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I love IEW


justLisa
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I wish I would not have been so reluctant to start. This just makes so much sense to me and the DVDs are so easy to watch. I actually feel like a writing teacher instead of just following a long with a curriculum!

 

It's like a big fat light bulb moment.

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we really love IEW too. whenever i read that people find it so difficult to use, i don't understand why? for us, it is very user friendly and a huge blessing.

 

I often read that people don't know where to start and it is too confusing. Maybe because the binder looks foreign until you watch the DVD.

 

Seriously, I have never loved a curriculum. I could sell this for him.

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I want to start this program for my 5th grader. I was told you should start with TWSS first? Did you all??

 

Yes, you start with the TWSS. Seriously just watch the first DVD and it will make sense. I have the SWI-A but now that I've watched the seminar I don't even need it.

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We are loving IEW this year. My 5th grader is doing SWI-A, and I am so, so glad I bought the DVDs. I love that everything is laid out already and Pudewa is doing the teaching. My dd is responding very well to him and to being a part of the class, even if it's via DVD. For the first time EVER, my dd is completing writing assignments without complaining and she's completing them independently.

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We started with the DVD set and the Beautiful Feet theme based lesson set.

 

http://www.excellenceinwriting.com/bfg-e

 

I really loved it right from the start. It's a great program. That books that go with the Beautiful Feet set are incredibly good books, too, that IMO span from about the 2nd grade all the way through middle school, with kids at different levels being able to appreciate them in different ways. :)

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I want to start this program for my 5th grader. I was told you should start with TWSS first? Did you all??

 

i didn't start with TWSS. in fact. i've never even seen it. i purchased SWI A at the end of our 4th grade year and it is sufficient on it's on (for us at least). i don't feel as if i'm missing something & i still understand what's going on without issue. putting the writing folder together was easy too, you just need to read the instructions. my daughter is in grade 5 now and will be 11 in october. we moved to IEW from BJU 4. she loves IEW. i wasn't sure if SWI A would be too easy, but so far so good (and I can use it with my son too - that's why I chose A over B). we include all of the extra writing assignments before moving forward, just to make sure the foundation is strong as we progress.

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I would not want to skip the TWSS because it is like a teacher's seminar and I am getting a lot out of it.\

 

I could easily see using this for years.

 

The TWSS are very well done, and they are great teacher training. If I had to choose between the TWSS and SWI-A, I would choose SWI-A. I do much better with pre-planned and open-and-go, and the SWI-A is just a perfect fit for my dd & I.

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I am a professional writer and yet could not find a way to get what was in my head into my childrens' heads. TWSS changed all that. I was halfway through the first video and it wasn't like a lightbuld came on, it was more like a supernova exploded. Sudenly everything made sense and it actually changed my whole plan for all the kids. We start next week, but the path is so clear now. I cannot recommend it enough and we technically have never used it!

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Glad you finally broke down and watched the DVD! :D :lol: We're almost finished with Units 1 & 2, and it has really been great. I cannot believe my child can now WRITE. I look forward to trying out unit 3, though it still scares me because of the literary analysis of it, even though it's VERY basic (who are the characters, what are they thinking/doing, what's the problem/conflict, what is the resolution/moral/etc.). For this unit, I'm glad to have SWI-A to do the teaching in the beginning. As I get more comfortable with it, I can break away. For the other units, I feel pretty confident in my abilities to teach them just from watching TWSS. It really is that good!

 

EEK haven't seen those! Yes, I like him oodles. Off to check them out, thanks! :auto:

 

That was a good lecture. I *think* it's one of the freebies in the Magalog this year? Double check the Magalog before you buy the lecture. He had 4 freebies, I think. One was the Teaching the Classics guy, which was also a good lecture.

 

I saw the Forts lecture at a convention, and I agree that it was great!

