Kerry Beck's Blog

My son does not like history as most of you know. But he LOVES sports! Do you have a child like this?

This week you can tie in sports with studies. What subjects can you do?

– History
– Writing
– Research

Choose a famous football player from a past Super Bowl. Write a report about his life and achievements.

If you are unsure how to help your child write a short 1, 3 or 5 paragraph paper, use Teaching Writing: Structure & Style. It’ is absolutely the BEST writing program to tie in writing with ANY subject area, even football.

*** For younger children who aren’t writing papers, let them alphabetize all NFL teams by city and mascot.

I can’t tell you how excited I am to announce upcoming writing workshops.  My good friends, Andrew Pudewa (IEW) and Andrew Kern (Circe Institute) will be in Texas for 4 days in October.  They will be hosting workshops in 4 Texas cities and I suggest you find one to attend.  It will be well worth your time!  

Andrew & Andrew are some of my favorite people in the homeschool/education arena.  They are also some of the smartest people I know when it comes to teaching moms & teachers how to improve their students writing.  Don’t miss this!

BTW…when you register, please tell them that Kerry Beck told you about it.  I don’t make any money from this workshop, but it would be great to let them know where you found out about “The Two Andrews”

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The Two Andrews: On Writing and Teaching Writing

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A Special One-day Event with Andrew Kern and Andrew Pudewa—together in four cities!

For Teachers, Teaching Parents, College & High School Students

8:30am – 3:30pm

Wednesday, Oct. 14:            San Antonio, TX               FEAST Homeschool Building

Thursday, Oct. 15:               Bryan, TX                          Brazos Christian School

Friday, Oct. 16:                    Houston, TX                      Covenant Academy  (Cypress, TX)

Saturday, Oct. 17:                Dallas, TX                          Highlands Academy (Irving, TX)

$59.00/person, second family member ½ price!

Registration fee includes a coupon for 20% off on any IEW or CiRCE purchase!

 To Register:   www.excellenceinwriting.com/events  (or call 800-856-5815).

 —-Please send this message to interested friends and colleagues!—

 Andrew Kern is the president of the Circe Institute, a leading provider of inspiration, information, and insight to classical educators throughout the world.  He is creator of the Tools of Writing™ Workshops and materials, and consults on board development, school leadership, and establishing classical schools.  Circe’s annual conference is the premier event  (http://www.circeinstitute.org) for educators seeking to use classical education to nurture wisdom and virtue.

Andrew Pudewa is the director of the Institute for Excellence in Writing and a homeschooling father of seven.  Presenting throughout North America, he addresses issues relating to teaching, writing, thinking, spelling, and music with clarity and insight, practical experience and humor. His seminars for parents, students, and teachers have helped transform many a reluctant writer and have equipped educators with powerful tools to dramatically improve communication skills.

 Sessions Include:

The four language arts: listening, reading, speaking, and writing – Pudewa

Nurture excellent communication skills even more effectively by understanding the relationships among these four critical skills.

The distinctives of classical rhetoric – Kern

The three canons as solutions to the three problems; the place of rhetoric as the “deep logic” of the entire curriculum and therefore as the natural ordering principle of the student’s studies. Indeed, what was classical rhetoric and what happened to it?

The five methods everybody must practice to become a great writer – Kern

Theoretical: understanding the science of writing;

Literary: studying the great masterpieces of literature as models;

Critical: learning the details of good usage;

Practical: practicing the art of writing;

Linguistic: translating great works of literature into and out of English.

Developing the essayist: a natural approach – Pudewa

How can a student move from simply reporting facts to the more sophisticated skill of using facts to support an opinion? Learn several different essay models, and discover a gradual method of building the analytical writer, starting even at the elementary level!

 Assessment – Pudewa/Kern

Marking and grading; objectivity, motivation, and sanity.  How to keep your head when all about you are losing theirs and planting seeds of doubt.

 Panel: Common problems in teaching writing – Pudewa/Kern

Looking ahead: where do you go from here? – Pudewa/Kern

How does Structure & Style relate to The Lost Tools of Writing^TM, what are the progymnasmata, and what’s next for you?

This summer I’ve been posting reviews of our writing products as well as some articles about writing. This is an article that I wrote last summer that I thought you might find helpful.

