Educating Leaders - No Conveyor Belt Education Here!

August 6, 2008 - Use Reading Journal Every Day to Encourage Writing

Why should you use reading journals with your students?

Personally, I believe reading journals are an excellent way to have your students interact with their readings and improve their writing at the same time. Whether your kids are six or sixteen they can write about what they read and begin their journal writing programs.

My teenagers kept a reading journal this past year. It specifically dealt with their literature reading assignment. At the beginning of the year, they wrote about the events that occurred in the story. As the year passed, they began writing more about the characters or the lessons they were learning from the story. By the end of the year this was an informal essay, going beyond simply recapping what they read.

My son is twelve and I plan to start the year with a journal entry at the end of each day. This will tell me what he "really learned" that day. He has made journal entries for specific readings, similar to narrations. We have used journals especially with his Bible readings. He writes a paragraph about what he read in his morning devotions and I believe this helps reinforce what he reads.

When my children were younger, they would narrate aloud what they read earlier that day. I would write it down for them. The following day, my kids would copy the narration in their best handwriting. Young children can have journal writing instruction as they enter copywork into their journals.

Journals help my kids write on a daily basis, but I don't think it teaches writing. I use Teaching Writing: Structure & Style to make a longer assignment that gives my kids the opportunity to write to a final draft form.

To recap, we have two types of writings: informal journal entries about what they are reading and formal writing assignments where they learn how to improve their writing. Sometimes we will use a journal entry and turn it into a polished final draft.

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© Kerry Beck, 2008
You have permission to reprint this article, as long as you don’t make any changes and include the bio below.
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Kerry Beck helps teachers and homeschool moms with journal writing programs. She has a free mini-course to show you how to teach writing at Teaching Writing.

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Teaching Writing
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August 1, 2008 - Choosing a Topic to Teach Writing

Lately, I've written a number of articles to help you teach kids, whether you're teaching in a school or home-schooling your own children. Recently, I was reminded yet again of the importance of allowing children the freedom to choose their own assignments. Thanks to my son, I learned a valuable lesson to make me a more effective teacher, while turning him into a more powerful writer.

Last week, my son was listening to his IEW Student Writing DVD. His lesson was on writing a biographical sketch, outlining someone's life in five short paragraphs. Well, I already knew the perfect subjects - perhaps writing on an early father of the church would help his recent lessons on Roman civilization to sink in more deeply. As an added bonus, he could delve more deeply into some of the books which we hadn't time to read in history. I thought it was a perfect topic - he wasn't convinced.

As we spoke, I could see the disinterest reflected in his eyes. Once the conversation turned to baseball, his demeanor changed. He had just finished reading a book on baseball player Derek Jeter, and was fascinated, eager to learn more. When I suggested that he write his biography on Jeter instead, my son's eyes lit up with excitement. had to use at least three sources for his biography, only one of which could be from the internet. Before our talk was through, he already had two other possible sources lined up.

We decided that he would write about Derek Jeter, rather than church fathers.

Over the past week, he has studiously collected information on Derek Jeter for his paper. Today, we narrowed his topics down to only three, keeping him from being overwhelmed. Over the next week, he will create an outline and begin writing.

I am impressed at how much happier he is with this assignment. All it took was the freedom to choose his own topic, rather than being told what to write. Because he is so interested in his topic, I know that he will do a better job and learn more in the process.

Wherever possible, let your kids choose topics which interest them. They will take ownership of their work, and be more motivated to boot. Try it soon - simply talk with your kids to find a topic which interests them, and then let them choose. They'll love the chance to follow their passions, leading to better papers which will be a joy to read.

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© Kerry Beck, 2008
You have permission to reprint this article, as long as you don’t make any changes and include the bio below.
-----------------------------------

Kerry Beck helps teachers and homeschool moms with a lesson on writing a biographical sketch. She has a free mini-course to show you how to teach writing at Teaching Writing.

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July 27, 2008 - Writing With Purpose

When you give your children a writing assignment, do they complain and whine about it? I had the same problem, until I discovered something last summer which made all the difference - when my children had a purpose for their writing, they were more willing to complete the assignments. Along the way, my kids learned the process of writing format through publishing.

All three of my children are published authors. For example, my son wrote an ABC jungle book at the age of 8. It took him a full year studying the jungle and its animals to choose the best plants and animals for his book. He then wrote a paragraph for each letter, referring to the Excellence in Writing style checklist to make sure his writing was of professional quality.

