Writing Tales question

[kortney in AL]

After looking at some samples of this curriculum, I noticed that the student goes from reading the original story to writing it in their own words. We have used alot of the Imitation in Writing series (I think put out by Logos). In that you read the original, do a simple outline for each paragraph, then do your rewrite. For those of you that have used Writing Tales, is it not hard for your child to rewrite a story in their own words without having some sort of outline to refer back to? (Just curious)

[Denise in IN]

Yes, for my son (3rd grade), it just didn't work. I have switched to teaching him note-taking and key word outlines, and he is finally "getting it"! :thumbup1:

[Sue G in PA]

b/c IEW does the same sort of thing but teaches the dc to do a key word outline first. I think that step is crucial, otherwise you'll end up with almost a carbon-copy. IF we use WT next year...I'm thinking about adding that step like IEW teaches. 4 key words from each sentence and THEN write your rd.

[OhElizabeth]

In WT1 the models are shorter and many students can retell without outlining. WT has more extensive grammar and analysis of the model than what you were used to in the Imitations series, so they are more familiar with the story by the time they are done with the lessons and ready to write their draft. By WT2 the models are much longer and we do outlining every single time. The way she does it varies, sometimes using pictures, other times keywords, etc. If your student needs to outline the model in WT1, by all means do it. You could do keywords, but picture outlines are just as effective and very enjoyable. However you might not find he even needs an outline in WT1, simply because he'll be spending so much more time with the model, reading it, studying it, looking at grammar in it, etc. than he did for Imitations.