WWS or IEW??

[missiemick]

Which do you prefer and why?

[HS Mom in NC]

I prefer WWS because it covers very specific types of writing that are necessary for both high school and college subjects and introduces them "one bite at a time." For kids who struggle, this is a godsend. It also uses excellent examples from well done pieces of writing. My older two, a natural born writer and a struggling writer, have done very well with it.

 

It's also formatted for those of us doing the 36 week file folder system for our kids. Every chapter has 4 days worth of assignments so each child knows exactly when things must be completed. Kids who don't need any hand holding can get through it without a lot of help from Mom which is very good for those of us emphasizing independent learning in the higher grades. The teacher's guide does an excellent job of giving Mom specific suggestions for prompting questions with each part of each assignment should a child struggle with it and need some hand holding. The rubrics are very useful for grading because they give generalized criteria which is very important to avoid the formulated writing approaches like IEW.

 

I endured the painful, self-absorbed video workshop with Andrew Padewa and bought the IEW stuff because I had a child struggling with writing several years ago. There's a day of my life I'll never get back. It took him 3 times longer than necessary to complete the lectures because he obviously loves to hear the sound of his own voice. I just wanted to learn techniques for teaching writing, not hear his lame folksy stand-up routine that veered too far off the topic far too frequently.

 

Then there was the IEW content. My oldest is a natural born writer, so subjecting her to IEW's hyper-formulated approach would've been a crime against nature. I can only imagine how many natural writers are being ruined by it. It was better than nothing for my middle daughter who could barely string coherent sentences together at the time, but once I read through WWS, I threw out the IEW because WWS works so much better-especially for kids who struggle because of the reasons mentioned above.

 

***Edit***To clarify, WWS is a foundation for high school and college subject writing assignments-it's Jr. High or maybe early High School level material. It's really a sampler platter of types of academic writing the child will need to do more in depth later in his/her academic career.

[Goldilocks]

I have tried both. We started WWS when my oldest (who struggles) was in 5th. It was way too difficult for him. We are using IEW and he is very proud of his writing now. I would love to go back to WWS when he is older. I agree with the previous poster that the lessons are better suited for Jr. High/High School unless your child is a natural writer, very bright, or you have time to slow it down and work through it with them.

[Faithr]

I vastly prefer WWE/WWS to IEW. I do think that you should ignore the levels and just use the one you think your student is ready for.

[bethben]

I like IEW simply because I had no idea how to teach writing and needed a formulaic approach of how to teach it. I'm a formulaic person myself so it has really helped me get my kids up and running with writing. I am currently teaching my 2nd grader how to write with IEW and he is finding the writing process to be simple. He can write a nice paragraph without tears and likes to do it. Unfortunately, I feel like we may be at the end of our time with IEW since my son is going through his 4th year now and I'm not sure how to get him to the next level of writing. But, if you need a lot of hand holding, I would suggest IEW - especially using theme books along with the basic TWSS program to get an easy start.

 

Beth

[TarynB]

I have tried both. We started WWS when my oldest (who struggles) was in 5th. It was way too difficult for him. We are using IEW and he is very proud of his writing now. I would love to go back to WWS when he is older. I agree with the previous poster that the lessons are better suited for Jr. High/High School unless your child is a natural writer, very bright, or you have time to slow it down and work through it with them.

 

 

Ditto. Exactly the same here. Both are great programs and both have their place. Teachers just need to make sure they understand the intended audience of each program and be realistic about where the student is as a writer, not where you wish s/he is as a writer. My DS is doing IEW currently -- and has gained SO much confidence in writing -- and he'll use WWS when he's ready, hopefully in 6th grade. It would be painful & pointless for him to try earlier.

 

ETA: To clarify, for me, WWS is the ideal, but IEW is the incremental, formulaic bridge we needed to cross first in order to get to WWS. Our path has been WWE, then IEW, and planning on WWS next.

 

FWIW, my DS thinks Pudewa (IEW) is funny and likes his style. I'm just thrilled with the outcome.

[ChicoryChick]

I, personally, prefer WWS. I love listening to Andrew Pudewa, but I find the organization, scheduling, and writing of WWS better suited to my teaching style.