Structure and Style® for Students Year 1 Level B from IEW Review

Disclaimer: I received a FREE copy of this product through the HOMESCHOOL REVIEW CREW in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way.

 

The last several weeks my daughter has been working through Structure and Style® for Students Year 1 Level B (grades 6-8) from Institute for Excellence in Writing® If you are looking for a writing curriculum IEW® might be just what you are looking for.

 IEW ® is well-known for its curriculum in homeschool circles. They have a plethora of subjects and curriculum for all ages. Many of their products can work for kids with special needs too. Institute for Excellence in Writing® is founded by Andrew Pudewa.  I've had the privileged of using their writing curriculum and several of their products in our homeschool throughout the years.

Structure and Style® for Students Year 1 Level B comes with the Teacher’s Manual, Student Packet and Binder, and Digital Forever Streaming Videos. You can also buy a physical copy of the videos. If you are doing the streaming videos you will have a code and instructions to access them from your account.

Structure and Style® for Students Year 1 Level B is for grades 6^th – 8^th grade. There are different levels appropriate for other grades. This is a 24-week course

Structure and Style® for Students Year 1 Level B Teacher Manual

Your Teacher Manual comes as a spiral bound book. I love this feature in a curriculum. The book lays out flat and you don’t need your hands to keep the book open.

In the front of the book you have instructions on how to access downloads. You will have a card to activate your videos. You will need to go into your account or create one if you haven’t already. You can print out the PDFs for you immediate family.  

There is information for planning and prepare each week lessons. Plan around 30 to 60 minutes a day four times a week is the suggested schedule. It is flexible enough for you to adjust it to your homeschool. You have information on several scenarios to adapt the schedule. You will need pens and papers each week.

Instructions are provided to assemble your Student Packet and Binder. It is suggested that you don’t need to put everything in the front for your student in the binder just add in the weekly lessons. Everything else is stored in the back. Each week you add in the pages needed. I put everything is a separate binder so it won’t overwhelm my special needs daughter.

At the top of each weeks lesson is a gray area that is for you the teacher to assist your student. There is a Teacher Preparation that has more detailed instructions. If you are watching the TWSS ® videos for training yourself in conjunction with this it will give you the information you need to do prior to the student’s lesson. There is even a reading suggestion if you want to add in literature books for your student.

All the information Mr. Pudewa writes on the white board you will have a page of the “Board Notes” that you see on the videos is also provided. I really like having these available. It helps me recall the lesson parts that I may need to help my daughter out. 

There are step by step instructions for each unit and a copy of the student page. You will have information on editing, style, vocabulary, homework assignments, and so much more.

 Student Packet and Binder

This is a heavy duty 3-ring binder with labeled tabs. You also have a packet that you will need to insert papers into the binder under certain tabs. The Student Packet already has the holes punched out to add to your binder. Just like your Teacher Manual there are instructions on how to put together your binder.

The top of each unit page breaks up the video into Part 1 and Part 2 with a time stamp on where to start and end the videos.

You have concise and clear goals that are laid out for each unit. A daily break down of step by step daily lesson plans is provided. If you are using Fix It! Grammar you have a lesson plan provided for you.

All your worksheets and assignments are in the Student Packet for you to add to your Student Binder. The assignments that are done on lined paper are also kept in the binder. Everything is in one place for you to look back on and to reference if needed.

 Digital Forever Streaming Videos

The videos are located in your account with its own unique tab

You access each lesson from a drop down menu

The videos will need to be accessed by signing into your account. You will have a specific tab for the videos. Then you drop down to the video you need to access it. It is 24 videos in all. Each video is around an hour long. I personally prefer a physical copy of the DVDs because I live in a small rural farming community and I don't have the best internet. 

Within each lesson you can pause as needed and there are several areas that the video ask that you pause to complete a task. 

He also has information on physical work you will be doing throughout the lesson.

Andrew Pudewa is fun and engaging for both the students and parents

Andrew Pudewa teaches the lessons in a classroom setting. He is very engaging with the students by asking questions and involving them in the teaching. He writes concise information on the whiteboard. He is also has a fun and unique humor that you won’t soon forget. He breaks down each lesson at the students levels clearly.

If you have never heard Mr. Pudewa speak at a conference I highly suggest you do so. He is a well spoken and an interesting speaker. He has a way to explain some complex skills and make them understandable. My kids can recognize his voice quickly. My daughter wasn’t thrilled doing writing in the middle of summer and stuck her head in crossed arms with a huge attitude. As soon as she heard Mr. Pudewa’s voice she said, “Oh it’s him! I like him!” She recognizes his voice.

 How Did I Use Structure and Style® for Students Year 1 Level B in my Homeschool?

When I first received my material I went into my account and put in the code to activate it. It showed up on its own unique tab on my account. I looked over a few of the videos briefly. I then looked at my Teachers Manual following the instructions for putting together my daughter’s Student Binder. I added all the extra pages to a separate 3-ring binder so it doesn’t overwhelm her. I used this with my 17 year old with special needs.

I have used many products from IEW ® with my daughter several times throughout the years of homeschooling her.  We have to adapt to her pace which is typically much slower than the schedule in the curriculum. A weekly lesson can take us 2 and sometimes 3 weeks to get through depending on her physically and mentally. I sat and watched with her and would guide her afterwards in her assignments.

Each week I familiarized myself with the lesson. I did not go through the TWSS® for the teacher preparation. I did this a few years ago. I made sure she had the worksheets in her Student Binder along with paper and pencils. I explained to her that she would skip a line for me to edit on her papers as it is suggested to do so.

Once that was completed I would sit with her and watch the videos. Typically my daughter could handle 15-20 minutes per video each day.  Some assignments say to do certain activities in a classroom which isn’t an issue as you can easily have them do it with just you.  One activity is having you write a Key Word Outline with the class. I walked my daughter orally through it and would help her with her paper and then she would present them to me. When it came time to write up her version of the story I would help her brainstorm and put together the paper. A writing assignment would take her a while to complete. I usually start her as soon as I can so she can have smaller portions each day.  

Below you can see two of my daughter's assignments. The first page is taking the reading passage and making an outline out of it. The second page is putting the information from your outline into your own words. She was suppose to add in -ly adverb words but she doesn't usually use -ly words in speaking as she can't pronounce them. It was something I had to over look with her.

My daughter marked up the sheet looking for keywords. This wasn't a concept she fully grasped and struggled with it on paper. But she was quick to tell me them when I read it to her. Maybe it was her dysgraphia? I think she was marking anything and everything.

She grasped the concepts overall but, she does struggles writing physically and gets pretty frustrated some days. We just step back and I’d either break down the lessons when I think she needs it or step away from it for the day.

We have gotten through 3 lessons with my special needs daughter. That is doing it 4 days a week. It’s been extremely slow but the pace is perfect for her. This time around has been more challenging for her than in the past. I suspect it’s her lack of therapy the last few months with everything coming to a halt. I plan on continuing with her this year and doing 1 lesson (2-3 weeks) and then take a week off. This will give her a chance to get refreshed physically with how hard writing is for her.

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