Teaching Elementary School Students to Be Effective Writers

1 EDUCATOR S PRACTICE GUIDE WHAT WORKS CLEARINGHOUSET eaching Elementary School Students to Be Effective WritersNCEE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATIONThe Institute of Education Sciences (IES) publishes practice guides in education to bring the best available evidence and expertise to bear on current challenges in education. Authors of practice guides combine their expertise with the findings of rigorous research, when available, to develop specific recommendations for addressing these challenges. The authors rate the strength of the research evidence supporting each of their recommendations. See Appendix A for a full description of practice goal of this practice guide is to offer educators specific, evidence-based recommendations that address the challenge of Teaching writing in Elementary School . The guide provides practical, clear information on critical topics related to Teaching writing and is based on the best available evidence as judged by the authors.

2 Practice guides published by IES are available on our website by selecting the Practice Guides tab at # Practice GuideNCEE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATIONT eaching Elementary School Students to Be Effective WritersOctober 2018* RevisedPanelSteve Graham (Chair)ArizonA StAte UniverSityAlisha BollingernorriS Elementary School , norriS School DiStrict, nebrASkACarol Booth OlsonUniverSity of cAliforniA, irvine Catherine D AoustUniverSity of cAliforniA, irvine Charles MacArthurUniverSity of DelAwAreDeborah McCutchenUniverSity of wAShington Natalie OlinghouseUniverSity of connecticUt StaffM. C. BradleyVirginia KnechtelBryce OnaranCassandra Pickens JewellmAthemAticA Policy reSeArchProject OfficerJoy LesnickinStitUte of eDUcAtion ScienceSThis report was prepared for the National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance, Institute of Education Sciences under Contract ED-07-CO-0062 by the What Works Clearinghouse, which is operated by Mathematica Policy The opinions and positions expressed in this practice guide are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the opinions and positions of the Institute of Education Sciences or the Department of Education.

3 This practice guide should be reviewed and applied according to the specific needs of the educators and education agency using it, and with full realization that it represents the judgments of the review panel regarding what constitutes sensible practice, based on the research that was available at the time of publication. This practice guide should be used as a tool to assist in decisionmaking rather than as a cookbook. Any references within the document to specific education products are illustrative and do not imply endorsement of these products to the exclusion of other products that are not referenced. D epartment of Education Arne Dun ca n Secretary Institute o f E ducation S ciences John Q. Easton Director National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance Rebecca A. Maynard Commissioner June 2012 Revised October 2018 This report is in the public domain.

4 Although permission to reprint this publication is not necessary, the citation should be: Graham, S., Bollinger, A., Booth Olson, C., D Aoust, C., MacArthur, C., McCutchen, D., & Olinghouse, N. (2012). Teaching Elementary School Students to be Effective Writers : A practice guide (NCEE 2012-4058). Washington, DC: National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance, Insti-tute of Education Sciences, Department of Education. Retrieved from # Works Clearinghouse practice guide citations begin with the panel chair, followed by the names of the panelists listed in alphabetical order. This report is available on the IES website at and # Formats On request, this publication can be made available in alternate formats, such as Braille, large print, or CD. For more information, contact the Alternate Format Center at (202) 260 0852 or (202) 260 ( iii ) Teaching Elementary School Students to Be Effective WritersTable of ContentsReview of Recommendations.

5 1 Acknowledgements .. 2 Institute of Education Sciences Levels of Evidence for Practice Guides ..3 Introduction to the Teaching Elementary School Students to Be Effective Writers Practice Guide .. 6 Recommendation 1. Provide daily time for Students to write .. 10 Recommendation 2. Teach Students to use the writing process for a variety of purposes .. 12 Understanding the Writing Process .. 14 Recommendation 2a. Teach Students the writing process .. 15 Recommendation 2b. Teach Students to write for a variety of purposes .. 20 Recommendation 3. Teach Students to become fluent with handwriting, spelling, sentence construction, typing, and word processing .. 27 Recommendation 4. Create an engaged community of Writers .. 34 Glossary .. 40 Appendix A. Postscript from the Institute of Education Sciences .. 43 Appendix B. About the Authors.

