While the summer months beckon students with the promise of a rest from the rigors of school assignments, for many educators the summer provides a different but equally welcome respite: the opportunity to invest in their own education. With the pause in teaching, educators have more time to plan and prepare for the upcoming year. Over the past few years, one of the ways teachers and parents have invested in themselves is by participating in The Great TWSS Adventure. It’s just one of many different ways that educators can complete IEW’s teacher training course, Teaching Writing: Structure and Style.
The Great TWSS Adventure is an excellent way to move through the course alongside fellow professionals and parents. Whether you are viewing it for the first time or for the fifteenth, it is always good to have support. Scholarship flourishes in groups, and The Great TWSS Adventure will supply plenty of people with whom to share your insights as well as your questions.There are several opportunities for collaboration during the event. First, if you are on Facebook, be sure to join the event page, where there will be insights shared and questions answered throughout each week. If you don’t have a Facebook account, you can comment on the YouTube page during the weekly live Q&As or email adventure@IEW to connect with our team. Finally to tie it all together, on August 9, at 3PM CT, IEW will host a Zoom session with Andrew Pudewa for anyone who participated in the event and would like to attend. When you register for it, you’ll be able to submit any questions you may have or to ask them live.
Past participants shared these comments with us about their experiences during their Great TWSS Adventure:
The Great TWSS Adventure was, in a word, GREAT! ~ Sindy R.
This was so helpful. We have been using IEW’s materials for about eight years, and I had never made the effort to go through the entire teaching series. I feel so much better equipped to help my kids complete our schoolwork each year. Thank you! ~ Anita A.
This was just what I needed to stay on track and motivated to complete the training course and accreditation requirements! ~ Lisa B.
Here is how to get started:
- Sign up for the weekly reminders.
- Have access to the Teaching Writing: Structure and Style video seminar and your own Seminar Workbook.
- Schedule some time during each week of the event to watch that week’s video. The reminder email will detail what to watch. (You might want to consider hosting a viewing party with a group of friends!)
- Join the live Q&A each Monday at noon CT for Andrew Pudewa’s introduction to the new unit (available on IEW’s YouTube Channel and Facebook).
- If you have a Facebook account, stop by the Facebook event page to say hello and share your insights, comments, and questions with the group. If you do not have a Facebook account, feel free to contact our team or email adventure@IEW.com with any questions.
- Enjoy yourself! We will be awarding a $50.00 IEW gift certificate to one lucky adventurer each week. You can enter the drawing by clicking on the link in the reminder email or by sharing a photo of your party (parties of one count!) on our dedicated Facebook thread or across social media using the hashtag #iewlife. Each Monday morning, we will draw one winner from the previous week’s entries.
Here is the schedule for this year’s event:
- June 6 is Video 1: Introducing Structural Models (Units 1 and 2).
- June 13 is Video 2: Introducing Stylistic Techniques.
- June 20 is Video 3: Retelling Narrative Stories (Unit 3).
- June 27 is Video 4: Summarizing a Reference (Unit 4).
- July 5 is Video 5: Writing from Pictures (Unit 5).
- July 11 is Video 6: Summarizing Multiple References (Unit 6).
- July 18 is Video 7: Inventive Writing (Unit 7).
- July 25 is Video 8: Formal Essay Models (Unit 8).
- August 1 is Video 9: Formal Critique and Writing about Literature (Unit 9).
- August 9: Discuss Unit 9 and Final Q&A
After you complete the adventure, there is no better time to submit all of your hard work to our accreditation team to be considered for accreditation at the Registered Level.* Accredited IEW instructors are highly regarded and regularly sought out. Parents recognize that accredited instructors have been approved to teach the Structure and Style writing approach to their students. But that’s just one benefit out of many. To learn even more about IEW’s accreditation process, read this blog post: “Opportunities Abound: How IEW Accreditation Assists Parents and Teachers.”
Are you excited yet? We sure are! We can’t wait to once again gather a group together to journey on this Great TWSS Adventure. See you then!
* It’s enjoyable to view the course with others, which always produces helpful collaboration, but please note that the practicum assignments given each week must be completed individually to be submitted for accreditation.