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Glad you finally broke down and watched the DVD! :D :lol: We're almost finished with Units 1 & 2, and it has really been great. I cannot believe my child can now WRITE. I look forward to trying out unit 3, though it still scares me because of the literary analysis of it, even though it's VERY basic (who are the characters, what are they thinking/doing, what's the problem/conflict, what is the resolution/moral/etc.). For this unit, I'm glad to have SWI-A to do the teaching in the beginning. As I get more comfortable with it, I can break away. For the other units, I feel pretty confident in my abilities to teach them just from watching TWSS. It really is that good!

 

 

 

That was a good lecture. I *think* it's one of the freebies in the Magalog this year? Double check the Magalog before you buy the lecture. He had 4 freebies, I think. One was the Teaching the Classics guy, which was also a good lecture.

 

I saw the Forts lecture at a convention, and I agree that it was great!

 

Yeah, I've been saying I just started watching the DVD's for months :lol:

 

I think unit 3 is going to be something we work very slowly through and with a lot of help. I like the idea of spending a while on the first two because they are simple. And even though DS is pencil phobic he loves to be silly and I think he is going to get a kick out of the dress ups.

 

I could be in a fan club :D

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I am NOT a writer. At all. It was probably my least favorite subject in school. This is the one area of LA that I feel inadequate to teach. I've looked IEW a couple times, but haven't done a real in depth look because of the price.

 

Thank you for this thread. I will look at it a lot closer now.

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Dittoes about loving IEW. The TWSS/SWI combo is worth the price. My kids always complained about writing until we got SWI-A. Mr. Pudewa relates very well to kids, and to boys in particular.

 

I listened to three hours worth of Andrew Pudewa's lectures at a homeschool convention this summer, and now I am even more of a believer.

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I concur wholeheartedly. My son, who is a reluctant writer said today, "I LOVE LEARNING TO WRITE BIG WORDS." YES! We are working on quality adjectives (he wanted to find more than 10 to write). HOW AWESOME!!! I love it. It just clicked with him.

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  • 3 weeks later...
Lisa, if you like Andrew, you should listen to his lecture at CiRCE, Teaching Boys and Other Kids Who Would Rather Be Playing in Forts.

 

Justamouse, I want you to know that you derailed my whole year with this post. :toetap05: Seriously. I have seen this talk recommended so many times on these boards, but it was always for purchase and, ugh...to create an account, buy it (after sifting through all the other choices because I wouldn't just get that talk, obviously, after going to all that trouble :lol:), get it into iTunes, probably have to download the new version of iTunes, update my iPod... Oh, just forget it. So, anyway, suffice it to say I never bothered with it.

 

But you had to post that link. You just had to make it foolproof to listen, didn't you? :glare: Really, just hit play and it plays. A-maaaay-ZING! :tongue_smilie:

 

I :001_wub: this talk. I loved it so much that I bought TWSS. I love it. Darn it. I let the kids watch the elementary seminar included with TWSS. They think he is a riot. And he is. He really is a hoot and I can see the attraction, especially on the part of my (very goofy) boys. But, really! Doggone it! As if I don't already have enough LA going on here! I'm going to have to start juggling lessons, I guess. I have to figure out what to ditch, or how to cycle in and out of different things, or start giving the kids double espressos for lunch... :lol:

 

So, thanks. Thanks a lot. Seriously. ;):lol:

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This sounds great! Thanks for the rec!

 

We were recommended the Phonetic Zoo spelling program by the psych and I bought the the Writing Intensive for later. Well, later has arrived :001_huh:. I balked at the emptiness of the folder though. So all I do is pop the DVD into the player, huh ...

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We are doing SWI-A this year. I have not seen TWSS. If I find it at a used curriculum sale or can borrow it from someone in the future I might watch it. Right now SWI-A is perfect for us. I can see the logic behind the approach and how it is building. Dd has been a pretty good writer but I can see this really helping her to refine her writing and give her a good structure for it. She is really enjoying it too.

 

We have done Sonlight's LA in the past so I am missing doing things like poetry and other types of writing but I figure we can do some of that once we finish this later in the year. I have a feeling it will not take us a full 30 weeks to finish it.

