Sep. 13, 2007 - Fix-It Grammar Curriculum
Fix-It Grammar Curriculum
Fix-It Grammar is a wonderful way to get the children to apply what they have learned about grammar, punctuation and capitalization. The program provides abridged versions of several books that the children re-write and edit in small portions during the course of the school year. Since I use IEW (the Institute for Excellence in Writing) curriculum I was especially pleased that Fix-It grammar also reinforces stylistic writing techniques taught in IEW. They truly go hand in hand. It is not a stand-alone grammar program, but rather a program to apply what they have already been taught.
Although I have just started to implement this program in my writing class, I think I’ve worked out the kinks for our class.
For the first week of class, I felt the children didn’t completely understand what I was asking them to do. Here are the Fix-It Grammar’s author’s comments when I contacted her:
I recommend that students rewrite the sentences into a spiral notebook, since that way they've got the prior sentences in front of them and can better tell whether to begin a new paragraph. I think they also take more care to find errors when they slow down to rewrite.
The disadvantage is that they don't have their corrections right in front of them. One solution has been to do both. Some students bring the edited typed version to class but rewrite at home. I've also created a workbook that I could send you if you would like it. Each week is presented on a two-page spread, with a place for the vocabulary words on the left and room to write the sentences on the right. The sentences are on the page they bring to class. One of my students draws errors to the original error. (I think that would be hard to follow!). Some students circle the fixes on their sentences, so they can quickly find their corrections in class.
Hope this helps some.
Pamela in TN
The disadvantage is that they don't have their corrections right in front of them. One solution has been to do both. Some students bring the edited typed version to class but rewrite at home. I've also created a workbook that I could send you if you would like it. Each week is presented on a two-page spread, with a place for the vocabulary words on the left and room to write the sentences on the right. The sentences are on the page they bring to class. One of my students draws errors to the original error. (I think that would be hard to follow!). Some students circle the fixes on their sentences, so they can quickly find their corrections in class.
Hope this helps some.
Pamela in TN
And my response- A week later after our second class.
Pam, We did have a better class this week. I made overheads of my Tom Sawyer handouts. With each student following along with their handwritten version and a red pen, I made the corrections on the overhead for the first week's handout. Then I did the same for the first assignment of the second week's handout. The children had some aha moments and seemed to catch on pretty well this time.
For an incentive, I am passing a sheet around during class for them to write their points earned on. I counted the total points possible and they deduct one point for every red mark they had to make on their paper. I have promised rewards for Tom Sawyer Fix-it Grammar points.
They are definitely motivated now.
One thing I will do for next week, is make the overheads with a larger font for readability.
For an incentive, I am passing a sheet around during class for them to write their points earned on. I counted the total points possible and they deduct one point for every red mark they had to make on their paper. I have promised rewards for Tom Sawyer Fix-it Grammar points.
They are definitely motivated now.
One thing I will do for next week, is make the overheads with a larger font for readability.
One other note, Fix-It Grammar has 5 complete works for the children to re-write and edit, each with increasing difficulty. So you could chose an appropriate level for your child(ren) or even do all of them successively over a five-year period. The program comes with a CD with everything you need to format and print them to meet your needs. There is also a vocabulary word from the excerpt to define with every daily assignment.
I give Fix-It Grammar 4 stars out of 5, since I did need to do quite a bit of formatting to get the weekly assignment sheets in the format I thought was best, but that is the only drawback.
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Apr. 17, 2007 - Curriculum Review- Institute for Excellence in Writing
Curriculum Review
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Product Name
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The Institute for Excellence in Writing (IEW)
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Author
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Pudewa, Andrew
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Website
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Recommended Grades
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Level A- 3rd-6th, Level B- 7th-8th, Level C- 9th-12th
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Subject
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Writing (all forms)
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Price
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$$-$$$
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Rating
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4 1/2 Stars
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Review
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Having taught two homeschool co-op classes (Level A and Level C) this past year, I can’t say enough good things about IEW. This is a writing method that works! Using a formulaic approach to writing to get them writing immediately, IEW produces results. From children with learning disabilities to gifted students, every student will learn to greatly improve his or her writing. Students learn factual writing, creative writing, essay writing, and beyond. Along the way, they also learn numerous stylistic techniques which gradually become natural as they practice writing. Success through IEW’s program will carryover to almost every other subject, including reading, history, science, English, and ________ (you fill in the blank). I didn’t give it 5 stars, because it requires a substantial commitment from the teacher to learn and present the material, modify lesson plans, and evaluate papers. Don’t let this scare you off though, the effort is definitely worth it! I truly wish I had begun using this product in my homeschool years ago.
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