It’s August, and a new school year is fast approaching. IEW’s Retail Customer Service Team and Schools Department have years of experience as homeschooling parents, IEW Online instructors, tutors, and classroom teachers. To assist parents, teachers, school administrators, and students to prepare, we have pooled our top recommendations for a successful year. These tips are helpful whether you are new to the Structure and Style® methodology or you are returning. Even though it might seem daunting for a school to start with a whole new curriculum, our 4-Step Implementation Plan makes it easy to connect with a member of the Schools Department, who will walk you through the process.
What do you wish you had known when you were first introduced to Structure and Style?
Jeff Nease (Implementation Coach, Schools Department Manager)
Trust the process. Remember that IEW is spiral learning. You’ll come back to concepts next year. The pacing will be quicker, so you will be able to get to more things than you did the year before. I can’t stress enough the EZ+1 philosophy. Don’t be afraid to modify checklists for certain students as the year goes on.
Jennifer Mauser (Educational Consultant – Learning Differences, Independent Study Schools/Hybrid Schools)
Do the training. It will benefit you and your students! Also, complete the practicum assignments. This leads to compassion for your students and a better understanding of the challenges they face in writing.
Allison Brock (Educational Consultant)
Keep handy Strengthening Structure: Models for Teaching IEW Structural Units while you are working through the Teaching Writing: Structure and Style seminar. It gives a great overview of each of the nine structural units and includes helpful model charts and exemplars. Even after completing the seminar, I still find myself referring back to Strengthening Structure whenever I want a quick refresher on a particular unit.
Jessica Tinney (Educational Consultant)
Do not underestimate the benefit of completing accreditation. Work through all of the practicums and become familiar with key word outlines, dress-ups, and the topic-clincher rule. Submitting practicums to the IEW Accreditation Team and receiving feedback ensures you are truly understanding the method and how it should be applied. This process also builds empathy for students, and you will be better prepared to help them if they struggle with a new rule or concept.
Renee Vasher (Retail Customer Service Manager, IEW Online Instructor)
Trust the process! Give each structural unit and the stylistic techniques the time that is needed, and do them in order.
Marci Harris (Lead Editor, IEW Online Instructor)
If you aren’t able to work through the teacher training seminar during the summer, work through the Teaching Writing: Structure and Style (TWSS) just a step ahead of your students rather than watching the entire seminar in a summer.
Allyson Heins (Web Coordinator, IEW Online Instructor)
Understand that Structure and Style is a method of writing, not just a curriculum or course. Additionally, Structure and Style will teach students how to organize their thoughts for many different kinds of compositions and essays, not just one type of paper.
What are your best tips for experienced teachers?
Andrea Pewthers (Schools Department Communication Specialist)
Review notes from the previous school year. Where did students struggle? Why? What could you do differently? Also, catch up on blog posts and podcasts you didn’t have time for during the school year. Make sure to have an efficient paper management system and assignment schedule in place. Finally, be realistic about what your schedule will bear. Sometimes less is more.
Erica Nease (Educational Consultant, Schools Department Manager)
Go back to the basics and watch the Teaching Writing: Structure and Style videos again. My IEW colleagues say, “I learn something new every time I watch or listen to Andrew Pudewa!” Collaborate with other educators who use IEW and energize each other for the year ahead. Getting excited about something and having a plan seems to help me power through.
If you teach a subject other than English, integrate the checklists with the assignments to hold students accountable to the same standards that are given in English class. It teaches them the importance of using good writing everywhere—not just English class.
Debbi Hall (Educational Consultant – Independent Study Schools/Programs)
Create a Jeopardy!™ game to review stylistic techniques and dress-ups. Play a memory matching game for banned words and their alternatives. Students love to play games!
Allison Brock
Go through the new edition of Teaching Writing: Structure and Style! Even if you have been teaching IEW for years, the third edition is worth your time. Andrew Pudewa and Jeff Nease recorded all new videos, so you might just learn something new!
Jessica Tinney
Remember what it was like when all of this terminology was brand new to you. Play games to review with seasoned IEW students and introduce unfamiliar terms to new IEW students. Consider using IEW® Gradebook to expedite grading and reclaim your evenings and weekends!
