Writing skills are a tool for life

According to the California Writing Project (1987)

• Writing is a tool for fostering thinking skills.
• As a learning tool, writing should be encouraged across all subjects.
• The goal is to enable students to develop skills in fluency, form, and correctness.
• Writing is the core of all education.

As teachers, parents and tutors, teaching writing is one of our biggest challenges. How do we develop an independent writer even at an early age? The simple answer is: have them sit down, grab that blank piece of paper, and just write.

But is it really that simple?

To write well, we focus on fundamental skills. Currently, the general approach in America is process based. Students are encouraged to use their creativity and imagination. Writing skills and mechanics are introduced informally and randomly.

The traditional approach is product base. Before learners “just write”, they have to understand the act of writing itself. Basic grammar, spelling, sentence building, spacing and even penmanship are all fundamental to writing well.

Teaching Well’s writing skills program

Our program includes 80 lessons. We start with “Capitalization” in lesson one and end with “Adding details” in lesson 80. The writing process is addressed starting from lesson 63.

This is a start. We intend to dive more into the immerse scope of writing success in the future.

The usage of English language is kept simple and easy to accommodate various reading levels. Furthermore, we desire to reach many cultures and countries with English as a second or third language. In this sense, teaching the writing mechanic is our first priority.

Hence rules and skills are frequently repeated and expanded at higher levels.

 We are in an exciting place.

Let’s start!

Special note to education publishers:

If you are a publisher and you find some sentences taken from your published materials, please accept our apology.

Our school district had used many reading／writing programs and writing workshops over the 30 years of the writer’s teaching career. It has been difficult to trace where and when materials were sourced.

Given proof or evidence, we will be delighted to delete or change any sentence at your request.

The majority of my information, however, came from the Writing Staff of Research and Education Association www. rea.com

REA’s Handbook of English (2009)

For middle school, high school, and even college bound students, this textbook is highly recommended.