IEW Ancient History for 6-8th grade, taught by Tanya Stuart, is created to provide students with an overall understanding of the fundamentals of writing. IEW’S unique approach provides the structure that students need to develop confidence in the writing process, while gradually guiding them toward greater independence and creativity.

Moving through units 1-7, students willlearn nine structural models (note taking, writing paragraphs, stories, simple reports, writing from pictures, research reports, creative writing, essays, a 5-paragraph research report) to help them organize any type of composition. Additionally, stylistic techniques (strong verbs, quality adjectives, sentence openers, and more) are taught incrementally to gently move students from the basics into more sophisticated writing. In this theme-based writing curriculum, students will write about topics such as: The Hanging Gardens of Babylon, The Epic of

Gelgimesh, The Mayans, Pompeii and more.

While in class, students will be expected to work together, alongside Mrs. Stuart, to create an outline, learn new styles they will be implementing into their papers, and playing games to enhance their grammar skills. They will be required, as homework, to complete a rough draft from their outlines each week. After they turn in the rough drafts, Mrs. Stuart will then turn them back to the students, with corrections, and they

will be required to make the corrections and write a final draft. At the end of the year they will have written 20 papers, which will be placed into a final draft notebook. Along with writing papers, they will also be learning vocabulary words and will be required to take a vocabulary test approximately every 4-6 weeks.

At the end of the first semester, parents will be invited to come to class to listen to students read 1-2 of their favorite papers. At the end of the 2nd semester, parents will be invited again to listen to the students read a 5 paragraph research report about a prominent person in ancient history. The presentation will also include a tri-fold board with pictures having to do with their prominent person.

Benefits:

1. As they progress through the text students will learn how to organize their thoughts and express them clearly and coherently.

2. A checklist will be given with each paper to help complete their papers effortlessly.

3. Students will be challenged to push themselves to apply the skills they learn in class each week as they write their papers.

4. Through participation in class and parent days, students will develop their social and communication skills. They will learn to effectively express their ideas, listen to others, and work collaboratively towards a common goal.

5. As they get into high school, and have to write multiple papers, they will have the ability to write papers easily because of what they learned in class.

Overall, IEW Ancient History, with its focus on organization of thoughts, participation in class and weekly writing assignments, provides students with a comprehensive and engaging learning experience. It equips them with the necessary writing skills, to succeed in their academic journey and beyond.

Required Text:

Ancient History-Based Writing Lessons (Student book only) https://iew.com/ancient-history-based-writing-lessons-student-book-only

Additional resources required:

Pencils/Pens

Highlighter-any color

Spiral notebook

2 pocket folder

Provided by the teacher:

Final Draft Notebook

Student Resource Notebook

Homework Folder

Google Classroom:

Students and/or parents will be required to sign into Google Classroom each week to receive homework, communications from Mrs. Stuart, and checking grades.

Homework Expectations:

According the the Centers recommendations, it is advised to allocate 20 minutes for homework, 4 days a week. This duration is considered suitable for maintaining a balanced workload and allowing students to reinforce their learning outside of the classroom. By dedicating this amount of time to homework, students can effectively review and practice the concepts taught in class, leading ot better understanding and retention of the material.

Cell Phone Policy:

Cell phones are not allowed to be out in class unless instructed by the teacher to do so for research purposes. Parents must contact the front desk if there is a need to get a hold of their student.