IEW ~ Institute for Excellence in Writing
The writing method that will give you the ability to fill your student's toolbox
with confidence-building tools, laying the groundwork for a lifetime of excellent writing.
How does IEW's writing program work?
IEW's unique approach provides the structure that students need to develop confidence in the writing process, while gradually guiding them toward greater independence and creativity.
They will learn seven (IEW1) or nine* (IEW2 and IEW3) structural models (note taking, writing paragraphs, stories, simple reports, writing from pictures, research reports, creative writing, essays*, and critiques*) to help them organize any type of composition.
Additionally, stylistic techniques (strong verbs, quality adjectives, sentence openers, and more) are taught incrementally to gently move students from the basics into more sophisticated writing.
After seeing a lot of the same grammatical errors among my students, I was happy to find and implement Fix It! Grammar into my classes. This program addresses those common errors found in writing, identifies them, and teaches ways for the students to identify and correct them in their class assignments and in their day to day writing.
IEW 1
IEW 1
Grades 4 - 5 - 6
(can be repeated)
Wednesday from 10:00 - 11:15 am
30 weeks
This class is for 4th - 6th graders who are first-time students to the Institute for Excellence in Writing methods.
Units covered in this course are basic outlining, story writing, short and longer reports from one and then later several sources, writing from pictures, basic essays, and book reports. Vocabulary, poetry memorization, and grammar will also be included.
Each week the student will leave class with a specific assignment for the coming week, which may need to be done with some supervision from their editor/home teacher.
The class is held weekly for one hour and fifteen minutes, and can be taken for two years.
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An important component of the class is that each student must have an editor to help edit all assigned essays before they are turned in to the teacher. The editor can be a parent, an older sibling, or an outside tutor (we can provide a list of possible tutors). Editing is a vital part of the IEW process and a requirement for this class.
IEW 2
This class is intended for 5th - 7th graders who have had some previous experience with IEW.
The same units will be covered as in the beginning class, but the pace will move a bit faster. Vocabulary, poetry memorization, word plays, and grammar will also be a part of this class.
Each week the student will leave class with a specific assignment for the coming week, which may need to be done with some supervision from their editor/home teacher. The class is held weekly for one hour and fifteen minutes, and may be taken for two years.
​
An important component of the class is that each student must have an editor to help edit all assigned essays before they are turned in to the teacher. The editor can be a parent, an older sibling, or an outside tutor (we can provide a list of possible tutors). Editing is a vital part of the IEW process and a requirement for this class.
IEW 2
Grades 5 - 6 - 7
(can be repeated)
Wednesday from 11:30 - 12:45 pm
30 weeks
IEW ~ Discoveries in Writing
IEW
Discoveries in Writing
Grades 4 - 5 - 6
(can be repeated)
Wednesday from 1:00 - 2:15 pm
22 weeks
This class is for the student who would benefit from instruction and guidance from someone other than mom. We will discover a wide variety of fascinating subjects in Discoveries in Writing! Students will write about exciting topics such as the Bayeux Tapestry, tsunamis, Jerusalem and the Crusades, and other interesting subjects while they learn to write with the Structure and Style® writing method.
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​This class is designed for students to be able to take more than once - the text changes while the structure and style remain the same, enabling the student to build on previous knowledge and continue to grow (easy +1).
This class will cover seven of the nine IEW Units.
Unit 1 - Note Making and Outlines
Unit 2 - Writing from Notes
Unit 3 - Retelling Narrative Stories
Unit 4 - Summarizing a Reference
Unit 5 - Writing from Pictures
Unit 6 - Summarizing Multiple References
Unit 7 - Inventive Writing
In addition to the writing portion of this class, we will also be studying a course in grammar that digs deeper and reinforces the stylistic techniques taught in our writing portion.
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*There will be weekly homework, which is to be completed at home. The writing portion of the homework will be turned in online before class time while the grammar will be gone over during class and collected by the teacher each week.
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**Please note, at this level, the students will need parental help to complete their weekly assignments.