Leveling up writing/LA for a strong reader

[Anonymous]

We’re trying to strengthen language arts beyond what FCPS offers, especially in writing. DC is in 4th AAP, strong in math and loves reading. Writing hasn’t always been his favorite, although he’s starting to enjoy it more this year.

The writing samples we’ve seen, usually from Benchmark, look basic. His writing is still unstructured and a bit sloppy, although some of that is obviously age-appropriate. However, it also seems like writing/LA is just hard to teach properly in a classroom of ~25 kids, even in AAP.

For parents who’ve wanted to build a stronger foundation (e.g., more structured writing, clearer arguments, better grammar, stronger vocabulary, revision habits), what has actually worked for you?

A private tutor?
An after-school writing class?
A homeschool-style curriculum?
Book clubs or debate groups?
Something else entirely?

We’re not looking to overload him, just to thoughtfully close the gap over time. I’d really appreciate hearing what’s been effective (or not worth it).

[Anonymous]

Bump!!!!

[Anonymous]

I guess I don’t really see the point. Why do you need him to be a better writer now? I think in elementary school it would be better to encourage the love of reading and writing…

[Anonymous]

Don't leave it up to chance, OP. FCPS is HORRIBLE at teaching writing, horrible. Writing is a skill like any other that should be taught consistently and with discipline. Sure there are some natural writers who emerge from FCPS but overall the writing instruction and the results are abominable especially compared to other subjects that are taught relatively well. I recommend one of the numerous homeschool programs. Which one depends on your kid, though.

For my oldest, who was an extremely reluctant writer and needed to be taught in an organized structured way, IEW was a great program. I then moved him on to some classical writing programs and he learned to write with style and is truly outstanding now (I am a college professor and can judge compared to very strong college students). He was a huge reader, by the way, and the whole organic just-encourage-reading approach is ridiculously insufficient. He needed instruction and practice like with any other skill. With another kid, who was much stronger to start out, I went straight to the classical writing instruction and he is decent now. I was trying to meet him where he was and we probably should have backed up a half step (not worth it now, but it shows).

I have heard Brave Writer is a good homeschool program for kids who start out as more natural writers. I don't have personal experience though.

You are right to think about this, OP. Learning how to write can be fun and should start in elementary school. I can't tell you how many parents moan about this FCPS weakness when kids are in high school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Don't leave it up to chance, OP. FCPS is HORRIBLE at teaching writing, horrible. Writing is a skill like any other that should be taught consistently and with discipline. Sure there are some natural writers who emerge from FCPS but overall the writing instruction and the results are abominable especially compared to other subjects that are taught relatively well. I recommend one of the numerous homeschool programs. Which one depends on your kid, though.

For my oldest, who was an extremely reluctant writer and needed to be taught in an organized structured way, IEW was a great program. I then moved him on to some classical writing programs and he learned to write with style and is truly outstanding now (I am a college professor and can judge compared to very strong college students). He was a huge reader, by the way, and the whole organic just-encourage-reading approach is ridiculously insufficient. He needed instruction and practice like with any other skill. With another kid, who was much stronger to start out, I went straight to the classical writing instruction and he is decent now. I was trying to meet him where he was and we probably should have backed up a half step (not worth it now, but it shows).

I have heard Brave Writer is a good homeschool program for kids who start out as more natural writers. I don't have personal experience though.

You are right to think about this, OP. Learning how to write can be fun and should start in elementary school. I can't tell you how many parents moan about this FCPS weakness when kids are in high school.

Are there any classical programs that you recommend? (Or don’t recommend?)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Don't leave it up to chance, OP. FCPS is HORRIBLE at teaching writing, horrible. Writing is a skill like any other that should be taught consistently and with discipline.

I dont know if it is the FCPS curriculum or just a very good teacher, but my seventh grade daughter is being taught very structured, disciplined writing. Her ELA teacher has students write every week, and she provides feedback, suggestions, and corrections on every writing assignment. My daughter also had consistent grammar lessons and assessments, and my child's writing has vastly improved this year.

Again, I am not sure if it is the FCPS curriculum or just a strong ELA teacher. Whatever it is, it is great!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Don't leave it up to chance, OP. FCPS is HORRIBLE at teaching writing, horrible. Writing is a skill like any other that should be taught consistently and with discipline.

I dont know if it is the FCPS curriculum or just a very good teacher, but my seventh grade daughter is being taught very structured, disciplined writing. Her ELA teacher has students write every week, and she provides feedback, suggestions, and corrections on every writing assignment. My daughter also had consistent grammar lessons and assessments, and my child's writing has vastly improved this year.

Again, I am not sure if it is the FCPS curriculum or just a strong ELA teacher. Whatever it is, it is great!

It's the teacher. My 4th grader is having the same experience. It's been wonderful- last year there was nothing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I guess I don’t really see the point. Why do you need him to be a better writer now? I think in elementary school it would be better to encourage the love of reading and writing…

OP here - I agree. The goal is to develop an appreciation for writing. My rationale is that writing forces the brain to organize thought in a way that reading alone does not. As two working parents, we don't have the time or expertise to overhaul his education or push him too hard. I'm just hoping to find some engaging resources to support him at home without turning it into a chore.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Don't leave it up to chance, OP. FCPS is HORRIBLE at teaching writing, horrible. Writing is a skill like any other that should be taught consistently and with discipline. Sure there are some natural writers who emerge from FCPS but overall the writing instruction and the results are abominable especially compared to other subjects that are taught relatively well. I recommend one of the numerous homeschool programs. Which one depends on your kid, though.

For my oldest, who was an extremely reluctant writer and needed to be taught in an organized structured way, IEW was a great program. I then moved him on to some classical writing programs and he learned to write with style and is truly outstanding now (I am a college professor and can judge compared to very strong college students). He was a huge reader, by the way, and the whole organic just-encourage-reading approach is ridiculously insufficient. He needed instruction and practice like with any other skill. With another kid, who was much stronger to start out, I went straight to the classical writing instruction and he is decent now. I was trying to meet him where he was and we probably should have backed up a half step (not worth it now, but it shows).

I have heard Brave Writer is a good homeschool program for kids who start out as more natural writers. I don't have personal experience though.

You are right to think about this, OP. Learning how to write can be fun and should start in elementary school. I can't tell you how many parents moan about this FCPS weakness when kids are in high school.

Thank you for the recommendations! I recently bought a few books that cover how to form a proper argument and build sentence structure. We've been discussing the lessons together (no writing yet!), and I have to admit it's been a very positive experience. He actually looks forward to it! Since your oldest had such a similar profile to my son, I'm definitely going to look into the IEW program.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Don't leave it up to chance, OP. FCPS is HORRIBLE at teaching writing, horrible. Writing is a skill like any other that should be taught consistently and with discipline.

I dont know if it is the FCPS curriculum or just a very good teacher, but my seventh grade daughter is being taught very structured, disciplined writing. Her ELA teacher has students write every week, and she provides feedback, suggestions, and corrections on every writing assignment. My daughter also had consistent grammar lessons and assessments, and my child's writing has vastly improved this year.

Again, I am not sure if it is the FCPS curriculum or just a strong ELA teacher. Whatever it is, it is great!

It's the teacher. My 4th grader is having the same experience. It's been wonderful- last year there was nothing.

Benchmark is pretty awful for writing. I still question why they chose this program.