IEW SWI-B or SWI-C for an 8th grader?

[cheryl h]

I got SWI-B for my 6th and 8th graders, as the catalog suggests especially for 8th graders new to IEW. We have just finished lesson 4, and it seems too easy for the 8th grader...though is perfect for the 6th grader...Hallelujah! Anyway, I am not sure if I should have her finish it out or get the SWI-C. Our plan is to do one lesson SWI-B per week, which so far is working nicely, then do the US History based writing book.

 

My question is, should I have dd13 stick with SWI-B? Is there that great a difference btwn SWI-B and C, that C would be too difficult for a IEW newbie? Any other ideas? Thanks in advance for your advice.

[Daisy]

I have no clue but wanted you to know I'm feeling the same way. I bought SWI-B for my 7th grader and it seems WAY too easy. I can't decide whether to bump her up or just use higher level models. I'll be watching this thread.

[teacalm]

I would go with IEW-C for the 8th grader. The article may be longer, but over time, your 8th grader will adjust to the work. If it gets too hard, you can always can slow down.

[5LittleMonkeys]

Same boat here. I'm using it with a 6th\7th and an 8th. I was thinking that I was going to have to bump dd13 up to the C level but then we started lesson 11 the other day (report writing) and, since we haven't done a lot of reports, dd13 found it challenging. I'm not sure the rest of the B Level will be as challenging but since it is getting into essay writing, which she hasn't done yet, I'm thinking it may be fine. I have been letting her do the assignment scheduled and then I give her an additional assignment that is a little longer and with content that is more her level. Regardless, we plan to be finished with Level B by Christmas and then we will go into Elegant Essay.

 

I've decided that she is still learning the same skills even though it may be a little below her level. We are going to ramp up the difficulty pretty soon anyway so I'm going to save myself the cost of the C level. This is all of coarse just MY circumstances. :D

[Daisy]

Same boat here. I'm using it with a 6th\7th and an 8th. I was thinking that I was going to have to bump dd13 up to the C level but then we started lesson 11 the other day (report writing) and, since we haven't done a lot of reports, dd13 found it challenging. I'm not sure the rest of the B Level will be as challenging but since it is getting into essay writing, which she hasn't done yet, I'm thinking it may be fine. I have been letting her do the assignment scheduled and then I give her an additional assignment that is a little longer and with content that is more her level. Regardless, we plan to be finished with Level B by Christmas and then we will go into Elegant Essay.

 

I've decided that she is still learning the same skills even though it may be a little below her level. We are going to ramp up the difficulty pretty soon anyway so I'm going to save myself the cost of the C level. This is all of coarse just MY circumstances. :D

 

This is good news. Thanks!

[teacalm]

Forgot to mention that dd12 (7th gr) is on her 4th year with home2teach.com, and I hired a writing tutor to work with my girls 45 min. weekly from April 2011 to the first two weeks of August, and she did individual writing tutorials with Laurel Tree Tutorials with Rebekah. She did not have any previous IEW experience, but I think because of the writing classes she took, she treats IEW-C(she's taking the Fall 2011 online IEW class with Pamela White ) as another writing formula to follow, and is doable, but she still works for it to finish the assignment.

 

Otherwise, if IEW-C is her first writing class, I agree that it would have been too hard.

[cheryl h]

This is all very helpful. I knew that if I asked someone who had btdt, I would get good info. Since it does pick up a bit in later lessons...I will just save my money...go through the instruction...but require more from her in her writing assignments in other subjects like lit and history.

 

Do you think it is necessary to do SWI-C before doing elegant essay? Or could she start right off with that next year after completing B and the US History based writing?

[5LittleMonkeys]

Well, I'm not sure what the "proper" progression should be but I'm going from B right to Elegant Essay with my oldest because I feel like I'm in more of a time crunch with her. I looked at this chart and noticed that if you start at the very beginning with IEW then your student goes from B to Elegant Essay between 7th and 8th. If you start later it seems you can go from B to a theme based then to EE or you can do a theme based then B then on to EE. That would be for 7th. For 8th they show going from C or theme based to EE. Ultimately I think its just going to depend on your student.

 

As I said before, we are going to go on to EE after Christmas but after having watched TWSS I won't have a problem with practicing more with my own assignments if we need more time before EE.

[Home_s_Cool]

We had an IEW writing group last year, ages 10-13 - so the oldest 2 were in 8th grade. We did Level B from October through May.

 

Then this year we are using the Continuation Course, Level B.

 

After this (whether we are still doing the group or not) we will then do the Continuation Course Level C, Elegant Essay, etc.