Last week we answered some common questions we receive about some of the supplementary resources we sell to support parents and educators as they teach IEW writing to their children. This week we want to share some additional resources, many of which are free, which you can find on our website. Offering support in a wide variety of formats, we invite you to take a look and see for yourself!
“The Arts of Language” podcast with Institute for Excellence in Writing’s founder Andrew Pudewa is a weekly podcast created to support people who teach written composition. Its goal is to equip teachers and teaching parents with methods and materials which will aid them in training their students to become confident and competent communicators and thinkers. The podcast launched in August 2015, and we are so excited at the positive response! We like to think that you are subscribing to the podcast as your “daily walking buddy,” as co-host Julie Walker likes to put it. Perhaps you would like to add “The Arts of Language” to your playlist while taking your daily walks, working on a project, or driving in the car. You can access it a number of different ways, including iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher Radio, RSS feed, and through your email.
You’ll enjoy
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behind-the-scenes news about events happening at IEW
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unpacking the deeper concepts of IEW Structure and Style methodology
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clips from webinars and speeches from Andrew Pudewa and other IEW teachers
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“Ask Andrew Anything”, featuring questions from listeners like you (every 10th episode)
Our aim for the blog is to use it as a means of support to all of you in the trenches—teachers, parents, and tutors—by offering comic relief or an easy, informative read over a cup of coffee. We blog on a wide variety of topics related to the language arts, including:
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current homeschooling or school topics
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contests, promotions, and publishing opportunities
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answers to your questions about teaching the language arts to your students
Full of the top news here at IEW each month, the newsletter will keep you up to date with upcoming events, webinars, contests, new products, and other items of interest to you and your students. We always have more going on, but these are the “big news” items, the kind no one wants to miss.
Our monthly webinars, held August through April, provide you the opportunity to listen to Andrew Pudewa and other Accomplished Instructors live from the comfort of your own home. Many webinars are free, and if you are a Premium Member, all of them are included in your annual subscription. Listening live allows you to ask questions directly to the presenter, but the recordings are also provided if you aren’t able to make the live event. We also have a growing library in our webinar archive that is free for anyone to listen to.
On our Facebook page you’ll find IEW news, events, and webinars, and you’ll be one of the first to know about special promotions like free shipping or clearance sales. Besides sharing IEW happenings, we enjoy re-posting articles and memes for inspiration, encouragement, and comic relief and introducing you to like-minded friends who offer services that will support you in your teaching. If you haven’t yet had a chance to visit our Facebook page, click here to take a look.
Have you ever wished you could sit down with some IEW experts and ask them all your questions? With years of experience teaching IEW in their homes and classes, Jill Pike, Cathy Flowers, and Jennifer Mauser along with seasoned forum members help answer questions and discuss such topics as grammar, sentence structure, themed writing, dyslexia, spelling, literature, and motivation. In the forums you can find the answers to questions like these:
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Where do I start?
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Is this who/which clause “legal”?
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How do I grade papers?
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Is this a true #4 opener?
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How can I teach writing to my 4th, 6th, and 8th graders with a toddler in tow?
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Members share ideas and innovations, challenges and victories as they teach their students practical wordsmithing skills using our Structure and Style method.
To better assist you, we offer the choice of three forums:
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“Homeschool Parents and Teachers” is our main group for all homeschoolers. Everyone is welcome to discuss any and all questions, just like the ones above.
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Our “Homeschool Group Class” Forum is a private forum for current instructors and administrators of homeschool classes, co-ops, and hybrid schools. Here members discuss everything related to teaching group classes and tutoring—such as scheduling, grading, and class management.
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The “Full-Time School Teacher and Administrators” Forum is our premiere support for teachers using IEW classroom materials in schools. Get ideas for implementation, help with creating your own lessons plans, suggestions for integrating writing into other subject areas, and much more.
Available for iPhone, Android, and Kindle, this handy writing app is available in a Lite (free) version as well as an Expanded version. The free version includes charts and lists to help you write organized and stylish papers. Based on the nine structural models and the many stylistic techniques presented in the Teaching Writing: Structure and Style program, this application gives you tools to organize your writing whether you are composing short stories, reports, or essays or writing about literature. It also includes lists chock-full of interesting word choices to improve your writing and vary your sentence structure—the mark of a sophisticated writer. The Expanded version also includes a “Thematic Thesaurus for Stylized Writing,” which is based on A Word Write Now.
As you can see, we offer a bevy of resources designed to assist you as you teach writing to your children. We want you to be well-equipped as you use IEW materials in your home and co-op classes and are committed to help you along the way. Take a look at some of these resources when you have a moment. It’s our hope that they will bless you as you train your students to become confident and competent communicators and thinkers.
