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To all teachers of writing, grades 7-12:
There are no shortcuts to raising student writing achievement within your classrooms.
How do we raise student writing achievement levels? How do we help students break through the barriers imposed by their limited entry-level language skills? How do we develop student enthusiasm for learning to write with clarity, precision and expressive power?
Daily oral language mini-lessons will not do it. Journal writing will not do it. Exploring writing genres, or teaching the five part essay will not do it. Neither will writing across the curriculum fulfill this expectation.
Assigning more writing is not the same as teaching students to become better writers. The study of rubrics and/or group-editing tasks do not teach students how to write more varied and more precise sentences.
What students need is a systematic, single-focus writing curriculum that develops sentence fluency and descriptive power at the same time that it creates enthusiasm for word choice and clarity of expression.
Students need a sequence of writing activities that meets them where they are...and then lifts them upward to higher language choice and sentence construction skills.
Huge breakthroughs in student writing achievement require teachers to transform student awareness of language possibilities, and to equip them with the tools they need to move beyond self-limiting, entry-level language patterns.
These breakthroughs can best be achieved by a writing program that is lively, easy to teach, and that combines systematic, intensive skill development with short, high interest assignments that are designed for frequent closure and quick turnaround. A program where students put in the effort, master a technique, and then instantly see their sentence construction skills grow.
The Topschools writing program is the product of over thirty years of teaching reading, writing and thinking at the secondary level. My constant goal: building student enthusiasm for thinking about, and valuing written expression. Standardized test score results for my student writers are available here.
This is what high energy English classrooms should be about:
Student enthusiasm for exploring the beauty and precision of language...
Student "ah-ha!" moments as they learn to create increasingly complex and effective sentence patterns...
Strengthening student ability to generate richer, more varied sentences that naturally compel writers to provide higher levels of evidence and supporting detail...
...And the satisfaction of seeing one's writing skills grow on a daily basis.
Why shouldn't a writing class be the most exciting class in the entire school?
Imagine a selection of sentences written by your 7th-12th graders as part of a short (two paragraph) creative writing assignment entitled "Still Life: An Old Work Shoe":
"...a slothful bootlace curls, loops and winds dronishly through the rusty, metal holes, creating a clustered, knotted look"
"...its worn, brass eyelets rusting, the dreary shoe tugs toothlessly at a besmirched, spurious lace..."
"descending and submerging, a criss-cross patterned sole sinks into the damp, boggy soil..."
"a seam, ravelling and slipping, arches around the worn and dusty surface...a mucky, sweat-blemished shoe tongue cowers between two mountains of uplifting leather..."
"a silver, dulled hook, its metal oxidizing, holds out its ends to clasp on to ancient, threadbare laces..."
These sentences were crafted by my own regular English class students (grades 7-12) who were half-way through a 9-18 week curriculum that developed voice and fluency at the same time that it developed sentence construction skills.
As "regular" (not HONORS) students, they were as reluctant to write and as under-skilled as the majority of our public school students are nowadays.
Sentences like these are emblematic of a dramatically heightened student awareness of the precision and descriptive power of language. And this awareness and skill can be developed in ALL your students; even those who came to class with the most elementary writing skills.
Using the same program that I have used with over 5,000 students, you will guide your classes through a seamless series of concrete, easily teachable lessons that lead to sentence construction proficiency. No textbooks are required; no handouts are distributed.
Regardless of background or preparation, teachers now have the opportunity to guide students beyond the limited entry level language patterns that they brought with them when they entered the classroom. I invite all teachers of writing--whether novices or experts--to join me on this instructional journey.
Impact for Teachers:
Topschools writing curriculum guides teachers & students through an exciting sequence of short, high interest writing activities that develop voice, fluency, analytical power and sentence construction skills.
Activities are focused, have clear targets, and provide for frequent closure and student demonstration.
Sharing of student work develops confidence, as well as pride in new learning. Lessons are designed to be taught effectively, whether the teacher is a veteran or a newcomer to composition and sentence construction.
I provide one year of unlimited email support in order to guarantee teacher success. Questions about the curriculum, about instructional strategies, about next steps--all will be responded to within 24 hours or less. This curriculum addresses and challenges the full spectrum of student abilities--from those below grade level to those in Advanced Placement courses.
Impact for Students:
Weak word choice and sentence construction skills can impose limits on the depth and quality of student thinking. In this curriculum, students learn to design, write and read sentences that force higher order language and thinking skills. With skills like these, students overpower standardized tests that measure student thinking, writing and reading.
Overview of Topschools Writing Program:
Q: How do students learn?
A: Students learn by receiving clear instructions about what is expected, clear
examples of what is expected, and numerous in-class opportunities to
practice and to share their mastery of learning targets.
Q: How do students internalize this learning?
A: Repetition and reinforcement are the keys: clear tactics for sentence
construction are presented, and students are obligated to reproduce and
share these during class in short, targeted, descriptive writing assignments.
Q: How can students buy into this curriculum and its activities?
A: Short, very specific, high interest descriptive writing activities create clear
targets, and provide quick closure, success and reinforcement.
Students can clearly see their writing skills grow on a daily basis.
Opportunities for group collaboration create shared discovery and
enthusiasm for learning in the classroom.
Q: Is this another grammar program? I already have a room full of grammar texts.
A: We all do. And we have all tried to use them, or their workbook derivatives at one time or another in order to teach writing skills. The Topschools program has a strong grammatical and sentence construction emphasis, absolutely. Because it is about the English language and its use, the contents of the program, when read as a list of topics, look very much like the contents of a grammar book: verbals, appositives, introductory participial phrases and so on.
