Are You Studying
United States History This Year?
Don't Waste Your Time on ANY Other
Writing Program?
Use U.S. HISTORY WRITING LESSONS - VOL. 2
(CIVIL WAR - PRESENT) Student/Teacher Combo
To Save Yourself Time and
Help Your Child Enjoy Writing!
August 8, 2011
Dear Fellow Writing Teacher, Homeschool Mom or Parent,
Veteran co-op teacher Lori Verstegan
developed and test-taught these remarkable lesson plans for several
years before refining them into this superb collection. This series of
34 lessons provides source texts, practice exercises and
assignments/grading checklists for all nine of the TWSS units. Touches
on people and events in US history from the Civil War to the Present.
Most lessons begin with activities to teach a stylistic technique or
writing structure. These vary from strong verbs to show emotions to
topic sentences/clinchers to similes. An overview of the lesson is
provided, as well as a step-by-step (EASY TO FOLLOW) lesson
plan.
U.S. History-Based Writing Lessons, Volume 2 are just another excellent supplement
to Teaching Writing: Structure & Style. Lori provides 2-6 lessons for
each of TWSS (IEW's Teaching Writing) units thus covering stories,
reports, formal essays, critiques and creative writing. Checklists are
provided for both the teacher & student.
The Student Resource packet is a gold
mine of its own containing:
Structural Models
Banned Word Thesaurus
Grammar Dictionary
72 vocabulary words on card stock
complete with defining pictures and words
So you're wondering what ages can use U.S. History-Based Writing
Lessons?
Glad you asked because Lori has thought of everything. In her
easy-to-follow lessons, she separates her instructions for elementary
(4th-6th grade) to junior high to high school. To help teach different ages of
students, different checklists & assignments are given.
Click here
to view a PDF sample of the Student Book. Click here
to view a PDF sample of the Teacher Book.
Narrative Stories (IEW Unit III) Lessons 6 & 7: Escape on the Underground Railroad/ Emotions/
Five Senses
Research Reports/ MLA Format (IEW Unit
VI) Lesson 8 & 9: Civil War Biography/ Quoting Sources/
Parallel Construction
Formal Essays/ Reports (IEW Unit VIII) Lesson 10: Civil War Biography/ Introduction &
Conclusion
Lesson 11: CW Biography/ Anecdotal Openers/Closers & Works Cited
Page
Lesson 12: CW Biography/ Oral Report
Poetry Lesson 13: Gettysburg/ Tanka/ Repetition
Creative Writing/ Thesis Statements (IEW
Unit VII) Lessons 14 & 16: Indispensable Inventions/ Essays
with Thesis Statements
Lessons 15 & 17: Innovative Inventions/ Writing Persuasively
Lesson 18: The Invention Convention/ Notes from Oral Reports
Lesson 19: Immigration/ Third Essay Writing
Key Word Notes From Lectures Lesson 20: The Statue of Liberty
Lesson 21: The Great War (WWI)
Preparing For the "Blue Book" Exam Lesson 22: The Rise of Communism
Critiques of Literature (IEW Unit IX) Lesson 23: The Great Depression/ (The Gardener by Sarah
Stewart)
Lesson 24: Communism/ Joseph Stalin/ (Animal Farm by George
Orwell)
The "Super-Essay" In MLA Format Lessons 27-33: World War II
Supporting a Thesis Statement Lessons 34: The Civil Rights Movement
Lessons 35+: Twentieth Century Topics
This is a great way of integrating both your
history and writing!
I lead a co-op and used the
American History Text this year and was very pleased.
For me, the most appealing
aspect of the "topic" based writing programs is that they
generally coincide with something that I'm already teaching.
Therefore, although the writing may be a new aspect of my
History lesson, the material still parallels with a subject
we're covering. And, although the writing assignments don't
always correspond with my lesson plans, they either
reinforce something we've already covered or they introduce
something yet to come.
One of my favorite parts of
the American History program is the way vocabulary is
introduced and integrated into the writing. It is great!
Another favorite, yet very challenging concept was the idea
of eliminating "to be" verbs. Wow! Very difficult, but it
made an incredible difference in the kids' writings.
We struggled in only one
portion of the program --- the Preamble, the Constitution
and the significance of the American Flag -- all close
together. Most fifth graders have heard of the constitution
but don't fully understand it. The preamble in particular is
a very complex concept. And I don't believe that 10- and
11-year-olds have fully developed an ability to emotionally
attach themselves or comprehend--well, much of anything,
much less the American flag.
We had to stop and
specifically cover these topics before the kids were truly
able to write about them. Unfortunately, I knew we missed
the boat when my son said, "I'm just going to write, that
when I see an American flag, I feel proud to be an American
and I think of what my forefathers sacrifice for me."
"Wow! You're pretty amazing.
Is that how you really feel every time you see a flag?"
"No, not really, but that
would be the easiest thing to write. Besides and it would
make a good poem." I guess I need to buy the Character
packet next!
~Kathy~
Co-op Leader
Throughout the
Manual, You Receive
Several BONUS ITEMS:
Stylistic Charts & Helps -
You should refer to these charts when your kids need help
brainstorming or developing an outline. Some of the lists include:
--Quality Adjectives
--Strong Verbs
--"-ly" Words
Stories - The
stories and lessons are right here in the book for you. You
do NOT have to spend time searching for each fairy tale and/or making
it appropriate for the age of your child.
Samples & Examples -
There are samples of other children's work, as well as examples of
the concept Lori is teaching for that lesson.
Vocabulary Cards -
Students will be instructed to cut out one set of cards each lesson.
They will be expected to include some vocabulary words in each
composition they write. The student will also be quizzed (include in
teacher's manual) over the words periodically. The goal is that these
words will become part of each student's natural writing vocabulary.
As an ADDED BONUS...when you grab your copy of US History-Based
Writing Lessons Volume 2
1. Student Resource Notebook eBook (digital download for each of your own children)
Structure Models
Strong Verb Charts
-ly Words (Adverbs)
Quality Adjective Charts
Five Senses & Emotions
Decorations
Transition Words & Phrases
Grammar Rules - Punctuation, Confused Words, Clauses, Phrases, etc
Charts & Checklists
Answers to Exercises
2. Teacher Manual
3. FREE SHIPPING - That's right! You do NOT pay shipping. It's on us.
100% Money-Back Guarantee
If you don't like the product or
it doesn't fit your child, we will give you a full refund,
no questions asked!
Your success in using
this powerful approach to teaching writing is completely
guaranteed!
One side note...this book is a
SUPPLEMENT to
IEW
Structure & Style writing course. It is not intended to be a
stand-alone writing curriculum. If you are not familiar with the
writing process outlined in
Structure & Style, I would recommend purchasing it before or with
this supplement.
