1. Improving Meredith Student Writing Everyday in Every Class
Score on the Four
Improving Meredith Student Writing
Everyday in Every Class

2. What Does This Poster Teach?
Proficient writing attributes
These descriptions tell students what is expected on every acceptable paper.
Advanced writing should exceed these descriptions.

3. What Should I Do With It? Post this clearly in your room.
Reference it before students begin writing for an audience.
Use it as your grading criteria for proficient writing.

4. We Must Teach a New Habit
The ability to create quality writing is more important than ever.
Writing proficiently is a habit; writing poorly is also a habit.
Stop accepting poor writing when students write for you or another audience.

5. Teaching Ideas & Content
Require answers that demonstrate student thinking.
Model thinking before you put the pencil to paper.
Teach instead of assign by showing and telling as you write your thoughts down.

6. Teaching Organization
Show students the proper organization technique with models and/or writing frames.
Main points should be given along with several supporting reasons and/or examples.
Transition words need to be provided and modeled.

7. Teaching Common Transitions
Teach students to use the list of transitions in the student planner.
Use transitional words when you speak so they become familiar words:
Consequently
As a result
Therefore
Regardless
Eventually
Despite
In spite of

8. Teaching Style
Teach students HOW to turn questions into sentence answers.
Require the use of your academic vocabulary.
Model sentence writing.
Use writing frames to help students learn sentence patterns.
Show the use of end punctuation, commas, and quotation marks in all your visible writing.

9. Conventional Writing Conventions are the “rules” of written language.
Use every opportunity to emphasize why adults must follow conventions at work and in public correspondence.
Avoid excusing yourself as a bad speller or writer because that makes it acceptable for kids to say the same thing about themselves.

10. Conventions You Should Expect
Capitalization rules have all been taught by 6th grade and should be enforced.
Words from the assignment and all common vocabulary should be spelled right.
Other words are corrected with teacher help during or after the assignment.
Sentences should end in punctuation.
Proper grammar should be used.

11. Responsible Teaching of Spell Check and Grammar Check
Word processing checkers are tools kids should be taught how to use.
Student errors often cannot be caught by the spell or grammar checkers.
Curious as curios
Then as than
Want as wont
Students deserve teachers who will help them spell and write accurately.

12. Have Zero Tolerance for:
Texting language
Over or underuse of capitalization
Illegible handwriting or strange formatting
Sentences without end punctuation
Misspelled common words

13. What Can I Do To Encourage Proficient Writing Everyday?
Show a model of the expected product.
Require students to redo poorly done writing.
Take points off for unconventional writing to help them break the habit.
Teach, model, practice, re-teach using the poster as your criteria.