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Teaching writing can be intimidating. I know it is one subject I’m not all that confident in teaching. However, teaching your kids to write doesn’t need to be stressful. We have been using Structure and Style®️ Year 1 Level B by Institute for Excellence in Writing®️. With this writing curriculum, I no longer worry about writing time.
Why?
Between the great videos and well-planned lessons, I no longer have to worry about how and what to teach. The program does it for me. With this program, I know my kids are learning new writing skills and techniques to help them become better writers.
Let me share with you what this writing program is all about, tell you how we used it in our homeschool, and why we enjoy using it so much.
What is the Institute for Excellence in Writing®️?
The Institute for Excellence in Writing®️ (IEW®️) is a writing curriculum for grades 3 through high school. It is a complete writing curriculum that offers video lessons (DVD and streaming), a teacher manual, and student materials. The lessons teach writing incrementally, so students slowly build their skills but also their confidence as well.
The company offers a grammar program you can use alongside the Structure and Style®️ writing programs. They also give suggested literature to read while working on certain units, too. I like how this allows for a complete language arts curriculum. At the same time, though, you can use just the writing program if you choose.
About the Writing Curriculum
The Structure and Style®️ writing curriculum has three levels. Each level has Year 1 and Year 2. The levels are broken into the following grades.
- Level A- grades 3-5
- Level B- grades 6-8
- Level C- high school
So now let me tell you a little more about the materials in the program.
Video Lessons
As mentioned above, IEW®️’s writing programs have streaming and DVD video lessons. Mr. Pudewa teaches all the writing courses. He is a very engaging instructor. Kids will love his humor and his ability to relate to students. He understands writing is not always easy for kids. In his lessons, he lets kids’ know he understands this and puts them at ease. I wish I had a writing teacher like him.
The streaming videos are of very good quality. This is what I used. I like that you can access them online whenever you need them. I’ve played them on my PC and the kids’ Chromebooks. The streaming videos worked well on both of them.
Now when it comes to the lessons, each video lesson is around an hour long. Sometimes it is a little less or a little more. Depending on how you schedule writing, it can be divided up over two days. It is marked in the streaming video when to stop it if you are viewing over two days. So, you don’t need to try and figure it out for yourself. It is done for you.
Teacher Materials
The teacher materials are very good. You have a Scope and Sequence section to help plan your year. There is 24 weeks’ worth of lessons. Each weekly lesson is detailed and easy to follow. You decide how many days a week you want to schedule writing; the teacher’s guide gives suggestions on how to plan your week.
Student Materials
The student materials include the following:
- Source Texts (short stories or passages to read)
- Model Charts
- Composition Checklists
- Stylistic Techniques
In the student’s writing binder, kids store all of these materials plus all their outlines, rough drafts, and final copies in the binder. Kids have dividers to help them organize all their writing materials. They are even given reminders at the end of each lesson where they need to put their papers for the day. I really like how it helps kids stay organized.
The Level B Year 1 program covers the following units:
- Note-Making and Outlines
- Writing From Notes
- Retelling Narrative Stories
- Summarizing a Reference
- Writing From Pictures
- Summarizing Multiple References
- Inventive Writing
- Formal Essay Models
- Formal Critique
I have used an older version of IEW®️’s Structure and Style®️. It was Year 1 of Level A. The units were much the same, so there seems to be continuity throughout the years. Kids know what to expect. My son noticed it right off, and he liked knowing what was coming. The work was just a little harder at Level B than Level A.
Throughout the program, kids learn “dress-ups” and stylistic techniques. The program teaches various writing skills that help improve writing. The program introduces them slowly and allows kids to practice them before trying something new. Your kids will appreciate this. They won’t feel overwhelmed.
How We Used Structure and Style®️ Level B as our Writing Curriculum
First off, I used this program with both my kids. Level B is for students in grades 6-8. Both my kids are in this range. My son is in the 6th grade, and my daughter is in the 8th.
As I previously mentioned, we have used IEW before. I used it with my son when he was younger. I was happy for the chance, though, to get back into the program.
Since it is summer, we are only homeschooling three days a week at the time of the review. We covered one lesson each week. The first day we watched the first part of the video. On the second day, the kids finished the video lessons and did their drafts. I’d edit their work, and they’d do their final copy on day three.
This pace worked okay for my kids. We were able to cover eight weeks during the review period. In doing so, we finished Units 1-3 and almost all of Unit 4.
However, this fall, we may move to a four or five-day writing schedule. In the summer, we don’t cover as many subjects as we do in the fall.
Watching the Lessons
I watched the video lessons with my kids. I like being on top of what they are learning and how to help them.
If you watch the videos, you’ll see why kids enjoy the program. Mr. Pudewa makes writing fun and interesting. Who wouldn’t like listening to writing pieces with titles like Carnivorous Plants or Mike the Headless Chicken?! (Seriously, the headless chicken is a real thing.) My daughter, who is 13, even enjoyed the lessons. And you know how hard it can be to impress teens.
Adjusting the Writing Curriculum
Besides the good reading material and lessons, I like how kids always have the option to come up with their own story (for confident writers) or to rewrite the source text (works well with reluctant writers).
At first, my son would stick to the source text and rewrite it in his own words. As he became more confident, he started following the general idea of an assignment but became more creative in this writing.
On the other hand, my daughter is a creative writer. Sticking to the source text was too limiting to her. She loved she could take the general format but come up with a new story. In her retelling of Odysseus and the Cyclops story, she wrote it from the perspective of one of the sheep.
I think this is what sets this program apart from others. Kids can stick to the familiar or get creative. Either way, they are working on the same skills but in their way. You can adjust the program to meet your kids’ needs. I love this flexibility.
Checklists and Grading
For each writing assignment, students are given a checklist. They need to make sure their writing contains all the things in it. If it does, they receive an A (acceptable) or I (incomplete). However, if you want to assign points to each item on the checklist, the program helps you do this, too.
As of right now, I am only checking off if they have all the items on the checklist. It takes the judgment out of my kids’ work. They either included what is needed or not. I’m not judging whether I think it is good. Even the “editor” isn’t supposed to give critique, only did they meet the checklist requirements.
The checklist is one way it saves my relationship with my kids. I have had too many battles and tears during writing class. The checklist helps to reduce the arguments. Now, I don’t dread writing time anymore.
Final Thoughts
Overall, I would recommend IEW®️. It makes the writing process clear and guides kids to become better writers. I would certainly recommend this for a reluctant writer. IEW®️ makes writing less scary. It takes the guesswork out of the process, and kids can focus on improving their skills.
Do I think this will work for everyone?
Mostly. As I said, this works for my son. He needs a formula, something with clear expectations, and something to go by. If there is too much ambiguity in a program and not enough structure, he’ll flounder.
My daughter enjoyed the program. However, she is a good writer, and she LOVES writing. (In her spare time, she writes books.) Level B was a little too easy, though she adapted. She’d do far more than the three-paragraph assignment. Maybe Level C would be a better fit, though I may skip some of the earlier units with her.
As a former special education teacher, I can see how this program would have been helpful to my students with writing difficulties. It has enough structure and allows kids to follow the original writing piece that I think would have worked with them very well.
The Structure and Style®️ Level B program by the Institute for Excellence®️ in Writing is a good program. It allows flexibility in its schedule and how students create assignments. Parents don’t have to worry about arguments with their clear composition checklist. It also takes the guesswork out of how to grade your child’s writing.
Other families reviewed IEW®️’s Structure and Style®️ courses. See what they thought of this writing curriculum by clicking the banner below.
