Prissy-
I am also in FL so I understand about the writing load this year. My 11 yo daughter is having difficulties with written expression & is just now beginning to do homework on computer, etc. When she was in 4th, however, she had been prepared by her previous teachers to "draw" her thoughts before she wrote them down. Her 2nd grade teacher called it a "quickdraw" & they did this everyday on the left side (back) of a notebook page & then wrote directly across on the right side. I had no idea at the time dd11 had difficulty expressing her thoughts; I am now convinced this technique got her through the FCAT.
I will also say this: The school she attends generally has high writing scores. They are excellent at teaching writing in a formula. I'm not so sure how I feel about that.
I now am having dd11 evaluated for dysgraphia, dyslexia or something along those lines so that she can have accommodations written into a 504 plan. Someone else in this forum pointed me to this article:
http://www.dyslexicadvantage.com/stealth-dyslexia-gifted-with-dyslexia.html & I've also found interesting information here:
http://www.education.com/reference/article/Ref_Dysgraphia_Quick/ There are a lot of links from that page that I found helpful. It's interesting how difficulties in written expression are so hard to pinpoint.
I have been pushing for help for my daughter for 3+ years now. She is one of those whose grades are too high, who is not a behavior problem, etc., etc. Her most obvious problem was spelling, but I knew something else was up. If your daughter needs accommodations to function in the classroom, don't take no for an answer. Like everyone says, be your child's advocate!
