Can someone please explain IEW to me?

[Meadowlark]

I don't know what I'm missing, but I definitely am missing a lot.  I need someone to spell out what this curriculum looks like long-term. For example, if I have the following grades next year, where in the world would we start? And then what would follow the next year? I'll have grades 2,3,4, and 7, 8.  Our writing needs major help, but I just don't see the progression of year to year with IEW.  Any clarification would be appreciated.

Edited November 22, 2019 by Meadowlark
misspelling

[Elizabeth86]

Following.  I'm in the same boat.  I think I know where to start, but not clear on what after that.  

[Gobblygook]

I’ve dabbled in way more writing programs than I care to admit. My 7th grader has always been a reluctant writer. He did OK with Writing and Rhetoric but his actual writing skills didn’t improve much. This year, he is doing the IEW US History theme book and it has made a tremendous difference in his attitude and his skills have improved by leaps and bounds. He actually calls writing fun now.

I also used the IEW Bible Heroes with my daughter last year and it went very well! She really liked the games. 

I used the old SWI-A with my older son years ago and it was a complete miss. Neither boys like video-based courses but the theme books have worked well for us. 

[Meadowlark]

2 hours ago, CuriousMomof3 said:

Can you do the IEW theme books without having done the intensive first?  Can you do them without watching the videos, either as a teacher or a student? 

I was wondering that exact thing. If we do American history next year, that U.S. History book looks amazing to go along with it. But...I would have to pretty much be an expert in the IEW way of teaching right? Looks like I'm a year too late.

[Meadowlark]

3 hours ago, Æthelthryth the Texan said:

Very helpful thread: 

 

Hmmm...therein lies my concern, the "formulaic" writing part. I probably have a few years before I have to worry about that, but I do kind of want to find something that I can stick with. Right now, I need to get my 6th grader to write sentences/paragraphs that make sense. Subject-very agreement type thing. And I need him to stop using words like "nice" and "good". Oh, and get him to write complex and compound sentences vs. simple sentences. Would IEW fit the bill for that?

[Momto6inIN]

3 hours ago, CuriousMomof3 said:

Can you do the IEW theme books without having done the intensive first?  Can you do them without watching the videos, either as a teacher or a student? 

You can, but I wouldn't. Watching Mr Pudewa and doing the assignments myself with the TWSS really did make me into a confident writing teacher. Without knowing why the program works the way it does and the philosophy behind it, some of the assignments in the theme books don't make sense and you'll be tempted to skimp on some of the foundational stuff. It seems likes ton of time to watch them all, but you can just watch one unit ahead of where your students are at throughout the year. Or do it like me and watch them all over the summer. 

55 minutes ago, Meadowlark said:

Hmmm...therein lies my concern, the "formulaic" writing part. I probably have a few years before I have to worry about that, but I do kind of want to find something that I can stick with. Right now, I need to get my 6th grader to write sentences/paragraphs that make sense. Subject-very agreement type thing. And I need him to stop using words like "nice" and "good". Oh, and get him to write complex and compound sentences vs. simple sentences. Would IEW fit the bill for that?

I wouldn't worry about the formulaic part. Mr Pudewa addresses this in the videos and says that once the kids have learned the rules and proven they can write within them, then they are free to break the rules as they see fit. But that you have to give them guidelines of what to shoot for first if you want them to get to that point.

Subject been agreement is more of a grammar thing and the IEW writing materials won't address that. But they very definitely will get them to have a more varied sentence structure and to stop using banned words like "nice" and "good".

I also feel the need to clarify that I am not affiliated with IEW in any way LOL! It's just a really great program 😊

[carriede]

9 hours ago, Meadowlark said:

Hmmm...therein lies my concern, the "formulaic" writing part. I probably have a few years before I have to worry about that, but I do kind of want to find something that I can stick with. Right now, I need to get my 6th grader to write sentences/paragraphs that make sense. Subject-very agreement type thing. And I need him to stop using words like "nice" and "good". Oh, and get him to write complex and compound sentences vs. simple sentences. Would IEW fit the bill for that?

