Disclaimer: I received a FREE copy of this product through the HOMESCHOOL REVIEW CREW in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way.
The Old Schoolhouse Homeschool Review Crew
Institute for Excellence in Writing
Structure and Style for Students Year 1 Level C
I've used Institute for Excellence in Writing (IEW) for many years off and on over our 17 years of homeschooling. When I was given the opportunity to review the brand new Structure and Style curriculum, I was excited to see the difference between the older Student Writing Intensive (SWI) and this new Structure and Style for Students (SSS) curriculum.
We've had experience using the IEW curriculum using the SWI curriculum and several of the themed books and our students have had positive experiences learning to write. As some background, my oldest son who is now in college, is dyslexic and dysgraphic. This writing program is truly what helped him to become a successful writer.
That being said, I am thrilled to share what IEW has done with their new curriculum. The Structure and Style curriculum has replaced the now discontinued Student Writing Intensive curriculum.
The SSS Level C Year 1 Basic set includes the Teacher Manual, student binder with dividers and student pages, and lessons taught by Andrew Pudewa either as DVDs or a code for streaming forever. There are also several included downloads noted in the Teacher Manual. For review, I received all printed materials and streaming lessons. This worked for very for us because our internet is good. Assess your internet and determine if the DVDs would do better for you.
The course includes 24 weeks of instruction for each level of the program. The first 9 weeks cover structure, and the style is taught throughout the whole course. The 24 weeks are broken down into nine units. Those units include:
- Note Making and Outlines
- Writing From Notes
- Retelling Narrative Stories
- Summarizing a Reference
- Writing From Pictures
- Summarizing Multiple References
- Inventive Writing
- Formal Essay Models
- Formal Critique
You can start this course in high school even if you have never used IEW in the past. The thing to remember is that you do not have to move on to the next lesson and unit if your student is not ready. Work on the skills especially in the first 5 units until they are ready to use those skills well in the remainder of the course.
What I really liked about the new Structure and Style for Students:
1. All new source material.
As mentioned before, I have used the older SWI curriculum and I loved how this course has refreshed their writing program. New source material means it is not just the same ole same ole. I found it more fun to teach and my high schooler found it fun to learn and write.
2. New stories and jokes from Mr. Pudewa.
If you have never used IEW, you will meet Mr. Pudewa who teaches the course. He understands kids (I think boys especially) and he uses fun stories and jokes in his teaching. Somehow he came up with a whole year's worth of new material to go with this new curriculum. My boys loved it!
3. Board Notes.
While teaching, Mr. Pudewa uses the white board and makes notes for the paper/assignment. It was great to now have a page in the Teacher's Manual where those 'Board Notes' can be found for reference. This was very helpful.
4. Literature Suggestions.
In the Notes for each lesson, there is a section called LITERATURE SUGGESTIONS. This is great for those who need a reading list for Literature. The choices go with the source material being used for the writing assignments.
4. Organization.
Everything is broken down day by day for each lesson. It makes it very easy to implement. The lesson video is even broken down for Part 1 & Part 2 so you know where to stop. And it gives lesson plans if you would like to include their Fix-It Grammar program into your English studies. Check lists are included to help with grading and so the student knows what to include with structure and style into their writing. It is just very well organized and that makes it that much easier for you as the teacher to implement and for your student to get writing accomplished.
5. Writing Topics.
I really like what is included in this Level C for high school. The first 5 units use source material to get students writing and learning structure and how to incorporate certain stylistic inclusions in their assignments. Starting in Unit 6, they begin more inventive writing such as: summarizing from several references, university application essay, responses to literature and even how to use MLA. Since I have a student in college, I can tell you that these are assignments that they will have to do in their College Writing classes. This is great preparation for these courses.
Our family enjoyed reviewing this curriculum and we've even had the opportunity to show it to a few other friends and homeschoolers who have used IEW in the past. They've all been impressed by the changes in this new program. Whether you have an elementary student through a high school student, this curriculum will help your young writer to improve their writing and prepare for college and beyond.
Learn More
Learn more about the curriculum and the different levels available by reading all the reviews. You will find them linked up HERE on the Homeschool Review Crew blog. Also, please visit the website for the Institute for Excellence in Writing to learn more about this curriculum. You can even download the first 3 units if you would like to try it for free.
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