IEW-too much style?

[Guest]

Does this bother anyone else like it does me? He seems to put a great seal of emphasis on the 'style' as opposed to the content.

 

Is there another similar program that does not do this? Logos School, for example?

[Bloggermom]

Personally I like all the style. It keeps my children from falling into the rut of writing boring sentences and paragraphs. It is training. They use certain dress-ups so over time they can add dress-ups to their writing naturally.

[melmichigan]

We don't do all the style all the time. I pick and choose for each assignment what I want my DD to focus on.

[kristinannie]

My kids are too young for IEW, but I am seriously considering using it. I was an English Lit major and really love writing. Content is VERY important, but it is also important to write well. I think it is easy for parents to correct content issues, but harder to correct "writing" issues. I think a lot of the program looks contrived, but I really feel like eventually adding these dress-ups, etc will become second nature to a student and they will be able to write well for life. Of course, take all this with a grain of salt because I haven't started using the program yet! :lol:

[angela in ohio]

I have used IEW for many yearw with my own dc and classes I have taught.

 

The idea of IEW is that you teach a guge buffet of stylistic techniques. You require them to the point that dc master their use. Then you drop the requirements and help the student develop their own style. This personal style will incorporate some of the buffet. You also teach them when to use certain techniques, depending on the type of writing they are doing. I think IEW works best with students who are also exposed to writing from a variety of excellent writers (of course, any program works better when students are exposed to quality writing, :D) because it helps them to think through personal style.

 

There is also a lot of emphasis on content, though. In the later units, students learn to support their points and structure their papers well.

[scrapbabe]

I have used IEW for many yearw with my own dc and classes I have taught.

 

The idea of IEW is that you teach a guge buffet of stylistic techniques. You require them to the point that dc master their use. Then you drop the requirements and help the student develop their own style. This personal style will incorporate some of the buffet. You also teach them when to use certain techniques, depending on the type of writing they are doing. I think IEW works best with students who are also exposed to writing from a variety of excellent writers (of course, any program works better when students are exposed to quality writing, :D) because it helps them to think through personal style.

 

There is also a lot of emphasis on content, though. In the later units, students learn to support their points and structure their papers well.

:iagree:

[joannqn]

I have used IEW for many yearw with my own dc and classes I have taught.

 

The idea of IEW is that you teach a guge buffet of stylistic techniques. You require them to the point that dc master their use. Then you drop the requirements and help the student develop their own style. This personal style will incorporate some of the buffet. You also teach them when to use certain techniques, depending on the type of writing they are doing. I think IEW works best with students who are also exposed to writing from a variety of excellent writers (of course, any program works better when students are exposed to quality writing, :D) because it helps them to think through personal style.

 

There is also a lot of emphasis on content, though. In the later units, students learn to support their points and structure their papers well.

 

:iagree:

 

My kids' writing outside of IEW assignments have improved. We didn't finish out the year thanks to moving. Their first assignment next year is a research paper using multiple library sources. It requires being able to choose a topic (in this case a revolutionary war figure) and three points to discuss about the topic, take notes, create a fused outline, write a clear paper from the outline, add the dress ups to vary word choice and sentence structure, and include a bibliography.

[bethben]

Personally I like all the style. It keeps my children from falling into the rut of writing boring sentences and paragraphs. It is training. They use certain dress-ups so over time they can add dress-ups to their writing naturally.

 

:iagree:

 

Beth

 

a former IEW hater who came to appreciate the whole thing

[joannqn]

The first few assignments are awful, aren't they. I think viewing the TWSS helps, because he explains the reasoning and process.

[love2read]

All of my children have used IEW beginning at least 12 years ago and I can assure you the dress-ups and openers that seem excessive or awkward at first will flow into natural writing very quickly. Once the child has learned the techniques, they will naturally reign them in :)

[5LittleMonkeys]

I just wanted to say that when I read the title to this thread I panicked because I just got the TWSS and SWI B in the mail Friday. After reading all of the responses though I feel soooooo much better. I don't know if they have been helpful to the OP but they were to me. Thanks!:D

[DarlaS]

I have used IEW for many yearw with my own dc and classes I have taught.

 

The idea of IEW is that you teach a guge buffet of stylistic techniques. You require them to the point that dc master their use. Then you drop the requirements and help the student develop their own style. This personal style will incorporate some of the buffet.

 

:iagree:

 

I hope to get to that point this year!