This theme-based study, Voyages in Writing, provides
a year’s worth of curriculum for any student desiring to practice the IEW® Structure
and Style© method. Writing assignments follow the patterns developed by author
Andrew Pudewa. Students will read selections written by professional authors. Vocabulary
studies are also pulled from these. Students will write from notes and form
outlines. Following these skills, they’ll practice retelling narratives and summarize
writings about the Harlem Renaissance, mathematician Al-Khwarizmi, and D-Day.
Then they’ll write from pictures of a pyramid tomb and from the Great
Depression.
When it’s time for formal essays, the course provides “essay
structures” (outlines), planning charts, methods to integrate questions and
quotations into writing, and more. A large focus of this theme-based level is
learning how to engage with primary sources and to summarize key documents in research.
Therefore, in the latter half of the year, students practice summarizing
multiple references (including the “Cold War”). Next, students practice the
five-paragraph model (including an intro and conclusion), creating inventive
writing, a formal essay, and a critique of literature.
If you wish to add literature
studies to make a more complete language arts course, you’ll find Appendix I
provides a list of suggested fiction and poetry organized by month. If you
choose to include these, each of the novels is scheduled for 2 months. Start
the year with To Kill a Mockingbird; then Lord of the Flies; Robinson
Crusoe; and Much Ado about Nothing. You can select the version you
desire and add discussion questions or literature guides to promote more
analysis. For each month, the curriculum also recommends students study and
memorize a famous poem. During March, students will read 6 short stories from
such authors as Chekhov and Tolstoy. The last month is solely dedicated to
studying a list of 10 suggested poems. Poems include, “Do Not go Gentle into
That Good Night,” by Dylan Thomas; “God Sees the Truth, But Waits,” and “An
Honest Thief,” by Fyodor Dostoevsky.
The nonreproducible Teacher’s Manual
includes a scope and sequence for 30 weeks of lessons, listing the topic of the
composition style practiced, the style focus (alliteration, openers, etc.), and
the weekly vocabulary words (typically 4 with each lesson). A quick list of the
year’s vocabulary is found in the appendices. The teacher manual provides
reduced student pages with teacher guidance and helps in the margin. You’ll
find appendices for adding literature, handling grammar, mechanics, review
games, vocabulary from each lesson with definitions, and chapter quizzes for
each chapter. Purchase of this manual includes access to PDF downloads of
Vocabulary Cards, reproducible assignment checklists, and Writing Exemplars.
The consumable Student Book provides
all your student needs for each lesson, along with digital access to Vocabulary
Cards, reproducible checklists, and exemplars. This text includes a scope and
sequence and appendices on adding literature, mechanics review, and vocabulary
by lesson. Both the student consumable book and the Teacher’s Manual are
required for this composition course and can be purchased as a combo. Student and
Teacher texts are ©2026. See individual descriptions for specific details. ~ Ruth
