“Bruce, the proof of any teacher’s effectiveness is in the performance of his students, and you and I both know that the work your kids have produced is superb. Their observation skills, their ability to use language to vividly describe their observations, and their rapidly increasing understanding of syntax and sentence structure are among the most impressive I’ve ever seen as an English teacher, principal, or superintendent in any school at any grade level or program.
The fact that you have produced this level of accomplishment with such young kids is incredible.”
— Mike Riley visits Bellevue International School writing class
To all teachers of writing, grades 9–12:
There are no shortcuts to raising student writing achievement within your classrooms.
How do we raise student writing achievement levels? How do we help students break through the barriers imposed by their limited entry-level language skills? How do we develop student enthusiasm for learning to write with clarity, precision, and expressive power?
Daily oral language mini-lessons will not do it. Journal writing will not do it. Exploring writing genres or teaching the five-part essay will not do it. Neither will writing across the curriculum fulfill this expectation.
Assigning more writing is not the same as teaching students to become better writers. The study of rubrics and/or group-editing tasks does not teach students how to write more varied and more precise sentences. Before students can write to learn, they must first learn to write.
What students need is a systematic, single-focus writing curriculum that develops sentence fluency and descriptive power at the same time that it creates enthusiasm for word choice and clarity of expression.
Students need a sequence of writing activities that meets them where they are and then lifts them upward to higher word choice and sentence construction skills.
Huge breakthroughs in student writing achievement require teachers to transform student awareness of language possibilities and to equip them with the tools they need to move beyond self-limiting, entry-level language patterns.
These breakthroughs can best be achieved by a writing program that is lively, engaging, and that combines systematic, intensive skill development with short, high-interest assignments that are designed for successful closure and quick turnaround — a program where students put in the effort, master a technique, and then instantly see their sentence construction skills grow.
This High School Writing Curriculum is the product of over thirty years of teaching reading, writing, and thinking at the secondary level. My constant goal has been building student enthusiasm for thinking about, and valuing, written expression. Standardized test score results for my student writers are available here.
This is what high-energy English classrooms should be about:
Student enthusiasm for exploring the beauty and precision of language.
Student “ah-ha!” moments as they learn to create increasingly complex and effective sentence patterns.
Strengthening student ability to generate richer, more varied sentences that naturally compel writers to provide higher levels of evidence and supporting detail.
And the satisfaction of seeing one’s writing skills grow on a daily basis.
Why shouldn’t a writing class be the most exciting class in the entire school?
Imagine a selection of sentences written by your 9th–12th graders as part of a short (two-paragraph) creative writing assignment entitled “Still Life: An Old Work Shoe”:
“…A slothful bootlace curls, loops, and winds dronishly through the rusty metal holes, creating a clustered, knotted look…”
“…Its worn brass eyelets rusting, the dreary shoe tugs toothlessly at a besmirched, spurious lace…”
“…Descending and submerging, a criss-cross patterned sole sinks into the damp, boggy soil…”
“…A seam, ravelling and slipping, arches around the worn and dusty surface…a mucky, sweat-blemished shoe tongue cowers between two mountains of uplifting leather…”
“…A silver, dulled hook, its metal oxidizing, holds out its ends to clasp onto ancient, threadbare laces…”
These sentences were crafted by my own regular English class students (grades 9–12) who were halfway through a 9–36 week curriculum that developed voice and fluency at the same time that it developed sentence construction skills.
As “regular” (not honors) students, they were as reluctant to write and as under-skilled as the majority of our public school students are today.
Sentences like these are emblematic of a dramatically heightened student awareness of the precision and descriptive power of language. This awareness and skill can be developed in all your students, even those who come to class with the most elementary writing skills.
Using the same step-by-step, mastery learning approach that I have used with over 5,000 students, you will guide your classes through a seamless series of concrete, teachable lessons that lead to sentence construction proficiency. No textbooks are required; no handouts are distributed.
Regardless of background or preparation, teachers now have the opportunity to guide students beyond the limited entry-level language patterns they bring with them when they enter the classroom. I invite all teachers of writing — whether novices or experts — to join me on this instructional journey.
H.S. Writing Curriculum:
A 9–36 week writing curriculum that develops high-performance writing, reading, and thinking skills for all student participants, grades 9–12. The curriculum comes as a teacher manual on a CD which you can load onto your hard drive and print as necessary.
Impact for Teachers:
Dramatically upgrade your skills as a teacher of writing. Topschools Writing Curriculum guides teachers and students step by step through an exciting sequence of short, high-interest writing activities that develop voice, fluency, analytical power, and sentence construction skills.
