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Back to Basics: A Conversation with Andrew Pudewa on the History and Enduring Relevance of IEW
When it comes to teaching writing, Andrew Pudewa has spent decades helping teachers rediscover something that feels both old and new: a structured, sy...
01/01/26
Building a Foundation
Ivywood Classical Academy2026 Featured School Ivywood Classical Academy in Plymouth, Michigan, strives to form thoughtful, articulate, and virtuous y...
01/01/26
Empowering Teachers and Students: The Benefits of IEW Gradebook
Teacher Spotlight: Laura McMahon, Ivywood Classical Academy When Laura McMahon, a middle school science teacher at Ivywood Classical Academy, was ask...
01/01/26
Community and Connection
Several years ago, I was a young homeschooling mother with a lot of self-doubt. Despite being well connected with wonderful homeschooling friends and ...
01/01/26
Adaptable for All Ages and Abilities: Teaching Students with Learning Exceptionalities
As an IEW Educational Consultant who specializes in learning differences, I occasionally receive phone calls from teachers concerned about teaching wr...
01/01/26
Encouragement for the Journey
Once upon a time, homeschool conventions used to be an opportunity to stock up on curriculum and a few supplemental items for the upcoming school year...
01/01/26
Back to Basics?
I recently watched a social media video post from a teacher, and it stung me, so I transcribe it for you here, verbatim: New pedagogical idea: stop t...
01/01/26
The Art and Science of Motivation
by Andrew Pudewa I have studied the science and art of motivation for many years, first as a violin teacher, then as a writing teacher, and finally a...
03/03/25
Finding What Works
The Chesleys are a busy homeschool family. Austin Chesley is the mom of and the primary educator for all five Chesley kids, ranging in age from 10 to ...
01/01/25
Writing Maketh an Exact Man
Recently, we at IEW began the process of acquiring a very high output (and rather expensive!) printer. During our initial conversations pertaining to ...
01/01/25
Interview with Nancy Helm, Education Specialist
This summer at the IEM Innovate Conference in Sacramento, I met Nancy Helm, an Education Specialist for twelve years at the South Sutter Charter Schoo...
01/01/25
The Writing Skills Gap
This country is locked in a learning quagmire caused by an educational misalignment, which has resulted in many students entering higher education wit...
01/01/25
Turning an Enemy into an Ally
Adolescence encompasses some of the most difficult years of a person’s life. Middle school teachers, therefore, face a daunting task, which toda...
10/07/24
A Common Language
Lower Yukon School District in Alaska implements IEW’s Structure and Style method districtwide to improve students’ language arts knowledg...
01/01/24
Structured Success
With each edition of the schools magalog Arts of Language, we enjoy spotlighting a teacher or administrator who has implemented with fidelity the Stru...
01/01/23
Getting Started with Structure and Style
Every year, IEW has chosen an outstanding teacher who has implemented IEW in his or her classroom with enthusiasm and fidelity. Join us this year as w...
01/01/22
You Don’t Have to Like Writing
The Real Goal of Learning English Composition by Andrew Pudewa I have heard this—or something very similar—hundreds, if not thousands of...
01/01/21
Work Smarter, Not Harder
We at IEW® have the honor of introducing our 2017 Teacher of the Year, Mrs. Andrea Pewthers. She teaches English and literature to middle school s...
01/01/18
However Imperfectly: Lessons learned from thirty years of teaching
by Andrew Pudewa It’s hard to say exactly when I began thinking myself a teacher, but I do remember when I set out on my own as an independent ...
01/01/18
Squirrely Students Inspire Structure and Style®
by Andrew Pudewa The year was 1948. Tall, young James Webster stood at the blackboard, writing as quickly yet legibly as possible a sentence dictated...
01/01/18
IEW's Premium Membership: Incredible Results, Digital Convenience
In 2014 the newest video version of Teaching Writing: Structure and Style was poised for release, changing forever the accessibility and ease that our...
01/01/18
In Retrospect: Heroes of Providence
by Andrew Pudewa From the time I could talk, I was begging for a violin. Or so said my mother. I don’t remember, but the harangue must have bee...
01/01/18
Out of the Mouths of Students
Rachel’s Story Entering Middle School Rachel Averitt was a student of Mrs. Pewthers in grades 7, 8, and 9. She entered those grades largely hav...
01/01/18
Many Paths, One Writing Method: An interview with IEW mom Lisa Averitt
Lisa Averitt lives in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, where she is a pastor’s wife and mother of five. She has a BA in English and several years of teac...
01/01/18
A Weekly Spoonful of Inspiration
“We (IEW) should do our very own podcast.” This sentence was not initially greeted with much enthusiasm, believe it or not. Doubts of not ...
01/01/17
IEW’s Mission: Teaching Teachers How to Teach Writing
by Julie Walker My IEW® story is simple: I was organizing classes for a group of homeschooling parents and teens in Southern California, and I ha...
01/01/17
Low-Tech Teaching with High-End Results
by Andrew Pudewa If you attend a large education conference these days, a quick circuit around the exhibit hall makes one fact immediately evident: E...