What advice would you give to classroom teachers and school administrators?
Jennifer Mauser
Teachers need administrators who believe in the importance of investing in training and finding ways to fit that into the schedule.
Erica Nease
I know an administrator currently going through the training to better support her teachers. She has shared how she doesn’t want to forget how it is being “in the trenches” and spends time with her teachers often. How I wish every teacher had that!
Andrea Pewthers
Encourage all teachers—not just the language arts teachers—to learn the method so writing expectations are consistent across all disciplines.
Jessica Tinney
Understand all of the benefits that are available to you. If you purchased a Premium Membership, log in and review all of the awesome resources. The Schools Department offers free support to help schools successfully implement IEW. Whether you are connected with an Educational Consultant or assisted by another member of our Schools Department, we are here to help every step of the way. Excitement trickles down from the top. If administrators are enthusiastic about implementing IEW and provide their teachers with the training they need to succeed, teachers feel seen and supported, and students are excited to learn. Students benefit the most from their experience with IEW when their teachers are properly trained and well supported.
Allison Brock
Be patient and trust the process. Strong writing skills take time to develop, and consistency from one grade level to the next makes a big difference. Also, don’t be afraid to use the resources available to you. Whether you are revisiting your training, participating in a webinar, or reaching out to the Schools Department, you will find a team ready to support your success.
What advice would you give to new students?
Jennifer Mauser
Set up your notebooks ahead of time. Don’t get too anxious. You will have lots of support, learn about great stuff, and surprise yourself at how you grow your writing skills.
Allison Brock
Don’t be afraid to make mistakes. Every great writer starts somewhere. Keep practicing, ask questions, and celebrate your success!
Jessica Tinney
Just because it is new and different does not mean it is too hard. Ask questions if a concept isn’t clearly understood at first. Have fun with it!
Allyson Heins
You should know that Structure and Style for Students will teach other skills besides writing, such as following directions, organizing your resources for future reference, and determining what papers are no longer needed.
Marci Harris
Students new to IEW should take to heart the steps of the writing process. Knowing the steps to writing will help students transfer their skills to writing for other classes. For older students, learn how to submit work digitally and learn to touch type rather than hunt-and-peck. IEW® Writing Companion is a great place to type your work and review it with the checklist, helping to improve your self-editing skills.
How can experienced students improve their skills?
Renee Vasher
I challenge my experienced students to expand their vocabulary. For example, I encourage them to look at less commonly used -ly adverbs and incorporate words other than amazingly and surprisingly into their papers.
Jennifer Mauser
Look to “up your game” by playing with advanced dress-ups and decorations. A well-thought-out dual -ly adverb, quality adjective, or strong verb pairing makes for elegant writing. Adding in decorations provides the icing on the cake!
Allison Brock
Keep challenging yourself by choosing stronger vocabulary words and incorporating stylistic techniques in a way that improves your paper.
Jessica Tinney
Use the IEW® Writing Toolbox app to find -ly adverbs, quality adjectives, and strong verbs. Don’t ever outgrow the key word outline. It may take a bit of extra time organizing your thoughts in the beginning, but it will save you loads of time in the end by keeping you on target.
Marci Harris
Don’t just choose a word from your brain for a dress-up. Use a thesaurus, word list, or the IEW Writing Toolbox app to evaluate options and choose the best word that fits the context of your sentence. The process of reviewing options helps to build a strong working vocabulary, which is important when it comes time to study for the ACT and SAT exams.
Andrea Pewthers
Add stylistic techniques with purpose. Select sentence openers to highlight specific key points or to create an interesting pattern.
In the coming weeks and throughout the school year, IEW’s experienced, knowledgeable team is ready to assist you whenever you need help or advice. Marci Harris shared one more thing she wished she’d known when she was new to Structure and Style: “I wish someone had explained to me how helpful IEW’s customer service department is. I could have emailed with questions as I taught Structure and Style the first time—questions about how to implement as well as specific ‘what to do if’ questions.”
Contact our Customer Service Team.
Contact our Schools Department.
by Danielle Olander
