High-Performance Writing

High-Performance Writing is a comprehensive resource that gives you ways to get your students writing right away. The lesson plans that make up each unit are based on key traits of effective writing and provides:

• Instructional practices substantiated by research
• Explicit strategies for writing
• Clear procedures for implementing those strategies
• Detailed scoring rubrics to help you assess writing objectively
• Skill instruction at points when students will use the skill in their writing
• Instruction in basic grammar and language usage
• Practice in demand-writing to develop fluency and expression
• Processes that help children produce pieces that are polished, expansive, expressive

Using the direct-instruction method, High-Performance Writing addresses the writing instruction needs of all students including special education and ESL students. Each unit follows a sequence of instruction and contains a complete sequence of activities to achieve a particular piece of writing. Terry Dodds, author of several other SRA direct-instruction programs including Readers and Writers, Learning Through Literature, and Language for Learning, developed the program.

Features:

• Units built around specific topics address the writing genre frequently identified in state frameworks, allowing you to target grade-appropriate writing skills.
• Straightforward lessons provide the scaffolding students need to internalize the writing process and emerge as independent writers.
• Writing and revising strategies help students incorporate the six traits of effective writing.

Terry Dodds is an educational consultant and program author, specializing in language arts with a focus on literature-based instruction, the writing process and reading. A frequent presenter at Association for Direct Instruction conferences, she has more than 30 years of experience as teacher working with regular and special education students and as a teaching principal. Currently a trainer for Educational Resources Inc., she works closely with districts that have a high percentage of minority and disadvantaged students to implement school-wide improvement.