Beyond English: Why Writing Belongs in Every Classroom

When Dr. Novak and I started writing our new book, Shift Writing into the Classroom, we anticipated that teachers outside of English Language Arts would take one look at the title and assume that the book was not intended for them. Yet, we both passionately believe in the power of writing across the curriculum and want writing to be a cornerstone of every subject area. We decided to write a book to provide every teacher with the strategies and tools to confidently pull all parts of the writing process into the classroom. We want every student to reap the benefits of becoming effective writers.

If you’re reading this and you teach math, history, science, foreign language, art, or any other subject, I want to make a compelling case for the powerful impact that writing can have in your class and on your students. Writing deepens learning and positively impacts academic performance, improves our students’ ability to establish and maintain relationships, and helps students manage their complex emotions.

Writing to Learn: How Writing Positively Impacts Learning & Academic Success

The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) states that writing is “one of the most important skills that students acquire and develop during K-12 schooling.” Yet, national surveys of writing indicate that teachers beyond third grade spend little time on explicit writing instruction. Students in upper elementary and beyond “do little writing in or out of school for academic purposes” (Graham & Harris, 2019). So, it should not be surprising that only 27% of 8th and 12th-grade students earned a score of proficient in writing in the last report published in 2011 by the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP).

The lack of focus on writing in education is baffling, given the positive impacts of writing on learning.

• Writing improves reading skills (Graham & Herbert, 2010; Shanahan, 2016).
• Writing-to-learn activities incorporated in math, science, and social science improved the quality of learning in those subjects (Graham, Kiuhara & MacKay, 2020).
• Reading comprehension and information retention improve when students write about what they read (Graham & Herbert, 2011).
• Writing drives higher-order thinking as students analyze, interpret, and synthesize to respond to prompts.
• Writing helps students to develop their content knowledge as they attempt to persuade, inform, or narrate.

Given the benefits of writing on reading skills, comprehension, information retention, higher-order thinking, and quality of learning, it makes sense for all teachers to focus on increasing the time they dedicate to writing in their classrooms.

In my last blog “Why Sending Students Home with Writing Assignments Might Not Be The Best Idea,” I emphasize that writing is complex and multifaceted. Students need support breaking down the parts of the writing process. Teachers who dedicate class time to writing can encourage students to work with peers to move through the process of analyzing exemplars, identifying key components of specific types of writing, pre-writing and planning, editing and revising. All of these aspects of writing benefit from dedicated class time, access to peer support, and teacher feedback. Regardless of the subject area, investing time and energy to the writing process helps students to develop their content knowledge and ability to retain what they are learning.

Writing to Connect: How Writing Helps Us Develop Our Relationship Skills

Writing is a critical vehicle for self-expression, enabling us to connect with others and nurture our relationships. Learning to communicate in writing is an essential life skill that directly impacts our ability to form meaningful connections with other people.

Adolescents today have unprecedented access to one another and spend significant time communicating on their devices. A Pew Research Study found that “about half of teens use Snapchat and Instagram daily,” which involve text-based interactions. According to another study of teenagers and their smartphone usage conducted by Common Sense Media and the University of Michigan’s C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital, found that “over half of participants received 237 or more notifications per day.“

Given how much young people engage with each other in the written form, it is important to consider how their ability to write may impact the quality of their relationships. The CASEL Framework, which identifies core competencies related to social-emotional learning, defines relationship skills as the abilities needed to “establish and maintain healthy and supportive relationships and to effectively navigate settings with diverse individuals and groups.” Among these skills are effective communication, the cultivation of positive relationships, and the display of cultural competence. These skills can be honed in classrooms as students write about topics, issues, and problems related to the curriculum, and provide each other with thoughtful feedback.

So, not only can a focus on writing in classrooms elevate the quality of learning, but it can help students to develop communication skills critical to improving social and emotional learning.

Writing to Process Feelings: How Writing Helps Us to Manage Complicated Emotions

Writing helps us understand ourselves and our emotions, positively impacting our self-awareness and ability manage our complex emotions. Research has established that there are positive psychological and physiological benefits when we write about our life experiences and our feelings (Smyth, 1998).

The alarming statistics about the rates of anxiety and depression in adolescents demand that educational institutions find ways to help young people take care of their mental health. As classrooms increasingly prioritize the development of social-emotional learning skills to help students develop self-awareness, self-management, and responsible decision-making, educators can leverage writing as a valuable tool in this work.

Writing can help students engage with and explore their identities, analyze the how the texts and course content impacts the way they think and feel, and document their learning to create a bridge between the curriculum and their lived experiences.

Not only can writing assignments foster a deeper understanding of the material, but the act of reflecting and writing also has the potential to help students understand themselves and manage their complex emotions to improve their mental well-being.

Wrap Up

In their book Best Practices in Writing Instruction, Graham, MacArthur, and Hebert (2019) state, “It is especially important at the time that we focus on bringing these best practices in writing instruction more fully into all classrooms.” Dr. Novak and I wholeheartedly agree! We want to support every teacher in breaking down the writing process into manageable steps and make those writing tasks accessible, inclusive, and equitable.

Teachers outside of English or language arts may feel it is not their responsibility to teach writing. They may not have received explicit instruction on how to teach writing in their subject areas. And, as a result, may not feel confident facilitating the parts of the writing process in class. Others, may still be skeptical of the time it takes to incorporate writing into class periods already jam packed with content to be covered. That’s why Dr. Novak and I wrote Shift Writing into the Classroom! We wanted to make student-led writing strategies available to every teacher.

If you are wondering how on earth you’ll make time for writing in your class, that is where we demonstrate the power of blended learning and designing lessons with universally designed blended learning models that free teachers to work alongside learners and provide students with more control over their learning experience. When educators explore instructional models beyond the whole-group, teacher-led approach, they discover they can create the time and space needed to allow students to engage in the writing process with the critical support of their peers and teacher.

Shift Writing into the Classroom

Want to learn more about why Dr. Novak and I wrote Shift Writing into the Classroom? Check out my podcast episode on the book!

When you pre-order a copy of 𝙎𝙝𝙞𝙛𝙩 𝙒𝙧𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙄𝙣𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝘾𝙡𝙖𝙨𝙨𝙧𝙤𝙤𝙢 by January 8th, we’ll send you the “Active Reading Observation Journal” Choice Board that you can begin using right away! This tool is designed to help students hone their observation skills and discover tips and tricks to implement in their writing practice immediately! Plus, it works across all subject areas!

Graham, S., & Hebert, M. (2010). Writing to read: Evidence for how writing can improve reading: A report from Carnegie Corporation of New York.

Graham, S., Kiuhara, S. A., & MacKay, M. (2020). The Effects of Writing on Learning in Science, Social Studies, and Mathematics: A Meta-Analysis. Review of Educational Research, 90(2), 179-226.

Graham, S., & Hebert, M. (2011). Writing to read: A meta-analysis of the impact of writing and writing instruction on reading. Harvard Educational Review, 81(4), 710-744.

Shanahan, T. (2016). Relationships between reading and writing development. Handbook of Writing Research, 2, 194-207.

Wilson, S., & Dumornay, N. M. (2022). Rising rates of adolescent depression in the United States: Challenges and opportunities in the 2020s. Journal of Adolescent Health, 70(3), 354-355.