www.TheOldSchoolhouse.com
downloadable;files.;You;cannot;down-load anything in the student area, but
you;can;use;quizzes;and;flashcards;that
French;Essentials;set;up;with;Quizlet.
The tests are self-grading, which
is always nice. They include a good
mix of fill-in-the-blank and multiple
choice, so you are testing both spelling
and comprehension. Of course, none of
these tests pronunciation, which is why
working;with;Bug;and;using;the;media-heavy;PDF’s;was;so;important.
Currently Available Modules
French;Essential’s;website;currently;has
four complete modules available. You
can see the scope and sequence of them
on the website. Eventually, they plan on
having a full ten modules, which would
be a complete high school French pro-gram.;I;asked;about;their;production
schedule since this is such a fantastic
product, and was told that they will
be releasing modules six through ten
over;the;next;two;to;three;years,;taking
probably a full year for the production
of the tenth module.
Module;One;also;includes;files;for
cultural information, and there are
plans for more of these with the other
modules.
I will be anxiously watching and
waiting for it to be complete!
—Product review by Heather Aliano,
blogging for the Crew at
www.onlypassionatecuriosity.com
High School Essay Intensive
Andrew Pudewa, Julie Walker, and
Institute for Excellence in Writing
www.excellenceinwriting.com/
1.800.856.5815
Does your child have SAT and college
application essays looming around
the corner? Are scholarship essays out
there as another upcoming hurdle? I
know;my;son;worries;about;the;SAT
essay in particular. As he is now entering his junior year, that is coming
fast. Whether you have used Institute
for Excellence in Writing materials
before or not, the High School Essay
Intensive might be exactly what your
student;needs;to;gain;some;confidence
before facing the above-mentioned
obstacles.
The;program;comes;as;a;5-disc;set.
The first two DVDs feature Andrew
Pudewa teaching about the SAT essay. We chose to follow the (included)
plan to complete the entire seminar in
six sessions of roughly one hour each,
which we did at a pace of one session
per week. This meant that we spent
four;weeks;covering;the;SAT;essay.
My son found this portion to be fas-cinating;and;very;helpful.;On;his;first
practice SAT essay, he gave himself a
score;of;0.;Essentially,;all;he;accom-
plished;in;the;25-minute;writing;ses-
sion was to create an outline, without
a single complete sentence ending up
on;the;page.;By;the;end;of;the;fourth
session, he was at least getting to the
point;of;giving;himself;a;3;on;the;es-
says,;which;is;a;definite;improvement.
Discs;3;and;4;feature;Mr.;Pudewa
again, this time teaching about the college application essay. Following the
six-session plan, you would spend two
sessions;on;these;DVDs.;My;son;didn’t
enjoy this portion nearly as much, primarily because “college application”
still;seems;so;far;away;so;this;didn’t
seem as critical. His statement to me
was,;“I;think;this;will;be;beneficial,;but
right;now;it;just;doesn’t;seem;to;be.”
We discussed how these concepts also
would apply to scholarship application
essays, however, and that seemed to
get;his;attention,;though;he;still;thinks
these sessions were less worthwhile.
The final disc is a CD-ROM. This
contains the handouts for the seminar
presentations of discs 1-4. This Stu-
dent Book also contains lessons for
Essays on Demand by Patsy Brekke.
This;14-lesson;plan;gives;the;student;a
chance to practice timed essays. (. . .)
The bonus disc also includes some
general SAT Preparation advice, in-
cluding;a;session;by;Julie;Walker;that
you;can;watch;as;a;Power;Point;presen-
tation,;or;listen;to;as;an;mp3;along;with
a pdf of the slides. This presentation
included loads of great advice about far
more than just the SAT.
If your teen is already familiar with
the IEW methodology, there will be
some parts of the seminar that will
sound similar. This program does stand
on its own though, and you do not need
to have used any other Institute for Ex-
cellence in Writing materials before.
Like;other;products;from;IEW,;this
is something you can use with all of
your children. Even for just one child,
though, this product is well worth the
$79;price;tag.
—Product review by Debra Brinkman,
Assistant to the Product Reviews
Director
We hope you found
something worth reading!
Happy Homeschooling!
