Today we are honored to welcome Rachel Schmucker to The Homeschool Compass blog. Rachel is a homeschooling mama to four awesome kiddos ages 5, 9, 11 and 13. She began homeschooling her oldest for preschool to “try homeschooling” and has never looked back. Over the years her homeschool “why” has evolved greatly, but her main reasons continue to be time with her children and the desire to be the primary teacher in their lives – for educational purposes but even more so for spiritual purposes. “Teach them diligently” from Deuteronomy 6:4-8 is her motto.
Rachel’s homeschool is a blend of traditional (math and language arts) and Charlotte Mason (give them all the living books for history and science!). Morning time is her family’s favorite part of the school day, and they prefer to be together for any subject that can done as a family. Rachel loves Jesus, being a mama, organizing and books. She has a passion to help others and encourage and inspire them in their homeschooling journey. You can see more of Rachel’s homeschool life on Instagram here: @shema_academy.
Choosing curriculum for our children feels like one of the biggest responsibilities for a homeschool parent. For some reason choosing a writing curriculum seems especially overwhelming. There are so many great options out there, but how do you know which one is best for you?
In my curriculum research I’ve discovered that one of the best ways to learn about a curriculum is to talk to homeschool parents who have used it. I love to hear their experiences and get a peek inside the curriculum. Today, I am thrilled to be able to share with you my personal experience with Institute for Excellence in Writing (or IEW). I hope this will give you some insight and understanding into the curriculum.
Obstacles for Beginners
Often I hear other homeschool moms say that IEW is so overwhelming they don’t even want to try it. I would gently encourage you to not let that be an excuse (although I did for many years!). This curriculum is so very good that it would be a shame to miss out for that reason. You will need to invest some time familiarizing yourself with the program, but if you take it step by step, I think you will find it easier to implement than you may have feared.
Another objection I frequently hear is that IEW seems rigorous. And honestly, it is – especially if you compare it to many of the other writing curriculums out there. But one of my favorite things about homeschooling is that no matter what curriculum you choose, you are still the boss! You might choose to stretch a one-week lesson into two. Maybe you decide to do writing every other week. Or perhaps you do IEW one year and choose a lighter curriculum the following year. There are many ways to make the curriculum fit your needs. You can use this curriculum in whatever way works best for you and your child. Do not be put off if it seems too rigorous!
The IEW Method
IEW is a unique approach to teaching writing. Students begin by analyzing and imitating good writing with the end goal of developing the skills to write their own original compositions.
IEW uses two core methods – structure (organizational skills) and style (artistic flair). All IEW writing curriculums follow the same structure and style, no matter the level.
Each week the students are given a source text. They then take the source text and make a Key Word Outline (KWO). The KWO is a foundation of IEW. In addition, students are taught a new style technique (adverb, who/which clause, because clause, strong verb, quality adjective, etc.) that they must include in their writing assignment. Once they’ve studied that week’s technique and written their KWO, they then rewrite the source text in their own words using their KWO and the style techniques they’ve learned to date. Grading is very simple for parents as there is a checklist of items that must be included in each paper. You just make sure all the necessary components are included.
Where to Start
The very first thing to do when you begin looking into IEW is to start at the Pathway. This is a document that IEW provides to outline their curriculum options from kindergarten to twelfth grade. You can easily see what the choices are for each grade. Once your student reaches fourth grade, you can choose either a themed writing course (parent taught) or a video-based course (taught by Andrew Pudewa). You can view the IEW Pathway here.
Which Curriculum Do I Choose?
If your student is under fourth grade, pick any curriculum within their grade range. If it’s your first year using IEW, I suggest choosing an option below their grade level.
If your student is fourth grade or above, it is recommended that you begin with the video-based instruction – Structure and Style Year 1. (Each year has two options: Level A & Level B. A & B refers to your child’s reading comprehension level. For example, my 7th grader began with Structure & Style Year 1 Level B. Next year she will move to Year 2 Level B.)
