Teaching Students to Write Well

 

The ability to write well is one of the major gateways to a successful education and to career advancement. It is also a tool that helps one sort through and analyze personal thoughts, express oneself effectively, and act as a stress reducer when faced with difficult physical and psychological issues in life.

Watch the video of Steve Graham discussing the importance of learning to write well.

Writing is most effectively developed when it is taught across all subjects—not just those in the field of language arts. Unfortunately, not enough teachers are sufficiently prepared to teach writing.

The National Writing Project (NWP) is one resource filled with ideas and opportunities to remedy this situation. There are currently more than 200 university-based writing project sites that provide high quality professional development and leadership opportunities to more than 100,000 K-16 educators every year. Many NWP sites offer special writing programs for children. For tips on helping children learn to write and how to support good writing instruction in schools, click on the Resources tab at the top of the NWP website.

Parents, remember that you can also play an important part in teaching your children to write. Check out the resources about and consider how you might use those at home.