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As if I don't already have enough LA going on here! I'm going to have to start juggling lessons, I guess. I have to figure out what to ditch, or how to cycle in and out of different things, or start giving the kids double espressos for lunch... :lol:

 

I did the first half of SWI-A last year, and now we are doing the second half. The reason is that I have two other writing programs plus an occasional additional writing activity that I think are also valuable. It is working out well for us since I started my eldest on the SWI-A in 3rd grade.

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We love it as well. My DS (8) was very very reluctant writer. He always had an enormous vocabulary and was talking non stop. But when it came down to write something, he just could not do it at all. We did 2 years of WWE and that helped somewhat. But This year, after 4 months of SWI A, he is writing beautiful paragraphs. It just makes sense for him. It seems that the to do list takes focus away from the writing pressure. It is great.

I did not want to spend the money at first, and now I am so glad I did. We will continue with IEW for sure.

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I have a few questions. What would be a good level for a 6th grade girl who loves to write? We are currently using Medieval Writing as written in HOD, which skips some things here and there. It's okay, but a tad boring. HOD also says we don't need the DVD, but I can't help but think this whole program would be easier if 1) we watched it, 2) we didn't start mid-stream with IEW, and 3) we went in order of the Medieval Guide. I can't for the life of me figure out why it's so overly-complicated and edu-lingo-ed. If find the TM, odd. Perhaps it's due to not beginning where we should or because we haven't seen the DVD. Help me out.

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Lisa, if you like Andrew, you should listen to his lecture at CiRCE, Teaching Boys and Other Kids Who Would Rather Be Playing in Forts.

 

(BTW, all the lectures are fantastic. ;) )

Wow ! Just listened to this and so glad I took the time! One of the BIG reasons I took my son out of ps and started homeschooling was because they did not understand him and were labeling him and he was starting to think bad things about himself that were not true. thanks for posting the link.

 

By the way, I am going to start using IEW this year too. I haven't bought it yet but I'm planning on getting SWI-B. In researching what level to buy I found out that the SWI-A has 3rd - 5th graders in the video's and I know that would bother him, he is 12. I would like to hear what others think about the differences between A and B?

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Justamouse, I want you to know that you derailed my whole year with this post. :toetap05: Seriously. I have seen this talk recommended so many times on these boards, but it was always for purchase and, ugh...to create an account, buy it (after sifting through all the other choices because I wouldn't just get that talk, obviously, after going to all that trouble :lol:), get it into iTunes, probably have to download the new version of iTunes, update my iPod... Oh, just forget it. So, anyway, suffice it to say I never bothered with it.

 

But you had to post that link. You just had to make it foolproof to listen, didn't you? :glare: Really, just hit play and it plays. A-maaaay-ZING! :tongue_smilie:

 

I :001_wub: this talk. I loved it so much that I bought TWSS. I love it. Darn it. I let the kids watch the elementary seminar included with TWSS. They think he is a riot. And he is. He really is a hoot and I can see the attraction, especially on the part of my (very goofy) boys. But, really! Doggone it! As if I don't already have enough LA going on here! I'm going to have to start juggling lessons, I guess. I have to figure out what to ditch, or how to cycle in and out of different things, or start giving the kids double espressos for lunch... :lol:

 

So, thanks. Thanks a lot. Seriously. ;):lol:

 

That's how I felt, but for now I ditched everything else with DS. I need him to stop hating to write. He is VERY easy to listen to. And DS is very picky about this sort of thing. He instantly thinks "boring" but I caught him smiling and talking along a bit with the DVD.

 

And after watching the TWSS I actually feel like a writing teacher. I don't have to just follow along because I actually get it.

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I have a few questions. What would be a good level for a 6th grade girl who loves to write? We are currently using Medieval Writing as written in HOD, which skips some things here and there. It's okay, but a tad boring. HOD also says we don't need the DVD, but I can't help but think this whole program would be easier if 1) we watched it, 2) we didn't start mid-stream with IEW, and 3) we went in order of the Medieval Guide. I can't for the life of me figure out why it's so overly-complicated and edu-lingo-ed. If find the TM, odd. Perhaps it's due to not beginning where we should or because we haven't seen the DVD. Help me out.

