to list those areas that should be reviewed during the next year's work

Level 7: Level Seven is designed for students of any age who have finished Level Six. These exercises expand on the same types of writing experiences as are found in Level Six but present a much more sophisticated approach to the writing. Also introduced are a book report and an argumentative essay.

Each book in Levels Three through Seven presents exercises that were written so that everything the students need to know to do the work is in the assignments. Most students take one year to complete a level. The instructions in each assignment in each level:

** Identify the skill being presented
** Suggest the number of days (sessions) the average student should need to do the work
** List objectives of the exercise, so that the parents will know what parts of the skill will be learned
** Present a model, so that the child will understand what the work will be like
** Give pre-writing exercises - the child is asked to examine things or is encouraged to talk about, or read about the subject before writing
** Is broken into manageable segments so that the child is not overwhelmed with the challenge
** Present clear and detailed instructions for the writing Each book presents parents with:
** Pages for recording the writing problems needing attention
** Ways to record, at the semester break and the year's end, the skills mastered
** Places to list those areas that should be reviewed during the next year's work

Writing Exposition (High School - to be used after level 7): Writing Exposition is for those students who have finished Level Seven and would like to prepare themselves for college or university work. It presents very challenging exercises in the type of essay work universities require. It contains papers written by very bright high school seniors, so that users have a basis of comparison. It also prepares students for the essay section of the SAT, college applications and freshman orientation essays. It gives students experiences controlling exposition so that the material can be used by the readers in the way the writers wish. If a student works successfully through this level, there will be no writing assignment given at the college level that the student will not be prepared to do well. There are 13 writing assignments in this level, each of which has, in the index, a student's paper based on it, just as it was handed in to the teacher. There are nine explanatory essays, three argumentative essays, and a term paper.

Reading Strands: This book was written to help you to understand and to discuss fiction with your children. The ideas presented here are based on the knowledge that there can be great joy in reading, and that good literature can enrich anyone's life.

Of course, there is value in solitary reading, but the enjoyment that can be found in stories is greater if it can be shared with others. There are models here of conversations with young readers as a way of showing how reading experiences can be enjoyed by both the young readers and their teachers.

Many adults, faced with the challenge of teaching literature, have the feeling that the job is too great to be reasonable. True, it is a daunting enterprise, but it can be an exciting and fun experience. One of the saving aspects of this help you have chosen to give is that there are no "right" answers to the question, "What does this mean?"

Most writers, when asked this question about what they have written, reply, "I don't know, I just wrote it. What does it mean to you?" This is not a bad philosophy to have as a teacher of literature. Most experts agree that the reader must create the "meaning" of what is read. If the work means nothing to the reader, then, for that time and person, the work means nothing.

This is what makes teaching reading so exciting; there are no wrong answers either to that most important question about meaning. How can a child be wrong about what he or she understands? It is possible in factual material to misunderstand authors' intentions, but the reading of fiction does not work that way.

The important thing to keep in mind, as you read through this small book, is that reading should be fun. If the young reader does not enjoy reading, it may be because reading is seen as work. The reader is either above or below the level of the material, or the material has not been selected with the reader's interests in mind. If your student does not like to read, change the program. Forcing a child who does not like to read the material may make that child hate the material. Change the material not the child. The point of this type of reading is the enjoyment of it, not the information it contains.