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Writing Curriculum for Strong/Natural Writers?


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I was planning on using IEW with my 13 y/o for our next school year (which begins April 1), but lately he has been telling me that he despises IEW. Honestly I have seen his assignments and they do seem far below his level. He is a strong and natural writer, even though he didn't begin a formal writing curriculum until 6th grade. I don't just want to put him in a really high IEW level, because IMO IEW really is designed for struggling/non-natural writers. Are there any good middle/high school writing curriculum that you think would be a good fit for my son? I want a program with enough levels to carry him through 12th grade. We need a curriculum that is either secular or easily adaptable to be secular.

Thanks so much,

Hadassah

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My dd is a wonderfully creative writer who also loathed IEW. It stifled her writing, and I'm glad I saw that was true early on. As much as *I* love IEW, it wasn't a good fit for her.

 

As she's made her way through high school, we've used a variety of things for writing. She's enjoyed Writing Strands and has used it for many years. However, I think it's seriously lacking in expository writing. We've used it along with IEW's High School Essay, and we tried Elegant Essay (which we both didn't like).

 

So I don't know if I can be any help to recommend one certain curriculum, I agree with you that the IEW method is not necessarily the best choice.

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I don't just want to put him in a really high IEW level, because IMO IEW really is designed for struggling/non-natural writers.

 

So even the Advanced Communications Course is for remedial writers? I know The Elegant Essay is not just for struggling writers. It gives a good overview of essay structure.

 

The biggest issue my natural writer had was learning the discipline to plan and structure her writing. She just wanted to scratch it all out. But when she realized how much more powerful writing can be when organized, it helped her a lot. One Year Adventure Novel actually taught her a lot in that regard.

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So even the Advanced Communications Course is for remedial writers? I know The Elegant Essay is not just for struggling writers. It gives a good overview of essay structure.

 

 

I don't know much about ACC, but I didn't realize it was a writing course. Elegant Essay is sold by IEW, but I would not consider it an "IEW program." (And fwiw, we found Elegant Essay to be seriously lacking in instruction. I'm glad for this thread, because it's a reminder to me to pull it out and get a refund!)

 

The problem good writers have with IEW is that they don't need to consciously focus on dress-ups. It stunts their creativity, and instead of improving their writing, it becomes stilted and immature. Otoh, something like Writing Strands gives them more freedom. My only caveat with WS is that my dc don't copy the author's style. His writing is horrible.;)

 

IEW does not have that same effect on writers who could use more instruction, and I think the outlining is excellent.

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I don't know much about ACC, but I didn't realize it was a writing course. Elegant Essay is sold by IEW, but I would not consider it an "IEW program." (And fwiw, we found Elegant Essay to be seriously lacking in instruction. I'm glad for this thread, because it's a reminder to me to pull it out and get a refund!)

 

The problem good writers have with IEW is that they don't need to consciously focus on dress-ups. It stunts their creativity, and instead of improving their writing, it becomes stilted and immature. Otoh, something like Writing Strands gives them more freedom. My only caveat with WS is that my dc don't copy the author's style. His writing is horrible.;)

 

IEW does not have that same effect on writers who could use more instruction, and I think the outlining is excellent.

 

What edition of The Elegant Essay do you have? I've been told the revised one is much better than the first one and there is also a student book.

 

The stilted part is what has always concerned me with IEW. However, I was talking to someone who teaches IEW at a co-op and she said that the students who have used IEW for one year are very stilted in their use of the dress ups. The students who have had two or more years of IEW are past that and use them appropriately. And another mom who stayed away from IEW because of the stilted label is using it this year with her teen and has found it very good. So I am taking the plunge this coming year for my dd15 who isn't a natural writer. It will be interesting to see what my natural writer dd16 thinks about her sister's lessons though.

Edited by HiddenJewel
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What edition of The Elegant Essay do you have? I've been told the revised one is much better than the first one and there is also a student book.

 

The stilted part is what has always concerned me with IEW. However, I was talking to someone who teaches IEW at a co-op and she said that the students who have used IEW for one year are very stilted in their use of the dress ups. The students who have had two or more years of IEW are past that and use them appropriately. And another mom who stayed away from IEW because of the stilted label is using it this year with her teen and has found it very good. So I am really having to rethink my opinion on IEW until I have used it for a reasonable amount of time.

 

Are you just using ACS and EE then? Our experience with the stilted writing is entirely opposite that of your friend. I've been a fan of it for nine years. We started out with IEW's early Logos School materials and then moved into TWSS. Unfortunately, IEW never worked in its entirety for my kids, and I had to drop it. As they've gotten older, we've refreshed with SWI-C, and more recently had a good experience with High School Essay Intensive, but we skip many parts of the instruction.

 

Now I'm curious how long you've tried it. At first, it seemed that you'd used IEW for awhile, but then your last sentence indicated differently.

 

ETA: Oops, I must have deleted this. I'm not sure what ed of EE I have. I just noticed the 2nd ed on the website, and I can't remember if we had one book or two.

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Are you just using ACS and EE then? Our experience with the stilted writing is entirely opposite that of your friend. I've been a fan of it for nine years. We started out with IEW's early Logos School materials and then moved into TWSS. Unfortunately, IEW never worked in its entirety for my kids, and I had to drop it. As they've gotten older, we've refreshed with SWI-C, and more recently had a good experience with High School Essay Intensive, but we skip many parts of the instruction.

 

Now I'm curious how long you've tried it. At first, it seemed that you'd used IEW for awhile, but then your last sentence indicated differently.

 

ETA: Oops, I must have deleted this. I'm not sure what ed of EE I have. I just noticed the 2nd ed on the website, and I can't remember if we had one book or two.

 

I have not used IEW's DVD programs. I'm sorry if I worded my posts poorly. I've been too scared because of the formulamatic reviews of IEW to try it, until now. I was going to use EE but was not confident enough to do it with just the TM and I did not know about the Student manual. And I think I have the older edition TM.

 

I will be using SWI-C with dd15 (non-natural writer) this coming year. I will be using Advanced Communication and Student Essay Intensive with dd16 (natural writer). I'm still very nervous about trying this out though. I'm glad to hear there is good in the more advanced courses.

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Has anyone used the Classical Writing series? With the Homer level and such?

 

Classical Writing gave my girls a lot of style tools. I love the 6 sentence shuffle. We didn't do all the actual rewriting portions (Day 1) so I can't comment on that. But I do think it would fit a natural writer. My oldest did Homer Older Beginner and Diogenes:Maxim.

Edited by HiddenJewel
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Why?

 

We found it to be formulaic and over-taught and my dd's writing actually got worse and more laborious while using it. But this was just our experience; I know that many HSers like it because the instruction is clear and it's very structured. Since the OP asked about natural writers, I'm just not sure it's the best for them, that's all.

 

I hope this makes sense!

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