Writing With Ease (WWE) is the early writing component of Susan Wise Bauer's Well-Trained Mind approach. Rather than asking young children to compose original work before they have the skills to do so, WWE builds writing ability through three progressive exercises: narration (retelling in their own words), copywork (copying excellent sentences to internalize good writing patterns), and dictation (writing from memory to develop spelling and mechanics). It is a popular choice among homeschool families.

The program spans four levels, designed for grades 1 through 4. Each level provides a full year of daily exercises drawn from high-quality literature. The parent reads a passage aloud, the child narrates what they heard, copies a selected sentence, and eventually writes from dictation. The passages come from real books · classic and contemporary , so students encounter excellent prose from the start.

At a Glance

What to Know

WWE costs approximately $30-40 per level for the student workbook and instructor text. It requires moderate parent involvement (you're reading aloud and guiding the narration), but individual sessions are short , typically 10-15 minutes for younger students.

The philosophy behind WWE is that children need to fill their minds with good writing before they can produce it. Just as musicians practice scales before composing, young writers practice narration, copywork, and dictation before tackling original essays. This approach reduces the frustration that many young children experience when asked to write independently before they're developmentally ready.

WWE pairs naturally with any literature-based curriculum and feeds directly into Writing With Skill (the middle school sequel) and eventually into college-level composition.