If you’re looking for powerful tools to help your child learn more, and retain more, look no further than a reading journal.

Pesonally, I believe reading journals are an excellent way to have your students interact with their readings and improve their writing skills 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.

Here’s a video review of a couple of our writing products,
“Excellence In Literature: British and American.”

Younger children can narrate their entry aloud as you write it for them. On the following day, have the child re-write their narrative, using their best handwriting or printing. Offer journal writing instruction to younger children by having them copy work into their journals.

I don’t think that these journals are teaching tools themselves, but they have helped my children write better. It does, however, help them to retain what they have learned while looking for ways to incorporate those lessons into daily life. I use Teaching Writing: Structure & Style.

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Copyright Kerry Beck, 2009
You have permission to reprint this article, as long as you don’t make any changes and include the bio below.

Kerry Beck helps homeschool moms and classroom teachers with writing narrative. Sign up for Kerry’s free mini-course on Teaching Writing Easily at http://www.howtoteachwriting.com/ right now.

This summer I’ve been posting reviews of our writing products as well as some articles about writing. This is an article that I wrote last summer that I thought you might find helpful.

Do you have children that complain about writing lessons? Last summer, I discovered (again) that giving my children a purpose for writing increases their motivation and willingness to fulfill their assignments. It is also a fantastic way to teach the process of writing format through publishing.

A few years ago, all three of my children wrote books which are now available for purchase. My son worked for an entire year studying about the jungle and choosing just the right animal or plant to include in his ABC Jungle Book. After making these choices, he wrote a paragraph about each one, using a writing stylistic checklist.

Of course, he didn’t work on his book for eight hours a day, every day for a year. After all, he’s just a kid! The amazing thing is that he remained motivated all year long. Because of his efforts, he was able to complete his book at the beginning of June.

Here’s how we kept our son motivated, saving us from nagging and arguing. First, we assigned him a writing topic that was interesting to him. He’s been fascinated by jungle plants and animals for years, and was happy to keep reading and learning more. Second, he was excited at the thought of writing his own book, one that he could sell to earn money for his efforts. Because he had a reason for writing, he remained motivated to complete the project.

Here is a review of one of our products, “Medieval History Based Writing”.

Other purposes for writing assignments may include sending a letter to a friend or relative, entering a writing contest, writing a letter to the newspaper editor, writing a summary of your science fair project, sharing a story about an event in your life, writing a ministry letter, or a myriad of other purposes. Do your children have a purpose for their writing?

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.

Use the process of writing format through publishing to add purpose to your child’s writing assignments. Remember, writing assignments don’t have to be about writing – they can, and should, be about a range of topics, preferably based on topics which you and your child are studying at the time. Writing is a skill, one that can be applied to any number of topics. Help your child to write with purpose by asking them to write on many topics, from dragons to trigonometry, summer vacations to science fairs. It makes all the difference in the world!

Has Writing become that dreaded subject no one wants to tread on? Most students dislike grammar because it has no relevance. How BORING is that?

Why not use classics that are interesting & have endured over time. Classical Rhetoric through Structure & Style uses an old-style method called Progymnastmata. Don’t worry about that unknown name. Just know it really works to teach your children how to write and keep their interest.

In the process of teaching writing, your students will also discover how to form a good argument. You know your children are ready for this manual when they start arguing with me. Why not use their desire to argue to teach them how to make a good argument?

The source texts presented in Classical Rhetoric are designed to acquaint the students with the great works of the classical tradition in the hope that it will foster in them a love of learning. A sampling of texts used in this program are:

• Chanticleer & the Fox
• King Solomon on Wisdom
• Gettysburg Address
• Hannibal’s Monologue
• Beowulf
• Shield of Achilles
• Odysseus
• Hamlet
• St Crispin’s Day Speech
• Mars Hill Appeal
• Canterbury Tales

You are welcome to use your own source text to tie in learning rhetoric with what you are already reading in history or literature.

Click here to learn more about Classical Rhetoric…
Get your copy today!

Veteran co-op teacher Lori Verstegan developed and test-taught these remarkable lesson plans for several years before refining them into this superb collection. This series of 32 lessons provides source texts, practice exercises and assignments/grading checklists for all nine of the TWSS units. Touches on people and events in US history from the Civil War to the Present.

