Learning to write requires excellent grammar skills. Our company makes use of a wide variety of grammar teaching tools. We love Grammar Songs by Audio Memory, The Blue Book of Grammar, and Abeka's Language Arts workbooks. Learning grammar doesn't have to be dry and dull! With our tutors and the proper teaching tools learning grammar can be fun and memorable!   
    There are many different writing curricula on the market today. At ABC-Write Start Read! Inc. our teachers are trained in "Teaching Writing with Structure and Style" published by The Institute For Excellence In Writing (www.writing-edu.com). 

        
       The TWSS syllabus begins in Units I & II with a very simple task—making “key word” outlines. Immediately the problem of “I don’t know what to write” is solved, as we let students essentially rewrite the content from a fable or short article line by line. However (and more importantly), we have begun the process of teaching thinking, because in order for them to actually make a key word outline, they must ask themselves a question. Although simple, it is a question: “What are the words in this sentence that will help me remember the basic idea?” The very act of asking that question to oneself initiates an active process of reading and of thinking. And because it is simple, all students can have immediate success with writing, and begin the habit of asking questions.

         In Unit III, the questions get a bit harder (Who is in the story? When/Where do things happen? What is the problem? What do the characters think/say/do? How is the problem resolved? What is the message/lesson?). Fortunately, the answers can all be taken from an existing story and re-written into a similar one. The questions are a little tougher, but the answers are all provided. In Unit IV, the questions become harder still. (What are the available topics for this subject? What are the most interesting, important, or relevant facts within this larger amount of information, and what are the key words from these facts?)

        In Unit V, we finally get to the kind of “brainstorming” most people associate with creative writing. As there is no existing “story” but only a set of pictures, the student has to think of and ask all the questions about the picture. (Who is in the picture? What are they thinking, saying, doing? Why are they thinking/saying/doing that? What happened before this picture? What might be happening outside the picture? What might happen after the picture?, etc.) The questions are harder; more thinking is required. With Unit VI, the complexity increases over Unit IV, as there are now multiple sources of factual information. In addition to the Unit IV question process, there’s the added question: How do I organize all these interesting/important/relevant facts into one paragraph on that topic?

        Finally in Unit VII, you get to the pure “notes from the brain” stage, which requires the student to come up with all the questions and all the answers. This is basically the “Writing Process” which has dominated most composition pedagogy for the last two decades. Sadly, many teachers who start with this “blank page” approach find that the complexity of introspection required by the student can be overwhelming for many who have not had sufficient experience in asking and answering simpler questions. In Unit VIII and IX, we see the climax and goal of this program, where students must collect and organize information they’ve put into the brain (facts or story details), and ask questions about those facts or details in order to formulate an opinion and write an essay or critique. 1

              Our students learn to write with flare and efficiency under our tutelage because they learn to question through our direct instruction.
          In addition to learning to write, we also incorporate poetry memorization in our writing curriculum in order to facilitate the internalization of english syntax and rhythm of the language. The storage of solid language patterns in the brain is of utmost importance for the development of excellent speaking and writing skills. Poetry memorization is one way to achieve this goal.
    Learning to write requires commitment and diligence on the part of the student. Teachers are often overwhelmed in the classroom with the task of teaching writing to some 15-25 students. Providing a well-trained tutor for this skill will enable your child to learn this very important skill. Excellence in writing is essential in todays competitive academic and business market.

1. Andrew Pudewa, "How To Think",  The Old Schoolhouse Magazine,  (2007).