We are getting ready to visit my parents this weekend for the 4th of July. It will be nice to relax and enjoy ourselves for awhile, even with the heat :-) Before I leave, I want to share the best essay writing guide I have ever reviewed. It’s The Elegant Essay & my 16yo still uses these concepts in his essay writing.
Perfect for middle school teachers & students to learn how to write an essay. Read more about it or grab yoru copy of Elegant Essay by clicking here.
Student Writing Intensive teaches students how to write better. I’ve reviewed this curriculum in the videos below. The first video gives you an overview of any Student Writing Intensive course. The 2nd video tells you more about the different levels and what ages they are appropriate for.
The video was too long so I had to cut it into 2 for youtube. Here’s the explanation of ages you can use Student Writing Intensive program
Today, I have an article from my dear friend, Andrew Pudewa of Excellence in Writing. It seems quite appropriate as we celebrate July 4th to look at one of our country’s founders…Benjamin Franklin.
Teaching writing can perhaps be one of the greatest challenges in home schooling.
Because of the bleakness of “grammar workbooks” or the lack of structure provided in a
“creative writing idea book,” many families have inadvertently put English composition
on the “back burner,” only to find that their child is growing up fast and has had little
actual writing experience. Perhaps “reports” have been done—you know, the kind we
did in fifth grade—in which the student copies sentences from the encyclopedia, trying
to change a word here and there so as to avoid plagiarism, until he has enough to fill
the page. Often a child will happily write stories but balk at dealing with facts. Other
children intensely dislike writing stories, as they do not know any stories to write. An
extremely rare child will keep a journal. Most would rather wash the dishes than write an
essay. Unfortunately, many parents feel that in order to teach writing well in a home
school situation one must have some type of advanced training in English and
education. Not true!
Fortunately, home school parents are strong in what is most important–common sense.
Realizing that in order to teach anything effectively it should be broken down into simple
and manageable chunks, successful parent-teachers see the wisdom in separating the
problems of “thinking of what to write” and “learning how to write.” Much the same as
we would not expect a child to pick up a violin and make up a beautiful melody without
years of technique practice and memorization, it is against common sense to ask a child
to sit at a blank piece of paper and expect him to “put down his thoughts” without any
practice in the mechanics of writing. For many kids, the task is overwhelming and brings
struggle, frustration and tears. This need not be. Using a common sense approach, a
wise parent or teacher will allow the child to learn to write using available information
which he does not have to remember or imagine.
Let him rewrite a fable or bible story he has read or heard many times. Let him read or
hear the story and then tell it back in his own words before writing it. Let him use
information from a book or encyclopedia for a report, but instead of allowing him to copy
sentences, have him copy three or four “key words” from each sentence and then
reconstruct the idea as a complete sentence himself. Sometimes his will be better than
the original. Remarkably, this is the very method that Benjamin Franklin used to teach himself
to write, as is recorded in his autobiography:
About this time I met with an odd volume of the
Spectator. It was the third. I had never before seen any
of them. I bought it, read it over and was much
delighted with it. I thought the writing excellent, and
wished if possible to imitate it. With that view, I took
some of the papers, and making short hints of the
sentiment in each sentence, laid them by a few days,
and then without looking at the book, tried to complete
the papers again, by expressing each hinted sentiment
at length and as fully as it had been expressed before,
in any suitable words, that should come to hand.
We can use this “Ben Franklin” approach for our students and ourselves. As the
method is simple, keep the content simple at first. Find an Aesop’s Fable or a
short chunk of text from a content book. Here is an excerpt from A Beka’s My
America:
“In God We Trust” is written on every United States
coin. The word “Liberty” is also on each coin. It tells
each person that this is a free country. Our country
was founded by men who believed those words. It is
because they trusted in God that we have our liberty
now.
To make a “key word outline,” simply choose the two or three most helpful “key”
words from each sentence. Use a title to help. With your child, you might create
an outline that looks something like this:
“In God We Trust”
1. written, U.S., coin
2. “Liberty”, also
3. tells, free, country
4. country, founded, believe
5. trusted God, liberty
Then have the child verbally tell back each idea using just the key word outline. If
the concept is unclear, feel free to reread the original. This is not a test. After the
child can verbalize the idea for each set of key words, have him rewrite the
information in his own sentences. It might come out something like this:
“In God We Trust” are words written on U.S. coins.
