Hewitt Homeschooling Review

Over the years, I have accumulated quite a few products from Hewitt Homeschooling, including the 7th grade curriculum, high school British Lit from the early 19th century, and the British Medieval Pack. I recently had the opportunity to review Lightning Literature and Composition World 1: Africa & Asia Student's Guide for grades 11 and 12. Because my oldest son loves Japan and his dream is to visit after graduation, I thought he might really enjoy this curriculum since once of the countries this book visits through literature is, in fact, Japan. We were also given Lightning Literature Composition World 1: Africa & Asia Teacher Guide. 

All of the student books for the older grades that are created by Hewitt Homeschooling are simply beautiful. This new one is no exception. The information contained within it is also top-notch. They provide much more than synopsis and reading comprehension questions. In this 272-page student guide, which sells for only $29.95, perspectives on the literature or the people of the area are given. This allowed my son to think beyond his own small corner of the world and gain some insight into what and how others think. Words that were likely to be new to the student in the reading selections were defined in the student guide. When my son worked through the section on Japan, he was very eager to relate to me the things he was learning. (I would have liked to have seen pronunciation guides for these words. Some words in other chapters have a guide.)

In the chapter on Japan, there is also a section that introduces the student to various international writers. I thought this reading would bore my son, but he was fascinated. Again, he shared with me the things he was learning as he read through this.

The specific countries/regions included in this curriculum are Africa, Japan, Middle East, India, Vietnam, and others. The fourth unit discusses autobiographies and allows the student to choose from a list provided in the appendix. At least five books (novels and books of poetry) need to be purchased separately or borrowed from the library to work through this curriculum. We simply purchased through Amazon and downloaded the works to the Kindle app on our tablet. While you may be hesitant to have your child work through a curriculum that includes works that are not Christian in nature, Hewitt Homeschooling does a great job teaching the student how to examine these works with a Christian worldview.

Not only is Hewitt Homeschooling interested in exposing our students to great writers from around the world and helping them to gain an appreciation for these other cultures, they want to assist our children to become great writers themselves. The subtitle on the text reads, "Acquiring College-Level Composition Skills by Responding to Great Literature." Okay, so college-level writing and great writing might not be synonymous, but college-level is probably an improvement from the writing skills they did have. More often than not, reading will enhance one's writing skills. The more one reads, especially of a wide variety of writers, the more likely one will become a better writer. Hewitt Homeschooling provides many different types of writing exercises in each chapter. For example, in the Japan chapter, there is a writing assignment that talks about first person point of view and how a scene could have been different if taken from another character's POV. The student is asked to rewrite the scene. Another discusses direct versus indirect communication. There are several exercises that require a one- to two-page essay about topics presented in the reading. Some options are based on the Japanese culture. In this chapter alone, there are 13 different options for writing assignments.

Each chapter also includes literary lessons: historical fiction, the sounds of poetry, point of view, themes in poetry, symbolism, imagery, autobiography, and tone.

The appendices provide even more options for further learning such as projects that tie the reading selections to other subjects such as history, science, language, etc. Additional reading suggestions from the selected authors and regions are provided, as well as reading recommendations for younger students. One of the appendices discusses the cultural/core values of the regions studied. There is also a breakdown of the course by semester or full-year so that the teacher does not have to create a schedule, including a way to coordinate the learning with teaching geography.

The teacher guide is a simple black-and-white, 82-page answer guide priced at $2.95 that includes a teaching schedule and grading tips.

I can't think of anything negative to say about any of the Hewitt Homeschooling products we have used. They are beautifully made and well thought out. It is obvious that a great deal of time went into creating these resources for homeschoolers, including choosing the reading selections and developing the lessons, both cultural and literary. While my son might complain about the idea of having to read certain selections or do the writing assignments, I know that he is going to increase his cultural literacy through this product. We did not have enough time to finish the course during the review period but have already decided that this will be what he uses for world literature for the coming year.

