Systematic and Explicit Instruction
All students need systematic and explicit instruction in writing. They need to be taught the writing skills required of each standard. Additionally, they need to be taught how to apply those skills into their independent writing projects.
Explicit instruction is a teaching approach that involves directly and systematically teaching specific skills or concepts in a clear and structured manner. It includes teacher modeling and guided practice. Additionally, an effective teacher strategically integrates feedback, assessment, and active engagement into explicit instruction.
Effective explicit instruction follows a systematic progression. This means instruction is organized into a logical and sequential manner. Concepts or skills are introduced in a structured order, building upon what students have previously learned. Effective instruction is intentional and planned, providing students’ opportunities to develop background knowledge, discuss their ideas, see and understand what is required of writing when the teacher models and guides students with practice. Additionally, systematic, explicit instruction supports what students will do when they are working without the teacher.
Research proves that explicit instruction significantly and meaningfully improves WHAT students write. It’s difficult for many students to come up with ideas and then to organize it for the purpose of writing, but when a teacher models this, deciding what to write becomes more manageable. Systematic explicit instruction also improves HOW students write. When they are taught HOW to implement a skill, they will feel more empowered to apply the skills independently. Additionally, when students are taught WHAT and HOW, their knowledge increases, which increases their motivation. When we feel like we CAN do something, we are more motivated to actually do it.
Step 1: Know Your Standards
All of our students can do hard things and can learn to write, they just need effective instruction that gives them knowledge and motivates them to try. In order to develop effective instruction, it is essential that you know and understand your writing standards. Writing standards are guidelines or expectations that specify what students should know and be able to do at different grade levels. These standards are typically established by your state department of education and are designed to ensure that students receive a consistent and high-quality education in writing. They provide a framework for what students should learn and achieve in writing from kindergarten through high school.
Step 2: Know the Skills Required to Master Each Standard
The next essential component of an effective writing lesson is knowing the specific skill you will teach. Writing skills refer to the abilities and competencies that individuals possess in order to effectively communicate their thoughts, ideas, and information in written form. These skills encompass various aspects of writing, including grammar, vocabulary, organization, style, and clarity. In terms of your writing lesson, the skill you teach in a lesson is the lesson's objective. Typically, you will only teach one skill per lesson. You can also include the skills previously taught to demonstrate for students how learning is progressive.
Step 3: Select and Teach Strategies to Apply Each Skill
A writing strategy is a purposeful and planned approach that a learner can use to achieve a particular goal or acquire a specific skill. It transforms a skill into a manageable, actionable, and observable process by breaking it down into step-by-step actions. Essentially, a strategy serves as a temporary support structure, or scaffold, that assists learners in practicing independently until they master the skill or task at hand. Once students become adept at applying a skill, they think less about the strategy, thus they become strategic writers. Instruction focused on strategies has a positive impact on every student. Students who acquire and apply strategies become more self-regulated, gaining a clear understanding of what is required for success and active participation in writing activities. Consequently, students are more engaged in the writing process, which contributes to an increase in writing performance.The implementation of writing strategies has been proven to increase motivation, engagement, and the development of writing skills.
Remain Knowledgeable, Intentional, and Strategic
Our instructional focus always starts with the students. Who is sitting in front of us each day? What do we know about them? What CAN they do? Embracing a can-do approach with our students allows us the opportunity to determine the most effective ways to teach them. In addition to our students, we need to know our grade-level standards, the skills required to master a standard (what we explicitly teach), and which strategies to teach for students to apply the skills in order to effectively teach writing.
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