Colorado Framework for Writing Instruction

Why Do We Need a Framework for Writing Instruction in Colorado?

The Colorado Framework for Writing Instruction is intended to support district- and school-level leaders in facilitating conversations with their literacy leaders, instructional coaches, and teachers to develop a research-based framework toward the teaching of writing. Steve Graham’s article, “Changing How Writing Is Taught,” reiterates the idea that writing is a “neglected skill” and that writing instruction is “inadequate” and “infrequent” (Review in Research Education, 2019, pp. 277-303).

Research reveals that teachers place little emphasis on persuasive and expository writing. (WWC: Teaching Elementary School Students to be Effective Writers, 2018; WWC: Teaching Secondary Students to Write Effectively: Graham & Herbert, 2010; Graham & Perin, 2007: National Institute for Literacy; Elbow, 2004)  Furthermore, it shows that students seldom write longer papers that involve analysis and interpretation.  It is important to note that, with both in-school writing and writing done beyond the classroom walls, students will be asked to produce writing centered on analysis, interpretation, exposition, and argument.  Whether on standardized assessments, or in Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate exams, or to demonstrate graduate competencies in capstone projects, students are asked to produce multi-paragraph essays. We cannot afford to neglect this complex literacy any longer.

This framework serves as a call to action for improving how writing is taught in Colorado’s elementary and secondary schools, and it serves as a resource for districts and schools to create a framework for developing a district and school wide writing initiative and framework.

The Write-Read Connection: The Impact of Research on Literacy

Why should educators and leaders refer to reading and writing research to guide instructional decisions and practices? Historically, research and pedagogy have separated reading and writing instruction (Shanahan, 2006); however, studies over the past 40 years have concluded that reading and writing are interrelated (e.g., Jenkins et al., 2004; Berninger et al., 2002; Abbott & Berninger, 1993; Tierney & Shanahan, 1996; Juel et al., 1986; Juel, 1988, 1983; Loban, 1963; Shanahan, 1984), and neuroimaging studies have shown that writing and reading activate overlapping brain regions (Pugh et al., 2006). Furthermore, instruction that has focused on the transfer of skills show that writing instruction has a positive effect on reading (Weiser & Mathes, 2011; Graham & Hebert, 2011; Tierney & Shanahan, 1991) and reading instruction on writing (Shanahan, 2006). 

When we think about reading, especially early reading, Hollis Scarborough comes to mind. In 2001, Scarborough developed a model of reading that depicts the multiple skills required to successfully read as strands in a rope. The model goes beyond the simple five-component model identified by the Reading Panel (2000). The reading rope identifies five language comprehension skills and three word recognition skills.  

• The language-comprehension (upper) strands (background knowledge, vocabulary, language structures, verbal reasoning, and literacy knowledge) reinforce one another and then weave together with the word-recognition strands. 
• The word-recognition (lower) strands (phonological awareness, decoding, and sight recognition of familiar words) work together as the reader becomes accurate, fluent, and increasingly automatic with repetition and practice. 

The strands in the rope become more tightly intertwined as students become increasingly more strategic and automatic in their ability to apply and transfer all of the skills until they finally become skill readers. This does not happen overnight; it requires high-quality instruction and practice overtime.

Organization of the Colorado Framework for Writing Instruction

The framework begins with a lean toward examining the beliefs around writing, in general, and teaching writing, in particular. Because of the complexity and the unique demands inherent in the teaching of writing, it is important for district and school leadership to bring to the surface the beliefs that teachers hold. The result is to identify, and develop, if necessary, shared beliefs that teachers hold regarding the teaching of writing and align those beliefs with research and evidence-based practices that support the effective teaching of writing. The Framework for Writing Instruction committee has carefully, collaboratively, and strategically outlined the process districts and schools can take to create a framework within their local context through research and evidence-based practices that speak to the write-read connection, the systems and structures that should be in place to effectively impact both student and teacher outcomes in the implementation of high-quality writing instruction. 

Why start with these beliefs? Whether they are conscious or unconscious, articulated or not, those beliefs influence decisions made in the classroom. It’s important for teachers, individually and collectively, to surface those beliefs. Beliefs lead to practices.

This framework connects these more abstract beliefs to a research base. From there, it offers the elements of a “desired state” of teaching writing: the observable teacher behaviors that demonstrate effective writing instruction and the student behaviors that follow those actions. 

Finally, the framework connects the instructional practices to the professional development necessary to move districts and schools toward their vision. The instructional practices and professional development offered here should not be interpreted as exhaustive lists by any mean; they serve as samples and examples of best practices. Nor should they be seen as prescriptive in any way. Successful districts and schools should view this framework as a blueprint that helps them take the necessary steps to move from their current state to their desired state of literacy instruction—reading, writing, speaking, and listening—seeing the intersectionality of each literacy and how students, through research and evidence-based systems, structures, and instructional practices, can demonstrate mastery of the Colorado Academic Standards for Reading, Writing, and Communicating at each grade-level and/or grade band and become prepared graduates with the essential skills to be successful in their chosen post-secondary pathway (e.g., college/university, military, workforce, or as an entrepreneur).

Recognizing that Colorado is a local control state, the resources identified and the thinking behind this framework allows districts to develop their own approach to teaching writing in a coherent, aligned, and deliberate manner. Therefore, the framework does not prioritize any one school of thought toward writing nor does it promote any programs, commercial or otherwise. Decisions regarding instructional practices, curriculum materials, and approaches to assessing student writing remain in the hands of local districts to meet the needs of their student population.