Arts & Letters™, the latest offering from Great Minds®, is a comprehensive K–8 English language arts curriculum aligned with the Science of Reading. It builds knowledge on topics including social studies, science, literature, and the arts, integrating reading, writing, and language development to foster deep engagement and strong academic growth.
Literacy experts and veteran educators Lorraine Griffith, chief knowledge officer for humanities at Great Minds, and Kate Foley, associate director of curriculum, sat down with our marketing and communications team to discuss writing instruction in Arts & Letters. We are sharing excerpts from that conversation here.
What distinguishes the writing instruction in Arts & Letters from other approaches commonly used in schools?
Lorraine: Consistency and coherence set us apart. The approach is consistent and predictable, so students are building skill upon skill. In some curricula, writing is assigned rather than explicitly taught. We did a lot of backward mapping across the grades to look at what features students needed in their writing to show mastery. Now we explicitly teach those features in Arts & Letters.
Kate: We are very clear with students and teachers that students are writing about the knowledge they’re building in each module. It’s a truly integrated approach. Students build knowledge around important topics and express that through speaking and writing.
Can you share an example of how writing is explicitly taught?
Kate: Sure. Students develop skills through explicit instruction in structure, organization, and conventions. For example, to write a thesis, they first examine a model, analyze the knowledge and organization, and then practice writing their own. They receive feedback and revise their writing throughout the module. Ultimately, they apply their content knowledge and writing skills in End-of-Module Tasks.
The Painted Essay® writing model
The Painted Essay® is a registered trademark of Diana Leddy. All rights reserved.
The Science of Reading calls for explicit phonics instruction; is it similar for writing?
Lorraine: Both require explicit teaching. Phonics is more binary—right or wrong—while writing allows for creativity. Still, students need clear structures, and we've strayed from teaching that. We're addressing it now.
Kate: I agree. Writing allows for personal expression. Decoding "hat" is binary, but writing about "hat" depends on background knowledge. We teach oral expression first, then guide students in writing their ideas clearly and accurately.
What research and evidence supported the writing instruction in Arts & Letters?
Lorraine: We leaned into research supporting the Vermont Writing Collaborative. Diana Leddy, a founding member, co-authored Writing for Understanding, which emphasizes the importance of knowledge in writing. Teachers want to treasure student ideas but often lack capacity for individualized writing coaching. Our approach supports that need.
What are the biggest misconceptions about teaching writing?
Kate: People focus too much on quantity rather than quality. It's not about long essays, but whether the writing is coherent, structured, and meaningful.
Lorraine: That’s why we include both on-target and advanced models. The advanced models have more sophisticated language and evidence use—not necessarily longer length—but they demonstrate higher-level writing clearly.
Reading and writing are tightly intertwined in Arts & Letters. Why does that matter?
Lorraine: Students need access to background knowledge to write meaningfully. After reading All Thirteen, students might write about whether the cave was dangerous or beautiful. There’s no single right answer—students must form and defend their opinion based on evidence.
Students use the Reasons and Evidence Outline to identify textual evidence from
All Thirteen that cave diving is more dangerous than open-water diving.
Kate: We emphasize informed opinions. Our “Take a Stand” routine helps students discuss differing perspectives and revise their thinking. It fosters meaningful discourse.
Lorraine: Writing supports reading and vice versa. Encoding helps reinforce decoding because students must understand the relationship between phonemes and graphemes.
What challenges do new teachers face with this approach in Arts & Letters?
Kate: Some teachers worry about less student choice or imaginative writing. But prioritizing structured instruction helps students express themselves more clearly. Writing is hard, and sequencing helps.
Lorraine: Creativity remains, but students need foundational skills and structure. Without them, they'll struggle to write effectively throughout their lives.
Great Minds
Great Minds PBC is a public benefit corporation and a subsidiary of Great Minds, a nonprofit organization. A group of education leaders founded Great Minds® in 2007 to advocate for a more content-rich, comprehensive education for all children. In pursuit of that mission, Great Minds brings together teachers and scholars to create exemplary instructional materials that provide joyful rigor to learning, spark and reward curiosity, and impart knowledge with equal parts delight.
Topics: Writing Instruction High-Quality Curriculum Arts & Letters
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