| Teaching Teens |
What's Your Method for Teaching Writing Skills? Part IThis 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.
When I first started homeschooling, I decided not to buy a Writing Curriculum! Why? Because all the programs I reviewed were activities I could do on my own. I taught fifth grade for six years and most homeschool writing programs were like my public school writing process, teaching students "what to write". Then I discovered Andrew Pudewa's Institute for Excellence in Writing (IEW). He has a terrific flagship product called Teaching Writing: Structure and Style. It is designed to teach students how to write, rather than focusing on choosing a topic. In the public school system, teachers and students brainstorm ideas together. Students select a topic and begin to write. Mr. Pudewa's program, on the other hand, is designed so students learn how to write. It is an interesting approach, especially considering that most students agonize over selecting a topic. Here’s a video review of one of our writing products, “Windows To The World”.
Andrew Pudewa's approach to writing is completely different. Rather than have students decide on the topic, he tells them what to write about. Using his lesson plans for writing process, students learn a variety of "structures". These structures consist of outlines for various types of writings - essays, letters, and more. Students choose an appropriate outline depending on what kind of writing they are doing and the reasons for writing. Once a structure is defined, the program teaches students how to develop their own "style". By selecting strong verbs and adverbs, descriptive adjectives, and various clauses, students learn to dress up their writing and experiment with their writing style. They learn effective ways of opening and closing a sentence for maximum impact. In my next article (part 2), I will share a simple activity you can use with your own children this week (or the first week of school). If your older students struggle with writing, this is a great place to start. __________ 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 encourages homeschool moms and classroom teachers with writing skills. Go get her free mini-course about Teaching Writing Easily at http://www.howtoteachwriting.com/ today. 3:19 PM - Jul. 23, 2009 - post comment
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