Go to Part 1.

In the second part of this recording from the 2026 IEW Winter Retreat, a panel of Schools Department team members join Andrew Pudewa and Julie Walker to continue discussing tips and tricks for avoiding the four deadly errors in the classroom. They end with a conversation about AI in the classroom.

Referenced Materials

• IEW Winter Retreat recording on YouTube
• Four Deadly Errors of Teaching Writing by Andrew Pudewa
              Audio talk
              Article
• Transcript of Podcast Episode 527

If you have questions for Andrew, send them to [email protected]
Perhaps your question will be answered at the next Ask Andrew Anything (AAA).

If you have questions about IEW products or classes, contact customer service at 800.856.5815 or [email protected]

Go to Part 2.

In this recording from the 2026 IEW Winter Retreat, a panel of Schools Department team members join Andrew Pudewa and Julie Walker to discuss tips and tricks for avoiding the four deadly errors in the classroom. They give classroom-tested strategies for using IEW tools to make writing accessible and enjoyable for every student. 

Referenced Materials

• “Process versus Product” by Andrew Pudewa
• “Imitation: A Common-Sense Approach” by Andrew Pudewa
• However Imperfectly: Lessons Learned from Thirty Years of Teaching by Andrew Pudewa
              Article
              Book
• Premium Membership
• “The Power of the Checklist.”
• “The IEW Checklist Generator: Making EZ+1 Easy!”
• Writing Across the Curriculum
• From Copywork to Composition audio talk by Andrew Pudewa
• Transcript of Podcast Episode 526

If you have questions for Andrew, send them to [email protected]
Perhaps your question will be answered at the next Ask Andrew Anything (AAA).

If you have questions about IEW products or classes, contact customer service at 800.856.5815 or [email protected]

In this fast-paced episode, Andrew Pudewa and Julie Walker chat with Ben Greenfield, who was in one of Andrew’s first writing classes. The discussion covers an array of topics, from health and wellness to parenting to homeschooling and family life. As the author of the Boundless series, Ben exudes boundless energy and excitement for life.

Referenced Materials

• Ben Greenfield Life website
• Ben Greenfield's books
• Whole Stix
• Episode 364: Health and Wellness with Katie Wells
• Ben’s sons’ card game
• Transcript of Podcast Episode 525

If you have questions for Andrew, send them to [email protected]
Perhaps your question will be answered at the next Ask Andrew Anything (AAA).

If you have questions about IEW products or classes, contact customer service at 800.856.5815 or [email protected]

Is the workplace trend of quiet quitting spilling over into education? Join Andrew Pudewa and Julie Walker for a discussion about motivation and how to help kids develop greater attention spans and a desire to learn. Andrew talks about the importance of helping students develop hobbies and learn to make and do real things away from screens.

Referenced Materials

• “Are Students 'Quiet Quitting'? What the Workplace Trend Can Teach Us About K-12”
• Education Week Facebook post
• “The Art and Science of Motivation” by Andrew Pudewa
• However Imperfectly by Andrew Pudewa
• Principles of Motivation audio talk by Andrew Pudewa
• Writing Contests
• “What is IEW? Method not Madness” by Andrew Pudewa
• Transcript of Podcast Episode 524

If you have questions for Andrew, send them to [email protected]
Perhaps your question will be answered at the next Ask Andrew Anything (AAA).

If you have questions about IEW products or classes, contact customer service at 800.856.5815 or [email protected]

“If the children can’t go to the walls, the walls must come to the children.” Listen to this episode to learn the history of the popular Portable Walls™ products. Andrew Pudewa and Julie Walker share the inspiration behind these handy resources and the variations that have been developed through the years.  

Referenced Materials

• Teaching Writing: Structure and Style®
• Portable Walls™ for Structure and Style® Students
• Portable Walls™ for Academic Writing
• Portable Walls™ for the Public Speaker
• Portable Walls™ Grammar on the Go
• “Sound City, the Heart of Anna Ingham’s Language Arts Program”
• Rocklin School District Study

If you have questions for Andrew, send them to [email protected]
Perhaps your question will be answered at the next Ask Andrew Anything (AAA).