Yes, IEW can do that for your 6th grader. My friend had the same sort of issues, and her 11 is doing WONDERFULLY with the level B Medieval themed book.

I haven't used IEW extensively ... but I've seen it, watched some videos,  and am using All Things Fun and Facinating with my 8 yo this year.

I don't think you can go wrong for doing it for a year, then reevaluating if you want to. It's formulaic, yes, but having clear and simple goals for a child who doesn't like to write or doesn't know what to write or isn't confident in writing is a GOOD thing.

As for what products to use for which kids, I don't know. The program is broken up into 3 levels: A is 3rd-5th, B is 6th-8th, and C is 9th+. If you do a themed writing book, you should have the teacher training (esp with the level B students I think). All Things Fun and Facinating  (a level A themed book) came with a 2 hour seminar of teacher training - enough to teach that one course.

If you're on Facebook, like their page! I've heard they have a lot of Christmas time freebies and giveaways, so you might be able to get some more pieces of the pie to try.

[Gobblygook]

Quote

Can you do the IEW theme books without having done the intensive first?  Can you do them without watching the videos, either as a teacher or a student? 

You can. Memoria Press, a classical publisher known for their strong academics, uses some IEW books and offers an abbreviated (2 hours, I think) video outlining the program. I personally have not watched the TWSS and have done fine. I’ve listened to several of their podcasts and use the teacher guides as well. 

[Momto6inIN]

39 minutes ago, CuriousMomof3 said:

And there’s no option for reading about it instead of watching?    

Not that I'm aware of

[forty-two]

39 minutes ago, CuriousMomof3 said:

And there’s no option for reading about it instead of watching?    

There is actually an option for reading about it instead of watching, but it's somewhat less user-friendly.  "Blended Structure and Style in Composition" is, as I understand it, the original inspiration for the IEW program.  And what IEW did was take it, digest it, teach it, and then used their experience to make TWSS, et. al., to teach their version of that approach to others and provide supports for using it.  I have the book, it's really quite awesome - lots of good info, presented well - but it's also *a lot of info*.  (Full disclosure, I only made it somewhere to Unit 2; it was definitely my fault, not the book's.) 

This is against all IEW advice, but I did in fact use SWI-B without having done TWSS (or finishing BSSC).  I watched the videos with the kids, paused repeatedly to answer questions and offer my two cents and have the kids answer Pudewa's questions, and learned on the fly with the kids.  I had read several overviews of the approach (including the one in BSSC) and, idk, it seemed to work out well enough.

[Momto6inIN]

9 hours ago, forty-two said:

There is actually an option for reading about it instead of watching, but it's somewhat less user-friendly.  "Blended Structure and Style in Composition" is, as I understand it, the original inspiration for the IEW program.  And what IEW did was take it, digest it, teach it, and then used their experience to make TWSS, et. al., to teach their version of that approach to others and provide supports for using it.  I have the book, it's really quite awesome - lots of good info, presented well - but it's also *a lot of info*.  (Full disclosure, I only made it somewhere to Unit 2; it was definitely my fault, not the book's.) 

This is against all IEW advice, but I did in fact use SWI-B without having done TWSS (or finishing BSSC).  I watched the videos with the kids, paused repeatedly to answer questions and offer my two cents and have the kids answer Pudewa's questions, and learned on the fly with the kids.  I had read several overviews of the approach (including the one in BSSC) and, idk, it seemed to work out well enough.

I thought the SWI was supposed to take the place of the TWSS because Mr Pudewa is teaching them, not you. So the TWSS is for if you want to teach the theme books or if you want to create your own assignments. At least that's what I understood the rep to say when I interrogated/asked her a couple of years ago before I bit the bullet and ordered. I have no idea how that has changed now that they're restructuring things.

Very interesting about the book that inspired the program!