PHFHG written narration question
Posted: Thu Mar 07, 2013 6:08 pm
A year ago, I was concerned about my 9 yo ds's writing. He has really progressed, so now we have almost the opposite problem. While creative writing is still a challenge for him, he is enjoying the written history narrations each week. We are in unit 24 of PHFHG. Today he was asked to write 3-5 sentences about Charlemagne. After editing for one run-on, he ended up with 9 sentences.
"During the uneducated Dark Ages, there lived a Frank king named Charlemagne. A puzzling thing about Charlemagne is that he wore simple clothes and ate common food. In fact, he went hunting with his nobles during a storm just so he could laugh at them and not have the joke on him. But what makes it funny is that he lived in a gorgeous palace. He had no education, so he invited a British monk named Alcuin to teach him. Although he learned to read, Charlemagne never learned to write. To prevent others from making the same mistake, he ordered every monastery to have a school in it. Furthermore he raised his daughters in the arts of sewing and spinning. In the Dark Ages, Charlemagne was surely a light."
So do I work with him on editing down to 3-5 sentences by eliminating details, or let him write as much as he wants at this point? Though it could use further editing, I think what he wrote is wonderfully detailed. My concern is about the "3-5 sentence" guideline. Is the purpose to make sure the child is writing enough, or to prevent them from rewriting the entire selection? or both?
Appreciate any insight you wonderful ladies can offer.
"During the uneducated Dark Ages, there lived a Frank king named Charlemagne. A puzzling thing about Charlemagne is that he wore simple clothes and ate common food. In fact, he went hunting with his nobles during a storm just so he could laugh at them and not have the joke on him. But what makes it funny is that he lived in a gorgeous palace. He had no education, so he invited a British monk named Alcuin to teach him. Although he learned to read, Charlemagne never learned to write. To prevent others from making the same mistake, he ordered every monastery to have a school in it. Furthermore he raised his daughters in the arts of sewing and spinning. In the Dark Ages, Charlemagne was surely a light."
So do I work with him on editing down to 3-5 sentences by eliminating details, or let him write as much as he wants at this point? Though it could use further editing, I think what he wrote is wonderfully detailed. My concern is about the "3-5 sentence" guideline. Is the purpose to make sure the child is writing enough, or to prevent them from rewriting the entire selection? or both?
Appreciate any insight you wonderful ladies can offer.