The curriculum begins with simple concepts and moves both teacher and students forward to increasingly sophisticated sentence proficiencies. Because it uses a mastery learning approach, skills are broken into concrete, specific tasks that are easily demonstrated by students before they move to the next steps.
Activities are focused, have clear targets, and provide frequent closure and student demonstration.
Oral sharing of student work is built into the curriculum by design. Such sharing develops confidence, pride in new learning, and jump-starts student conversation about what quality writing looks like. Lessons are designed to be taught effectively, whether the teacher is a veteran or a newcomer to composition and sentence construction.
I provide one year of unlimited email support in order to guarantee teacher success. Whenever a teacher has questions about the curriculum, instructional strategies, or next steps, please write and I will respond within 24 hours or less. I also welcome samples of student work so that together we can assess progress.
This curriculum addresses and challenges the full spectrum of student abilities, from those below grade level to those in honors or Advanced Placement courses.
Impact for Students:
Weak word choice and sentence construction skills can impose limits on the depth and quality of student thinking. In this curriculum, students learn to design, write, and read sentences that force higher-order language, translation, and thinking skills. Skills like these help students succeed on standardized tests that measure student thinking, writing, and reading.
Overview of the High School Writing Program:
Q: How do students learn?
A: Students learn by receiving clear instructions about what is expected, clear examples of what is expected, and numerous in-class opportunities to practice and to share their mastery of learning targets.
Q: How do students internalize this learning?
A: Repetition and reinforcement are the keys. Clear tactics for sentence construction are presented, and students are obligated to reproduce and share these during class in short, targeted, descriptive writing assignments.
Q: How can students buy into this curriculum and its activities?
A: Short, very specific, high-interest descriptive writing activities create clear targets and provide quick closure, success, and reinforcement. Students can clearly see their writing skills grow on a daily basis.
Opportunities for group collaboration create shared discovery and enthusiasm for learning in the classroom.
Q: Is this another grammar program? I already have a room full of grammar texts.
A: We all do. And we have all tried to use them or their workbook derivatives at one time or another to teach writing skills.
Our High School Writing Program has a strong grammatical and sentence construction emphasis. But here the similarity ends. This curriculum is a method — a way of teaching, practicing, engaging students, and sequencing learning activities so that each builds upon what has come before as students journey toward mastery.
Q: Can I teach my students these skills in fewer than 9 weeks?
A: The curriculum provides a systematic, cumulative learning sequence. First-time users should devote a minimum of thirty minutes per day and plan a 12–18 week time frame. Experienced users may later select lessons for shorter-term impact.
Q: Does this curriculum require specialized grammatical knowledge?
A: No. The program coaches both students and teachers. A teacher who knows little about sentence structure can teach effectively by staying several lessons ahead.
Q: What does one year of email support mean?
A: Purchasers receive unlimited email support for one year. I will respond to questions within 24 hours. Brainstorming, troubleshooting, and student work samples are welcome.
The High School Writing Curriculum Is Not a Traditional Approach:
- Emphasis on in-class laboratory learning.
- Emphasis on interaction, frequent closure, and formative feedback.
- De-emphasis on daily grading and paper collection.
- Emphasis on immediate application of new learning.
- Emphasis on starting simple and moving toward complexity.
- Emphasis on short assignments with quick turnaround.
- Emphasis on “getting it,” “demonstrating it,” and “using it.”
- Emphasis on observation and discovery.
- Opportunities for collaboration with individual accountability.
Required classroom materials:
One good-quality thesaurus per student. One dictionary per two students.
Sample Mastery Targets for Voice, Fluency, and Precision:
- Concrete nouns applied.
- Abstract nouns applied.
- Verbs and verbals applied.
- Prepositional phrases and agreement issues.
- Powerful word cache development.
- Effective thesaurus use.
- Troubleshooting redundancy.
- Pathetic fallacy for voice.
- Deploying parts of speech for precision.
- Introductory and non-essential participial phrases applied.
- Appositives applied.
- Verb tense mastery.
- Introductory adverb clauses applied.
- Non-essential subordinate clauses applied.
- Sentence marking activities.
- Comma rules applied by function.
- Simple, compound, and complex sentences constructed.
Teacher Comments:
“I would definitely recommend it to another teacher…”
“What I liked about this curriculum was its systematic, organized approach…”
“At the very beginning of the school year…”
“My students have a new awareness of what makes an interesting sentence…”
“Hi Bruce, thought I would check in again…”
“I wish I had time to compose a more detailed email…”