Research

CEEDAR - Utilize evidence-based practices for writing instruction.

National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) - Explore council books, journals, meetings and other online resources to provide professional support. 

NCTE on What Works in Writing Instruction - Read a chapter on writing strategies.

What Works Clearinghouse Practice Guide: Teaching Elementary School Students to be Effective Writers - Provides four recommendations for improving elementary students’ writing. 

What Works Clearinghouse Practice Guide: Teaching Secondary Students to Write Effectively - Presents three evidence-based recommendations for helping students, Grades 6–12, develop effective writing skills.

Writing Next - Find effective strategies to improve the writing of adolescents in middle and high school.

Writing to Read - Provides evidence for how writing can improve reading. 

Instruction

Mentor Texts

Using Mentor Texts to Motivate and Support Student Writers - Tell students and show what the expectation is for their writing.

Modeled Writing

Claims, Evidence and Reasoning (CER) Model - Explains the CER model to get to an explanation and the importance of explicitly teaching it to students.

Real-World Writing: A Strategy for Developing Ideas - Use this strategy developed by author Kelly Gallagher to enable students to learn transitions within a paper, research and inquiry strategies, and reflective writing.

Teaching Writing

Best Practice: Bringing Standards to Life in America’s Classrooms - Find recommendations on teaching writing (pgs. 38 - 65).

Modes, Genres, and Formats in the Common Core - Clarifies the differences between these terms.

The National Writing Project - Provides stories and resources for teaching writing.

The Reading and Writing Project - Watch videos to support the teaching of writing.

Teaching Elementary School Students to Be Effective Writers - Provides four recommendations for improving elementary students' writing, including implementation steps and solutions for common roadblocks.

Teaching K-5 Students to Write for Different Purposes - Help students become effective writers across genres by providing opportunities to practice the writing process for various contexts and purposes and by scaffolding their emerging skills.

WestEd: Scaffolding Writing Through the Teaching and Learning Cycle - Pamela Spycher of Leading with Learning at WestEd shares what happened when one team of teachers implemented TLC in their classrooms; defines scaffolding, and explains what it entails; describes how the language in different genres (or text types) works and provides concrete strategies for scaffolding writing through the five TLC stages.

Text-Based Writing

Instructional Considerations for Text-Based Writing - Offers evidence-based guidance as teachers plan for and provide instruction on text-based writing.

6 + 1 Traits

6 + 1 Traits Writing Model - Utilize a way of teaching, modeling, and assessing the instruction of writing.

Crosswalk Between CCSS and 6+1 Traits - Access a set of crosswalk documents to assist in understanding the relationship between the expectations in the CCSS and elements of the 6+1 Trait Writing model.

Writing Across the Curriculum

Argument Writing Across the Content Areas - Discover key instruction for teaching argument writing.

A Range of Writing Across the Content Areas - Teach students to write for a variety of purposes to a variety of audiences, including in mathematics, science, and social studies.

The WAC Clearinghouse - Offers examples of writing-to-learn activities.

Writing to Learn

Low-Stakes Writing: Writing to Learn, Not Learning to Write - Use low-stakes writing to scaffold instruction, develop student voice, and foster critical thinkers.

Vermont Writing Collaborative - Find resources that promote Writing for Understanding, including a collection of Projects and Resources and Teacher Planners.

Assessment

Feedback

Facilitative Feedback - Utilize responses that help writers to discover ideas and strategies for improving their writing.

Responding to Student Writing - Read about the myths and examples of strong feedback.

Scoring and Analyzing Student Work

Calibration Protocol for Scoring Student Work - Provides a process that groups of educators can use to discuss student work in order to reach a consensus about how to score it based on rubric/scoring criteria.

Formative Assessment - Includes resources for educators to learn more about formative assessment to inform instruction.

Informing Writing - Provides research on the benefits of formative assessment in a report from the Carnegie Corporation of New York.

Student Work Analysis Protocol - Provides a process that groups of educators can use to discuss and analyze student work to inform the next instructional steps.

Writing Rubrics

6+1 Trait Rubrics Aligned to the Common Core State Standards (CCSS)

CCSS Samples of Student Writing, Scored With a 6+1 Trait Rubric

The Literacy Design Collaborative (LDC) - Offers CCSS-aligned writing rubrics. Sign up for a free CoreTools account and access the rubrics and student work samples under the Resources tab.

Writing Samples

Appendix C: CCSS Student Writing Examples - Illustrates the work that all student writers should regularly produce and with independence.

Grades K-12 Annotated Student Writing Samples - Provides annotated student writing samples that illustrate the integration of content understanding and writing in the three types of writing expected by the CCSS.