Given his age, it was unrealistic to force him to work on his book every day. It was an ongoing project that he worked on regularly, and completed at the beginning of June. However, he remained motivated through the entire year, an amazing feat for one so young.

There were a couple of reasons for his motivation, which ultimately led to a successful book launch. To start, he was fascinated by the jungle and its creatures, so he was researching something that was already interesting to him. It rarely felt like work! He was also thrilled at the thought of becoming a published author, earning money by writing and publishing his own book. Having a purpose for writing is the key to motivation.

Not all writing assignments lead to a money-making opportunity - there are many other ways to introduce purpose into your child's writing. Experiment, and look for new reasons to write. Perhaps your child can write a letter to the editor of the local newspaper on a preferred topic; enter a poem or story in a writing contest; share news in a letter with family or friends; or write a story about an incident in their life. Be creative, and find new reasons for your children to write - they will approach their writing with a fresh outlook and increased enthusiasm.

Once you have given your child a purposeful writing assignment, help them to first put their ideas onto paper, and arrange those ideas in a cohesive, logical order. There's a program on the market which, in my opinion (as a mother and former teacher) is the best. Check out Teaching Writing: Structure & Style, which excels in teaching your children how to write effectively for a range of reasons - letters, essays, stories, and more.

You can give your child(ren) a great reason for writing when you use the process of writing format through publishing. Try to integrate writing into any subject you are studying with your child. Writing should never be treated as a separate topic, since it is a valuable skill that transcends the subject material. By encouraging your child to write on a range of topics, he (or she!) will understand the purpose that writing has in all aspects of life.

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© Kerry Beck, 2008
You have permission to reprint this article, as long as you don’t make any changes and include the bio below.
-----------------------------------

Kerry Beck helps teachers and homeschool moms with the process of writing format through publishing. She has a free mini-course to show you how to teach writing at Teaching Writing.

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July 22, 2008 - How Will You Teach Writing? (part 3)

Writing is often a difficult subject to teach kids, but using this method can simplify it for you and your students. using predictable books to teach writing also simplifies your efforts as a writing teacher. After you outline a simple story, follow the guidelines below.

DAY 2

Get your outline and a blank sheet of paper. If your child needs to refresh himself on the content, have him retell the story aloud. He can use the outline to help him.

Next, your child will write a sentence for each line of his outline. The sentence does not need to be an exact replica of the original paragraph. In fact, your child may improve on what was originally written. When he finishes each line of the outline, he will have a completed paragraph.

If your child is young, you might let him tell you each sentence while you write it down for him. At this point, you (the teacher or parent) should edit the paragraph for spelling and punctuation. Notice I did not say rewrite the sentences or add words. Let this be your child's writing, not yours.

If your students are older and can edit for spelling/punctuation, let them do this on Day 3.

DAY 3

On the final day your child will copy his completed paragraph making any of your changes for spelling and punctuation. Of course, there are places you will see that need improving, but you can teach those concepts in a later lesson. This is an activity to help your students see they can write something on their own. They doesn't have to worry about "what" to write any more because you will give him a source text from which to start.

You can repeat this simple activity until your students are able to outline and re-write paragraphs on their own. You can use paragraphs from a variety of content areas such as knights & castles, animals, solar system, fairy tales or any subject you are studying with your students.

Isn't that easy??? And you thought writing was difficult to teach!

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© Kerry Beck, 2008
You have permission to reprint this article, as long as you don’t make any changes and include the bio below.
-----------------------------------

Kerry Beck helps teachers and homeschool moms by using predictable books in writing. She has a free mini-course to show you how to teach writing at Teaching Writing.

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July 17, 2008 - How Will You Teach Writing? (part 2)

In my last article I described a unique approach to teaching writing. It follows the guidelines set out by Andrew Pudewa in IEW's Teaching Writing: Structure & Style. This program spends most of it's time teaching students "how to write" instead of brainstorming "what to write about".

Using that model, let me share free writing lessons online that you can use with your own children this week (or the first week of school). If your older children struggle with writing, this is a great place to start. Begin by choosing a story they enjoy. This is one way of using predictable books to teach writing.

DAY 1
In order to help your children with "what" to write, you should copy a simple, one-page story, perhaps Aesop’s Fables. Read the story aloud with your child. After reading the story, write an outline/structure so you can do a key word outline with your child. The structure should look something like this.

I.

   1.

   2.

   3.

