Being able to express yourself in writing so that others can read it and understand is a very important skill, one that students can develop through various methods such as reading good writing, having direct instruction in writing techniques, practicing enhancing others' writing, and more. Pretty much every college student begins with a course in composition, and this can be easy or difficult depending upon the background in writing that they have already completed. The Institute for Excellence in Writing is a company that produces writing curricula which are loved by so many homeschool families.When we were given the opportunity to review this most recent product, Structure and Style® for Students Year 1 Level C (High School), I pretty much figured we would love it--and I was right!
The way the course is set up is that the student views the video lesson, which is a class session by Andrew Pudewa, with a class of in-person students. He teaches the class, there are some interactions by the students in his classroom, and the assignments given to those students are given to the "at-home" students as well. He goes over topics such as using strong words, being descriptive, grabbing the reader's attention, and more. Some of the assignments the student has are things like going through the chosen reading passage and making a type of outline, using key words from the paragraphs, and then
turning around and writing a title and summary of the passage from the Key Word Outline. Students are encouraged to add "dress-ups" which are words that improve the writing, things such as -ly adverbs, strong verbs, and more. There is also a list of "banned" words, which in this context means words that are kind of bland, overused, trite words.
This pattern is followed through other writing passages as the course continues, and additional things are introduced (quality adjectives, "decorations", and more. The passages are things that are definitely interesting to high school students...beginning with a piece that includes pickling heads (!!) and ending with The Princess Bride (!!!) :) These definitely get my teen's interest!
I have one child still in high school (11th grade) and she agreed to use this curriculum to "try it out" for the review. Even just a week into the program she was saying how much she enjoyed this teacher and program and would choose to do it almost for fun!
When a famimly purchases this program, Structure and Style for Students, Year 1, Level C, they receive several items: A Teacher's Manual, a Student packet and binder, and an activation code to access the streaming lessons by Andrew Pudewa. It is very easy to set up the online access for the video lessons, if you are unsure at all there is a video to help you do it :) plus the directions are very clear on the card they send you with your packet.
The way the course is set up is that the student views the video lesson, which is a class session by Andrew Pudewa, with a class of in-person students. He teaches the class, there are some interactions by the students in his classroom, and the assignments given to those students are given to the "at-home" students as well. He goes over topics such as using strong words, being descriptive, grabbing the reader's attention, and more. Some of the assignments the student has are things like going through the chosen reading passage and making a type of outline, using key words from the paragraphs, and then
turning around and writing a title and summary of the passage from the Key Word Outline. Students are encouraged to add "dress-ups" which are words that improve the writing, things such as -ly adverbs, strong verbs, and more. There is also a list of "banned" words, which in this context means words that are kind of bland, overused, trite words.
The student is given a checklist to follow to ensure that they include the required items. The student is encouraged to use an "editor" (someone other than mom!) to check their rough draft, they write the final draft, incorporating ideas from their editor before turning in the completed final draft.
From the parent's side, it is an easy-to-use curriculum. The Teacher's Edition contains everything you need. There are even lists of the notes that Mr. Pudewa had written on the blackboard during the video lessons in case your student missed some. The online access includes many helpful things as well, such as a page that gives you the timestamps for the video, which makes it easier to refer to a section, return and review, or just pick up where you left off.
If you would like to check out one of the sample videos, here you go! This and more information are included on their website: https://iew.com/SSS.
Here are a couple of reflections from my daughter:
I really liked the IEW lessons. Writing isn't generally something I love, but these video lessons were very enjoyable. The lessons were in a classroom setting, and it was easy to follow along with the videos. The video would say, pause and do such and such, or, "Take out paper" or something from the notebook. I didn't even realize that I was learning (haha). The teacher is funny, and easy to listen to. I love these lessons!
And that is a good place to end this review! A happy parent and a happy student...with good writing outcomes to boot! My daughter is now taking a composition course from our local community college and she is using the concepts that she is learning in this course as well and it is definitely helping her with that class as well. If you would like to read more reviews from others who have had the opportunity to use this program, as well as some who have used different levels, please click on the link below! I definitely and wholeheartedly recommend this curriculum!
