Writing: Where to Start
Perhaps as an English major I’m a bit biased, but I believe that writing and the ability to use words well is one of the most important skills a human being can develop. Words in essays and interviews will help students secure their slot at prestigious universities and dream jobs, but also much more than that. Words like those of Hitler can start wars while the eloquence of Churchill was crucial in bringing World War II to a triumphant end. With social media and globalization bringing a new speed and power to how words and ideologies are spread, eloquence and writing are now more important than ever. Although most parents and educators understand the importance of teaching writing skills, the vast amount of resources and curriculum for students makes it difficult to pick the best program for the student. Today, I would like to talk about IEW and why it is a wonderful answer to the need for a quality writing program.
What is IEW?
Simply put, IEW, or The Institute for Excellence in Writing, is a writing pedagogy or way of teaching the subject. Having been tried and tested for 30 years, this program not only delivers technical results; it also helps develop the students’ style and eloquence as well boost their critical thinking skills. How does one program accomplish all this? IEW curriculum starts simple. New students are taught to pull key ideas out of sentences, create clear, concise outlines, and rewrite the sentences in their own words. From there students will go on to create masterfully composed essays and sweeping narratives, but these things will be taught through a systematic, time-tested method, not overwhelming the students with everything all at once. IEW methods add concepts slowly. This way, they have a solid base for added writing exercises and challenges such as including an -ly adverb or who/which clause in a paragraph. These stylistic challenges may make students’ sentences awkward at first, but after time will expand their working vocabulary and provide students with more tools which they can freely incorporate into their personal style later in their writing careers. To sum up, IEW teaches students writing style and structure so that they are able to write with ease and eloquence.
What Specific Resources Does IEW Have?
Click on the IEW website and its easy to get completely lost amid the abundance of writing tools, workbooks and videos to choose from. I would like to make three suggestions.
Disclaimer/Exciting Announcement: I have recently applied and been accepted to be an IEW affiliate! This means that I will get paid for qualifying purchases, and with no extra cost to yourself you can use the link to support Adventures in Excellence! Of course, all opinions are my own, and I do believe that these programs are game changers. Ok, on to the good stuff now.
1. Start with the Freebies
Life is a bit crazy and upended for most of us at the moment but there are also a wonderful amount of free resources because of this. IEW is currently offering a free 3 weeks! This comes with access to 3 free video lessons, an award-winning grammar program, and a downloadable packet for Linguistic Development through Poetry Memorization. I would suggest trying this over the summer or during the first week of fall classes so that you can get a feel for the curriculum as early as possible. There are also other great free resources to check out while you are there!
2. Structure and Style Level A and B
If you are looking for something which is comprehensive and clear then I would suggest starting with these packages.
Structure and Style Year: 1 Level A Premiere
Structure and Style for Students: Year 1 Level B
AND Level C is Coming Soon! :D
While I hope to review these programs more comprehensively later on in this blog I will give a quick overview of what they include.
—24 hours of engaging, high-quality video writing lessons that you can conveniently stream online
—A Student Packet and Binder so that students can have all the materials in one place
—Complete curriculum with daily assignments and a teacher training manual
—Fix it! Grammar which provides students with entertaining stories filled with level appropriate grammar errors to hunt for and correct.
One more note: IEW stands behind all their classes and offers a 100% money back guarantee if you aren’t happy with any part of their program at any point in time. This is pretty incredible.
3. Classes
There are classes on the IEW website but since you are on my website I would like to point out that I also have classes which are based off of the methodology and have been capped at 5 students per composition class so that I can better tailor each lesson to the students’ particular needs and interests. (The literature courses are capped at 10 students, but we will talk about those in a later blog.) Let’s jump into how I incorporate IEW methodologies into my own lessons.
How do I Incorporate IEW Into My Classes?
I am trained in IEW curriculum and am an accredited tutor through the Institute for Excellence in Writing. Since you’ve just heard me geek out about how much I love their pedagogical method, it’s probably no surprise that I follow their systems of starting simple, building a solid base, challenging students to expand their vocabulary, and encouraging them to develop critical thinking skills. I create my own curriculum which is fairly similar to the Structure and Style videos that I suggested above with the key difference that I modify my lessons based on how my students are responding to what I have taught so far. I also hunt down my own source materials and try to cater it to my particular students’ interests. Writing about topics which spark their interest can help keep students engaged while they learn how to craft sentences that include things like strong verbs. I am able to clarify and explain concepts that my students find challenging, and we practice these things in class. This is not only helpful for the students but extra fun since they have a chance to engage with their peers. I also grade weekly writing assignments using IEW checklists which help me direct and challenge students. My goal is to provide quality, comprehensive writing courses for busy parents who want their child to be challenged without being overwhelmed and enjoy the process. That’s a high bar but that’s excellence:)
To Sum Up
First of all, IEW is an incredible resource for educators who want their student to have a complete, high quality writing program. I would suggest their Structures and Style Program or one of my writing courses. Secondly, there is so much more I would love to say about the beauty and power of writing, so many more resources on the IEW website I would love to share with you and geek out about, and so many more aspects of education that I would love to ponder and discuss together—be sure to stop back to the blog again soon. Finally, I would like to say thank you for stopping by and giving me the chance to share my love of learning with you. I would love to hear your thoughts, questions, and ideas in the comments section. Also, to all the educators out there—no matter what program you use—thank you for all your hard work! I do believe that excellence in writing is an incredible adventure that every child deserves to go on and that through it, we will all be able to transform the world for better together.