   4.

If you are an outline perfectionist, you might have a heart attack since there are no letters on my outline. The only person that will have a hard time with no letters is you. Children have no problem using an outline that has just numbers. In fact, they will find it easier to work with. There should a number for each sentence in the story.

Re-read the first sentence and have your child offer three key words from that sentence that will help him remember what is written. Underline or circle those words in the copy of the story as he tells them to you. Once he has chosen three words, write them in order on I.

Then, move to the second sentence and underline three key words for that sentence. Write them on 1. Continue until you have three words for each sentence. You may have less than three words, but not more. This forces your child to learn how to make a decision. Besides, he does not need to remember every detail in each sentence to learn how to re-write this story in his own words.

After you have your outline completed, put away the original source. Have your child use the outline and tell back to you the paragraph. Children have a much easier time verbalizing what they have read rather than writing it down. You just finished half of the writing lesson.

With older students, be sure to have them re-tell the paragraph to you. This may seem childish to you, but it is imperative to help with older kids' thought pattern as he writes tomorrow.

In my next article, I will share the rest of these free writing lessons online. You will learn how to use this simple outline to teach your children to write in their own words.

Kerry Beck helps teachers and homeschool moms with free writing lessons online. She has a free mini-course to show you how to teach writing at Teaching Writing.

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July 12, 2008 - How Will You Teach Writing This Year? (part 1)

When I first started homeschooling, I decided not to buy a Writing Curriculum! Why? Because all the programs I reviewed were activities I could do on my own. I taught fifth grade for six years and most homeschool writing programs were like my public school writing curriculum, teaching students "what to write".

Well, that was until I discovered Andrew Pudewa's Institute for Excellence in Writing (IEW). IEW had a flagship product, Teaching Writing: Structure and Style, that intrigued me. Mr. Pudewa did not spend a lot of time brainstorming ideas for students to write. Instead he spent the bulk of his curriculum on "how to write". This was a new concept to me because the biggest problem my students had, like all other students, was what to write about.

Andrew's approach to writing solves the "what to write about" problem by simply telling the students what to write about. His program spends more time teaching "structures" or outlines for a variety of writings, offering lesson plans for writing process. Depending on the type of writing and your purpose for writing, you can use different outlines to organize your thoughts.

In addition to teaching structures, Teaching Writing also shows students how to improve their writing "style". Thus, the name of the program is Teaching Writing: Structure and Style. Students learn a variety of ways to vary their writing style. Mr. Pudewa shows students how to dress up their sentences with strong verbs and quality adjectives. Other dress-ups include adverbs and clauses. After mastering the dress ups, students learn how to open their sentences in a variety of methods.

In my next article (part 2), I will share a simple activity you can use with your own children this week (or the first week of school). If your older students struggle with writing, this is a great place to start.

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© Kerry Beck, 2008
You have permission to reprint this article, as long as you don’t make any changes and include the bio below.
-----------------------------------

Kerry Beck helps teachers and homeschool moms about lesson plans for writing process. She has a free mini-course to show you how to teach writing at Teaching Writing.

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Teaching Writing
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August 10, 2007 - Teaching Writing

I’m updating our website with lots of new ideas for teaching writing & grammar. Take a look: Teaching Writing or Writing Helps

Just click on these links and you'll have all sorts of homeschooling ideas for the upcoming year.

Kerry

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August 7, 2006 - Short Story Contest

The Old Schoolhouse is having a Short Story Contest for adults and children. Take a few minutes to see all the great prizes you can win. You'll notice some from my hubby - Making Money Online and How to Start Your Own Business.

Then, head over to your desk and start writing...or helping your child write that award-wining short story.

http://www.thehomeschoolmagazine.com/TOS_Extras/Short_Story_Contest.php

Kerry

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Teaching Writing
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July 20, 2006 - How Will You Teach Writing This Year?

When I first started homeschooling, I decided NOT to buy a Writing Curriculum! Why? Because all the programs I reviewed were activities I could do on my own. I taught fifth grade for six years and most homeschool writing programs were like my public school writing curriculum, teaching students �what to write�.

Well�that was until I discovered Andrew Pudewa�s Institute for Excellence in Writing (IEW). IEW had a flagship product, Teaching Writing: Structure and Style, that intrigued me. He did not spend a lot of time brainstorming ideas for students to write. Instead he spent the bulk of his curriculum on �how to write�. This was a new concept to me because the biggest problem my students had, like all other students, was what to write about. Andrew�s approach to writing solved this problem by telling the students what to write about. His program spends more time teaching �structures� or outlines for a variety of writings. Depending on the type of writing and your purpose for writing, you will use different outlines to organize your thoughts.

