Teaching Secondary Students to Write Effectively

Potential obstacles to implementing Recommendation 1 and the panel’s advice

Obstacle 1.1. I teach my students specific 

writing strategies, but then they don’t seem to 

use them while composing.

Panel’s advice. Teachers should explore why 

students are not using writing strategies and 

modify their instructional approach based on 

what they learn.

•   If students have not internalized the strate-

gies they are taught, re-teach the specific 

steps of the strategy. Consider posting lists 

of strategies and their steps in the class-

room as a reminder, providing students 

with laminated copies of strategies they 

can keep at their desks, or encouraging 

students to create a mnemonic to remem-

ber particular strategies.

•   If students are lacking confidence in their 

strategy use, provide opportunities for 

them to make choices about which strate-

gies to use. This will help engage them in 

strategy use and empower them to select 

a strategy that works for them. Facilitate 

one-on-one opportunities for students 

to explain why they selected a particular 

strategy, reflect on their choice, and dis-

cuss how the strategy helped them.

•   If students are using strategies only 

occasionally, look for opportunities to 

recognize students’ progress toward using 

strategies more consistently. Teachers can 

support student writers by providing posi-

tive feedback when a student uses a strat-

egy correctly, ensuring that each student 

has a voice during whole-class discussions, 

and finding ways to value something in 

every student’s writing, including strategy 

selection and use.

•   If students aren’t visibly using strategies 

or using them rarely, but their writing has 

improved, they might be implementing 

strategies automatically in a way that is 

not visible to teachers. When students 

do this, celebrate the internalization of