Teaching Effective Elementary Writing Strategies

The ability to write well is a key to success in many professional, social, community, and civic activities. Effective writing is critical to be able to communicate with a variety of audiences and is a key part of success in the workplace. Therefore, it is essential that all students receive instruction and support that develops their writing skills from the early grades onward.

Students need to develop an early and strong foundation in writing to communicate efficiently and effectively. When students develop strong writing skills in early grades, they acquire a valuable tool for learning, communicating, and expressing their thoughts. Yet studies show that many American students are not skillful writers.
High-quality writing instruction provides students with daily time to practice writing; teaches students to work through the steps of the writing process, including editing and revision; focuses on building foundational skills that support writing, including spelling, grammar, and handwriting and word processing; and creates an engaged community of writers by allowing students the opportunity to choose their own topics, interact with each other's writing and be recognized as authors. The Institute of Education Sciences (IES) Practice Guide: Teaching Elementary School Students to Be Effective Writers offers four recommended research-based practices that educators can use to increase writing achievement and to help students succeed in school and society. 
The four recommended practices are:

• Scheduling daily time for writing instruction and for students to write across all subject areas (Daily Time)
• Teaching students to use the writing process for a variety of purposes (Writing Process)
• Providing instruction in the foundational writing skills (Foundational Skills)
• Building an engaged community of writers (Engaged Community)

Using research-based practices to teach elementary school students will help them to be effective writers. By building the skills that make effective writers, teachers provide students with the tools to communicate their ideas, express their feelings, and engage with diverse audiences.

Pepper has released a new workshop focused on Effective Elementary Writing Strategies as part of it’s new Pepper Online Workshop (POW!) content. By taking this workshop you will explore strategies to help elementary students become effective communicators through writing. Participants will take a deeper look at research-based practices aimed at engaging students in effective writing opportunities.

You can check all of our new POW content by visiting the Courses and Workshops section on your dashboard.