01/01/17
What is IEW? Method not Madness
by Andrew Pudewa Most everyone has an opinion about what good writing is. It’s concise. Correct. Detailed. Winsome. Engaging. Organized. Clear....
01/01/16
Common Sense on Standards: Freeing Teachers to Be Teachers
by Andrew Pudewa The idea of standards in education is not new. Since the first Nation’s Report Card in 1969, schools, districts, states, and p...
01/01/15
Is IEW "Classical"?
by Andrew Pudewa With the rapid rise of interest in classical education in homeschools, hybrid schools, and even full-time schools, we at IEW are oft...
01/01/15
Harnessing the Power of Parent Participation with One Activity
The Institute for Excellence in Writing encourages parents to participate in their students’ education. Because recent studies prove parent part...
01/01/14
Process versus Product
by Andrew Pudewa In the 1992 film A River Runs Through It, there is a particularly charming scene which gives us some important insight about the tea...
01/01/14
IEW: The Key to Success
Forty years ago the better colleges did not have the writing labs that are a ubiquitous feature of college campuses today. Contrary to the pedagogy of...
01/01/14
Testimony to Oklahoma House Education Committee Regarding Common Core
Occasionally we are asked by concerned teachers and parents what position IEW and Andrew Pudewa take on Common Core. We invite you to read for yoursel...
11/15/13
Thoughts and Words: the Chicken or the Egg?
by Andrew Pudewa One of the few criticisms of IEW’s checklist-based approach to teaching style runs something like this: “Students’...
10/01/13
That Puppy Won't Fly
The Core Problem with Educational Standards Today by Andrew Pudewa Over the past decade, I have had the privilege to interact with a wide range of t...
06/01/13
Concerns About Common Core
Over the past few weeks, many homeschooling families and bloggers have been expressing concerns about homeschool curricula changing to align with the ...
01/01/13
Why and How Music Will Save the World
Challenging the Crises in Educational Thought by Andrew Pudewa “Maybe music will save the world,” said Pablo Casals, the great cellist a...
01/01/13
Thoughts on Common Core
by Janet Spitler and Genevieve Priest The Common Core State Standards Initiative® has caused quite a stir in the educational world. Most states m...
01/01/13
Recitals, Recitation, and Theatre
Performances in Preparation for Life DO YOUR CHILDREN TAKE MUSIC LESSONS? Ours did. Although their musical talents are vastly different, all three ha...
01/01/13
Remembering Mrs. Myers
ON JUNE 29, 2012, Lesha Myers passed from this life after a long battle with cancer. The beloved author of three of IEW's books, The Elegant Essay, Wi...
01/01/13
The Colloquium Environment
by Andrew Pudewa (This article first appeared in the September 2012 issue of The Old Schoolhouse Magazine®.) For the past ten years, I have...
09/01/12
What We Really Need
by Andrew Pudewa (This article first appeared in the August 2012 issue of The Old Schoolhouse Magazine®.) Depending on when one starts coun...
08/01/12
Contemplating Grammar
by Andrew Pudewa (This article first appeared in the June 2012 issue of The Old Schoolhouse Magazine®.) It seems that the pattern of t...
06/01/12
The Work of a Child
by Andrew Pudewa (This article first appeared in the March 2012 issue of The Old Schoolhouse Magazine®.) At some point, most homeschooling ...
03/01/12
Hate of Learning: One Cause and a Possible Remedy
by Andrew Pudewa (This article first appeared in the February 2012 issue of The Old Schoolhouse Magazine®.) When one of my daughters was ar...
02/01/12
You Don't Have to Like It ...
by Andrew Pudewa (This article first appeared in the February 2012 issue of The Old Schoolhouse Magazine®.) I don’t really like to wr...
02/01/12
De-Confusing Essays
by Andrew Pudewa “Essay” is perhaps the one word most feared by students, wielded by teachers, and misunderstood by many. But what is it ...
01/01/12
A Swing towards Sanity
by Andrew Pudewa Every once in a while, something happens which restores hope that the world is not completely insane. When this occurs in the field ...
01/01/12
Fill Yourself
by Andrew Pudewa (This article first appeared in the November 2012 issue of The Old Schoolhouse Magazine®.) One role a homeschooling parent...
01/01/12
The Art of Teaching a Skill
or, The Skill of Teaching an Art by Andrew Pudewa MORTIMER ADLER, IN HIS PAIDEIA PROPOSAL calling for a return to a classical curriculum, points out...
01/01/12
Developing Skills and Character through Homeschool Speech and Debate
by Andrew Pudewa (This article first appeared in the January 2012 issue of The Old Schoolhouse Magazine®.) Welcome to my column: Finishing ...
01/01/11
The Arts of Language
by Andrew Pudewa For many of us, the expression “Language Arts” evokes an emotional response; in some it causes excitement, but more ofte...
01/01/11
Bad Writing vs. Bad Circumstances
by Andrew Pudewa Recently, a co-op teacher commented, “Help! My students are completing the checklist but producing bad writing! They may use a...
