Iew Or Cw?

[Suzybearybake]

I am looking for a writing program for sons next year ( will be 11 and 13). Ds1 will be finishing up Writing Strands Exposition and ds2 (my very reluctant writer) will be finishing Jumping In by Apologia. I looked at IEW Student Writing Intensive C and the Continuation C on DVD. It seems like a good program but it will be very expensive for only 1 year of instruction and I don't know where to go from there. I looked at the IEW program directed toward the teacher but I much prefer a self directed program. I have been reading a lot about CW and its including vocabulary could be a plus. Can someone compare the programs in detail and explain to me more about CW and how it breaks down writing? My ds2 needs it broken down step by step so we don't get into the I don't know what to write mode. Ds3 ( will be age 10)struggles with reading/writing/spelling so he will probably benefit from whatever worked for ds2. He is creative but has difficulty expressing himself on paper because of the spelling issues. I can write myself but have no idea how to instruct someone else so if a program is teacher directed it must be scripted. Thank you for your input.

[one l michele]

Also, even if you use the SWI, it is a really good idea for you to have watched the TWSS and know how the program works yourself. You could get the TWSS, which would enable you to teach writing at all levels and a grade appropriate Theme Based Writing as a cheaper option to the TWSS and SWI. I ended up returning the SWI because after seeing the TWSS it gave me enough confidence to teach writing and pull from other subjects instead of having writing be an individual subject and I can truly go at my boys pace teaching the structure and style.

[MIch elle]

is what I recommend. http://www.writing-edu.com/writing/theme.php

It's less expensive than the dvd's but you would have to teach it which takes about 1-1.5 hrs/week to teach; then the dc do the rest on their own.

We're using IEW U.S. History Based Lessons v1 (incl. vocabulary cards/tests) with my 8th grader; then for gr. 6 in the fall, my younger ds will use IEW Ancient Based Writing.

[Beth in Central TX]

I haven't used IEW, so I can't give you a side-by-side review. However, here are some links to help:

Susan Wise Bauer reviewed IEW alongside WS which includes a great overview of the IEW program:
http://www.welltrainedmind.com/J00review.html

The CW website has a description of the books in their program here:
http://home.att.net/~MikeJaqua/TheBooks.html

We use the CW series. The Aesop level has you analyze the selection, outline it, and then rewrite the story. The Homer level is similar, but includes more instruction on sentence variation. At these two levels, the main form of writing is imitation.

[Linda in NM]

I love IEW--my son has learned so much. I found the student intensive difficult--too scripted for us. I prefer using the teacher materials (which my son at 13 now watches with me) and Trisms' HistoryMaker curriculum for middle school, which integrates IEW writing assignments...best of both worlds.

[MCG]

I started with Classical Writing with my son in 3rd grade. I wasn't too sure about IEW and the progression they used so I went with CW. But after a year of fighting with a very frustrated son I gave up.

My older son is a reluctant write. I ended up getting the SIC A last year (4th) and my son loved Mr. Pudewa. He actually would do his key word outline and paragraphs. without my argueent. It was work for him and he didn't totally get at first but as the year went on he got better.

This year I purchased the the Continuation Course. I can't believe the improvement. This week he's working on a 3 paragraph essay. He has it outlined (with the sub-points actually relating to the main points). It would have been a lot more work and fights if we would have used any other way. I love the incremental approach.

I understand IEW better now and totally buy into the approach it takes. My younger son now in third grade is going through SIC and doing well. Sometimes I'm tempted to try CW again but realize that IEW is working well for my boys. They can be independent and we have a lot less struggles.

I think you can get by with the just the SIC and the teacher syllabus for the parent lectures as long as you watch the SIC also.

[Kathie in VA]

My kids have done some CW Aesop w/o the workbooks. My oldest has done most of CW Aesop B and now she is working on CW Homer. My 11yods is doing CW Aesop B and my 8yods is still working his way through FLL... he'll probably start next year.

The workbooks really help me to move things along. I appreciate how CW incorporate not only grammar but the application or use of grammar. As far as the writing, we read a model of writing out loud. We discuss the story, vocab., etc and they read it aloud. Sometimes I'll even get multiple versions of the model, just to see how it can be done differently. They tell it back to me on their own without the model in front of them. If necessary we write an outline. It can even be a simple list of events... just to note the order of things. Then they try to write their version of the story. I let mine type on the computer so editing is less painful.

The program spells out the different writing projects as we go through the progrom; like a simple re-telling, adding dialog, adding descriptive detail, etc. It even gives guidelines on how to edit.

What I really like is the message boards that are very active. Any questions I have are usually answered within a day. There is even a place to share your dc papers and read others AND get feedback on your dc paper for editing!

My favorite thing about CW is the later books. I like where this program is going and building towards.

hth