Welcome! It is our desire to support your school in every way possible. We hope the following information will be useful to you as you implement IEW's materials in your school. The hybrid school team is here to assist you with any questions or needs you may have.
For an in-depth look at the IEW program from Andrew Pudewa, click here.
Additional recordings of helpful webinars can be accessed here.
Helpful Resources (Click here to download or watch.)
- Cultivating Language Arts video
- Nurturing Competent Communicators video
- Reaching the Reluctant Writer audio talk (download a handout here)
- Teaching Boys and Other Children Who Would Rather Make Forts All Day audio talk
- Four Deadly Errors of Teaching Writing audio talk
- Humor in Teaching and Speaking audio talk
Please contact us if you have any questions: hybridschools@IEW.com or 800.856.5815.
Debbi Hall, Hybrid Schools Consultant
Renee Vasher, Hybrid Schools Consultant
Jennifer Mauser, Hybrid Schools Consultant
Click here to sign up for our Schools e-newsletter.
Choosing Curriculum
Contact Your Educational Consultant to Discuss Curriculum Options.
Training Teachers
There are several options available to train your teachers in our Structure and Style® instructional method.*
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Order several Teaching Writing: Structure and Style video seminar sets, and ask teachers to view and complete the practicum assignments on their own. Each teacher will need his or her own Seminar Workbook.
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View the Teaching Writing: Structure and Style video seminar as a group. Each teacher will need his or her own Seminar Workbook.
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Schedule professional development for your staff—an Implementation Coach from IEW will tailor the training to meet your specific needs.
*We also offer a teacher accreditation program and CEUs.
Implementing Structure and Style
Structure and Style for Students
24-week video writing course
Our Structure and Style for Students (SSS) video course is the most comprehensive and enjoyable way to teach writing we have ever produced. To try three weeks of the SSS for free, visit IEW.com/free-lessons.
Help and Support for Teachers
Podcast
"The Arts of Language Podcast" presents a wide variety of topics that are helpful to teachers and teaching parents.
Blog
Weekly posts offer teaching resources, encouragement, and inspiration.
Forum
The forum is a helpful place to ask general questions and receive input from other hybrid school teachers and administrators.
We'll be glad to answer your questions about choosing curriculum and about other needs specific to your school. Contact us at hybridschools@IEW.com.
Phone
Call our office to speak with a hybrid school consultant at 800.856.5815. Please do not hesitate to call! We want to help you, your students, and their parents find success using IEW materials.
Implementation Support
Additional Resources for Teachers
In addition to our core resources, these are a few products that may be particularly helpful in a hybrid school environment:
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Ideas to Involve Your Parents
Training Parents
It is important that parents understand the methodology used to teach their children so they can help them during the days students are learning at home. Understandably, some parents will have more time to invest in the process than others. There are several options available to educate parents in the most important concepts that will effectively equip them to help their children learn to write.
- Invite parents* to gather together to view Teaching Writing: Structure and Style (TWSS) as a group. Each parent will need his or her own Seminar Workbook. This can be an enjoyable time, allowing interaction between parents and teachers and creating excitement as parents begin to understand the IEW methodology.
*Upon request, IEW provides a TWSS viewing gift pack for hybrid schools to use as raffle items and gifts to those who participate in the TWSS viewing sessions. Email hybridschools@IEW.com for more information and to request a gift pack.
- Encourage parents to view Teaching Writing: Structure and Style on their own. Some families may wish to purchase their own copy, while others could borrow a copy from the school's resource library. Each parent will need his or her own Seminar Workbook.
- If parents are not able to invest the time needed to view the TWSS, they can view the Structure and Style Overview on one DVD, which includes a brief summary of each structural unit and the basic stylistic techniques. This option is not ideal, but the DVD will allow a parent to gain a beginning understanding of the methodology.
Open House
Does your school offer an orientation or open house for current and future students? Contact IEW if you would like us to send you magalogs or door prizes for your event.
Other Events
Student Presentations
- Invite parents to gather for an enjoyable hour of presentations. Students can each present one of their favorite compositions. This can be accomplished during the usual class time or scheduled as a special evening.
- Students dress up as historical figures and read a narrative report or first-person biographical sketch they've written. The audience tries to guess who each student is portraying.
Ideas to Inspire Your Students
Magnum Opus Magazine
Looking for a way to motivate your students in their writing? IEW's Magnum Opus Magazine will do just that! We publish student work each month in our e-newsletter and publish a print edition each spring. Sign up to receive the e-newsletter in your inbox, and find more details at MagnumOpusMagazine.com.
Writing Contests
Offer a writing contest to your students. IEW will provide a gift for each participant. The first, second, and third place winners will also receive a signed certificate. More information can be found here.
Other writing contests to share with your students can be found at IEW.com/writing-contests.
Portfolio
Students keep their writing in an individual notebook during the year. At the end of the year, invite students to select a few of their favorite writing projects to include in a class binder. Students can also illustrate their work. Offer a contest for the best cover artwork.
Review Day with Games
Using games found in Dress-Ups, Decorations, and Delightful Diversions (PDF Download available with a current Premium Membership), have a class period of just games. Students enjoy the competition, and stylistic techniques are solidified in their minds.
Tickets
Some teachers give tickets for completing each task on the checklist. The tickets are accumulated for a certain period of weeks, then redeemed for prizes, usually once per semester. Teachers set up a "store" with an assortment of items.
Public Speaking Day
Students present their favorite written work. Parents can be invited and refreshments can be served. Teaching the art of public speaking, Introduction to Public Speaking by Andrew Pudewa is a tremendous course for middle school and high school students.
From a Hybrid School Teacher
"I love teaching IEW's method in the classroom because it works equally well for brand new students and experienced students alike. Teaching at a hybrid school, I find that some of the students come having some IEW experience, either at home or in a co-op. These students usually have a basic understanding of how to follow the structures, and they're already proficient with some of the stylistic techniques. Since we start back at the beginning every year, those students can benefit from the review, as I teach the dress-ups and openers to the students who are unfamiliar with IEW's method. Plus, the customizable checklists mean I can have different expectations for different students, depending on their current skill level. Moreover, I don't have to worry about inadvertently judging the writing of challenged students more harshly than students with natural writing ability. Because both are evaluated objectively via their own checklist, the evaluation process is simplified. Everybody wins!
After teaching IEW's system for several years, I have to admit that one of the parts I love the most is when new students try out the style techniques. It's so much fun to watch them put together awkward phrases and sentences as they "test their new tool." They're highly enthusiastic—and I'm highly entertained. Plus, what teacher is not gratified to hear a parent marvel at their child's willingness to work on their homework? I've seen it again and again. Students without confidence suddenly find that they're eager to try out that new tool they've learned. I've had moms laughingly accuse me of some kind of magic, they're so shocked at their child's eagerness to write. I assure them it's not magic; IEW's method works!"
– Kim Murphy
IEW® and Structure and Style® are registered trademarks of the Institute for Excellence in Writing, L.L.C.