“Liberty” is also printed on each piece of money.
Our money tells all the world that we live in a free country.
Our country was founded by men that believed in God.
Because they trusted God, we have liberty today.
The goal is not to reproduce the original exactly; it is simply to have facts and
ideas to use for the purpose of practicing writing sentences. For older children,
use a higher level of reading material and make writing a part of the study of all
subjects. Not only will this make the activity of writing much less painful, it will
strengthen their understanding of the content being read and studied. It is a
highly effective and common sense approach to learning something: read it, tell it
back, and write it in your own words.
Summary:
By using existing “source texts” to rewrite and practice basic skills, children can
increase their confidence and competence, gradually building their writing
stamina and fluency. Then, when it comes time to put their own thoughts into
written words, the needed skills are there. By to write,” you can teach writing without tears.
I found it…I actually found some math story books that your kids will LOVE!
And get this, while they love the story books we have for them, they will be learning math concepts (without knowing they are learning).
Isn’t that a great way to “inspire not require”?
I’m always on the lookout for ways to encourage a love of learning with my kids. Math Story Books were one terrific way I found to encourage learning math, especially with my non-math daughters.
Here’s a video “showing” you the math books your kids will love.
As I flew to the West Virginia homeschool book fair, I enjoyed reading a terrific program, Windows to the World, by Lesha Myers. There are so many great things to tell you about Lesha’s program, but the first thing I noticed was how personal it is. I was immediately attracted to Ms. Myers and her literature guide. I felt like she was my long lost friend, sitting next to me sharing exactly what I to do.
If you are looking for your own personal teacher for you & your kids, Windows to the World is for you. I’m sure you will find Ms. Myers the perfect literature teacher for your kids.
If you would rather watch than read about this terrific program, here’s a video that “shows” you Windows to the World. Otherwise, read on to discover why this will be the perfect piece to your curriculum this year.
Should YOU use Windows to the World with your own kids?
If you are scared to teach high school literature…
If you want your kids to write well...
If you want your kids to study literature with a Christian perspective…
If you don’t have time to research literature
If you homeschool high school kids?
If you teach high school literature at a private school or co-op…
If you want your kids to think Biblically as they read...
If your kids don’t know how to write a well-thought argument…
Two Guides for One
It wasn’t until I had a chance to read through these manuals that I realized Lesha Myers actually gives you two guides for the price of one. She teaches your kids both reading & writing skills in one manual. As they complete this manual, they will analyze literature and use what they discover in their own writings. Pretty Cool if you ask me. This saves you time as an high school English teacher. You don’t have to create separate lessons for reading & writing. It’s all in one manual.
How will Windows to the World help you?
1. Save you time & hassle
Windows to the World includes every detail you need to teach literature as a teacher. It also includes a Student Book that tells your student exactly what to do when they read their literature.
You also receive a schedule for the entire year. You can choose to cover the lessons in one semester (18 weeks) or three quarters (26 weeks – Enhanced with Supplements).
2. Takes out the Guess Work - Shows & Tells EXACTLY what to do
If your student is suppose to do something, he/she is told what to do and how to do it. Then, Ms. Myers SHOWS examples so kid can see exactly what she means. No more guessing what the author means.
3. Research is done for you
Resources for Enhanced Studies are included in each lesson. You don’t have to do any research, just open up your manual and use the resources provided for Enhanced studies. When your kids want to learn more or need extra help, you already know what to do.
4. Answers to Student Manual
This may seem obvious, but not all guides provide answers to the student questions. Ms. Myers has provided sample answers for the Student Manual. Use this as a guide for you to stimulate discussion and/or grade exercises.
5. Complete explanations for each literary element.
The student manual provides explanations for each literary element being taught. Not only does your student receive explanations, he/she will have lots of exercises to practice.
6. Graphic Organizers
Many of the literary elements are easier understood with charts, graphic organizers and drawings. If your kids learn better seeing something drawn out, this will help them understand better.
7. Checklists
Many lessons have checklists to help your students keep track of what they are learning. You don’t have to design your own checklists! They are done for you! As a BONUS, students have all checklists rewritten at the end of their Student Manual. You can make copies as you analyze individual pieces of literature or as your kids write their literary analysis essay.
No More Book Reports
As your student works through the Windows manual, he will write literary analysis instead of book reports. This means you get 2 guides in 1. Your students will learn to analyze books they are reading AND discover how to form well-written arguments. This is NOT a BOOK REPORT.
