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Hi,
I am so happy to have found HOD! I am excited to use it in the fall for my upcoming 6th grader, but I am unsure where to place him. I am interested in using the CTC ,and it looks like that's where he places. My problem is that he may place between CTC and RTR. You see, my son spent his first year in school this past year. We have decided that this is not a good choice for our family and have decided to homeschool again next year. My son had a very good teacher this past year, and was extremely challenged, especially in the area of writing. He can write several paragraphs and has done various writing assignments throughout the year, but he does not write with ease. He will sit for long periods of time trying to come up with ideas for a good topic sentence and generally has to be walked through the entire assignment. The finished assignment is very good but the process for him is very stressfull. He has been challenged throughout the year,but he often complains of being challenged too much. He has done some copywork in the past but not much. I dictated two paragraphs from a book he has been reading and he wrote it without a problem, but he kept asking me when we would be finished. Also, he has struggled with spelling and generally does not enjoy reading. So, he is used to doing a good amount of writing, but the quality of his writing needs improvement. Can you tell me which level would be a better fit for him? I want to build up his confidence in his writing, but also gentley challenge him. I really would like to instill a love of learning and reading in the year to come. He has looked at the HOD lesson plans and he is also very excited to use it. Any advice you can give me is greatly appreciated. Thank you.

In Him,
Elizabeth Ann

We just finished CTC with a bright 6th grader and it went so well! I would suggest going ahead with CTC. You can always add the extensions later if need be. I promise that WWTB will challenge your son...even if he has been challenged before. I have a degree in English and my focus was in writing. WWTB is one of the best wrting programs I have found in a long time. My ds made amazing improvements this year using it.

Welcome aboard!

Rebecca,
It's encouraging to hear that your 6th grader did well with CTC. I think that CTC is probobly the best level to place him in. It looks like RTR has alot more reading ,and I'm concerned that he is not ready for a heavy reading schedule yet. Am I correct that RTR has alot more reading than CTC? I want to instill a love of reading in him, but I don't want him to feel overwhelmed. Thank you for your advice. It's nice to get the advice of an english teacher!

I also would think that CTC would be a good placement. The reading is challenging as far as vocabulary and the style of writing, but the readings are not that long. The readings in RTR are much longer. The writing program used-Write with the Best would probably fit your ds well. It breaks things down in very small chunks. They spend 2 days a week for several weeks working on their piece. My ds struggles with writing and he really liked this approach. It never seemed overwhelming to him. The written narrations that are done weekly will also be a great place for your ds to work on his writing skills without feeling overwhelmed. We have had a good and challenging year with CTC. My ds was technically a 6th grader this year( although we may slow things down in junior high due to his writing struggles).

Lynn,

I think that small managable chunks of writing will be very appealing to him. He had to get used to writing ALOT this year due to being in school for the first time. His 5th grade teacher expected alot more then what he was used to. So he was expected to do alot of writing, but his confidence and the quality of his writing needed some improving. This is why I was confused where he would place in HOD. He can do alot of what RTR required in the placement chart, but not with confidence and ease. For this reason, I thought it may be better to back him up and place him in CTC. I'm so happy that I will be homeschooling him again this year. Now I can build his confidence and hopefully instill a love of reading in him. Thank you for your advice.

This is encouraging to me as well! I will also have a 6th Grader in CTC! Our dc sound very similar.... You will love HOD!

Thanks for the encouragement ladies!

Dawn