Two hours per week can shape your child into a competent, compelling communicator.
Overview
Rose Writing Center offers the unique combination of both an education in the lost art of language as well as structured training in how to write ideas logically with impeccable grammar. Our classes are modeled off of two highly reputed writing programs: the Institute for Excellence in Writing’s Structure and Style approach and the CiRCE Institute’s Lost Tools of Writing program. These curricula meet students where they are at to transform their ability to think, read, write, and communicate. Note that students are ready to begin our program when they can read and spell at grade-level. If your child struggles with these skills or has been diagnosed with dyslexia, we suggest beginning here.
IEW’s Structure and Style
Master fundamental writing skills
Most students start by taking an IEW Structure and Style course with us. This curriculum addresses the diverse needs of emerging writers and is appropriate for elementary and middle school students.
Students learn nine structural models (note taking, writing paragraphs, stories, simple reports, writing from pictures, research reports, creative writing, essays, and critiques) to help them organize any type of composition. In addition, they study stylistic techniques (strong verbs, quality adjectives, sentence openers, literary devices, and more) which are taught incrementally to gently move students from the basics into more sophisticated writing.
Depending on their age and progression, students may spend 2-4 years studying writing at the IEW level with us.
Lost Tools of Writing
Learn the art of rhetorical writing
Once students have mastered the building blocks of writing, they are ready to learn a new structure, just what the Lost Tools of Writing (LTW) supplies. Generally, LTW is appropriate for students ages 12-15 or grades 7-10.
In the LTW program, students read and respond to literature by identifying and analyzing actions taken by the characters. The goal is twofold: 1) to produce eloquent, well-organized persuasive essays and 2) to teach students how to reason well. Students learn about thesis, proofs, arguments, refutation, schemes, tropes, division, narratio, and more.
There are three levels in the LTW program. It is common to repeat levels for mastery or depth of understanding. Typically, it takes students four years to complete all three levels.
Time Commitment
Our students take one 60-minute live online class per week. Between classes, they spend 1-2 hours on homework. In a typical week, students:
- complete brainstorming worksheets, vocabulary exercises, and grammar drills,
- compose a rough draft, typically a 1-3 paragraph assignment,
- receive tailored feedback on their draft from their instructor, and use it to…
- produce their final draft, which receives a numeric score.
Why Homework?
Writing outside of class gives students the opportunity to wrestle with the application of what they learn in class. We know that homework is not exactly any child’s pastime, but there is no magic recipe to grow as a writer without engaging in any independent practice! Homework is a necessary part of the process.
That said, we do not believe in busy work. Each RWC assignment is purposefully designed and strategically sequenced into the course curriculum. Every assignment your child completes will be carefully reviewed by their instructor and will form the basis for upcoming classes.
We take the “mystery” out of what constitutes good writing, so when our students sit down to write a draft, they know exactly what is expected of them. Just that alone can make the homework a satisfying endeavor.
Our program has a proven track record
strengthening skills in the following areas:
- Outlining
- Fiction and non-fiction writing
- Research reports and formal essays
- Sentence building and sentence openers
- Stylistic techniques and literary devices
- Revision and editing best practices
- Grammar and punctuation
- Vocabulary
In 2013, Ms. Lauren Bridgeford graduated with a BA in Languages, Literature, and Criticism from Hunter College. She has also obtained her DELTA (Diploma in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) certification from Cambridge University. Currently, Ms. Bridgeford is a Registered Instructor accredited by the Institute for Excellence in Writing, and she is pursuing her master’s degree in Secondary Education.
Deanna Heikkinen has been privately teaching writing as well as history, literature, and art history to students grades 2-12 for over six years. Prior to that, she was a tenured professor of humanities at Los Angeles Valley College with a focus on teaching the Great Books of Western Civilization. Additionally, she taught world history, western civilization, Native American history, and anthropology at the college level. Whether teaching elementary, middle, or high schoolers for Rose Writing Center, Deanna's diverse background allows her to serve as our test prep, academic support, and custom lesson specialist.
