Sep. 6, 2007 - Highlights of Last Year's Writing Co-op
Highlights of Last Year's Writing Co-op
I am an Institute for Excellence in Writing (IEW) homeschool co-op teacher starting my second year using IEW. Last year I taught Level C and High School Essay Intensive to High Schoolers as well as Level A to nine children ranging in age from 9 to 13. This year I am continuing the younger co-op by starting out with Level B (as a review and refresher) before continuing on to the Level B Continuation Course. We had tremendous success, even with the varied ages. However, this year, my two youngest students are joining a Level A continuation group so that I can really challenge the older students.
For the Level A first year class last year, high points of the year were playing "IEW Jeopardy," crafting their own versions of "The Princess & the Pea, The Boy Who Cried Wolf, and The Lion and the Mouse and making their own books to treasure them in. The children also enjoyed writing their animal reports using the mini-books. We ended the year with thoroughly researched and well presented state reports (including a sampling of each state's indigenous foods) and a highly anticipated IEW Jeopardy rematch.
For the High School class, high points of the year were sharing their creative stories, a library field trip for research reports, a hilariously competitive IEW Jeopardy game, writing a 5-paragraph essay on forks (no kidding), and a wonderful culmination to the year with a 7-week research paper project where the the students presented their Christian worldview on topics including abortion, embryonic stem-cell research, global warming and the authentic version of the Bible. Wow.
IEW rocks!
