IEW Little Mermaid (the "Old" Book 4) - Middle School Grammar
Students will repeatedly edit and correct grammar errors in an ongoing story (Little Mermaid, "old" Book 4 from IEW).
Jennifer Crowe
Average rating:
4.9
Number of reviews:(351)
What's included
30 live meetings
20 in-class hoursHomework
1-2 hours per week. Ideally, students should spend 10-30 minutes copying their corrected passage into their own notebook, so that at the end of class they have a completed story.Assessment
Parents will see the students' corrections in the grammar book and help them rewrite into another notebook.Class Experience
US Grade 6 - 9
I can make grammar fun! I use the IEW Fix It curriculum to teach grammar through an ongoing story. This class covers the entire OLD Little Mermaid grammar book. This class uses the Institute for Excellence in Writing IEW Grammar book, Little Mermaid. This book is no longer published by IEW and is Book 4 of their "old" series. I can give you the pages for this class. Please DO NOT START with this book. Your child should have completed Level 3 of the IEW series. This is part of their old series, but it's still a Level 4. They can do this book after Robin Hood, after Mowgli, or after Frog Prince. This class covers middle school (and even high school) grammar. It is not an easy book! In the summer of 2024, we will meet Monday and Wednesday and Friday. I love teaching grammar this way, and I have added my own unique coloring system to help students see the parts of speech. I use the same system in all of my writing, editing, and grammar classes, so if you take multiple classes with me, it all fits together seamlessly. This method of repeatedly correcting mistakes in longer passages is often more effective than working with isolated sentences. Students engage with the story and look forward to what is coming next. The publisher, Institute for Excellence in Writing, has carefully laid out the entire book to address common mistakes in an incremental and repetitive way. The old IEW grammar books have 33 weeks of content, with the suggestion of covering a sentence each day. I prefer to cover a full "week" of 4 sentences in one sitting as I find most children stay more engaged when we work through the story faster. Before starting this class, students should be able to generally identify subjects, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, and have an idea about dependent and independent clauses, but they do not need to be experts. I agree with IEW's recommendation that students should hand copy each week into a notebook. This may take a student an additional 10-30 minutes outside of class to copy each lesson. I always post the recordings, which some students like to replay and pause when needed.
Learning Goals
Students will repeatedly practice all kinds of grammar rules and writing in the context of a coherent story.
Other Details
Supply List
Students will use colored pens or pencils to mark parts of speech- red, yellow, green, blue, purple, brown, pink.
External Resources
Learners will not need to use any apps or websites beyond the standard Outschool tools.
Sources
I can give you the Student pages only for this class. I will send a pdf. This is allowed because the IEW book is no longer in print.
Joined May, 2020
4.9
351reviews
Teacher expertise and credentials
UPDATE FOR SUMMER and FALL 2024: My video refers to the 2022-23 school year, but I'm still here! I am super happy to be starting my last year of law school. I will take the bar exam in July 2025.
FIX IT Grammar: In Fall 2024, I will teach all of Book 2 and 3, and the first half of 4 and 5. In spring 2025, I will teach the second half of 4 and 5.
WRITING: For fall 2024, my semester-long classes will use the Modern World History-Based Writing Lessons book from IEW. https://iew.com/modern-world-history-based-writing-lessons-student-book-only
If you want to see if we are a good fit before committing to a long class, drop in on one of my ongoing Friday classes!
I help children overcome their fear of failure, and I coach strong writers to continued excellence. Once children grasp specific writing concepts, they can apply their skills to all content areas. Mostly, I use the writing methods taught by the Institute for Excellence in Writing.
My youngest daughter is dyslexic and in my search to help her organize and communicate her thoughts, I discovered the writing methods of IEW. Over the last 17 years, I have studied and taught these writing methods at my kitchen table, in homeschool co-ops, and in private tutoring. Most recently, I taught IEW for seven years to middle schoolers at a public charter school in Southern California. I am currently a Registered Instructor with IEW.
I graduated from the University of Maryland with an Elementary Education degree, but I've learned way more from my own kids and hundreds of others than I ever learned in a college classroom.
Having taught on two coasts, in public, private, charter, and homeschool co-ops, I have a breadth of experience.
My classes are "pretty fun for a writing class," my students report, but they don't feel like recess. Students will practice significant writing, grammar, organizing, outlining, and speaking skills in my classes. If your child needs support, recovery, or challenge, check out my classes.Reviews
Live Group Class
$180
for 30 classes3x per week, 10 weeks
40 min
Completed by 20 learners
Live video meetings
Ages: 11-15
8-14 learners per class