Students will write arguments that answer questions about meaning and purpose.
If you don’t know how to teach the process of writing argument,
you have come to the right place.
Windows to the World will show your students how to….
Form a thesis statement
Structure body paragraphs that develop your argument.
Write good topic sentences
Blend quotations into their argument
Use correct punctuation with quotations
Develop commentary within your argument
Form thoughtful introductions and conclusions
Most of all Lesha Myers provides plenty of examples for each part of your kids’ persuasive argument. I’ve seen teachers explain the structure of the body paragraphs but NEVER give examples of well-written paragraphs. Your students will see what a good introduction, body and conclusion paragraph look like.
Your students will have a checklist they can use to be sure their essay is written correctly.
Windows to the World goes beyond literary analysis and includes strategies to analyze the worldview of literature. As a Christian parent, this is one of my favorite parts of this book. It gives your kids a method to analyze the worldview from a Biblical perspective. Isn’t that one of the main goals as we teach our kids to think for themselves? That they analyze the world around them from a Biblical perspective. This includes analyzing the books they read.
So what’s included in Windows to the World?
Each lesson in the Teacher Manual includes
• Unit Objectives
• Unit Plan – Step-by-Step directions to teach the lesson
• Duration – how long you should spend on each lesson
• Approach – to teaching that concept
• Answers to Student Exercisesq
Many lessons also have
• Specifics on identifying the concept being taught
• Examples of the concept
• Biblical Examples
• Helps with difficult passages
• Vocabulary Suggestions
• Extra Practice Exercises & Activities
• Sample Essays
• Projects
• More Resources to Use
• Graphic Charts to Explain Literary Element
• More Stories to Read to better understand specific elements
As you can see, Windows to the World is the perfect High School English course to teach your students to think for themselves as they analyze & write about literature pieces. I highly recommend it to Christian parents and teachers who want their students to think Biblically as they read & write.
If you are looking for an English course that has lots of worksheets, questions and pre-written tests, this is not the course for you. If you are looking for a course that has open-ended questions so your students actually think about the topic at hand, Windows to the World is definitely for you…Enjoy!
A few posts ago, I talked about Institute for Excellence in Writing and their wonderful writing programs. Yesterday, I was reading through some different materials about the program. Look what Tami had to say about IEW:
“My 5th grade son is my reluctant writer. I am AMAZED at his response to the program. Having an ‘original work’ from which to begin has set him free from the paralysis of not knowing what to write, which has produced many, many tears in the last few years. He is now motivated by ‘mediocre’ fiction as a starting document, to ‘do better than the original’- a competitive boy-thing I gather- ha. This week he wrote the longest piece he has ever voluntarily written, and by far the longest piece he’s ever done with NO help from me. The norm to this point has been that every sentence is like pulling teeth and what I hear most is a tearful ‘I don’t know’ in response to my questions designed to inspire.
Yesterday was the cake topper. I was on the verge of (happy) tears. I had dreaded introducing the concept of rewrites. Anytime I’ve ever done so in the past, he has broken down completely, and bucked it hard. He’s just flatly opposed to RE-doing something he’s worked hard on I had even determined NOT to require rewrites of him for awhile. I was going to let the “summarizing” go on extensively with him. I started my oldest on her first rewrite, started the youngest on some copy work, and approached him to read his work together. I sat DUMBFOUNDED as this child who “hates writing” tore into his own work, gleefully self-motivated to make it ‘even better.’ He hardly noticed I was there as he wrote furiously, saying things like, ‘Oooh! Oooh! Oh, Mom- I’m gonna ditch the whole thing about the bear licking his face and instead… That’d be even better!’ I almost cried. The difference? DOUBLE SPACING. The simple concept of double spacing means he doesn’t have to erase, and that’s all it took. Who’d have thought! THANKS!”
Have you ever dreamed of teaching classes from home?
Or … dreamed of working from the comfort of your living room sofa?
reason I ask is so many homeschool moms tell me they want to start their own business while homeschooling their kids…OR…teach homeschool classes. Tuesday night (June 16th) my hubby is offering a free webinar (online class) that tells how to use webinars to teach classes or start a business.
As of this morning, only 35 spaces remain for tonight’s FREEwebinar about “Getting Wildly Wealthy With Webinars!” that Steve is presenting.