 

Do you mean you have not watched the teaching DVD's? The TWSS is a pretty big chunk of the program. I can't imagine it making total sense if you have not seen it.

 

ETA: Ok I mis read. You are doing HOD. I do not have that but I have seen it. It follows the IEW model, correct?

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Do you mean you have not watched the teaching DVD's? The TWSS is a pretty big chunk of the program. I can't imagine it making total sense if you have not seen it.

 

ETA: Ok I mis read. You are doing HOD. I do not have that but I have seen it. It follows the IEW model, correct?

 

No I have not watched the DVD's. HOD said they weren't needed. And probably so as HOD has their own IEW schedule. They are using IEW Medieval Writing Lessons. They skip some lessons, which make no sense actually, but I can't help but think that the dvd's would be helpful. I found the IEW guide totally non-sensical...if that's a word, and not all of it. Odd and horribly formatted and I don't know if it's the lack of DVD or the skipping of lessons. Things like the IEW TM has a page to "correct". Why in the world is it in the TM and not in the student notebook. Just weird things.

 

Maybe I should just do what I'm told,:tongue_smilie: and everything will be fine. On the other hand, I don't think it's bad, but I do what to do a head-shake with a "huh?"

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I did the first half of SWI-A last year, and now we are doing the second half. The reason is that I have two other writing programs plus an occasional additional writing activity that I think are also valuable. It is working out well for us since I started my eldest on the SWI-A in 3rd grade.

 

Thanks! I did read on the IEW web site that you could use the lessons for 15 weeks or 30 weeks. It seems that flexibility is built in, providing room to run another writing program concurrently or back-to-back, or to use another IEW product with TWSS units... Good food for thought. :001_smile:

 

That's how I felt, but for now I ditched everything else with DS. I need him to stop hating to write. He is VERY easy to listen to. And DS is very picky about this sort of thing. He instantly thinks "boring" but I caught him smiling and talking along a bit with the DVD.

 

And after watching the TWSS I actually feel like a writing teacher. I don't have to just follow along because I actually get it.

 

Unfortunately (? :lol:), I can't completely ditch everything else. DD is such a different bird, and I'm not even completely sure what species DS6 is at all quite yet. :tongue_smilie: Plus, we are all enjoying writer's workshop. I could see IEW being folded in with that though, and producing something magical. Still thinking, thinking...

 

It does seem that IEW offers flexibility for working with kids with different personalities. I can see what Pudewa means about containing and polishing the 18 page kid while also drawing out the blank page, blank stare kid. My kids all enjoy writing, but with DS9 hitting fourth grade this year, it just seems like high time to step up the standards. I think he will respond very well to IEW's instruction and a checklist. He is definitely ready to be more independent with his writing, to the point that I even contemplated starting him in WWS this year. Thankfully, I let that idea go in favor of writer's workshop because WWS seems like overkill for him right now, especially after reading the WWS threads on the logic board, with all the :banghead: going on there. IEW seems like a great baby-step for the kind of work being introduced in WWS.

 

I get what you're saying about TWSS making you feel like a writing teacher. I can't wait until school is over today so I can watch some more. Still scoping out IEW SWI-A on the sale board too. If anyone wants to sell that cheap, let me know. :D:tongue_smilie:

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Thanks! I did read on the IEW web site that you could use the lessons for 15 weeks or 30 weeks. It seems that flexibility is built in, providing room to run another writing program concurrently or back-to-back, or to use another IEW product with TWSS units... Good food for thought. :001_smile:

 

 

 

Unfortunately (? :lol:), I can't completely ditch everything else. DD is such a different bird, and I'm not even completely sure what species DS6 is at all quite yet. :tongue_smilie: Plus, we are all enjoying writer's workshop. I could see IEW being folded in with that though, and producing something magical. Still thinking, thinking...

