Building
Writersis an interdisciplinary,
teaching-centered writing program for use from grade school to grad
school.
The Building Writers program makes every teacher a teacher of
writing.As the digital
revolution continues, it is clear written communication is fast
becoming the essential
skill for the 21st century.From texts to emails to websites, we are writing more than
ever before.No matter
how well our students can solve problems, collaborate, or use
technology, if they can not write effectively, their final products
will suffer.Building
Writers helps all teachers teach writing at every level in every
class.Written
communication happens across the curriculum, and as such it should
be taught across the curriculum.Imagine the exponential improvements we will see in our
student’s writing if they encounter the same writing instruction
from class-to-class and from grade-to-grade.
Building Writers is about teaching the writing process.Instead
of instruction through assessment or a series of disconnected
activities, it presents a coherent program teaching students to
approach writing as if they are constructing their compositions. The
program builds better authors as our students learn to be building
writers.Through the
use of our concrete visuals, students use a simple four-step process
to construct their writing plan.This blue print leads them to develop organizational
structures and thesis statements which guide and refine their
writing.
Building
Writers dissects writing into its most fundamental parts and then
teaches students how to analyze and synthesize these parts.It is simple enough to be taught at the primary level, but
deep enough to foster complex critical thinking throughout high
school and beyond.It
is truly a writing program you can start in grade school and
continue to refine in grad school.In fact, its tenets were employed to build the composition
you have just read.
Its
Application:Building
Writers will help students in
all ranges of ability and achievement. It grew out of the
collaborative efforts of two classroom teachers, Justin Galusha and
Rob Meader, in their attempts to find a coherent way to teach
expository writing.Originally
developed for AP students, this system, because of its simplicity
and clarity, yields even more growth with reluctant writers.It can be immediately duplicated in the classroom, in
tutorials, and especially as a tool for intervention
with struggling writers. It can be powerfully woven into the
everyday classroom, used for supplemental services, or in an ELL
environment.
Its
Promise:Building Writers can
help close the achievement
gap and be an instrumental tool across the educational spectrum.
Are you looking for a way to help your top performers reach new
heights in content area writing? Are you avoiding corrective action,
or trying to implement a corrective action plan? Whatever the need, our program can help your
district meet its writing objectives. Imagine schools in your
district moving from corrective action to a distinguished
school status. This program can be taught to your faculty in a
day, improving your district’s teacher
quality and student performance in rapid, tangible and
measurable ways.