One reason I’m so excited is we’ve been using webinars over a year and they have given us more control over our lives because our online business DOUBLED, then TRIPLED. In fact, webinars are one of the EASIEST and FASTEST ways to build an online business or teach classes!
Stephen will also reveal the webinar models that have increased his online business exponentially - webinar models that you can take and use IMMEDIATELY after the webinar!
Tuesday’s WEBINAR is absolutely free. You will be able to see and hear Stephen on your computer, but you must register NOW to lock-in your spot!
Here’s just a few secrets Stephen will be revealing…
- 3 ways you can use Webinars to create products from scratch …so you put in the effort in one time and sell it over and over and over! This includes teaching classes!
- The difference between a information/teaching webinar and one that sells (it’s more than what you think …and you’ll discover how confusing the two will cause you to crash and burn)
- Why Webinars are the most effective sales tool (second only to live events) …and how you can use them to sell more of your product and consistently sell it day in and day out!
- How a successful Internet Marketer raised his sales letterconversion from 3% to 30% using Webinars almost by magic…
- 5 webinar models that make extraordinary profits and give you tremendous freedom …so you can spend time on what you are passionate about!
- The secret ingredient to getting Big Players in your niche or industry to send their huge email lists to your webinar …thus exploding the size of your email list overnight!
Bottom Line…
On this 70-minute Webinar, you’ll discover how to explode your online (and offline) business using webinars!
P.S. - Stephen has never taught this information before in public. I wanted you to be the first to hear one of the biggest online secrets!
P.S.S. - He has something VERY special cooked up for those who attend the webinar LIVE. It will be worth your while to be on this webinar, I guarantee it!
YES!!!
It is entirely possible to teach your kids to write well. Let me share how I discovered an easy way to teach writing to my own kids.
Over 10 years ago, I was starting my homeschool journey. Since I taught public school for 6 years, I didn’t see a need to invest in a writing curriculum. Everything I saw on the market was just like what I had used as a classroom teacher…brainstorm topic, brainstorm ideas to put in essay…LOTS of brainstorming, little teaching of HOW to write.
That was until I discovered Institute for Excellence in Writing (IEW) and their Teaching Writing program. This was different and this actually taught HOW to WRITE!
I have personally used Excellence in Writing for over 10 years and have seen great improvement in my own children’s writing. It is one of MY FAVORITES! Let me tell you more…
Students do not like to write…WHY?
They do not know WHAT to write about. Excellence in Writing doesn’t expect students to figure out what to write about. Instead, they teach students how to improve their writing skills. Too many writing programs spend precious time brainstorming writing topics instead of teaching HOW to write.
When you use Institute for Excellence in Writing, you will spend time teaching your students HOW TO WRITE, instead of so much time on what to write about. Here’s what one mom said about IEW.
Before IEW: Tears (theirs and mine), rebellion, fights, feelings and words of inadequacy.After IEW: Smiles (even grins at times), cooperation, peace, feelings of accomplishment and even boastings “of my latest paper.”
~Robin~
We know teachers and moms are super-busy, so we make it easy on you to teach writing.
On the DVDs, you will watch Andrew Pudewa as he shares with moms and teachers how to teach each of the nine units and all of the stylistic .
Wondering what a stylistic technique is?
It’s a fancy word for teaching your students how to write well & improve your kids’ writing. It’s how you can help your kids make their words, sentences and paragraphs more interesting and well-written. Isn’t that the goal of teaching writing???
If you’ve never used IEW before, this is the right place to start.
Teaching Writing: Structure & Style is the foundation for all of IEW Writing guides. The other guides assume you understand the IEW structure outlines for writing and the stylistic techniques explained in these 9 writing units.
Videos for Teachers – Discover HOW to Teach Writing
Overview,
Units 1-2 Notemaking, Summarizing, Stylistic Technique-Dress Up
Unit 3-Narratives, Stylistic Technique-Sentence Opener
Unit 4-Reports from single source, Stylistic Technique-Advanced Dress-Ups, Decorations, Triples
Unit 5-Writing from Pictures
Unit 6-Reports from Multiple Sources
Unit 7-Creative Writing with Structure
Unit 8-Essays: Basic, Extended, Super
Unit 9-Critiques, Conclusions
Tips & Tricks DVD
Student Videos – Discover HOW to Write Better
In addition to the Teacher DVDs that teach the 9 units listed above, you will also receive 3 student workshop. Andrew Pudewa teaches units 1 & 2 to a group of students.
