The answer to your question is both! EIW teaches grammar in isolation, with students completing grammar activities before moving on to other tasks. Grammar activities are divided into 'identify' and 'apply' exercises. This approach isolates parts of speech, allowing students not only to identify them in sentences but also to use them as tools for effective communication. Later in the year, when EIW teaches composition such as paragraph and essay writing, grammar is frequently revisited during t...

The assessments are located in the optional Assessment/Resource Booklet which can be purchased separately as an additional resource. The EIW curriculum is complete without the assessments, but they were added as an option for parents who wanted a way to assess their children's understanding and to provide additional resources such as word lists, extra writing prompts, graphic organizers, and more.

Students retain information better when they use it over a period of years. As the students progress from level to level, they will apply concepts and skills with increasing complexity and add to their repertoire of composition types.

Research shows that diagramming sentences is not an effective strategy for improving writing skills. Instead, Essentials in Writing focuses on developing excellence in writing from the ground up – starting with formal sentence and paragraph construction before moving on to writing multi-paragraph essays.

By the time students reach levels 11 and 12, they continue to receive grammar instruction, but the concepts are embedded into the composition lessons rather than being taught in isolation. Consider having your student watch our free Intensive Grammar Review lessons (no written assignments) as a quick refresher course for grammar usage.https://essentialsinwriting.com/homeschool-resource/student-center/intensive-grammar-review/

- The Assessment/Resource Booklet is a helpful tool that contains assessments (quizzes and tests) that students will complete after every main unit of study in the workbook. - These assessments may be used as benchmark tests, to gauge whether or not your student is retaining the information taught, or as additional practice exercises. - The ARB also contains helpful resources for the student including graphic organizers, colorful teaching aids, and word lists!

Yes, it is possible. You can control what your child learns and skip things they already know. We even offer a free 18-Week Pacing Guide to help you meet all learning goals for each level while completing the course in half the time one would typically take.

Multiple mechanic and grammar worksheets are provided for additional practice in the student workbook for practice. In regard to writing assignments (not grammar/mechanics worksheets), it is pretty cut and dry. You can repeat any lesson if you feel that it’s needed, and have your child complete the assignment again with a different topic than the one before.

Even though first-grade students may not yet be writing sentences, they can begin with the first-grade curriculum. EIW starts by reviewing letters and their sounds in a foundational way (not as a full phonetic program) and progresses to show how letters form words and words create sentences. We begin with the basics of sentence construction. The only additional support a student may need is with spelling, and we recommend All About Spelling for this purpose.

- Level 1 (Second Edition): Estimated 115-125 class periods, 43 video lessons, 163 workbook pages. - Level 2 (Second Edition): Estimate 115-125 class periods, 65 video lessons, 207 workbook pages. - Level 3 (Second Edition): Estimated 164 class periods, 83 video lessons, 237 workbook pages. - Level 4 (Second Edition): Estimated 135-145 class periods, 80 video lessons, 229 workbook pages. - Level 5 (Second Edition): Estimated 135-145 class periods, 83 video lessons, 245 workbook pages. - Level ...

Yes, there is sufficient grammar covered within our courses, and there’s no need for any additional grammar curriculum. However, if you want your child to know how to diagram sentences, you should consider adding a course that teaches diagramming skills. The grammar portion of Essentials in Writing includes the basic parts of speech, but focuses on teaching students how to use certain parts of speech as tools to communicate more effectively with the reader rather than how to diagram sentences.

Yes! You don’t have to be “good” at writing to grade it. Most of the grading on writing assignments actually happens during the writing process because students are required to complete specific tasks based on each lesson. At the end of writing assignments, a “checklist” will be used to score or confirm that each task presented in the writing assignment has been completed properly. You will simply use the checklist provided with the writing assignment to make sure the student has followed the w...

We offer three ways to score writing assignments for Essentials in Writing: Scoring Services We offer a Scoring Service for students completing Levels 6-12. Learn more about the Scoring Service: https://essentialsinwriting.com/scoring-service/ Rubrics Rubrics are provided for scoring compositions. Rubrics are criterion based, and they are the most common type of scoring used on the secondary level. Point values are assigned to specific categories (with descriptions) that match the goals of eac...

On average, EIW students spend approximately 30 minutes per day on their lessons. Video lessons are typically 3 - 8 minutes in length, and each is followed by independent practice. Of course, there are many variables to consider, and each child is different and should complete their work at their own, appropriate pace.

Yes, there is a suggested approach! 1. View the video lesson. Present the new concept to the student. Depending on the student, you may want to watch the lesson with the student, or you may allow the student to watch the lesson alone. 2. Read the text for today’s lesson. Looking at the assignment will help students be prepared for the content of the lesson. 3. Complete the assignment. Students will complete the worksheet or assignment sheet. During this time, it’s very important for students ...