Celebrating the Checklist

   One question that comes up often on the IEW forum is the question of the checklist. Many parents and teachers wonder if they really have to hold their students to the checklist of dress-ups and sentence openers, mostly because they are tired of the complaints. Kids moan either  that  it is too hard or that  it messes up their writing. Teachers often wonder if it is really necessary to require the stylistic techniques. The answer is yes, it is important to require the techniques on the checklist, but it is equally  or even more important  to manage how the checklist is developed. Two Most Important Things In the second edition of  Teaching Writing: Structure and Style, Andrew Pudewa listed "Two Most Important Things" in reference to teaching the syllabus of style. Most Important Thing #1 is that Andrew does not believe, nor does he teach, that having all the dress-ups, sentence openers, decorations, and other advanced techniques makes for "good writing."   That being said, he does make his students apply the checklist to every paragraph they write so they can practice and develop mastery. Using the stylistic techniques is a technical skill, and that skill requires practice. After a period of time, usually several years, students may graduate from the checklist because they have demonstrated mastery of the checklist. However, if they are released from the checklist prematurely, they will miss out on that crucial training in the skill. EZ + 1 Formula The Most Important Thing #2 is the one that tends to get ignored: don't do to your students what Andrew did to you in the teacher's seminar. Don't teach the techniques too quickly such that there is groaning and pain. Instead, follow the EZ + 1 formula. EZ means that the technique is easy for the student. He or she can do it without much help, and it doesn't sound goofy most of the time. When the skill becomes easy, teach another technique. That is the +1 part of the formula. Everything else on the checklist should be easy for your student. Only one thing should be hard.   Andrew cautioned, "If your students ever say, 'Oh, this checklist is so hard; do I have to do everything?', then what they are really saying is 'Teacher, you taught me too much, too fast.' They are overwhelmed. But if you follow the EZ+1 formula, they can't ever get overwhelmed because they are only doing what is easy with one new thing to practice on." The dress-ups usually start with the -ly adverb requirement. That should be the only requirement on the checklist until the student can do it without much help and it doesn't sound goofy most of the time. When the -ly adverb is easy, then the  who-which  clause is added. The teacher can show the student how the  who  or  which  clause  can be used to combine two lines of fact from the outline or  to add information. Modeling is crucial.   Now the student has those two dress-ups on the checklist (one easy, one hard) until they find it easy to get the who-which clause  in there. Only then do they have the next dress-up (usually the  strong verb) added on to the list. Teachers need to remember that there is no hurry to get through the syllabus in style. You have  years  to work through it, so take your time. If you rush the process, all you'll get is frustration on the part of your students. It will not help them master the list faster. If anything, it will slow learning down because it kills the joy. Teaching Tips for Happier Students I have been teaching IEW writing for over fifteen years now, and I have had amazingly few complaints. I think the reason for this is that I have done my best to follow Andrew's teaching tips, which I have gleaned from the dozens of his talks that I have listened to over the years. Here are a few that I have found most helpful in relation to the checklist: 1. Model the addition of style with each and every outline, especially in the elementary grades. When you finish helping your student create an outline for writing, take a few minutes to brainstorm ideas for each and every required dress-up. That way, when the student goes to write, he already has several options to use. 2. Adjust the checklist to meet the needs of the individual student. That means if the handouts you are using list four dress-ups and your student is only comfortable with the first two, cross the fourth one off so that the checklist follows the EZ + 1 formula. This often means that different students in my class have different checklists. 3. Help your student as much as he needs. Don't ever move your student to independence too soon. I usually do a lot of hand-holding for about three years before I ever hand an assignment to a student to do on his own. I help with the outline, the rough draft, the editing, and the polishing. I do this until my students push me away and say, "I can do it myself!" Running with Weights I rarely have students complain about the checklist because I follow the EZ + 1 rule. My students don't find the checklist particularly hard because it has been developed slowly over time. However, when the list gets pretty long, the groaning might begin. That is when I use the analogy that Andrew used with the kids on one of the Continuation Courses. He told his students that continuing to follow the checklist is like  "running with weights" because it builds your writing abilities so as to make future writing easier.   Graduate from the Checklist The checklist won't be required forever. When a  student  shows mastery, he can  graduate from the checklist because he has proved himself skilled in all the techniques. This may take years, but when the student  achieves  that milestone, rejoice! The checklist will have done its job.  Your student will have a plethora of tools for writing which he has mastered. But until then, rather than fighting it, encourage him to see the checklist as a cause for celebration. Log in or register to post commentsJill Pikes blog Log in or register to post comments checklist Permalink By odegaard.gNov24 This article is so helpful! I have started giving it to homeschool parent friends. Log in or register to post comments Checklist Generator Permalink By tjmillikanAug21 I am trying to download the checklist generator but having trouble getting to the correct page on this website. Log in or register to post comments Checklist generator is in the premium content Permalink By JillPikeAug21 I found this note in another blog post: "The IEW Checklist Generator is debuting now and is available only to Premium Subscribers. If you are not yet a Premium Subscriber, you can become one by either purchasing the updated copy of  Teaching Writing: Structure and Style  (DVD or streaming), purchasing just the  Premium Subscription, or by  updating your old version of  Teaching Writing: Structure and Style. If you have the older DVD version of the TWSS, now is a  perfect time to update  so you will be able to take advantage of all of the perks that come with a Premium Subscription, including the IEW Checklist Generator! â€Å"Respecting the pupil† has hopefully become just a little bit easier!" Does that help? Log in or register to post comments