Bringing Writing to Life: Exploring the Research and Practice of Writing Instruction

Join the Greater Madison Writing Project at UW Madison in collaboration with Collaborative Classroom to unpack the research and find out how teaching writing as a separate content area provides a critical pathway for fostering effective communication skills as well as nurturing creativity and critical thinking, which are essential skills for both academic and personal success.

When students learn to express themselves through writing, they develop the capacity not only to communicate effectively but also to think deeply and critically. In spite of these and other research-backed benefits of prioritizing writing instruction, educators often find it difficult to carve out the time required to teach processes, skills, and strategies, guide students through the writing process, and provide them with the dedicated writing time they need to grow into deep thinkers and lifelong writers.

You’ll leave well-equipped with professional resources, lesson examples, and checklists that can help you teach writing processes, strategies, grammar, and feedback techniques that match your students’ needs and bring writing to life.

Intended Audience: K–5 District and building leaders, instructional coaches, and teachers.