How important is TWSS in IEW?

[Night Elf]

I'm seriously thinking of purchasing IEW but I need to know if TWSS is going to really help me. Will this DVD set help me as a homeschooler or is it geared to classroom teachers? I am worried about buying just the SWI course because I won't be part of the teaching but just sitting and watching my son. Does that make sense? Or is SWI really enough?

 

Also, my ds11 is a 6th grader but a very reluctant writer. Do I go with Level A or B?

[Rhonda in TX]

TWSS is definitely written so that a homeschooler can use it. I believe it's very helpful because it gives more information than SWI. TWSS helps me fully understand the program, which allows me to help my children more.

 

The lower SWI levels don't cover all off the units of TWSS.

 

If I had to choose between the two, I would choose TWSS.

[genie]

I'm seriously thinking of purchasing IEW but I need to know if TWSS is going to really help me. Will this DVD set help me as a homeschooler or is it geared to classroom teachers? I am worried about buying just the SWI course because I won't be part of the teaching but just sitting and watching my son. Does that make sense? Or is SWI really enough?

 

Also, my ds11 is a 6th grader but a very reluctant writer. Do I go with Level A or B?

 

Well, I found the TWSS helpful. I had already seen Andrew speak at a conference, so I had a very general idea of how the program operated. I felt it was very homeschooler-friendly. The TWSS also comes with a few lessons on dvd's for the student.

 

I'm not sure how I would have done with SWI alone. Probably having heard him speak I would have been fine. Had I not, it would have been more difficult. But in the end, here's how I looked at it:

 

The DVD's are very expensive, even when purchased used. What this means to me is that it is a great investment that I know I will get my money back on once I am finished with it. I searched used boards for a couple of weeks, holding off until I found a GREAT deal. Once I was finished with them, I ended up selling them without losing ANY money. I didn't necessarily feel the need to hold on to them as a reference, so that helped.

 

The exact same thing happened when I then bought SWI. I found them at a reasonable price, used them, and then resold them at the same price. So all it cost was the shipping. IEW was probably the LEAST expensive program, in the end, of any that I have used. And my daughter loved it.

 

As far as A or B, I went with SWI-B, but in a way wished I had gone with A, mainly because dd loved how dynamic Andrew was on the TWSS lessons that were geared toward the younger group. He seemed a little more subdued in the SWI-B dvd's.

 

The sample paragraphs are simpler on A than B. They don't require quite as much narrowing down to come up with your key word outline. My daughter got a little stressed sometimes with the longer sentences trying to narrow it down to only 3 key words. The simpler sentences with SWI-A made that easier. So sometimes I used the downloadable content from the website for A and used it with the lessons on B.

 

So, yes, I would give the TWSS a shot, and if you find it utterly useless, sell it and get your money back. Most likely you won't completely regret having watched them. As far as A or B, you know your son best, but A might be the basic, simple presentation that he needs to move past his reluctance.

 

Good luck!

[Brenda in MA]

I started this past fall with my 6th grade boy. I watched the tapes, and then I decided to get the Ancient History based writing lessons. My son has had a wonderful year with IEW.

 

I chose the Ancient History Based plans because we were studying ancient history, and because when I looked at the SWI samples, I saw that most of the lessons and examples were cute little creative stories. My son does not like creative writing at all. He doesn't mind writing about history, though, so the Ancient History based plans worked out better.

 

I'd second the suggestion of the last poster who said that you might be able to find the TWSS videos used, watch them, and then resell them. They are expensive, but they explain the foundation of the program very well.

 

Best wishes,

Brenda

[Night Elf]

Thanks for the responses! I decided to go with TWSS and the U.S. History Based Writing Lessons vol 1. I didn't order SWI because Brenda's post made me look closely at the table of contents and I am sure my son wouldn't like the stories. He can barely get through the Literature assignments with K12. I love the look of the U.S. History lessons though!

 

Yay! I've been looking at this method for quite a while but was afraid to try it. I am more excited about the TWSS for me because I'm hoping it will help me feel better about helping my children with writing.