Explicitly Teaching Writing Strategies: Model-Practice-Reflect

Our post from last week highlighted several evidence-based strategies for teaching secondary students to write effectively.  In this guide, a panel of experienced writing teachers and writing researchers outline ways to implement high-leverage practices for writing in secondary classrooms across content areas. One recommendation, informed in part by the work of WRITE Center leader Dr. Carol Booth Olson, is to explicitly teach appropriate writing strategies using a Model-Practice-Reflect instructional cycle.

Dr. Olson's work​ focuses on modeling cognitive strategies that experienced writers use​ and teaching students to incorporate these strategies in their writing.  Much of her work also involves how these strategies can be used to improve the academic writing of English learners.  

Feel free to take a closer look at Recommendation 1 in the IES Guide, which includes strategies like the use of color-coding to evaluate student writing (seen below).  The Educators' Guide also offers a number of suggestions on how to get more traction with these strategies if students are struggling.

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