Structure and Style for Students

Name: Structure and Style for Students
Brand: Institute for Excellence in Writinghttps://iew.com/

by Institute for Excellence in Writinghttps://iew.com/

ElaGrades 3–12

Structure and Style for Students: Video-Based Classical Writing Program

Structure and Style for Students is a comprehensive writing curriculum from the Institute for Excellence in Writing that uses video instruction by Andrew Pudewa to teach composition skills directly to students in grades 3-12. The program follows a classical approach with nine core units taught incrementally across three levels, emphasizing structured writing processes like key word outlines and stylistic 'dress-ups.'

Best for

Homeschooling families and classical educators seeking structured, video-based writing instruction for students grades 3-12 who want comprehensive composition skills without heavy parent teaching load

Evaluation Criteria

4 strengths · 1 concern · 4 neutral

Teacher TrainingStrength

The curriculum includes comprehensive teacher support with detailed manuals and optional access to the full Teaching Writing: Structure and Style seminar for deeper understanding.

Review describes 'printed teacher's manual' with 'teaching directions and suggestions' and notes that premier packages include 'Teaching Writing: Structure and Style (TWSS) seminar'

Direct InstructionStrength

The curriculum provides explicit, direct instruction through video lessons where Andrew Pudewa models techniques and provides clear guidance for structured writing processes.

Review describes Pudewa as 'a fantastic teacher' who 'teach[es] students directly through videos' with 'carefully designed lessons' that 'almost guarantee success for students'

Vocabulary BuildingStrength

The curriculum includes extensive vocabulary instruction as part of the video lessons, though specific methods are not detailed.

Review notes that 'Pudewa frequently teaches vocabulary, grammar, usage, and spelling as part of his video instruction' and 'vocabulary is covered extensively within SSS'

Writing InstructionStrength

This is the curriculum's primary strength, offering highly structured, systematic writing instruction through nine core units with incremental skill building and specific techniques like 'dress-ups.'

Review describes comprehensive writing instruction with 'nine core units' including 'key word outlines,' 'dress-ups' like adverbs and quality adjectives, and notes that 'lessons incrementally build composition skills'

Systematic PhonicsConcern

The curriculum does not include systematic phonics instruction and acknowledges that students may need additional work on advanced phonics and spelling.

Review states 'you might need to work on advanced phonics with some students' and notes that spelling coverage 'is not as thorough'

Knowledge RichNeutral

The curriculum exposes students to diverse content through source materials covering topics like reptiles, desert creatures, Antarctica, and African nomads, though it's unclear how systematically domain knowledge is built.

Review mentions source material includes 'informational pieces about topics such as reptiles, desert creatures, Antarctica, and African nomads' but focuses primarily on writing skills rather than content knowledge building

Text ComplexityNeutral

The curriculum provides appropriately leveled source materials with increasing difficulty across the three levels, though specific complexity measures are not detailed.

Review notes 'grade-level-appropriate material' across levels and states 'the level of difficulty becomes more challenging with each level' but doesn't specify complexity standards

Retrieval PracticeNeutral

Students practice retelling stories using key word outlines and review previous units at higher levels of difficulty, but systematic retrieval practice methods are not clearly evident.

Review mentions students 'test' outlines 'by retelling the story to another person' and that higher levels 'review' previous units, but doesn't describe systematic spaced review

Whole Books Vs ExcerptsNeutral

The curriculum includes literature suggestions for read-alouds like Little House on the Prairie and Peter Pan, but the primary writing instruction focuses on shorter source texts and passages.

Review mentions 'literature suggestion in the lesson plan for each week recommends a fictional book' but also notes that 'source material for the key word outlines is included throughout each course' with 'fables, tales, and informational pieces'

Sources: cathyduffyreviews.com