At this time of year, many people’s thoughts turn toward starting anew. Often the hardest part of starting something new is just that—getting started! This year’s Twelve Days of Christmas Giving gifts are designed to help make getting started with IEW easier. Over the next eleven days, we will offer samples of many of our products. Be sure you are registered for the event to receive the email with links to the gifts and the free shipping code.
The Day 1 gifts will set you up for success in training your students to become confident and competent communicators and thinkers. Lest you think that this only applies to teachers and teaching parents, let me assure you that anyone who is blessed with the privilege of investing in the lives of children will want to explore these gifts.
Andrew Pudewa is fond of saying, “You can’t get something out of the brain that isn’t there to begin with.” Therefore, in order to position students to become strong writers and thinkers, the two most important things we can do is read quality literature aloud to them and have them memorize quality language. In this way we furnish their minds with “reliably correct and appropriately sophisticated language patterns.” The more language patterns they have in their brains, the more they have to work with when it comes time to write.
Today’s gifts will get you started on this pathway. The first is “The Two Most Important Things” (Episode 395). In this Arts of Language podcast episode, Andrew Pudewa and Julie Walker give an overview of the why behind these two things. Andrew’s talk Nurturing Competent Communicators, today’s second gift, explores these two ideas in more depth. To assist you in getting started with reading and discussing literature with your students, the next gift is a sample video from the Teaching the Classics course as well as the first chapter of the accompanying workbook and IEW Book Recommendations. Finally, to jumpstart your students’ memorization efforts, today’s last gift is an excerpt from Level 1 of the Linguistic Development through Poetry Memorization course which includes audio files and PDFs. Implementing these materials will get you off to a great start in your quest to train students who can communicate effectively.
Throughout the next eleven days, we will offer more gifts to help you get started with IEW. Beginning with reading aloud and memorization, the two most important things, will make it easier, more effective, and more fun.
by Deanne Smith
P.S. Don’t forget to use the code for free standard domestic shipping on any online order from December 26–January 6.