In addition to teaching structures, Teaching Writing also shows students how to improve their �style�. Thus, the name of the program is Teaching Writing: Structure and Style. Students learn a variety of ways to vary their writing style. Mr. Pudewa shows students how to dress up their sentences with strong verbs and quality adjectives. Other dress ups include adverbs and clauses. After mastering the dress ups, students learn how to open their sentences in a variety of methods.

Let me share a simple activity you can use with your own children this week (or the first week of school). If your older children struggle with writing, this is a great place to start. Just choose a story they would enjoy.

DAY 1

In order to help your children with �what� to write, you should xerox a simple, 1-page story, perhaps Aesop�s Fables. Read the story with your child. After reading the story, write an outline/structure so you can do a key word outline with your child. The structure should look something like this.

If you are an outline perfectionist, you might have a heart attack since there are no letters on my outline. The only person that will have a hard time with no letters is YOU. Children have no problem using an outline that has just numbers. In fact, they will find it easier to work with. There should a number for each sentence in the story.

Re-read the first sentence and have your child offer 3 key words from that sentence that will help him remember what is written. Underline or circle those words as he tells them to you. Once he has chosen three words, write them in order on I. Then, move to the second sentence and underline three key words for that sentence. Write them on 1. Continue until you have three words for each sentence. You may have less than three words, but not more. This forces your child to learn how to make a decision. Besides, he does not need to remember EVERY detail in each sentence.

After you have your outline completed, put away the original source. Have your child use the outline and tell back to you the paragraph. Children have a much easier time telling verbally what they read than writing it down. You just finished half of the writing lesson.

Older Students: Be sure to have them re-tell the paragraph to you. This will help his thought pattern as he writes tomorrow.

DAY 2

Pull out the outline along with a blank sheet of paper. If your child needs to refresh himself on the content, have him retell the paragraph. Now, your child will write a sentence for each line of his outline. The sentence does NOT need to be an exact replica of the original paragraph. In fact, your child may improve on what was originally written. When he finishes each line of the outline, he will have a completed paragraph. If your child is young, you might let him tell you each sentence and you write it down for him. At this point, you (mom) should edit the paragraph for spelling and punctuation. Notice I did not say rewrite the sentences or add words. Let this be your child�s writing, not yours.

Older Students: If your child is older and can edit for spelling/punctuation, let him do this on Day 3.

DAY 3

On the final day your child will copy his completed paragraph making any of your changes for spelling and punctuation. Of course, there are places you will see that need improving, but you can teach that in a later lesson. This is an activity to help your child see that he can write something on his own. He doesn�t have to worry about �what� to write� any more because you will give him a source text from which to start.

Older Students: Edit for spelling/punctuation. Re-copy in good handwriting.

Isn�t that easy??? And you thought writing was difficult to teach!

If you liked this simple activity and the layout with assignments for each day, you will want to look at the new Student Writing Intensive Workbooks.

What are Student Workshop Intensives?

At the beginning of this article, I explained the Teaching Writing: Structure and Style program. Not only does IEW have workshops to teach teachers, they also have workshops to teach students. These are DVDs you can let your students watch and follow the assignments. Each Student Writing Intensive (SWI) includes 4 days of student workshops on DVD and a basic writing notebook to organize the student�s writings and stylistic charts.

But now, there is MORE!

Homeschool moms were practically demanding the new lesson plans included in the consumable Student Writing Workbooks. These workbooks expand the four days of Mr. Pudewa�s student workshop DVDs into 15 weeks of lesson plans and many, many extra writing assignments. As a busy homeschool mom, you need a plan to use the best writing program on the market (IEW), so check out the Student Writing Workbooks HERE.

These new Student Writing Workbooks will SAVE YOU TIME so you can teach and guide as your children need you!

I almost forgot�

�when you order IEW products from Curriculum Connection, you receive FREE shipping.

If you have any questions, post them on the comment section. Or, share your own writing source texts. When you post a comment, you are entered into our contest to win a prize.

Blessings,

Kerry

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June 28, 2006 - Notebooking Helps

We are SO excited to introduce best-selling

NOTEBOOKING! YES! YOU CAN BE A BINDER QUEEN TOO!

