Effective Writing Strategies for Secondary Students

Course Description

Effective writing is a vital component of students' literacy achievement, and improving writing skills helps students succeed inside and outside the classroom. The goal of this course, developed using information for the U.S. Department of Education’s National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance, Institute of Education Sciences, is to offer educators specific, evidence-based recommendations that address the challenges of teaching students in grades 6–12 to write effectively. Strategies to teach appropriate writing strategies, ways to integrate writing and reading to emphasize key writing features, and the use of writing assessments to inform instruction and feedback are presented.

Course Description

1. Evaluate the use of effective writing as a key component across disciplines and as a means to encourage critical thinking.

2. Identify the components of a Model-Practice-Reflect instructional cycle to teach writing strategies.

3. Demonstrate ways to engage students in evaluating and reflecting upon their own and peers' writing and use of modeled strategies.

4. Outline strategies to integrate writing and reading in order to strengthen both skills.

5. Explore the use a variety of written exemplars to highlight the key features of texts.

6. Discuss how assessments of student writing can be used to inform instruction and feedback.

7. Review examples of activities that illustrate and support the development of effective writing skills.