SkiMom
11-07-2008, 01:02 PM
I posted this on the K-8 board but haven't gotten any replies, so I thought I'd post it here.
Here's our background. I have an 11 year old ADHD/gifted son. We have used FLL and then R&S English along with copy work or dictation every year. We have also done the entire SOTW series and all the narration work involved in that. We have also done narrations of the books he has been reading. Narration and dictation are not new skills to him since we have been working on them for 6 years now.
The problem is that my son has always struggled with reading/listening comprehension (because of the ADHD), so narrations have always been very difficult for him. I ordered WWE and did the diagnostic test with him because I wanted to see where he was at, and if it could help him improve his narration skills. I discovered that he needed to start at the beginning, so I bought the WWE1 workbook and we have been going through it. He cannot answer the comprehension questions with any reliable accuracy, but if I give him the information he is quite capable of expressing himself in a complete thought. He can write his dictation sentences correctly, but he cannot hold the sentences in his head. I have to break them into small chunks and repeat them several times, and even then he often changes the wording of the sentences. I haven't noticed much improvement yet.
He is also starting to do outlining with R&S and in his history work. I've noticed that he has been having trouble finding the main idea in the selections he is reading. "Finding the central thought of a reading selection", and the "ability to identify the most important element of the passage" is vital to good writing according to SWB. This skill is developed through the narration exercises in WWE, so this is why I am concerned, but no longer know what to do. Will continued practice with WWE methods eventually help him develop these skills, or does he need a different strategy? Is narration the only way to develop these skills?WWYD?
Here's our background. I have an 11 year old ADHD/gifted son. We have used FLL and then R&S English along with copy work or dictation every year. We have also done the entire SOTW series and all the narration work involved in that. We have also done narrations of the books he has been reading. Narration and dictation are not new skills to him since we have been working on them for 6 years now.
The problem is that my son has always struggled with reading/listening comprehension (because of the ADHD), so narrations have always been very difficult for him. I ordered WWE and did the diagnostic test with him because I wanted to see where he was at, and if it could help him improve his narration skills. I discovered that he needed to start at the beginning, so I bought the WWE1 workbook and we have been going through it. He cannot answer the comprehension questions with any reliable accuracy, but if I give him the information he is quite capable of expressing himself in a complete thought. He can write his dictation sentences correctly, but he cannot hold the sentences in his head. I have to break them into small chunks and repeat them several times, and even then he often changes the wording of the sentences. I haven't noticed much improvement yet.
He is also starting to do outlining with R&S and in his history work. I've noticed that he has been having trouble finding the main idea in the selections he is reading. "Finding the central thought of a reading selection", and the "ability to identify the most important element of the passage" is vital to good writing according to SWB. This skill is developed through the narration exercises in WWE, so this is why I am concerned, but no longer know what to do. Will continued practice with WWE methods eventually help him develop these skills, or does he need a different strategy? Is narration the only way to develop these skills?WWYD?