From our personal experience, I do agree that if you’re brand new to IEW, it would be most beneficial to do the video-based curriculum first. It really helps you get a feel for the structure and style of the curriculum before you would have to teach it on your own. Plus, I think every child will benefit from sitting under Mr. Pudewa’s teaching.
Our Experience
We began using Fix It Grammar last year and quickly fell in love with it. After using multiple other grammar programs, I can say this grammar is by far the best we’ve used. It is simple and to the point (able to be completed in 5 minutes a day!), but so thorough and well done.
Once I tried Fix It Grammar and discovered how well done and easy to use it was, I decided it was time to investigate their writing program. I spent hours researching IEW – scouring websites, watching videos, asking friends questions. Finally, this past year all three of my girls began using IEW for writing.
I cannot say enough good things about this program. My older two have always been good writers, but IEW has strengthened their writing skills in many ways. I’ve even noticed improved speech patterns from my girls that I credit to this program. I myself have gained knowledge and seen an improvement in my own writing, simply from leading them through the program! In the next section I will outline which curriculum each of my daughters is using and describe how I tweak the curriculum for each child.
How We Use IEW in Our Homeschool
People and Places in Our Community
I selected the People and Places in Our Community program for my 3rd grader. Technically this curriculum is for 2nd grade, but because it was her first year, I wanted to ease her into it. I am so glad I did.
This program calls for one lesson a week; we spread the one lesson out over two weeks. I think its important for children to have a positive first experience with writing. They will be writing the rest of their school career, so we want to make sure they don’t despise it!
We also use highlighters to mark up the source texts and draw or print out pictures to go along with the stories. These are extra things I added in to keep it fun. Again, don’t be afraid to tweak the curriculum! We will not complete the entire curriculum this school year. I plan to roll it over into the following year.
Ancient History-Based Writing Lessons
My 5th grader is using Ancient History-Based Writing Lessons. This curriculum can be used for grades 4-7. It is one of the theme-based writing lessons (on the left-hand side of the pathway chart) and is parent taught. Typically, the writing assignments are 1-3 paragraphs each week. My daughter has enjoyed this curriculum and has been easily able to do one lesson a week without burnout or overwhelm. (It is worth nothing that this is my daughter who absolutely loves writing.) Other than the initial teaching on the first two days of the week, she doesn’t require much assistance from me. The themed writing courses are 30 weeks.
Structure and Style Year 1 Level B
My 7th grader is using the video-based Structure and Style Year 1 Level B. This curriculum comes with video lessons for every week. The video is typically a little over an hour and is broken out into 2 days. The video is taught by Andrew Pudewa who is an excellent, and funny teacher. He is teaching an actual class, and the set up of the video makes your student feel like they are part of the class. As a parent, the only thing I have to do with this curriculum is serve as my daughter’s editor and grader. It’s very minimal work for the parent.
The writing assignments can get a bit lengthy. My daughter is on week 20, and she is writing a 5-paragraph paper every lesson. Because the curriculum is only 25 weeks and we school for 36, we have stretched some lessons to two weeks to give my daughter more time to complete the assignment. We don’t plan it out; she just lets me know if she feels overwhelmed on an assignment and then we’ll stretch it out for another week. This curriculum does take longer to complete than the themed writing courses due to the length of the videos. (Parents teach the theme based writing courses, and although they cover the same material, a parent can teach it in a much shorter time than the video.)
Helpful Resources
IEW offers a few extra resources that we found helpful, especially when we first started:
Fix It! Grammar Cards come in a pack of thirty cards that highlight concepts for easy references. My girls use these not only for Grammar, but also when doing their writing.
Portable Walls for Structure and Style Students is a trifold that contains the different unit models as well as several word lists (prepositions, strong verbs, substitutes for said, etc.). This is very helpful when the students are writing their papers.
In Conclusion
Just like any other curriculum, IEW is not for everyone. You know your children and how they learn best. However, I strongly encourage everyone to give IEW a try. IEW is intense and can be overwhelming, but if you remember that you are the boss and can modify the curriculum to fit your needs, I believe you will find IEW to be a very beneficial curriculum.
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