 

It does seem that IEW offers flexibility for working with kids with different personalities. I can see what Pudewa means about containing and polishing the 18 page kid while also drawing out the blank page, blank stare kid. My kids all enjoy writing, but with DS9 hitting fourth grade this year, it just seems like high time to step up the standards. I think he will respond very well to IEW's instruction and a checklist. He is definitely ready to be more independent with his writing, to the point that I even contemplated starting him in WWS this year. Thankfully, I let that idea go in favor of writer's workshop because WWS seems like overkill for him right now, especially after reading the WWS threads on the logic board, with all the :banghead: going on there. IEW seems like a great baby-step for the kind of work being introduced in WWS.

 

I get what you're saying about TWSS making you feel like a writing teacher. I can't wait until school is over today so I can watch some more. Still scoping out IEW SWI-A on the sale board too. If anyone wants to sell that cheap, let me know. :D:tongue_smilie:

 

I have the SWI-A so I'm using it, but I could easily see just using this across curriculum next year. The only reason I'm ditching everything else for now is DS already thinks he hates writing. The long term goal is WWS (I think) but I could see using this for a few years first.

 

And the headbanging worries me a little LOL

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No I have not watched the DVD's. HOD said they weren't needed. And probably so as HOD has their own IEW schedule. They are using IEW Medieval Writing Lessons. They skip some lessons, which make no sense actually, but I can't help but think that the dvd's would be helpful. I found the IEW guide totally non-sensical...if that's a word, and not all of it. Odd and horribly formatted and I don't know if it's the lack of DVD or the skipping of lessons. Things like the IEW TM has a page to "correct". Why in the world is it in the TM and not in the student notebook. Just weird things.

 

Maybe I should just do what I'm told,:tongue_smilie: and everything will be fine. On the other hand, I don't think it's bad, but I do what to do a head-shake with a "huh?"

 

Get the TWSS. (I got mine in like new condition, used for $80! So, keep your eye out.) They are golden. I totally agree that the manual would make little sense without the videos. The videos make perfect sense. With just the manual, it would be like trying to read someone's outline without the benefit of seeing what the outline was based on. He even pretty much says that on the first disc, calls it the skeleton or something. Anyway, anything I do with "a head-shake and a 'huh?'" falls apart eventually. That's for sure. I can't teach what I'm not confident about, what I don't understand myself.

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I have the SWI-A so I'm using it, but I could easily see just using this across curriculum next year. The only reason I'm ditching everything else for now is DS already thinks he hates writing. The long term goal is WWS (I think) but I could see using this for a few years first.

 

And the headbanging worries me a little LOL

 

I already own WWS, so I pulled it down last night after watching TWSS. I think you won't need to worry about the headbanging if you do a couple of years of IEW. It will build confidence and skill. We have done WWE for years. Ironically, I think IEW provides a much more natural progression to the skills required in WWS than WWE. I think WWS is an extremely quick ramp-up for a kid who has only done WWE. I like WWE. And I like the looks of WWS. But WWE-->IEW-->WWS appears to form a fairly seamless path, where WWE-->WWS appears to create a stepping-stone path with a pretty wide chasm to hop across to get to WWS.

 

SWB has recently said that both WWE and WWS can be three year programs with the fourth year being optional. That said, I'm thinking I will probably do IEW with DS9 in 4th and 5th (at least) and WWS with him in 6th-8th. DD can probably join him, as she has a very early birthday and could go either way. We'll see. It would certainly make my life easier. :tongue_smilie:

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I already own WWS, so I pulled it down last night after watching TWSS. I think you won't need to worry about the headbanging if you do a couple of years of IEW. It will build confidence and skill. We have done WWE for years. Ironically, I think IEW provides a much more natural progression to the skills required in WWS than WWE. I think WWS is an extremely quick ramp-up for a kid who has only done WWE. I like WWE. And I like the looks of WWS. But WWE-->IEW-->WWS appears to form a fairly seamless path, where WWE-->WWS appears to create a stepping-stone path with a pretty wide chasm to hop across to get to WWS.

