More than 5,500 years ago, humans first developed writing by carving letters and numbers into clay tablets (some were even erasable). For millennia, only scribes learned how to read and write. Early emphasis was often on duplication, not original thought.
This pattern of emphasizing form over substance persisted for centuries. For many years, American schools followed that methodology, emphasizing penmanship over composition through the “copy-book method.” The assumption was that good handwriting equated to good writing. It didn’t.
The Process Writing Movement of the 1970s encouraged students to “find their voice” through personal expression. This method failed, too, as it often left students without systematic tools to construct clear, logical arguments. The pendulum between extremes – rigid copying versus unguided creativity – left generations of people struggling to master writing.
At Rainer Scholars, we’re embracing The Writing Revolution, a research-backed approach that bridges systematic instruction with meaningful content engagement to deeply integrate the building blocks of writing into all subjects. This will prepare the next generation of diverse leaders to think clearly, argue persuasively, and communicate ideas with power and precision.
Building a Strong Foundation
Every Rainier Scholar’s journey kicks off with a transformational 14-month intensive program called the Academic Enrichment Program (AEP). For the months before, during, and following fifth grade, scholars complete the equivalent of one additional school year (1,000 hours) of academic enrichment through two summer sessions, plus Wednesday afternoons and Saturdays during the school year (our Tacoma scholars have a slightly longer runway, with three summer sessions plus two school years).
With a group of up to 60 other students, the cohort-model is designed to prepare scholars for placement on college preparatory pathways. The AEP experience includes standard curriculum–like math, science, and literature–and the mastery of active learning skills–like accountability, time-management, and organization. Students build and strengthen foundational academic skills while developing cultural identity and resilience.
It’s within this intensive academic setting that we’ve implemented The Writing Revolution methodology, recognizing that strong writing skills are essential for success across all subjects, and beyond.
Embracing the Writing Revolution
Three years ago, Ashley Sirls, Director of Leadership Development at Rainier Scholars, was introduced to Judith Hochman’s The Writing Revolution by Drego Little, AEP Teacher and Learning Support Specialist. “In addition to being an incredible teaching partner, Drego is a visionary and ideator behind much of this program,” Sirls said.
The methodology immediately resonated with Rainier Scholars because it addressed a specific challenge we’ve identified through conversations with partner middle schools. “We got feedback that our students could build context much stronger than other students, but that they were struggling to figure out how to bring in a piece of direct supporting evidence.” Sirls said. “This framework helped us take a step back and think about having a method and a plan for building those skills.”
The method also addresses a common challenge in elementary education. “In regular elementary schools, writing is one of the least favorite subjects because students haven’t felt successful – we haven’t taught them how,” Sirls said. “You can’t ask a student to become an artist without first teaching the building blocks of creating art. It’s the same for writing.”
Principles of The Writing Revolution
The Writing Revolution rests on five fundamental principles:
Writing must be explicitly taught, not just assigned. Rather than assuming students will naturally develop writing skills through exposure, the method provides systematic, step-by-step instruction. As Sirls notes, “Most elementary schools teach students to write through a creative writing process – just get your ideas down. That can be really daunting for a student because we’re asking them to do something that requires skills we haven’t taught yet.”
Sentences are the fundamental building blocks of all writing. Instead of jumping to paragraphs or essays, students first master sentence construction. “Students know that sentences need a what, a who, and a how. So, we start at the sentence level, then lead to claims and reasoning,” Sirls said.
Embed writing instruction within content to boost learning. Writing isn’t taught in isolation but integrated across all subjects. “We’re writing sentences about what they’re reading if it’s a literature class. We’re writing about their science if they’re doing science,” Sirls explained. This cross-curricular approach ensures students see writing as a tool for deeper learning, not a separate subject.
Use deliberate, scaffolded practice for specific writing skills. The method builds skills incrementally, with clear feedback helping students identify mistakes and monitor progress. “When all teachers are sending the same message about the building blocks of writing, it lowers the cognitive load of learning any subject,” Sirls said. “Now students can focus on the lesson in front of them, like science, rather than the anxiety about how to do their science-related writing assignment.”
Planning (outlining) is essential before writing at length. Students learn systematic approaches to organizing their thoughts before diving into longer compositions. This method also reinforces the soft skill of “organization”, which is one of the active learning skills we teach as part of AEP.
Importantly, Rainier Scholars emphasizes handwritten practice alongside digital literacy. “We do a lot of analog writing – writing with pen on paper,” Sirls said. “That physical experience of writing with a pen in your hand is important.” This approach aligns with research showing that handwriting activates different neural pathways that support learning and memory formation.
Building Confident Writers
The Writing Revolution methodology addresses what Sirls identifies as a fundamental flaw in traditional writing instruction: “The whole language learning approach suggests people can learn skills through osmosis.” Instead, by providing explicit instruction in sentence construction, evidence integration, and argument building, students develop genuine confidence in their abilities.
Students who complete AEP arrive at middle school prepared not just to write, but to use writing as a tool for critical thinking across all subjects. They can take a story and identify what happened, then build claims about morality, behavior, or how we should live – skills that extend far beyond academic writing. The program recognizes that the ability to construct clear, evidence-based arguments isn’t just an academic skill – it’s essential for professional success and personal empowerment, and their future as generational leaders.
If you’d like to learn more about the building blocks of writing, check out our companion blog The Building Blocks of Persuasive Writing, which shares how we’re applying new principles to our writing instruction to empower our scholars to write with confidence.