Unboxing Your Deluxe Kit

   As part of the customer service team, we talk to parents and instructors every day who receive their long-awaited IEW materials, open their bright and shiny package, and are instantly struck with a challenging conundrum of â€Å"Where do I even begin?† In this blog post, our goal is to break down the Deluxe Combo and help you confidently chart your course for your students. Inside your package, you should see the following items: A blue and yellow box containing your Teaching Writing: Structure and Style (TWSS). Go ahead and set this unopened box aside for now. A binder, a set of dividers, a plastic DVD case, and a printed packet. These pieces are part of the Student Writing Intensive (SWI) materials. Two printed Teacher’s Manuals for the Fix It! Grammar books. Depending on which combo level you purchased, you should have Books 1 and 2, Books 3 and 4, or Books 5 and 6. A Word Write Now and a copy of the Portable Walls. These are reference materials your student will use while writing, so you do not need to do anything with them at this point. Step 1: Assemble your Student Writing Intensive binder, using the handy â€Å"Student Notebook Set-Up† sheet located behind the title page. Step 2: Once you have assembled this notebook, turn to page 7. You should see â€Å"Teacher’s Notes, Lesson 1† at the top. On this page, there is a large box. This box will instruct your student on which section to watch on the Student Writing Intensive (SWI) DVDs (the plastic case), along with the handouts needed for that particular lesson. Don’t have them watch these DVDs just yet. Step 3: Underneath the box on page 7 are these instructions: â€Å"If you have our teacher’s course, review Unit 1 (Note Making and Outlines) and Unit 2 (Writing from Notes).† Go ahead and pull out the blue and yellow Teaching Writing: Structure and Style (TWSS) box that you put to the side earlier and open it up. Step 4: Inside the TWSS box, you will see three items: a binder with packet, a black leatherette DVD wallet, and a Premium Membership activation card. This membership will give you access to a bevy of wonderful tools, including our latest offering—master classes. Go ahead and quickly assemble this binder. Then grab the first disc to get started! You will not need to watch the next one for a while yet. Step 5: Once you have watched this first TWSS DVD, your students can begin their lessons, using the DVDs within the small plastic case of the Student Writing Intensive. Turn back to page 7 in the Student Writing Intensive packet for directions on how to begin. The pacing guide for the course is found on page 3. The guide breaks down the DVDs and assignments for each day, scheduling the course into thirty weeks for your student, which makes the course easy and enjoyable to students and teachers alike. Step 6: Pull out the first Fix It! Grammar Teacher’s Manual that you plan to start with and turn to the blue page, located just behind the copyright page. Follow the steps listed on this blue page to access the student pages needed for the course. (If you purchased a pre-printed student book, you can just add the files and not print the pages for now). Go ahead and print either the first week of sentences, or the whole book, if you prefer to have everything ready to go. Additionally, you will find towards the end of the PDF a section of flashcards that details some of the terms with their accompanying definitions on the reverse side. These pages will need to be printed on both sides. While any paper will do, many students appreciate having these cards printed on card stock. Step 7: Before jumping into the Fix It! Grammar materials, read through the â€Å"Introduction† and â€Å"Instructions† in your Teacher’s Manual. These explain the layout of the course and how to get started. If you are feeling overwhelmed by starting both writing and grammar at once, just pick one. Get used to the system and then pick up with the other in a month or two. Congratulations! You are now ready to embark on this next stage of your journey with IEW! If you need any further guidance or tips along the way, we have wonderful customer service team members who are always happy to help. We also have an IEW forum, blog, and podcast for encouragement for the journey.    Jessica Walker was homeschooled in Southern California and graduated from CSULB with a degree in Liberal Arts with an emphasis in Elementary Education. She moved to Oklahoma after getting married to  Mikael  Walker. Before Jessica began working for IEW as a Customer Service Agent, she taught kindergarten  and first grade for two years. Jessica enjoys working with the IEW team, spending time with family, and making crafts. Log in or register to post commentsJessica Walkers blog Log in or register to post comments