I just wanted to address the issues of writing with no creativity or imagination, and the use of formulas. IEW is not the only curriculum that uses a checklist. I think for early writers, it is a great place for them to get used to using the tools for good writing, whether they are creative writers/thinkers or not. What I have found it is that the children I know who use IEW get a great joy out of learning to use more descriptive words and new vocabulary, and it seems to spur more creativity on their part. Consequently, as another poster put it, they get used to using those tools and are eventually off and running on their own, applying all the right elements almost without thinking. My daughter is very creative as a writer, and she puts her thoughts down in an orderly manner. But introducing her to the ‘self-editing’ process, which is absolutely vital to creating a quality finished product, has been a happy boon to the whole writing process at our house!
Benjamin Franklin, they say, learned to write well by imitating the writing of others, which is more or less the premise of IEW. From there, by hearing and mastering the tools of good writing, children have a framework from which to run with their own creative thoughts and ideas, which, in my experience, are not hindered by the initial use of the formula approach. That’s been our experience anyway.
By the way, I would disagree that ‘good readers make good writers’, or at least I would say that it’s not true across the board. A common mistake parents make is to stop reading aloud to their children once those children are reading on their own. One of the points Pudewa makes so very clearly is that children need to hear words spoken/read correctly and they need to hear good writing ‘out loud’ for many years in order for it to affect their writing. (Sorry, just a side point about Andrew Pudewa that I think he makes a great case for! : )
I looked at several writing programs before finally landing on IEW. I like writing from the content areas. I am not a CM purist, but I love, love, love the CM approach on many, if not most, learning levels. I think that approaches to writing can vary, depending on the child and teacher, and so IEW is likely just one of several decent approaches. But the background of the method itself, plus the knowledge of Mr. Pudewa in teaching it and in furthering my concept of language arts learning, goes a long way at our house for finding IEW a solid basis for writing instruction.
