IEW and knowing when to let go

[bethben]

My #2 son has been doing IEW for 4 years now. I was beginning to think he was getting into a rut and needed to branch out. So, I started giving him assignments from our TOG pages. His writing is soooo much more sophisticated and thoughtful than I thought him capable of. He has a real depth to his writing that was stifled with the dress ups. I am very impressed with what he can write now. IEW helped me teach him the mechanics of writing, but if we had stayed with it through high school, I would have never known the depths of his writing ability. So, while I still use IEW for my #3 ds, I will, at some point with leave it behind. I do like IEW, but just realize that it may become like a corset stifling the natural beauty of your child's writing ability.

Beth

[shanvan]

How far did you go with IEW? From my understanding the high school levels allow much more freedom. We use some IEW, but I always add assignments that are free of checklists too. IEW is just part of our approach. I've always approached IEW assignments as writing exercises. They are the vehicle for mastering the techniques, not the goal. It sounds like your Ds needs to move beyond checklists and needs the freedom to decide when to use various elements and even more importantly, when not to.

[5LittleMonkeys]

In my unprofessional opinion, I've never felt IEW was useful year after year after year. Once my dc have mastered the stylistic techniques and have gotten a feel for some of the different organizational methods we move on to other writing methods/programs/assignments. Actually I never use IEW by itself to begin with. Even when we are working through it I always branch out with other writing methods and assignments. I figure the more experience my dc have with various ways to write and different styles the better.

[G5052]

Mine started with it in 3rd grade, and by 7th grade they felt like it slowed them down. I still require some pre-planning, but not to the level that IEW teaches in TWSS. They do a quick basic outline, and then type and revise at the computer.

[boscopup]

I thought you were supposed to drop the requirements once the stylistic techniques had become second nature? You certainly did the right thing! :)