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Institute for Excellence in Writing Review

Over the past few years, my kids have received instruction from various co-op teachers who used Institute for Excellence in Writing.  I have always enjoyed seeing how much they learn through these classes and have, without hesitation, recommended this program to others.  Imagine how excited I was to receive the following two items in the mail.  They were all mine.
Teaching Writing: Structure and Style DVD Seminar with Seminar Workbook

Student Writing Intensive Level B

The Student Writing Intensive came with a 3-ring binder with labeled dividers, 4 student DVDs and a DVD for the teacher that is an overview of the program, and a packet of instructions and handouts.  As Paige watched Mr. Pudewa instruct in the DVDs, she followed along with her binder.  I would give her the handout he was working with at the time which she would put into the binder along with a piece of notebook paper.  As they worked through the keyword outline (finding 3 words per sentence that she could use to rewrite the sentence), she would write while she listened, often pausing so that she could create her own outline.  When the DVD class wrote their stylistic techniques, Paige wrote them down, and she followed along while writing her banned words.

Included in the packet is a suggested course schedule, which we followed for the most part.  If I felt Paige was able to understand how to do something and had practiced a good bit with it, I chose not to do the extra practice.  Perhaps I should have had her do it all; it would only help her become a better writer.  The course is very clear that the resources used in the program can be substituted with other resources of your choosing.

A full schedule is available, but each lesson is broken down even further with the disc times, chapter title, handouts needed, and reinforcement materials.  I appreciated the way the lessons were written out.  They tell you exactly when to stop the DVD since there are no chapter breaks in it.  The outlines completed on the DVD are printed on the lesson pages.  There are also composition checklists for the student to use to be sure s/he is including all required elements.

Once the student has had ample time to practice how to create keyword outlines by finding the 3 key words in each sentence of the article/paragraph provided and rewriting the article using their outline, they are taught how to dress up their own writing by using various words such as which and who, -ly words, strong verbs, etc.  There is so much good information provided that I myself have incorporated some of these tips into my own writing.

The Student Writing Intensive Level B is geared toward students in 6-8 grades and sells for $109.00.  Level A  is suggested for grades 3-5 and is the same price.  Level C is for grades 9-12.

The other product, Teaching Writing: Structure and Style, is purely for the teacher/parent.  The product that I received, which includes 10 DVDs and the seminar workbook, sells for $169.00.  Each component can be purchased separately ($145 for the DVDs or $35 for the workbook).  They can also be purchased in combination with any level of the Student Writing Intensive for $299.

Just like the Student Writing Intensive, TWSS comes with a 3-ring binder, labeled dividers, and all of the worksheets to follow along with Mr. Pudewa in the DVDs.  There are 6 DVDs which teach on the 9 units (10 hours of viewing time), a tips and tricks DVD, and 3 workshop DVDs at the different grade levels.  The units are:

1.  Note Making and Outlines

2.  Summarizing from Notes

3.  Summarizing Narrative Stories

4.  Summarizing References

5.  Writing from Pictures

6.  Library Research Reports

7.  Creative Writing

8.  Essay Writing

9.  Critiques

In both products' DVDs, I have come to truly appreciate Andrew Pudewa's humility, knowledge, and humor.  Paige didn't really like his jokes very much, but I did and often found myself laughing as I listened to him.  I walked past him at the FPEA Convention.  I called Paige right away to tell her, but she wasn't as excited as I thought she'd be.  Kids will be kids, I suppose.

Mr. Pudewa truly loves his job and wants to help kids become better writers.  With the step-by-step training I've received through these videos, I, too, can help my kids to become better writers.  I have information that will help me teach them through all of the different styles, and I also have learned how to grade the writing with checksheets provided at the end of each unit.  He encourages us teachers to focus on the task at hand, in this case, writing, and not correcting, say, handwriting at the same time.  We want the kids to be able to focus on writing and not end up disliking it because there was so much criticism in other areas at the same time.  

Goals, recommended materials, the teaching procedure, and adjustment recommendations for each grade level are provided in each unit (when applicable).  

A lot of samples written by other children are included.  Another thing I appreciate is that the essay unit shows what footnotes and bibliographies should look like.

The end of the workbook says, "This workbook contains a lot of information.  Naturally, it is easy to feel overwhelmed.  Relax.  Go back and review the beginning ideas..."  I concur.  There is a lot of information, almost too much to grasp with one run through.  I am thankful I have my own copy and can go back to it again and again.