At IEW we want the courses we provide to be ones that will excite and engage both you and your student. In order to help support you as you teach your children, we offer a number of additional resources that will strengthen you both for the writing road ahead of you. Occasionally our Customer Service Team receives some questions about these resources. In this post we will answer a few of the more popular questions we receive and introduce you to a few handy resources you may not have heard of before.
What are the differences between A Word Write Now, the Student Resource Packet, Student Resource Notebook, and all of those Portable Walls?
All of these materials are excellent resources for your students to utilize as they learn the Structure and Style method. A Word Write Now is a thematic thesaurus filled with helpful word lists that students can use to “dress up” their writing. For example, if a student wants a replacement for the word “courage,” he can turn directly to the pages on that topic and find well-curated and age-appropriate lists of words organized by parts of speech. Options include adjectives, adverbs, and verbs.
The Student Resource Packet is aligned with Teaching Writing: Structure and Style. This packet has helps for each of the nine IEW units, including Writing about Literature. Also included are templates and students’ writing sample for each of the units. Word lists and grammar rules also appear. While it can be utilized alongside any of IEW’s writing programs, it’s a student and parent friendly resource that is specifically aligned with the following theme-based writing courses: People and Places in Our Community; Fables, Myths, and Fairy Tales; and Bible-Based Writing Lessons.
The Student Resource Notebook, one of IEW’s older resources that has since been replaced by the Student Resource Packet, contains grammar reminders, word lists, and practice pages and is included as a free PDF download with a few of IEW’s theme-based writing books. It’s aligned with Bible Heroes, both of the Following Narnia courses (The Lion’s Song and Aslan’s Country), Advanced U.S. History-Based Writing Lessons, and Classical Rhetoric-Based through Structure and Style.
We offer several different Portable Walls, each with its own purpose. Here is a summary of each one:
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Portable Walls™ for Structure and Style® Students provides a handy, up close visual “wall” of supports for students learning to write with structure and style. It features word lists organized by type, such as -ly adverbs and strong verbs. In addition, these walls show smaller sized posters of each structural unit as well as reminders for each of the stylistic techniques. This product is included in the Structure and Style for Students Plus and Premium packages and is suitable for students working at the A, B, and C levels.
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Tools for Young Writers offers students their very own walls that provide information to support the youngest learners. Included are visual reminders for Units 1–5 and 7; a list of all of the dress-ups; decoration lists for alliteration, similes, and questions; word lists; and some basic grammar information, including rules for capitalization, end marks, and parts of speech. Additionally there are lists for both cursive and manuscript letters. Young students especially enjoy applying the included stickers as they learn the concepts.
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Portable Walls: Grammar on the Go places grammar support front and center for your student. The walls present information on a colorful trifold display about how to properly use commas, what constitutes a phrase and how it differs from a clause, as well as a list of IEW’s Stylistic Techniques and other advanced grammar concepts. Use it alongside Fix It! Grammar or as an aid to writing with structure and style.
What is the Writing Source Packet, and how do I use it?
The Writing Source Packet is a collection of additional source texts for Units 1–6 that you can use with students in Levels A, B, and C. The source texts are perfect if a student needs additional practice in a specific unit or if you are in a tutoring or small group situation and do not want to purchase an entire student course. The packet does assume that the teacher has gone or is going through the Teaching Writing: Structure and Style training course.
What resources do you recommend I purchase for my student?
If you are just getting started with IEW’s writing method, we recommend purchasing a copy of the Portable Walls for Structure and Style Students for each of your students. The walls can travel with them as they move through their IEW courses and are easily kept close at hand to consult as they are working on their writing assignments. Additionally you might consider investing in A Word Write Now. Incidentally, these two products are already included within the Structure and Style for Students Premium packages.
This post discusses a few of our printed resources available to assist you in your teaching, but we have even more resources to help! In an upcoming blog post, we’ll describe some additional ones available electronically that will also enhance your student’s writing experience. And in the meantime if you have any other questions, we invite you to contact us. We are here to help!
