Wonders of Science Writing Lessons {an IEW Review}

In 2023, IEW released Wonders of Science, a brand new book of theme-based writing lessons geared toward elementary-aged students. After checking it out at the Great Homeschool Convention, I decided that Wonders of Science deserved a spot in our collection of IEW theme-based writing lessons.

This post contains affiliate links to the Institute for Excellence in Writing (IEW), Amazon, and Sonlight. Other affiliate links may be included. Please read my disclosure policy to learn more.

This review is not typical for me as I usually only review an item after we have used it. However, while printing the vocabulary cards and skimming through the lessons, I could tell that the quality of content was worth sharing. Since Wonders of Science is a brand new theme book, I wanted to offer a full overview to those parents/teachers who are wondering if it will work well for their students.

What topics does Wonders of Science include?

As the title suggests, the majority of topics covered in Wonders of Science are directly related to science.  These include insects, inventions, and famous scientists.

• ants, honey bees, bombardier beetles, and monarch migration
• steam engines, the Model T Ford, flight, and spacesuits
• Archimedes, Nikola Tesla, Albert Einstein, Maria Telkes, George Washington Carver, Nathaniel Bowditch, and a prominent scientist (student’s choice)

However, in the interest of including all nine units of structure, not every topic is directly related to science.

• Unit 3: Retelling Narrative Stories
  • Daedalus and Icarus (a popular Greek myth)
  • Jack and the Beanstalk (a well-known fairy tale)
  • Rumpelstiltskin (another classic fairy tale)
• Unit 5: Writing from Pictures
  • a fast-moving object in the night sky (possibly a meteorite)
  • a message in a bottle
  • a science lab (or whatever the student imagines)
• Unit 7: Inventive Writing
  • a favorite invention (either real or imagined)
  • exploring a place outdoors

Which IEW structural units are covered in Wonders of Science?

The structure portion of IEW’s teaching methodology is broken down into nine separate units.  While not all theme-based writing lessons cover every unit, Wonders of Science does include lessons for all nine units.

Unit 1: Note Making and Outlines

• Lesson 1
• Students learn how to make a key word outline.

Unit 2: Writing from Notes

• Lessons 2-4
• Students write key word outlines and compositions of one to two paragraphs.

Unit 3: Retelling Narrative Stories

• Lessons 5-8
• Students learn a new key word outline format: the story sequence chart.
• Compositions are all three paragraphs long.

Unit 4: Summarizing a Reference

• Lessons 9-12
• Students learn to write a key word outline based on a topic. They also learn the topic-clincher rule.
• Compositions are one to two paragraphs long. Each paragraph covers a single topic.

Unit 5: Writing from Pictures

• Lessons 13-15
• Students learn to create a key word outline that tells a story from a series of three pictures.
• Compositions are all three paragraphs long.

Unit 6: Summarizing Multiple References

• Lessons 16-19
• Students learn to create source outlines from multiple references. These outlines are then fused into a single outline for each topic.
• Assignments vary from one to two paragraphs in length.

Unit 7: Inventive Writing

• Lessons 20-23
• Students learn to ask themselves questions about a familiar topic and create a key word outline from their answers.
• Students also learn to write introduction and conclusion paragraphs.
• The four lessons cover two assignments (two lessons per subject). During the first lesson of each assignment, the student completes the body paragraphs (two to three). In the second lesson of each assignment, the student adds the introduction and the conclusion. As a result, the student completes a four-paragraph essay and a five-paragraph essay for Unit 7.

Unit 8: Formal Essay Models

• Lessons 24-26
• Since Unit 8 builds on skills from Unit 6, Lesson 24 adds an introduction and conclusion to the body paragraphs previously completed in Lessons 17 and 18. Students also revise these body paragraphs to include additional sentence openers.
• Lessons 25 and 26 require the student to research a prominent scientist. This two-part assignment results in a five-paragraph composition with a Works Consulted page.

Unit 9: Formal Critique and Response to Literature

• Lessons 27-30
• The formal critique is yet another structural model that builds off of a previous unit because it uses the story sequence chart. In addition, the student creates an introduction and conclusion that are unique to this model. The student forms and expresses an opinion in the conclusion.
• The response to literature is a variation of the formal critique. In Wonders of Science the student will include a character analysis as well as a story summary.
• Lessons 27-28 are a two-part formal critique resulting in a five-paragraph composition.
• Lessons 19-30 are a two-part response to literature that is four paragraphs in length.

Which IEW style elements are covered in Wonders of Science?

Wonders of Science includes all six dress-ups: -ly adverb, who/which clause, strong verb, because clause, quality adjective, and www.asia clause.  Each one is introduced in its own lesson.

Wonders of Science also teaches six sentence openers.  These are taught in the order listed: #2 prepositional, #3 -ly adverb, #6 vss (very short sentence), #5 clausal, #1 subject, #4 -ing.  The last two sentence openers (#1 and #4) are presented in the same lesson.

It is possible to add decorations like alliteration and conversation for advanced students.  IEW includes a PDF download with additional instruction for advanced students to begin incorporating decorations into their writing.

