Wonders of Science Writing Lessons (Teacher/Student Combo)

Institute for Excellence in Writing (IEW) curriculum provides an overall approach to writing instruction for all your homeschooling years. The distinctive Teaching Writing Structure & Style (TWSS) approach focuses on two basic components of composition – structure and style. Structure is both the type of writing and the method of organizing the writing. Style includes such things as varying sentence openings, using similes and metaphors, or repeating certain words for effect. Teachers and students will learn how to outline and summarize; transform their thoughts and ideas into writing; create cohesive paragraphs, essays, stories, reports, and critiques. They’ll learn/apply stylistic techniques like varied sentence structure, interesting vocabulary; and literary devices. It’s assumed parents/teachers are familiar with this dual-focused TWSS method when teaching IEW’s Structure & Style and in the Theme-Based Writing lesson courses. 

Based on specific topics or on events in history, these sets of writing lessons (same grade-range levels as the SSS) offer comprehensive, almost scripted instruction. All necessary source texts have been developed for busy parents and teachers like you. An IEW veteran and aficionado myself, I couldn't conceive of anything more complete than what is provided here. Each lesson offers comprehensive (just short of totally scripted) instruction. All necessary source texts are provided and are reproducible for one parent/one homeschool. Clear assignments (sometimes differentiated between levels) along with a checklist to aid both the student in preparation and the parent in grading. These are also designed to be used by the student to work on throughout the week. Based on specific topics or events in various segments of history, the lessons include grammar exercises, vocabulary development, quizzes, and games for review and reinforcement - along with the writing instruction, of course.

In all lessons students are encouraged to polish their final draft perhaps even adding illustrations. At the end of each course the student will have a personal portfolio collection of poems, stories, reports, essays and research papers. Lessons are taught at the beginning of each week allowing the rest of the week for students to complete the assignment which they should be able to do on their own. Teacher preparation is minimal. (Do I hear an emphatic "Yes!"?)

The courses are targeting a progressively more competent student with the assumption that students are working through the courses according to suggested grade levels. Therefore, there is an increasing complexity to the instructions, expectations, and assignments. Accordingly, teachers are encouraged to be flexible with plans. The beginning writer may need to spend more than the suggested week on difficult lessons or omit some of the grammar. Mature students may move more quickly to allow time for additional research writing and/or more creative essay writing.

Many of these courses can be used equally well within a homeschool with several different aged students and all can be used in a co-op/support school setting with more grade-specific groupings of students. It's assumed that parents/teachers have completed Teaching Writing Structure & Style (TWSS), IEW's DVD seminar for parents and teachers.

Some courses have both a Teacher and a Student Book. In these courses, instruction for the teacher is more extensive and both books are necessary as the course is designed to be interactive between the teacher and student. Teachers should plan to read over the lessons with the students and help as necessary, especially with outlining and brainstorming. A roll of tickets (available at office supply stores) is optional but very useful for encouragement and motivation. ~ Janice

This series will help your student develop composition skills using a science theme. Implementing high-interest content, discussing scientists, engineering, and life sciences, this year-long composition course simultaneously engages with high interest reading while also helping students grasp an important aspect of reading and composition skills: learning. Over the course of 30 lessons, students will practice applying the IEW writing techniques. Students will write from notes and outlines, retell narrative stories, and summarize multiple references. They will read and engage with the included, varied source texts (such as Rumplestiltskin; the story of Icarus; brief paragraphs on honeybees or meteorites; articles on famous scientists such as Albert Einstein, Maria Telkes, and George Washington Carver). Then, students will engage with the subject matter by completing assorted assignments, including writing from pictures, retelling narratives (such as Jack in the Beanstalk), summarizing references, inventive writing, formal essays, critiques, and responses to literature.

  The consumable Student Book provides the reading material and helps the student practice and apply the unique IEW Structure & Style methodology, so you’ll see familiar lingo in the composition assignments. For example, students will always write a KWO (Key Word Outline), practice using 6 different “openers,” remove “banned words,” practice using clauses, and more. This course also emphasizes responding to literature and vocabulary acquisition (words come from reading and from the composition skills taught). Appendices include a modified MLA format guide (for those typing papers); mechanics; a critique thesaurus; suggested literature add-ons; and vocabulary (listed by lesson, with 6 quizzes). 

  The Teacher’s Manual includes reduced pages with student sample answers filled in. Outer-margin notes reference specific information; identify the downloadable files needed; indicate whether new rules, styles, or concepts are being introduced practiced, etc. The TM Appendices duplicate the five found in the student book, with the addition of “Review Games” which provides 16 games to help students review concepts and vocabulary words, apply parts of speech, apply writing concepts, and more. This course assumes that you as teacher have viewed the Teaching Writing: Structure and Style video course and own the Seminar Workbook, so that you can review the appropriate information connected with the course.

  The suggested weekly schedule: Day 1: review vocabulary and learn the model/writing concepts. Any new structure concepts are introduced. Read the source text and write a KWO. Day 2, learn any new style or vocabulary. Review the KWO; learn the new stylistic technique; study vocabulary and complete exercises; use your KWO to begin a rough draft. Days 3 and 4 are more independent. On Day 3: review vocabulary words; finish writing your composition and check your writing with the checklist. Finally, on Day 4 write your final draft, use a checklist to check off tasks, make corrections recommended by your editor, and submit final draft.

  For your immediate family, free downloadable resources come with purchase of the TM and creating an account with IEW: vocabulary cards, reproducible checklists, and exemplars. To adapt this course for varying grades and abilities, two free, downloadable files are offered: Simplified Source Texts or Advanced Additions. In co-ops or classrooms, each teacher must have their own Teacher Manual.