I am a registered writing instructor with the Institute for Excellence in Writing and use Andrew Pudewa’s writing courses as a basis for my classes. I home school but also have older children, one who has completed NCEA and Cambridge through the school system.
Students attend weekly classes for 2 hours, get set assignments to complete at home , receive guidance and help throughout the week if needed and are given feedback on completed assignments.
Parents will receive updates weekly with all concepts taught clearly listed.
The students will receive the best advantage from these courses if they participate fully and complete all assignments to the requirements set.
Because the skills are taught sequentially, the students will need to commit to attending every week during term if at all possible. No catch up lessons will be available this year as I have private tutoring sessions on the other days, but the students will be given the week’s paperwork and information to work through on their own.
All courses are $30 per week, except the Advanced courses, which are $35. Course fees are payable per term in advance.
This term there are 3 options to choose from:
1. Students new to IEW can join the Intermediate beginners’ class on Monday afternoons from 4-6 pm. This class is most suited for 10 – 13 year olds and will run over two terms.
This will suit students who have had little or no formal training in writing skills. They will be taught structure, style, grammar and mechanics. The aim is to move through various composition models and structures and to ultimately equip them in note taking skills, creative writing skills and formal writing skills, including essays. We will teach applied grammar, note taking and summaries, story writing, reports, event description, research, creative writing, basic essay structure, style and paragraph structure.
2. Students who have completed IEW courses in the past, including the Writing Intensive course can join our Continuation class on Thursdays from 4-6 pm. This is more suited for 12-15 year olds.
Younger students can join if they have completed the Intensive B course. This is also ideal as a bridging for the students who are not yet ready for the Senior and formal essay courses. This will run over one term.
3. Secondary age students can join our Advanced Essay courses on Thursday evenings from 6-8pm. Minimum age is 13. This course will take 2 to 3 terms to complete.
We will study note taking skills, prompt essays, advanced and applied grammar, story sequence, report writing, annotation, various forms of essays ( including persuasive), thesis writing and will touch on literary essays. The students do not need to have any IEW experience although those who do will benefit from their past experience.
Classes will all start during the first week of February and be offered in Flagstaff.
Contact me if you have any further questions.
I have attached some feedback from current and previous students, but I can also give you references to contact directly if needed.
Kind Regards
Yvonne Jonker
“My son has improved his average English scores tremendously by taking these lessons. We decided to send him for writing lessons after his school teacher commented that the only thing keeping him back and preventing him from succeeding, is his ability to write well. We are extremely pleased with the results and highly recommend this course presented by Yvonne.” (Public school)
Another mother says of her capable 16 year old,” I’m so pleased at what he has achieved already – it’s fantastic considering the gaps he had when he started. ” (Home school)
“Thanks Yvonne for this wonderful course. You were able to easily bring out the writing potential within my daughter. She thoroughly enjoyed your classes and looked forward to them with great excitement. Much chatter about the classes afterwards reinforced for me that I had made the right decision in sending her to you!! I HIGHLY recommend Yvonne!!!”(Public school)
“The course content is excellent and suits those that struggle (I have a dyslexic son that is doing well on this course) But it is Yvonne’s ability to teach it well that makes it successful. Yvonne goes over and above to help them to understand and achieve, which in turn is helping my kids to gain confidence. I highly recommend this course taught by Yvonne, she is enthusiastic and encouraging.”(Home school)
“Our 14 year old son is currently attending a writing course taught by Yvonne. He did not want to do this course, but it has now become his favorite class. He loves it, and he does his homework every week without fail.. Previous to attending the class, he had an intense dislike for writing of any type, and would do anything to avoid it, now he has passion for, and a love of words. He has so much fun during class; he wishes all teachers were just like Yvonne!”(Home school)
“Hi, Yvonne! Just thought you might want to know that I got a Merit on my social studies essay that I wrote last term on managing resources sustainably. Thank you for you excellent teaching!“ (Public school year 10 girl)
“I did not want to do a writing course because I was not very good at writing and did not enjoy it. I thought that writing was something you were either naturally good at or not. Now that I have been doing the courses with Dr Jonker, I have realised that you can be taught to write well and you can get better.The most helpful things for me have been learning and using lots of descriptive words to make my essays more interesting. I have also learnt how to structure my essays so that I cover all the points I want to and don’t repeat myself. The checklist helps me to remember all the different parts of a good essay and Dr Jonker makes it easy to understand.
I know my writing has got much better since I started the writing courses because I am now getting higher marks in my school class and often now come top of the class rather than in the middle.” ( Public school year 9 boy)
Students receive the following:
· a weekly lesson for 2 hours, usually 50-55minutes instruction,15-20minutes break and 50 minutes mentoring, modeling and practicing
· assignments to complete, which I mark and fully comment on
· reports sent back and forth several times a week via email until the assignment is refined and all requirements have been met
· ongoing help and practice throughout the week
· learning how to stick to a schedule and meet deadlines
· sharpening their typing and presentation skills
· access to me for any other writing advice while they are enrolled
· all the printed resources, instructions and worksheets to revisit and use at any time in the future
· advice on how to apply what they have learned to their other subject areas
· the confidence to write well: -some of my students now send me extra essays and narratives to review because they enjoy writing so much!!
Parents receive the following:
· a weekly feedback report listing the objectives reached, the resources given and the homework requirements to be met
· the opportunity to give their children access to a teaching style different from their own
· the peace of mind that their child’s English Writing Skills will improve