Does Wonders of Science include vocabulary words?

Yes. Most lessons include four new vocabulary words; you can download flashcards for these from IEW.  The checklist for each lesson requires the use of at least one vocabulary word per composition.  Students may look ahead at other vocabulary words and use them if they are appropriate.  A complete list of the vocabulary words and definitions appears in both the student and teacher books in the appendix.

Vocabulary Quizzes

Wonders of Science includes six vocabulary quizzes in the student book.  The answers appear in the teacher’s manual. These are optional.

Vocabulary Games

Appendix VI of the Teacher’s Manual includes several games for reviewing vocabulary words and the structure and style concepts taught throughout the book.  Since many classrooms use IEW theme books for writing lessons, the game instructions are geared toward a classroom setting.  However, it’s possible to modify many of the games for a homeschool environment.

Do any of the Wonders of Science assignments require additional research?

Yes.  Although most assignments include all required source material, students must find their own source material for two of the assignments.

Lesson 19 provides one source about Maria Telkes.  The student must find additional sources online or at the library to complete the assignment.  

For Lessons 25 and 26, the student chooses a prominent scientist to write about and finds enough sources to complete a five-paragraph essay.  After completing the research in Lesson 25, the student then writes the three body paragraphs.  Next, the student writes the conclusion and introduction to complete the essay in Lesson 26.

What do I have to do to prepare the lessons for the upcoming school year?

The Wonders of Science theme book is nearly open-and-go.  Each lesson has a suggested four-day schedule, which is very helpful in setting lesson expectations with your student. While I prefer a four-day homeschool schedule, I allow longer assignments to run into the fifth day as needed.

If you choose to use the vocabulary flash cards, you will need to download the PDF that comes with Wonders of Science and print them double-sided on card stock. 

To prevent alignment issues with the fronts and backs of the flashcards, IEW did not provide cut lines.  I used my paper trimmer to cut out the cards.

Do I need Teaching Writing Structure and Style to teach Wonders of Science?

If you are new to teaching with IEW, I would not begin the Wonders of Science theme book without having access to Teaching Writing Structure and Style (TWSS).  Although this theme book is well written, it is designed to be used in conjunction with TWSS, which is taught by Andrew Pudewa.

The Wonders of Science Teacher’s Manual includes notes on when to watch each part of the TWSS series.  In this way, you do not need to complete the entire TWSS video series prior to beginning the theme book.  In fact, it’s better to take each unit as it comes.

If your student has completed a Structure and Style for Students video-based class, you may be able to get by without TWSS.  However, the Wonders of Science theme book may include material not yet covered by your student.

As the teacher you will need to understand what the lesson and checklist mean.  Without TWSS or previous experience with IEW, this will be more difficult to navigate.

Can I use Wonders of Science to teach students at multiple grade levels?

Yes.  While Wonders of Science is geared toward students in the elementary grades, IEW provides a PDF that enables you to simplify the source texts for younger students. Additionally, IEW created a PDF with lesson content that adds style elements called decorations for older or more advanced students.

Can the Wonders of Science Student Book be used for more than one student?

Within the same home, a student book can be shared by the children in the home by making copies of the workbook.  Copying the student book can definitely save money if you have a cost-effective printer, but it does require a lot of time and additional organization. 

While I have copied IEW student books for my children in the past, this task has become quite tedious in recent years as the newer theme books contain so many fill-in-the-blank pages in addition to the source texts and teaching pages.  I now find it much easier to buy a new student book for each child.

Teachers may not copy from the student book or the teacher’s manual. 

For more details, read the copyright policy available under the details tab.

Does Wonders of Science include grammar instruction?

Yes and no. Some grammar rules are included on an as-needed basis, but a separate grammar course like IEW’s Fix It! Grammar is recommended. The beauty of using IEW’s grammar program with Wonders of Science is that the terminology used for dress-ups and sentence openers matches.

Do I need a separate literature program?

Yes. IEW provides a list of age appropriate books in Appendix IV of Wonders of Science. This list is simply a starting point for a literature supplement, but IEW has neither reviewed the books nor scheduled them in the lessons.

In our homeschool we’ve enjoyed many of the books in Sonlight’s history and literature programs. In addition, I hope to watch the Teaching the Classics DVD series this summer. If you are looking for a literature-based curriculum, check out Cathy Duffy Reviews and search for literature.

Conclusion

Wonders of Science is a well-planned resource to help your student learn all nine of IEW’s structural units. I’m impressed with the organization of each lesson and the amount of practice my children will receive when they complete the lessons.

We’ve been using IEW’s writing materials in our homeschool since 2016. We began with Teaching Writing Structure and Style for me and the Bible Heroes Theme-Based Writing Lessons for our second grader. In the years since we’ve added poetry memorization, grammar books, several theme-based writing books, and the Structure and Style for Students video series.

I recommend IEW with confidence because their methods for teaching the arts of language are highly effective. IEW also stands behind the products they sell by offering a 100% satisfaction guarantee for all products purchased directly from IEW.