Student Writing
Ongoing
At a Glance Students write every day in Arts & Letters—to deepen understanding and to grow as writers. Writing models, explicit instruction, and a gradual release through module tasks scaffold that growth across every module.
Writing in Arts & Letters serves two connected purposes. In Learn: Respond sections, students write to think—collecting evidence, organizing ideas, responding to texts, and reinforcing vocabulary. In Learn: Write sections, students develop as writers through sequenced, explicit instruction in three writing types: informative, opinion/argument, and narrative.
How Writing Instruction Is Structured
Students build writing skills through a gradual release within and across modules:
- Writing models and structures: Students analyze grade-appropriate exemplars by using the Sandwich structure (K–2) or the Painted Essay® (3–8) for informative and opinion writing, and narrative elements and planners for narrative writing, to understand what strong writing looks like before they write it themselves.
- Practice and module tasks: Students apply skills in informal lesson tasks before moving to scaffolded module tasks, each building toward the End-of-Module (EOM) Task.
- Revision: Students use checklists and peer and teacher feedback to revisit and strengthen their writing across the module.
Key Actions
Review: The Learning Labs page
Read: How Writing Is Taught in Arts & Letters for an overview of how the writing instruction is sequenced
Explore: The Teaching Vocabulary and Teaching Style, Grammar, and Conventions sections for how writing connects to language study
Listen: Melissa & Lori Love Literacy® on classroom strategies that build confident student writers