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Changing Practices in Writing Instruction
June 20, 2016
This special report explores how writing instruction has changed in recent years, particularly with the adoption of college- and career-ready standards. The stories in the report, which include perspective pieces by current teachers, look at how teachers are adjusting to changes in the curriculum in writing instruction, what kinds of support they are receiving (or not receiving), and innovative instructional strategies designed to help student improve their writing and reach new skill levels.
- Curriculum Writing-Instruction Strategies: A Video CollectionIn these videos from our editorial partner The Teaching Channel, master educators demonstrate strategies they use to engage students in complex writing assignments.
Reading & Literacy Q&A Remodeling the Workshop: Lucy Calkins on Writing Instruction TodayOne of the originators of the workshop model discusses the challenges facing writing teachers today and how her own methods have evolved to adapt to new expectations.Reading & Literacy Teachers Struggle With Changing Place of Personal Narratives in Writing InstructionThe common core's emphasis on more argumentative and informational writing has made for a difficult balance for some educators.
Reading & Literacy As Teachers Tackle New Student-Writing Expectations, Support Is LackingThe common-core standards call for students to write more and in more complex modes, but literacy experts say that's not happening in many classrooms.Reading & Literacy Is the Five-Paragraph Essay History?The five-paragraph essay, a staple in school writing curricula, has become a source of debate for educators, with critics charging the format is too rigid and constraining.
School & District Management English Teacher's Hip-Hop Curriculum Gets Students WritingLauren Leigh Kelly's Hip-Hop Literature and Culture Class uses hip-hop texts as a means to develop students' media-literacy and critical-analysis skills.Reading & Literacy Opinion How the Common Core Re-Mapped the Way I Teach WritingUnder the common standards, writing instruction is more strategic and substantive, teacher James A. Dittes reflects. But fewer diversions can also mean it's sometimes less fun.Reading & Literacy Opinion Why Creative Writing Still Has a Place in My ClassroomThough de-emphasized in the common core, creative writing can play an irreplaceable role in the development of students' complex literacy skills, writes language arts teacher Ariel Sacks.Mathematics Opinion Students in My Math Classes Next Year Will Do a Lot of Writing. Here鈥檚 WhyThrough verbal and written strategies, students gain a deeper grasp of math content, while giving teachers a window into their understanding, writes STEM educator Amy Shapiro.