6 45 Appendix C. Disclosure of Potential Conflicts of Interest .. 47 Appendix D. Rationale for Evidence Ratings .. 48 Endnotes .. 81 References .. 99( iv )Table of Contents (continued)( iv )List of Tables Table 1. Institute of Education Sciences levels of evidence for practice guides ..4 Table 2. Recommendations and corresponding levels of evidence ..9 Table 3. Examples of writing strategies .. 16 Table 4. Purposes for writing .. 21 Table 5. Examples of techniques within the four purposes of writing .. 26 Table 6. Spelling skills by grade level .. 29Ta b l e 7. Activities for sentence-structure development .. 31 Table Studies that contribute to the level of evidence for Recommendation 1 .. 51 Table D. 2. Supplemental evidence supporting the effectiveness of Recommendation 1 .. 52 Table Studies that contribute to the level of evidence for Recommendation 2.

7 54 Table Supplemental evidence supporting the effectiveness of Recommendation 2 .. 64 Table Studies that contribute to the level of evidence for Recommendation 3 .. 73 Table Supplemental evidence supporting the effectiveness of Recommendation 3 .. 74Ta b l e Studies that contribute to the level of evidence for Recommendation 4 .. 78 Table Supplemental evidence supporting the effectiveness of Recommendation 4 .. 79 List of FiguresFigure 1. Gradual release of responsibility to Students .. 18 Figure 2. Handwriting-practice diagram .. 28 List of ExamplesExample 1. Applying the writing process in an upper Elementary classroom .. 20 Example 2. Story emulation of Rosie s Walk with 1st-grade Students .. 23 Example 3. Using text as a model .. 24 Example 4. The Westward Movement prompt .. 36 Example 5. Star of the Day .. 37 Example 6.

8 Author s Chair .. 38( 1 )Review of RecommendationsRecommendation 1. Provide daily time for Students to 2. Teach Students to use the writing process for a variety of purposes. Recommendation 2a. Teach Students the writing Teach Students strategies for the various components of the writing Gradually release writing responsibility from the teacher to the Guide Students to select and use appropriate writing Encourage Students to be flexible in their use of the components of the writing 2b. Teach Students to write for a variety of Help Students understand the different purposes of Expand Students concept of Teach Students to emulate the features of good Teach Students techniques for writing effectively for different Students to become fluent with handwriting, spelling, sentence construction, typing, and word Teach very young Writers how to hold a pencil correctly and form letters fluently and Teach Students to spell words correctly.

9 3. Teach Students to construct sentences for fluency, meaning, and Teach Students to type fluently and to use a word processor to an engaged community of Teachers should participate as members of the community by writing and sharing their writing. 2. Give Students writing Encourage Students to collaborate as Provide Students with opportunities to give and receive feedback throughout the writing Publish Students writing, and extend the community beyond the classroom. ( 2 )AcknowledgmentsT he panel appreciates the efforts of Virginia Knechtel, M. C. Cay Bradley, Bryce Onaran, and Cassie Pickens Jewell, staff from Mathematica Policy Research who participated in the panel meetings, described the research findings, and drafted the guide. We also thank Scott Cody, Kristin Hallgren, David Hill, Claudia Gentile, Brian Gill, and Shannon Monahan for helpful feedback and reviews of drafts of the GrahamAlisha BollingerCarol Booth OlsonCatherine D AoustCharles MacArthurDeborah McCutchenNatalie Olinghouse( 3 )Levels of Evidence for Practice GuidesInstitute of Education Sciences Levels of Evidence for Practice GuidesThis section provides information about the role of evidence in Institute of Education Sciences (IES) What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) practice guides.

10 It describes how practice guide panels determine the level of evidence for each recommendation and explains the criteria for each of the three levels of evidence (strong evidence, moderate evidence, and minimal evidence). The level of evidence assigned to each recom-mendation in this practice guide represents the panel s judgment of the quality of the existing research to support a claim that, when these practices were implemented in past research, positive effects were observed on student outcomes. After careful review of the studies supporting each recommendation, panelists determine the level of evidence for each recom-mendation using the criteria in Table 1. The panel first considers the relevance of individ-ual studies to the recommendation and then discusses the entire evidence base, taking the following into consideration: the number of studies the design of the studies the quality of the studies whether the studies represent the rangeof participants and settings on which therecommendation is focused whether findings from the studies can beattributed to the recommended practice whether findings in the studies are consis-tently positiveA rating of strong evidence refers to consistent evidence that the recommended strategies, programs, or practices improve student outcomes for a wide population of In other words, there is strong causal and generalizable rating of moderate evidence refers either to evidence from studies that allow strong causal conclusions but cannot be generalized with assurance to the population on which a recom-mendation is focused (perhaps because the findings have not been widely replicated)