Need ideas for encouraging your young writers and QUICK?

Ready for a FUN way to encourage your most reluctant writer to write

AND like it...well, become ADDICTED to writing???

This is a book that you simply CANNOT miss.

Cindy Rushton, who has become known as THE BINDER QUEEN, uses Notebooking for EVERYTHING! She will show you how to begin whether your child is a toddler or the most skeptical high schooler. This book is the most in-depth resource available to help your children deepen their studies and document learning all along the way! Of all of Cindy�s books, this one is sure to help you with any area of study that needs a little life! Don�t miss this one!

Notebooking works well with ALL areas you study!! Perfect with Charlotte Mason Approach, Unit Studies, Principle Approach, Classical Education or Leadership Education!!!

BEST OF ALL!

NOTEBOOKING is NOW revised and expanded! Cindy has spent the past few months completely revamping this book. Not only does it include twice as many chapters--with even MORE help for notebooking with your homeschool students, but it also now includes her complete Workshop Manual filled with reproducibles, even more articles and help, and now several of her popular audio workshops!

Ohhh! Even BETTER NEWS!

Our NEWLY REVISED Notebooking Book
includes the following chapters:

Notebooking! Ready to Get Addicted??? Page 17

Confession Time... Page 19

Ready to Evaluate... Page 21

Why Notebook??? Page 23

Where On Earth Do I Begin??? Page 39

Down to the Nitty-Gritty...What Do I Need??? Page 49

What Goes Into a Notebook??? Page 57

Ideas, Ideas, Ideas...There�s Gotta Be ONE For You! Page 59

Hummm...Just In Case Your Need a Bit MORE Help!

Hey! What On EARTH is Copywork??? Page 103

Cute Notebook Themes Using Your Copywork! Page 113

So...Just WHAT IS Narration? Page 117

Soooo, What If??? Page 123

Slow and Steady! Understanding the Process of Learning Page 133

Some Quotes From Long Ago About Notebooking Page 139

Tips for the Stressed Out Mom! Page 143

Some Great Resources to Help Build Those Notebooks! Page 149

Need Forms for Your Notebooks??? Look Into These Resources! Page 165 ALL Chapters completely revamped and expanded! Ready to addict YOU and YOUR FAMILY to notebooking!

AND...That is NOT ALL!

We also include the entire COMPANION CD with this E-Book! OVER 300 pages filled with the following:

Workshop handouts from Cindy's Workshops Articles!

Notebooking! SURE To Addict You Too!
My Shopping List!
Language Arts The EASY Way!
Ideas for Mommy Copywork!

Even MORE Notebooking Help!
Printable Notebook Pages to Help You Get Started!
Copywork to Get You Started (On MONDAY MORNING!)!

Samples from the Rushton Kids's Notebooks!
PLUS! 250 sample pages from student notebooks brought to our workshops!

Reserve Your Own Copy NOW! Buy Now!

When you reserve your copy, you will receive your own CD to print your copy and all the forms included in this book.

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June 18, 2006 - Homeschool Encouragment from Andrew Kern

A few weekends ago I spent some time visiting with Andrew Kern, author of Lost Tools of Writing�.what an encouragement and inspiration. Andrew reminds me to take a step back and look at the big picture of homeschooling, instead of getting caught up in the details (not that details aren�t important, just over emphasized). I just finished listening to one of his workshops on Developing Wisdom through Writing. Once again, I am renewed in my focus with my children to be wisdom and virtue. That�s what God calls us to instill in our children.

I am in the process of reviewing his curriculum so I can discuss it at CHEA in California. I hope to set up a webpage of my review, once I finish. I�ll post it here when I finish.

Kerry

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Teaching Writing
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May 10, 2006 - Writing Questions

I copied some questions that were submitted to me last week. I hope these help some of you.

About how much time a week/day do your students spend writing?

My kids are 13, 16, 18 and they write each day. Sometime they write on a formal writing project and other times they are writing in their reading journal, copybook or commonplace book. They usually spend 15-30 minutes/day writing. The older ones may spend more time. When they were younger, they spent about 15 minutes/day writing.

How much time did it take you at the beginning to work with them on IEW? I realize this is one of my weaker areas and don�t mind spending the time to get us up to speed; I just need to know how to set up our schedule if we decide to use it. Right now I allow 1-1� hours for a language arts block each day for my 4^th grader. (This includes grammar, spelling and writing.)

