“The goal is for our students to understand that writing is a powerful medium for expressing themselves,” says Lower School Director of Teaching and Learning Elise Goldman, who’s been enhancing the ELA curriculum for several years. The result: a consistent workshop approach to writing in every grade.

In addition to ongoing direct instruction in essential writing mechanics such as spelling, punctuation and grammar, our students are now also digging into the fundamentals of the writing process — from formulating a creative idea to writing down a first draft, to learning how and why to add or remove exposition, to making revisions and editing and finally, to the end product — a fine-tuned piece of writing to be proud of. Throughout the school year, they have ample opportunities to showcase their talent with numerous classroom writing assignments in nonfiction, personal narrative, poetry and more.

In addition to practice, practice, practice by putting their own words to paper, our students are learning how to write through “mentor texts.” These are books that serve as solid examples of descriptive writing, structure, repetitive language, strong leads and strong endings, Goldman explains, citing as examples A Chair for My Mother by Vera Williams and Owl Moon by Jane Yolen.

When they respond to published writing, children are more motivated to produce their own works that get a response from an audience. “They have a reason to want to work hard at it, revise it, spell properly … They’re driven to learn the necessary skills because they now appreciate what it means to get the message across well,” says Goldman.

As E. L. Doctorow said: “Writing is an exploration. You start from nothing and learn as you go.” Go, Lower School students, and write on!