Simply PLUG & PLAY…
Pop in the dvd and let your students discover how to write paragraphs in their own words.. Your student will also be given a writing assignment to be completed with your guidance & support.
The 3 student workshops are given at 3 different age levels (elementary, intermediate & secondary) Choose the dvd for your own kids’ ages and let them learn from the best…Andrew Pudewa, author of Teaching Writing program.
The only drawback to IEW’s Teaching Writing is you won’t have a workbook that you give your students and never have to check back with them. As the teacher, you will need to give them feedback on their writing. But then again, all writing programs require some feedback about the students’ writings. IEW makes it easy because they include a checklist at the end of each unit. When you use the checklist, you & your kids will know exactly what is needed to complete that unit. How simple is that!
PERFECT ADDITION for homeschools or classical teachers. Workbook & 9 dvds
BONUS: FREE SHIPPING
When you invest in IEW Teaching Writing from Curriculum Connection, we want to help you out as much as possible, so we offer FREE Shipping. This saves you at least $10.
One more thought about Teaching Writing…The initial investment is a bit more than the normal writing guide. Why? Teaching Writing is a program that will last you from 2nd grade to 10th grade and you can use it with ALL your own kids. No more buying workbooks for each child for each year. If you have 3 kids and by them a writing program each year, you will spend $$60 per year ($20/guide) . In 8 years, you will spend $480 on yearly writing curriculum. Teaching Writing is $169 and it really works at teaching how to write!
I credit all my success in life to God. But if I had to choose one TOOL that has been responsible for my success online, it would be WEBINARS. Plain and simple.
And I want to show you how to start using Webinars in your own business …both online and offline!
You are invited to an absolutely free, live webinar I’m holding THIS Thursday, May 28, 2009 at 6:00pm (Pacific Time), especially for you, my customers and subscribers.
On this groundbreaking free event, using the latest webinar technology, I will reveal the webinar models that have skyrocketed my online business exponentially …webinar models that you can take and use IMMEDIATELY after the webinar!
BUT, most importantly…I’ll reveal how you can use Webinars to EASILY and QUICKLY build a list, create a product, land a big joint venture partner and pre-qualify those you should concentrate your time and marketing dollars on!
Plus not only will you be able to HEAR us, but you’ll also SEE and WATCH it happening in real time on your computer screen, complete with real examples and case studies! (And it doesn’t matter what connection speed you have or even if you have a PC or Mac.)
Properly applied, the strategies revealed during this event will allow you to experience more freedom and income than you have ever dreamed possible! Webinars are the MOST EFFECTIVE way to sell products online …bar none!
We only have 400 spots for this event. So it’s a sure bet this webinar will FILL completely.
P.S. - I have never taught this information before. I wanted you
to be the first to hear one of my biggest online secrets!
P.S.S. - I have something VERY special cooked up for those who
attend the webinar LIVE. It will be worth your while to be on
this webinar, I guarantee it!
I found the coolest Math books that your kids will LOVE reading. The stories are fun and your kids won’t even know they are learning math concepts. Plus, some of the books come with a downloadable activity guide.
For our Memorial Day celebration, I’m throwing in our own Math Activity Fun ebook for anyone who buys over the Memorial Day weekend (before Monday midnight). Don’t wait go grab your Math Adventure books now. (Plus you get a discount if you buy one of the series packages)
Here’s the links to the series. You can read more about each book in the series by clicking on the title once you get to the series package.
Teaching writing can perhaps be one of the greatest challenges in home schooling.
I had even determined NOT to require rewrites of him for awhile. I was going to let the “summarizing” go on extensively with him. I started my oldest on her first rewrite, started the youngest on some copy work, and approached him to read his work together. I sat DUMBFOUNDED as this child who “hates writing” tore into his own work, gleefully self-motivated to make it ‘even better.’ He hardly noticed I was there as he wrote furiously, saying things like, ‘Oooh! Oooh! Oh, Mom- I’m gonna ditch the whole thing about the bear licking his face and instead… That’d be even better!’ I almost cried. The difference? DOUBLE SPACING. The simple concept of double spacing means he doesn’t have to erase, and that’s all it took. Who’d have thought! THANKS!”
I credit all my success in life to God. But if I had to choose one TOOL that has been responsible for my success online, it would be WEBINARS. Plain and simple.