School has started, and Mrs. Jones’s students are steadily improving as they move through the structural units. They’ve also learned the -ly adverb, who/which clause, and strong verb dress-ups. All is going well! However, Mrs. Jones just learned that she’s going to have a new student join her class in the middle of the semester, and this student has no IEW writing experience at all. Oh no! How is she going to help him catch up to his classmates midyear? She’s nearly through Unit 3 and about to jump into Unit 4!
If you find yourself in similar company with Mrs. Jones, don’t panic! It is common that new students enter the classroom midsemester, and while it isn’t exactly ideal, it is definitely possible to integrate the student into the rhythm of your class’s writing and grammar. It just takes some creative thinking. IEW’s Educational Consultants shared their ideas from their many years of classroom experience for this post. What follows are some suggestions for ways to help a new student make a smooth transition. The first section reflects on ways to introduce students to the Structure and Style® writing method midyear, and the second shares ways to introduce new students to Fix It!® Grammar.
Introducing New Students to Structure and Style Writing Midyear
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Begin with asking your student to provide a writing sample using a basic prompt, such as “Describe a room in your home.” Provide fifteen to twenty minutes for the student to write. Then, evaluate the writing to see what skills the student currently possesses and which areas he may need more support for. Assure your student that this is not representative of your normal writing instruction.
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Invite your student’s parents to provide out-of-the-classroom support. Share IEW’s Structure and Style Overview with them so that they have a basic understanding of IEW’s methodology. Another great resource to share with families is the EZ+1 webinar recording.
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Schedule time with both the parent and the student and make sure they understand Units 1 and 2.
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Provide extra modeling of writing a key word outline during your instruction time. It provides the whole class with some extra support, which is always a good thing.
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Recall that IEW repeats the units year after year, so don’t worry too much about your student. He will receive a full year’s instruction next year. In the interim, adjust the checklist so that your student isn’t overwhelmed.
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Consider investing in a Premium Membership, which provides access to IEW’s Checklist Generator™, a fabulous tool for adjusting checklists on the fly.
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Consider providing a mini boot camp for midyear students. This is easier to do if you have the support of a paraeducator or assistant teacher. During the camp, complete a few lessons for Units 1 and 2 and then repeat the process with Units 3, 4, etc. until those students have caught up to the class.
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If you can spare ten to fifteen minutes over lunch or your planning time to meet with the student to help them, that is frosting on the cake!
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Be sure to listen to or read Four Deadly Errors of Teaching Writing.
Introducing New Students to Fix It! Grammar Midyear
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Look over the scope and sequence of the Fix It! Grammar level you are using. IEW provides free lessons for each of the levels. Have your student complete the free lessons of the book you’re currently working on in your classroom. Then, have him complete the free lessons in the next level. Use the information learned from that to determine the student’s grammar knowledge and starting place and to highlight grammar rules taught during instruction. Again, review for the entire class never hurts.
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For students who have very little grammar knowledge coming into the classroom, help them as much as needed for the Mark It! and Fix It! sections. Pay special attention to the grammar rules they are encountering in the midst of their writing assignments.
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Alternatively, review the scope and sequence to determine the best lessons to cover and select passages from those lessons for your student to work through, perhaps only assigning days 3 and 4. In that manner you can fast-track the student to catch up to where the class is.
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Avoid having more than two levels of Fix It! Grammar being concurrently taught in a single classroom. If you are teaching two levels at the same time, provide guidance for one level of students while students in the other level work and vice versa.
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Be sure to read the article or listen to this audio talk But . . . but . . . but . . . What about Grammar?
Hopefully you have found some of these suggestions helpful. If you teach in a traditional, charter, or hybrid school and have further questions, reach out to IEW’s Schools Department (800.856.5815 or email Schools@IEW.com) or contact your IEW Educational Consultant directly. If you are teaching in a homeschool co-op setting, please contact info@IEW.com for assistance.
Introducing students to IEW midyear does not need to be daunting. With a little guidance you will have the confidence to help your new student experience a successful year of grammar and writing with Structure and Style. You’ve got this!
by Jennifer Mauser
