Is there a check list that lays out IEW for newbies? A sort of "IEW for Dummies"?

There is no “one way” to use IEW, so coming up with a generic plan is rather difficult. I will give you some useful guidelines, however.

I always recommend starting with the TWSS/SWI combo at whatever level your children are at. If you have all ages, shoot for the middle. I try not to have a family start with 2 levels at once for a wide spread because I want the mom to teach ALL the kids. While the SWI is making the lessons very easy for the kids, mom (or dad, of course!) is coming up to speed with the TWSS.

After this, if the light bulbs have gone on, some teachers never buy anything else because the TWSS has all they need to teach writing. This is not common since most parents either want more support, or don’t have the time to write their own lesson plans—which is why we have so many other supplements!

So, what next? If you loved Andrew teaching the kids on the SWI, then continue with the SICC. Just do the level of SICC that matched your SWI. If you did SWI-A, then do SICC-A, then SICC-B, then SICC-C. If you did the SWI-B, skip the SICC-A and go onto the SICC-B then SICC-C. The SICCs can be used over 1-2 years, so they can take 3-6 years to complete.

If you liked the videos, but would like to try your hand at teaching it yourself with guidance, get a book of Theme-Based Writing Lessons. They come in several flavors according to what you are studying. They all go through all nine units, so you can use them with any student (new or advanced). The ones by Lori Verstegen have the most teacher helps (more extensive teacher’s notes, vocabulary development, grammar, etc). The others are more focused on the essentials of writing.

The U.S. History-Based Lessons, Vol. 2 pick up in writing where Vol. 1 left off and involve more advanced writing.

There are also several literature courses that teach how to approach the study of literature. You can do as much or as little writing as you wish in conjunction with these. Teaching the Classics is a teacher training video seminar applicable to all grade levels. The World View Supplement is for those teaching junior and senior high school students.

The Pellegrino Writer’s Guides are great resources for style. A Word Write Now is a fantastic character-forming thesaurus (great for story writing and literature analysis).

The Phonetic Zoo spelling program effectively teaches your student to spell well, while Fix-It Grammar makes sure they know their grammar rules well enough to edit their own papers.

For myself, I use TWSS/SWI/SICC, Teaching the Classics, Phonetic Zoo, and Fix It. I have the Word Write Now and Pelligrino’s Transitional Words and Expressions for reference. That is my preference, but I know others who have preferred the Theme Based Lessons to the SICC, and many parents and teachers prefer to just create their own.

Jill Pike
Excellence in Writing