Disclaimer: I received a FREE copy of this product through the HOMESCHOOL REVIEW CREW in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way.
Writing is not a favorite in this house, it's one of those things that I try to make fun and creative but the boys don't dig it just because I assign it! Karter actually enjoys creative story telling type writing on his own, but doesn't want any instruction on it. To compromise on this I make journaling a big part of our everyday habits, I figure it allows them to write creatively without me grading it and also hope it provides them outlets and gets their juices flowing for other styles of writing. For the past month or so we've been given the opportunity to explore Structure and Style® for Students Year 1 Level B by the Institute for Excellence in Writing®.
Institute for Excellence in Writing® or IEW has a few different Structure and Style® courses:
Level A - Grades 3-5
Level B - Grades 6-8
Level C - High School
With Level B being for grades 6 through 8, it's right in the level Karter is going into. With his lack of interest in writing and that we've never used this program before I was a tad nervous with how he would do with it. Here's what came in the box
Institute for Excellence in Writing® or IEW has a few different Structure and Style® courses:
Level A - Grades 3-5
Level B - Grades 6-8
Level C - High School
With Level B being for grades 6 through 8, it's right in the level Karter is going into. With his lack of interest in writing and that we've never used this program before I was a tad nervous with how he would do with it. Here's what came in the box
Our set came from IEW with the Student Pack with dividers and a binder, the teacher's manual, and 24 forever streaming video lessons, and a magazine. There is also an additional companion product that I'd be interested in called "Fix it! Grammar".
The course is made to be a four or five day a week program with a schedule that even tells you when to pause the video for the day. It is still flexible in that it can be drop to a two to three day a week program or even a one day a week program and the teacher’s manual gives you the recommendations on how to adapt to that. I really appreciate how the teacher's manual guides you through it all but the schedule and checklists are also included in the students book!
 Student workbook: goals and schedule |  Teacher's Manual: Lesson prep, literary suggestion, goals and schedule |
Andrew Pudewa is the teacher that presents the program videos. The videos were recorded in a classroom setting with 15-18 students present in the recording. Mr. Pudewa is very intriguing with his stories and jokes and keeps the children engaged. The student participation helped Karter to feel like he was apart of the class and he participated more willingly. There was one day he had headphones on and was listening to the program while we were working on housework and we could hear him spouting off -ly adverbs with the other students in the class.
Karter especially liked Mr. Pudewa's methodology of using a pen to work with for rough drafts. From the get go the children are taught how to make rough draft remarks and it's strongly encouraged instead of erasing stuff because writing work that sound good is more important than work that looks good. For the final drafts he allows erasing or typing it up so that it looks good!
This curriculum has nine units that span over 24 weeks of instruction, each unit is roughly three weeks. Each week the video instruction time is about one hour long. Every 4 weeks there’s a new literature suggestion, recommendations like The Children’s Homer, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and Swiss Family Robinson.
Outside of the obvious writing that is learned through this program I am a huge fan of the small life lessons that are learned like binder management, public speaking, appreciating and compensating editors, looking for multiple reliable references when researching, etc. I definitely recommend IEW to my friends, family and followers who are looking for a great writing program for their children.
Outside of the obvious writing that is learned through this program I am a huge fan of the small life lessons that are learned like binder management, public speaking, appreciating and compensating editors, looking for multiple reliable references when researching, etc. I definitely recommend IEW to my friends, family and followers who are looking for a great writing program for their children.
We have enjoyed this kit by Institute for Excellence in Writing®, but don't just take our word for it other families from the Homeschool Review Crew reviewed it and other levels as well so be sure to check out their reviews by clicking on the banner.
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