 

SWB has recently said that both WWE and WWS can be three year programs with the fourth year being optional. That said, I'm thinking I will probably do IEW with DS9 in 4th and 5th (at least) and WWS with him in 6th-8th. DD can probably join him, as she has a very early birthday and could go either way. We'll see. It would certainly make my life easier. :tongue_smilie:

 

That is exactly what I think and that is my plan. WWE to IEW to WWS

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We adore IEW over here! We are on our second year with two children. My eldest son used SWI-C and is now using Advanced Communications. My younger son used AFF, and he is now using the Ancient Themed Based Lessons. We love it!

 

I never did TWSS, but doing the SWI-C (which has Mr. Pudewa teaching most of the units to a classroom of students) along with my son was enough for me. I also purchased the tips and tricks dvd and the overview dvd. I practically live on the yahoo group as I read every single message and listen to every single free webinar, and I totally get it!

 

IEW saved our homeschool and my sanity! I now feel so confident teaching my sons.

 

:lol:

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Get the TWSS. (I got mine in like new condition, used for $80! So, keep your eye out.) They are golden. I totally agree that the manual would make little sense without the videos. The videos make perfect sense. With just the manual, it would be like trying to read someone's outline without the benefit of seeing what the outline was based on. He even pretty much says that on the first disc, calls it the skeleton or something. Anyway, anything I do with "a head-shake and a 'huh?'" falls apart eventually. That's for sure. I can't teach what I'm not confident about, what I don't understand myself.

 

You hit the nail on the head.

 

I'll keep my eyes open for it used! Thanks!

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I'm keeping my ears open here as I've been considering this for ds for 3rd grade next year. I think, from what I've read, that it would work well for him. We are doing WWE2 right now, which I like and he does ok with but he doesn't much care for it, although he will do it.

 

Do most do it with WWE? After WWE2 or WWE3 or concurrently with either one? Why SWIA instead of one of the theme based programs?

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Do most do it with WWE? After WWE2 or WWE3 or concurrently with either one? Why SWIA instead of one of the theme based programs?

 

I think doing the SWI-A would work well along with WWE2 or WWE3.

 

In general, I do SWI-A 3 (or sometimes 4) days per week.

On the other days, I either do WWE or WWW.

I am extremely happy with the results of these programs, and I think they all go together well.

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Do most do it with WWE? After WWE2 or WWE3 or concurrently with either one? Why SWIA instead of one of the theme based programs?

 

We did WWE1 and 2, then I started SWI-A. You *can* do a theme based program, but you'll also need TWSS if you do that. I chose SWI-A because Pudewa is teaching my student rather than me teaching him, and that was helpful to get him writing. ;)

 

After watching TWSS, I feel pretty confident about doing it on my own *except* unit 3. I want some hand-holding our first time through that, because I am horrible at literary analysis type stuff, and even picking out character/setting/plot/conclusion/moral gives me the heebie-jeebies. :lol: So I'll let Pudewa teach that to begin with, and then hopefully I'll get good enough at it that I can take over from there as we move ahead. The other units in TWSS that aren't taught in SWI-A look like ones I can probably handle. TWSS explains things so well, and the examples given are very helpful.

 

I decided NOT to continue with WWE3 because I really didn't want to be juggling more than one writing program at a time. There is only so much writing my son can do in a day. Writing/editing/re-writing one paragraph in a week is plenty for my son at this stage. I'm thrilled that he's even doing that! :tongue_smilie: I may get WWE3 later (I have the instructor text, but I am horrible about coming up with questions and such to guide things... obviously, literature is NOT my strong suit :glare:), but for now, IEW is enough. When we finish SWI-A, I may alternate WWE3 and TWSS assignments. We'll see. My son enjoys WWE, because he likes the literature selections. :) We'll be finished with SWI-A well before the school year is over. We haven't needed all the lessons in Units 1 and 2, so we're a bit ahead of schedule. I think we may end up finishing it in January. Then we'd have the second semester to write across curriculum and maybe add in WWE3.

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