We all spent more time together when we first started IEW so we could learn the process. It probably took about 4-5 months for the kids to learn the process and work independently. Even before that time, they had some assignments where they could work on their own. The biggest skills they had to learn include key word outlines, writing a rough draft from an outline, what the dress-ups are and how to do them, editing their piece. If you spend 30 minutes a day on writing, you should be fine.

Do your children write every day? YES

At what age would you start using IEW? (I have a five year old who has walked around with a pencil since she was about 18 months and she is constantly writing. She has my husband�s very quick mind, and is already reading on a 2^nd/3^rd grade level.)

My youngest began around 7 years old. We wrote an outline together (I did the writing). He dictated a sentence for each part of the outline (I typed his sentences). We printed the paragraph and we edited it together, adding dress-ups. We followed this pattern until he was 8 or 9 years old. Then, he started writing his own rough drafts. At this younger age, we did not do a formal writing assignment each day. We alternated with copy work and dictation.

Would I be able to teach both of the girls simultaneously and just expect more from my 9 year old?

Your five year old might listen and do what she could. Until she is old enough to read fairly well, I wouldn�t worry about these types of writing assignments. I would have her copying words and sentences from good books she is reading or you are reading to her. I don�t encourage writing assignments until a child is reading and spelling on their own, usually around 7 or 8 years old. I would gear your writing assignments to your 9yo and let your 5 yo �catch� what she can from the discussions.

I hope this helps a little more.

If you have any further questions, please e-mail or check out our website, www.CurriculumConnection.net. Better yet, subscribe to our free newsletter at http://www.curriculumconnection.net/newsletters.htm.

Kerry

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April 27, 2006 - New Idea for Grammar

I have been using a new idea to teach grammar to my 13yo. This week he is writing in his reading journal about his daily readings. There is no pressure to make it perfect, just a way to write down his ideas about his readings.

I type out one of his entries (double-space) and give it to him to edit. It looks like an Editor in Chief paragraph, but it is actually his own writing. This helps us tie together his reading, writing and grammar. Yesterday, we spent about 5 minutes going over his corrections.

It was interesting to note that he found most of his mistakes when he read it aloud. I think kids can "hear" their writing mistakes. The same thing happened earlier this week when my 16yo read aloud her research paper to me. She would say, "Oh, that doesn't sound right", and then correct it.

What I like about this activity is the way it involves the ideas of read-write-discuss from the Leadership Education approach to education.

Kerry

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April 19, 2006 - IEW or Writing Strands

Below is a response I gave to a customer about IEW, relating it to Writing Strands because she is using it right now.

Writing Strands covers a variety of writing skills. I have never used it, but most moms say they give it to their children to work independently and turn in their assignment. For myself, I choose to be more involved in my kids� writing. There are some subjects that I can just give to my kids and let them work independently (spelling, grammar, math), but writing is not one of these. I think kids need regular feedback to improve their writing so I choose a curriculum that involves me in the writing process. After my kids learned the writing process, I was less involved on a daily basis. Now, I usually work with my kids once a week to edit their paper.

Institute for Excellence in Writing encourages more involvement of the parent with the student. You can allow your kids to watch Andrew teaching the different units, but you should be aware that they will get more information than they need. He is teaching parents and teachers so he gives tips to be better teachers. IEW approaches writing from a different standpoint. It uses a source text from which the student will write her assignment. The student does not need to come up with an idea of what to write about. The biggest complaint I had as a schoolteacher was my students did not know what to write about. IEW removes this problem.

Next, IEW teaches writing skills to practice over a time period. The time period varies according to the age & maturity of the students. These writing skills are expected to be used in every assignment until mastery is accomplished. The skills include stylistic techniques such as dress-ups, sentence openers and decorations (advanced dress ups). Checklists are used to be sure these techniques are included in each paragraph. When a checklist is complete, the assignment is finished. This helps the students know when they are finished with an assignment. After a period of time (years for younger kids, months for older teens), mastery should be accomplished and the student should be allowed to decide which techniques are most appropriate for specific assignments.

Many moms think this destroys creativity, but I disagree. My kids have liked having a source text from which to work and then use their creativity to make the assignment �their own�. Others say the checklist is too rigid and their students� paragraphs don�t flow. When first using this curriculum, students� paragraphs will be awkward. This is quite normal when learning stylistic techniques. I like to compare it to learning to play the piano. Most kids don�t sit down and play Mozart the first time they play the piano. They learn simple pieces and practice scales (skills) over and over and over. Practicing stylistic techniques in each paragraph is similar to playing scales. Just like you wouldn�t play scales for a recital, you won�t turn in an articles to a magazine with every technique in each paragraph. Students need lots of practice with their skills (scales) and the flow will come as they practice.