But here the similarity ends. The Topschools program is a method; a way of teaching, a way of practicing, a way of engaging students, and a way of sequencing specific learning activities so that each builds upon what has come before as students journey toward mastery. This is the method that has been missing from our instructional practice; and this absence has made writing instruction such a dreary task for so many--especially for students.
Q: Can I teach my students these effective writing skills in fewer than 9 weeks? I am feeling pressure from my Principal to create results--and soon!
A: The curriculum is set-up to provide a cumulative learning sequence that leads to student writing mastery. However, a teacher may select to implement key aspects of the program out of sequence in order to produce dramatic, short-term writing achievement results.
Q: What does "one year email support" mean for me as a teacher?
A: I am committed to your success as an educator. Purchasers of this program have one year unlimited email support. I will collegially respond to your questions about the curriculum, about sentence structure, about grammar, and about instructional strategies within 24 hours of receipt of your query. Brainstorm and troubleshooting questions are very welcome. Your success as a teacher of writing is very important to me.
Topschools Writing is Not A Traditional Approach:
Emphasis on in-class laboratory learning
Emphasis on interaction, frequent closure, frequent feedback/formative
assessment
De-emphasis on daily grading and collection of papers. Most student work is done in class and students know
instantly how well they have met the goals
Emphasis on application of new learning NOW
Emphasis on starting with simple concepts and moving to highly challenging
complexity
Emphasis on short sentence and multiple sentence assignments that target
skills and provide quick turnaround and classroom critique
Emphasis on “getting it," “demonstrating it” and “using it”
Emphasis on observation & discovery
Opportunities for group collaboration, but always an emphasis on individual
products and accountability
Required classroom materials: One good quality thesaurus for each student. One dictionary per two students.
Sample Mastery Targets for Voice, Fluency and Precision
Verbs and verbals applied
Prepositional phrases & agreement issues
Powerful word cache development
Troubleshooting six forms of redundancy
Pathetic fallacy for voice
Deploying parts of speech for voice and precision
Powerful introductory & non-essential participial phrases—applied
Powerful appositives applied
Verb tense mastery—applied
Introductory adverb clauses applied for richness & complexity
Non essential subordinate clauses applied
Sentence marking activities: keep it simple
Comma rules applied based on word function and
sentence structure
Simple, compound & complex sentences—applied and constructed
"I would definitely recommend it to another teacher!!! I believe it incorporates the essential elements for teaching writing which are giving the students the framework for evaluating their own work, and then it is designed to make them practice what they learn. I especially like how it is designed to make them think about writing in a whole new way. 'Evocative' is our new mantra."
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"What I liked about this curriculum was it created a systematic, organized approach to writing. I liked how the writing was broken down into specific building blocks that we could practice together."
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"At the very beginning of the school year I took one day and had the students write two pages about anything they wanted. I saved these papers and pulled them out after completing the 'shoe' assignment. I asked them to evaluate their own paper and come up with at least eight problems...I was VERY EXCITED as I listened to the students evaluate their own work. They were all disgusted and described their writing as 'kindergarten.' Several students noticed right off that they hadn't used a single adjective or adverb! Other students noticed redundancy in their word choices and sentence structure...So when I think about specific gains that my students have made, the biggest stride is that they are starting to evaluate their own work and they have a framework for evaluating their work."
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"[My students] have a new awareness of what makes an interesting sentence...I think it is a huge benefit that I can say to the students, 'use a past participle in this sentence' and they know what I mean. it is also helpful that I can point out to them, when they have written a failed 'its variation', "where is your subject?" Where is your verb, and they can go back and study the sentence and fix the problem."
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"Hi Bruce, thought I would check in again. We just finished up the first comma rules. I really enjoyed teaching these because the kids were able to write some interesting sentences. I had them write three sentences, all on the same topic, one with an IPP, an NEPP, and an 'its variation.' We spent a whole day on these, then I had the students present them orally, then I graded them, handed them back and had the students improve them. I was so pleased to see the improvement through the whole process. I think the students actually enjoyed the process as well because they were 'lighting' up when I talked with them individually about tone, consistency between word choices, adding additional adverbs and adjectives for interest, etc. It was really fun."
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I wish I had time to compose a more detailed email concerning my use of the course. I've followed it carefully and learned a great deal. I'm currently grading their Messy Square Foot assignments and previously, students used a vintage backpack for the old boot assignment. Recently we took a short break and used what we've learned to redo a bulletin board in my room to create a Creative Writing center. Students interviewed each other and created a microbiography, a single sentence which followed all the "rules" we've learned so far, contained an Items in a Series, an IPP or NEPP, an appositive and revealed the most salient characteristics of the classmate they interviewed. Each student then brought in a picture of themselves "in action" and we read our microbiographies aloud in class and then mounted them on nice card stock and posted them on the creative writing bulletin board with their pictures. It's quite nice. I'll have to send you an example or two and a picture of the finished bulletin board.
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Topschools 9-18 week Writing Curriculum CD: Teacher guide to a seamless series of learning activities that develop proficiency in sentence construction and language use. (Please enable cookies to use Paypal)
Single Teacher License & CD w/ one year email support: $199
School Site License & CD w/ one year email support: $279
Note: A single-teacher license is for the exclusive use of one teacher only. The teacher owns the curriculum, and may take it to any future teaching position. A site license is for the exclusive use of all teachers within a department or building. The curriculum may not be transferred to other programs or departments in other schools.
*This personal note from Bellevue's superintendent followed a classroom visitation, 9/10/96. Bellevue International School and Lake Washington International Community School (both developed by Bruce Saari & colleagues) have been consistently ranked by Newsweek & USA Today in the top tier of schools nationwide. The test scores section of this website covers Bellevue International's achievement history all the way back to 1993.
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