If you have questions about IEW products or classes, contact customer service at 800.856.5815 or [email protected]

“Don’t start a sentence with because!” is a common refrain among teachers. In this episode, Andrew Pudewa and Julie Walker discuss why this word is important and how it fits into IEW’s list of stylistic techniques. Andrew considers how this word promotes thinking and why teaching students to use it provides exercise in overcoming awkwardness in writing. Why else should you listen to this episode? You should listen because you will discover how learning to write actually helps you learn to listen better.

Referenced Materials

• Teaching Writing: Structure and Style®
• “But it’s so . . . so . . . awkward!”
• University-Ready Writing
• IEW Accreditation
• Transcript of Podcast Episode 522

If you have questions for Andrew, send them to [email protected]
Perhaps your question will be answered at the next Ask Andrew Anything (AAA).

If you have questions about IEW products or classes, contact customer service at 800.856.5815 or [email protected]

In this episode, Andrew Pudewa and Julie Walker discuss the prompts for the annual IEW Writing Contest. Listen to this episode to learn why does IEW have a writing contest, what the value of entering a writing contest is for students, and how a writing contest fits into the types of motivation. Andrew breaks down the prompts and talks about how a writer might approach this essay.

Referenced Materials

• IEW Writing Contest
• Other Writing Contests
• “The Benefits of Entering Writing Contests”
• Principles of Motivation audio talk by Andrew Pudewa
• Magnum Opus Magazine
• Transcript of Podcast Episode 521

If you have questions for Andrew, send them to [email protected]
Perhaps your question will be answered at the next Ask Andrew Anything (AAA).

If you have questions about IEW products or classes, contact customer service at 800.856.5815 or [email protected]

How do you motivate your students to do more than the bare minimum? Are there ways to help your students write better topic-clincher sentences? Join Andrew Pudewa and Julie Walker as they discuss these questions and more in another Ask Andrew Anything episode. You never know what question Julie may ask!

Referenced Materials

• Episode 478: What’s in Your Audible Account?
• Episode 231:The Dyslexic Advantage – A Conversation with Brock and Fernette Eide, Part 1
• Episode 159: IEW and Dyslexia – A Conversation with Susan Barton
• Principles of Motivation audio talk by Andrew Pudewa
• Memoria Press Logic courses
• The Art of Argument
• The Argument Builder
• Fix It!® Grammar
• Structure and Style® for Students: Year 1 Level A
• Episode 398: Think like Shakespeare, Part 1
• Link to Episode 520 video
• Transcript of Podcast Episode 520

If you have questions for Andrew, send them to [email protected]
Perhaps your question will be answered at the next Ask Andrew Anything (AAA).

If you have questions about IEW products or classes, contact customer service at 800.856.5815 or [email protected]

Why is it important to teach grammar? How does grammar help with comprehension and skills beyond just knowing the parts of speech? Listen as Andrew Pudewa and Julie Walker dive into this valuable subject. Andrew shares a bit of the history behind the Fix It!® Grammar series and talks about why it is an effective method of teaching grammar.

Referenced Materials

• But . . . but . . . but . . . What about Grammar? audio talk by Andrew Pudewa
• Fix It! Grammar
• Fix It! Grammar free lessons
• Transcript of Podcast Episode 519

If you have questions for Andrew, send them to [email protected]
Perhaps your question will be answered at the next Ask Andrew Anything (AAA).

If you have questions about IEW products or classes, contact customer service at 800.856.5815 or [email protected]

In this episode, Andrew Pudewa and Julie Walker highlight the IEW Checklist Generator™ that allows teachers and teaching parents to customize their students’ checklists and to provide clear and reasonable expectations for assignments. They also discuss the intangible benefits of using the checklist, such as helping students organize their work and learn responsibility to “do what you check and check what you do.”

Referenced Materials

• Episode 516: The Power of the Checklist
• Portable Walls™ for Structure and Style® Students
• A Word Write Now
• IEW Writing Toolbox app
• The IEW Checklist Generator, Making EZ+1 Easy!
• Premium Membership
• Transcript of Podcast Episode 518

If you have questions for Andrew, send them to [email protected]
Perhaps your question will be answered at the next Ask Andrew Anything (AAA).

If you have questions about IEW products or classes, contact customer service at 800.856.5815 or [email protected]