If flow becomes a problem, I suggest mom take up her editing pen and make 1-2 flow changes for your child. All authors have editors who make changes and there is nothing wrong with a child having his own personal editor, Mom. Just be careful that you don�t edit the entire assignment. It is quite depressing for a student to receive an edited assignment with read all over the paper. Make a couple of changes and allow the student to learn how to develop flow after she has mastered the stylistic techniques.

Another reason I prefer IEW is it gives different structures, or outlines, for different types of writing. When my kids need to write a story, they follow the narrative outline, but when they need to write an essay, they follow the research outline. Andrew has included several different outlines for different types of writing. It does take awhile to master these outlines so they are natural to use. It is not something that happens overnight or even within a one year. But, if you use IEW over a period of years, your child will have several outlines that she can use for writing different types of assignments.

As far as the different tools provided, I always recommend starting with the DVD series, Teaching Writing: Structure & Style. This covers the 9 basic units and all the stylistic techniques. You can use these ideas until your child is in tenth or eleventh grade. If you want more guidance in planning writing assignments, I recommend Student Writing Intensive, Bible-Based Writing or History-Based Writing Lessons. All of these products have specific assignments for students to complete. The SWI is a 4 day student workshop on DVD and includes a writing notebook for the student to use. The Writing Lessons are books of assignments, based on the Bible or American History. Both include source texts, checklists and stylistic technique instructions. The history book has other items, such as vocabulary and student examples.

Feel free to leave a comment about your own experiences with Excellence in Writing.

Kerry

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Teaching Writing
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February 21, 2006 - Metaphors & Similes

I read this yesterday and will share it with my kids when we meet together this morning. If you are looking for some examples of metaphors and similes so your child can see them in actual writing, try Job 7:2-6. It's not a very uplifting passage, but does have some examples to discuss.

If you have other examples of metaphors & similes, please comment. I'd love to have a file of examples.

Kerry

Teaching Writing

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February 20, 2006 - Unique Writing Activity

Looking for a way to encourage writing, but a little burned-out?
Doing the same thing for all your kids' story writing?

Why not try the online Story Spinner? Take a look below.

http://www.bonnieneubauer.com/ssonline.shtml

Kerry

Teaching Writing

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Teaching Writing
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December 11, 2005 - Scrapbooking, Writing & Holidays

Writing should be an integral part of our lives!
Why not include it in your holiday activities?

As I ponder how we will spend the upcoming holiday weeks, I am reminded of the educational value of scrapbooking. In the past I have written about ideas you can use to teach your children writing and art techniques as you scrapbook. Since we enjoy scrapbooking so much, I plan to have my children make some scrapbook gifts this week. For many of the pages they create, they will be writing a paragraph about that page. Of course, I will use Excellence in Writing to work through the writing process by developing a brief outline, writing a rough draft and editing their paragraph for stylistic techniques and possible errors. If your children are having a hard time deciding what to write about, make a list of ideas with them.

To improve your artistic layouts, I would recommend Creative Sketches 2. It is filled with sketches Becky herself uses to design unique scrapbook layouts. The book is organized according to how many pictures you will have on a layout.

Writing can take many forms throughout the holidays. I love to hear what everyone is doing. Reading Christmas letters is a special treat in our house. Do you send out a Christmas letter updating your friends and family? Let your children help you write your letter. For the several years, our children are co-authors of our Christmas letter. When they were younger, they simply wrote sentences about events they enjoyed. Now, they are writing a paragraph about one of their favorite memories of the year and one of the lessons God has taught them this past year. You can use Excellence in Writing's unit on creative writing to develop a well-written paragraph. We are writing a New Year's letter this year as we take a look back at 2005.

One last idea is to have your children write down their favorite memories about the holidays. One year I asked them several questions about the holidays and had each one write down their answers. I am keeping those answers in their journals. Won't it be fun to look back and see what they thought was important in 2005?

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November 23, 2005 - Book Publishing Interview Online

My dear hubby interviewed a New York publisher about publishing your own book. We taped the interview and have it online for any of you who might be interested in publishing your own book someday. Here's the e-mail Steve sent to his group.
Kerry

Wow, what a crazy call! I got booted off my own call, but David
Hancock kept right on going (kind of like the energizer bunny!).