01/01/10
Lesson Planning
by Andrew Pudewa The goal of Excellence in Writing is to make writing part of what your students are learning, not a course unto itself. With nine st...
01/01/10
Teaching Writing: Structure and Style - Unit 3 Overview and Tips
Watch this video by Andrew Pudewa on Unit 3   For an explanation by Andrew Pudewa on how to use Unit 3 and some tips for teaching, read on... ...
01/01/09
Now Is the Time
by Andrew Pudewa A decade has passed since the Institute for Excellence in Writing became a full time enterprise, and over these ten years we have se...
01/01/09
Success in Schools
Teachers who are teaching writing well by Janet Spitler When it comes to teaching writing, the teacher must often choose between art and science. Ho...
01/01/09
What Are We Really Doing Here?
by Andrew Pudewa Adorning our humble office, there are two things that always brighten my day and help restore my focus—a map and a pile of pap...
01/01/09
Why is Structure and Style® so effective?
by James B. Webster, Ph.D. I completed a four-year B.A. with honors in history and English, in which three to four yearlong courses required three su...
01/01/09
Encyclopedia Dad
by Andrew Pudewa Although Encyclopedia Brown is famous for what he did know, Encyclopedia Dad is famous for what he doesn’t know. Knowing so li...
01/01/08
Four Deadly Errors of Teaching Writing
by Andrew Pudewa We’ve all suffered it at one time or another—frustration about writing assignments. Either on the receiving end or ...
01/01/08
Good Writing vs. Great Teaching
by Andrew Pudewa Good writing. What is it? Everyone has an opinion, but opinions differ widely. While one language arts curriculum judges that simply...
01/01/08
But it’s so ... so ... awkward!
by Andrew Pudewa Awkward. Even the spelling of the word is disturbing. If we look back, we likely have memories of high school or college teachers ha...
01/01/08
How to Think
by Andrew Pudewa But I don’t know what to write! How many times have we heard those words from a frustrated student? Of course what he is reall...
01/01/08
Plagiarism
What is it really? And what to do about it... by Andrew Pudewa (This article first appeared in the IEW Newsletter—Spring 2008.) One of the mo...
01/01/08
What? or That!
Reflections on Reports by Andrew Pudewa In sixth grade or thereabouts, you had to write A REPORT. Searching for a subject that seemed moderately int...
01/01/08
Mixed-Age Classrooms
by Andrew Pudewa As a teacher, professional development presenter, and educational consultant, I have had, over the past twenty years, a chance to vi...
01/01/08
Motivation
by Andrew Pudewa To accomplish difficult tasks, motivation is absolutely necessary. No one doubts the need for motivating students, and methods of in...
01/01/08
Music Is Not “Nice”
by Andrew Pudewa Most people today think of music as a nice thing—something to break the monotony of a boring job or keep you pumped up while e...
01/01/08
What about Grammar?
by Andrew Pudewa It’s a question often asked—at conventions, during writing seminars, in emails—by teachers, parents, and even stud...
01/01/07
Marking and Grading
A few thoughts about a sticky, tricky subject by Andrew Pudewa As soon as people get serious about the business of teaching writing, certain beasts ...
01/01/07
The Madness of Multiple Choice
by Andrew Pudewa At some point, one of the hardest decisions that a home-schooling family must make is whether to do home education or to do sch...
01/01/02
One Myth and Two Truths
Nurturing Competent Communicators by Andrew Pudewa “Good readers will become good writers!” A mantra frequently heard in the lecture hal...
01/01/02
Writing without Tears
by Andrew Pudewa Teaching writing can perhaps be one of the greatest challenges in home schooling. Because of the bleakness of grammar workbooks ...
01/01/02
Convert ... to Pens!
by Andrew Pudewa “First draft in pencil, final copy in pen” were the traditional instructions of our grade school teachers. However, when...
01/01/01
Imitation: A Common-Sense Approach
by Andrew Pudewa As in many areas of education, the skill of writing has been elevated to the status of art, which it rightfully should be. However, ...
01/01/99
Four Deadly Errors of Teaching Writing
by Andrew Pudewa We’ve all suffered it at one time or another: Frustration about writing assignments. Either on the receiving end, or per...
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Reaching the Reluctant Writer
by Andrew Pudewa Many children do not like to write. Why? This workshop will answer that basic question and teach a specific ...
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Nurturing Competent Communicators
by Andrew Pudewa Many parents think that good readers will naturally become good writers. Others think that writing talent is...
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Nature Deficit Disorder: Causes, Consequences, & Cures
by Andrew Pudewa With the rise of screens being present in the home, exposure to the outdoors has become limited. Is it possi...
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Freedomship & Entrepreneurial Education
by Andrew Pudewa (Introduction by Dr. Tom Buckles, Biola University Professor) Many of us realize that we value home education not only b...
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What Are We Really Doing Here?
by Andrew Pudewa The Institute for Excellence in Writing started after Andrew Pudewa learned the Structure and Style® composition method from Dr....
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Do you want to stay informed? Sign up here to receive relevant and timely e-updates about IEW events and products. e-Newsletter Archive: 12/03/202...
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