Social workers engage in various types of writing in the educational setting and in diverse practice settings at the micro, mezzo, and macro levels. What they write and how they write has a major impact on people's lives. This teaching note highlights the importance of individualized writing support through a project that used peer writing…

Strategy instruction is an effective method for improving the writing skills of students who struggle when writing. It is critical when implementing strategy instruction that assessment of the strategy takes place in addition to assessment of writing. Practitioners should consider strategy assessment to ensure student proper use of strategy. This…

Abstract concepts, such as gravity, may provide the perfect opportunity to bring phenomena into the classroom. As a knowledge generation strategy, summarizing can foster that opportunity. Using phenomena and summary writing together might help student learning since it requires making connections between their ideas and words to explain the…

Especially since the implementation of T-TESS, it has become imperative for Texas English teachers to examine ways to incorporate student-centered instruction and activities in all areas, including the writing process. This article provides techniques and examples for English teachers who desire to work smarter and more responsively to meet the…

Teaching scientific writing in biology classes is challenging for both teachers and students. This article offers and reviews several useful 'toolkit' items that instructors of science writing can use to improve college student success. The tools in this kit are both conceptual and practical, and include: (1) Understanding the role of student…

The What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) Practice Guide, "Teaching Secondary Students to Write Effectively," offers educators three specific, evidence-based recommendations that address the challenges of teaching students in grades 6-12 to write effectively. This summary focuses on the first of the three recommendations: Explicitly teach…

Supporting upper elementary students' higher level (i.e., analytic) thinking about texts in writing is a challenge for many teachers, in large part because what it means to analyze text is not well defined and because this skill is a relatively new expectation in elementary grades. In this article, the authors clarify the goal of three common…

Expository writing--the kind of writing that explains and informs--is essential for success in school and the workplace. Students who cannot write at a competent level struggle in college. With the advent of e-mail and the Internet, an increasing number of jobs require solid writing skills. No matter what path students choose in life, the ability…

Promoting self-determined learning through student-directed learning strategies has been documented to promote more positive school-related outcomes for upper elementary grade learners with disabilities and other students who are struggling. These strategies are typically introduced in multicomponent interventions combining several…