I managed to get back on the call, but in the process I think I
locked everyone out. Luckily, we have the whole thing recorded
and I really want you to down load it and give it a listen,
because David shares some incredible secrets about getiing a book
published, even if you have never written anything of consequence
to date!

Also, David gave a suprise bonus for everyone who comes to the
Family E-Biz Expo. You can see it here:

http://www.publishingsecretsexposed.com/

You heard it right! This course is free to all who attend the
Family E-Biz Expo!

So, please go listen to the call now. You can either listen
online or download it to your hard drive. (there are instructions
on the Preview Call page for doing that)

------------------------------------------------------------
Our next Preview Call will be:
Date: Thursday, December 1, 2005
Time:
9:00pm Eastern
8:00pm Central
7:00pm Mountain
6:00pm Pacific

I will email the phone number and access code in a future email.
------------------------------------------------------------

Remember, the training call does not cost you anything to join us
(except your own long distance)

To see what the Family E-Biz Expo is all about AND the new
bonuses we had added, click on the link below:

Small Business Workshop Texas

To get the recording of last night's call, click on the link
below:
Small Business Workshop Preview Calls

Warmly,
Steve

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November 17, 2005 - Want to Publish Your Own Book?

Have you ever thought about writing and publishing your own book?

My husband has the priviledge of interviewing a publisher tonight (Thursday, November 17) I've included a little blurb about the interview below.

If you want to listen to the call, you can get the call details (phone & passcode) at the link below. After you sign up for the call, you will receive an e-mail with the all the interview call info!
Click here to get all the call details: Christian Home Businesses

-------------------------------------------
Entrepreneurial Publishing Expert David Hancock

How would you like to have a book selling in Barnes and Noble?
What would that do for your credibility in your field?

Well, that is not just a pipe dream anymore. David Hancock knows
the "ins and outs" of getting published and selling your book in
the main stream bookstores.

Many of you many will be surprised at the secrets David reveals
about the Publishing industry.

David Hancock knows what its like to compete against established
authors for a high-profile publisher's time. He's also familiar
with the stigma attached to self-publishing. That's why he
created his own publishing company for authors and entrepreneurs
like you!

He created his own publishing company designed to cater to
authors and entrepreneurs, published and unpublished. What's
more, he would give them for FREE what other agencies would
charge thousands of dollars to provide.
----------------------------------------
Here is the call info:
Date: Tuesday, November 17, 2006
Time:
9:00pm Eastern
8:00pm Central
7:00pm Mountain
6:00pm Pacific
----------------------------------------
Remember, the training call does not cost you anything to join
us, except the cost of your own long distance (if you pay for
long distance calls).
-----------------------------------

Kerry

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Teaching Writing
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October 28, 2005 - Topics for Writing

A few posts ago I shared a writing tip you could use in your homeschool. Since that time I was once again reminded how important it is to let our children have some ownership over their writing topics. Let me share my story....

A week ago my son listened to IEW Student Writing dvd for his assignment. He needed to research a person and write a 5-paragraph paper. In the back of my mind I thought it would be great if he wrote about one of the early church fathers. We were studying the end of the Roman civilization and it would help him remember one of them well. Besides, he could read one of the books that we didn't have time to read in history. Of course, he wasn't very interested in those men.

I could tell his disinterest as we talked about his topic. So, we started talking baseball. He had just finished reading a biography of Derek Jeter, so I suggested doing his paper on Jeter. He didn't complain and even told me of 2 other sources he could use. (He had to use a minimum of 3 sources and only one could be internet.)

It was decided. He would write about Derek Jeter.

This week he has slowly found intereting and important information about Jeter. Today we found 3 topics about Derek Jeter. Next week, he will outline his paper and begin writing.

Believe me, I have a much happier son because he is writing about someone he likes, not someone Mom told him to research. I know his paper will be much better, just because he has an interest in his topic.

Do you let your kids take leadership (& ownership) in their writing topics? If not, why not? Next week, discuss an assignment and THEN let your kids choose their OWN TOPIC. They will be so glad you did and you will be glad when you read their finished paper!

Kerry

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Teaching Writing
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About Me

A place to interact about teaching our kids without following the conveyor belt model of the government schools. Think outside the box and provide a leadership education for your children. Other musings are included on a regular basis :-)