Most lessons begin with activities to teach a stylistic technique or writing structure. These vary from strong verbs to show emotions to topic sentences/clinchers to similes. An overview of the lesson is provided, as well as a step-by-step (EASY TO FOLLOW) lesson plan.

U.S. History-Based Writing Lessons, Volume 2 are just another excellent supplement to Teaching Writing: Structure & Style. Lori provides 2-6 lessons for each of TWSS (IEW’s Teaching Writing) units thus covering stories, reports, formal essays, critiques and creative writing. Checklists are provided for both the teacher & student.

The Student Resource packet is a gold mine of its own containing:

• Structural Models
• Banned Word Thesaurus
• Grammar Dictionary
• 72 vocabulary words on card stock complete with defining pictures and words

So you’re wondering what ages can use U.S. History-Based Writing Lessons?

Glad you asked because Lori has thought of everything. In her easy-to-follow lessons, she separates her instructions for elementary (4th-6th grade) to junior high to high school. To help teach different ages of students, different checklists & assignments are given.

Click here to learn more about US History-Based Writing Vol. 2…
Get your copy today!

Lori Verstegan is amazing! She provides 34 writing lessons for moms & teachers who are studying or teaching United States history.

Most lessons begin with activities to teach a stylistic technique or writing structure. These vary from strong verbs to show emotions to topic sentences/clinchers to similes. An overview of the lesson is provided, as well as a step-by-step (EASY TO FOLLOW) lesson plan.

U.S. History-Based Writing Lessons, Volume 1 are just another excellent supplement to Teaching Writing: Structure & Style. Lori provides 2-6 lessons for each of TWSS (IEW’s Teaching Writing) units thus covering stories, reports, formal essays, critiques and creative writing. Checklists are provided for both the teacher & student.

So you’re wondering what ages can use U.S. History-Based Writing Lessons?

Glad you asked because Lori has thought of everything. In her easy-to-follow lessons, she separates her instructions for elementary (4th-6th grade) to junior high to high school. To help teach different ages of students, different checklists & assignments are given.

Click here to learn more about US History-Based Writing Lessons Vol. 1…
Get your copy today!

Lori Verstegan has done it again. She provides 27 writing lessons for moms & teachers who are studying or teaching medieval history. One of the coolest things about Lori’s writing lessons is it goes chronologically through the program. In other words, it begins with Augustine & Mohammed, runs thorugh Charlemagne, Knights, King Arthur and ends with the Magna Charta.

Most lessons begin with activities to teach a stylistic technique or writing structure. These vary from strong verbs to show emotions to topic sentences/clinchers to similes. An overview of the lesson is provided, as well as a step-by-step (EASY TO FOLLOW) lesson plan.

Medieval History Writing Lessons are just another excellent supplement to Teaching Writing: Structure & Style. Lori provides 1-4 lessons for each of TWSS (IEW’s Teaching Writing) units thus covering stories, reports, formal essays, critiques and creative writing. Checklists are provided for both the teacher & student.

So you’re wondering what ages can use Medieval History-Based Writing Lessons?

Glad you asked because Lori has thought of everything. In her easy-to-follow lessons, she separates her instructions for elementary (4th-6th grade) from junior high. To help teach different ages of students, different checklists & assignments are given.

Click here to read more about Medieval History-Based Writing Lessons
Get your copy here!

The lessons in this book are designed to teach structure and style in writing. As they move through Ancient World History themes, the lessons incrementally introduce and review most of the models of structure and elements of style found in the Institute for Excellence in Writing’s Teaching Writing: Structure & Style.  Watch this video to see more about Ancient History Based Writing Lessons.

Instructions are directed to the student, but teachers should read them with their students and help as necessary, especially with outlining and brainstorming.

It is assumed that teachers have attended IEW’s Basic Seminar, either live or via DVD, and own the seminar workbook.

With 24 lessons moving through all nine IEW units, this series uses source texts touching on Ziggurats, Gilgamesh, Pyramids, Mummies, The Trojan Horse, Olympics, Ancient Rome, Persecution of Christians, and more.

Quit Making It Hard by Planning 2 different subjects….
Integrate History & Writing NOW! It’s that EASY!

For students grade 3-6…

Click Here to read more about Ancient History-Based Writing Lessons.
Get your copy here!