Expository Writing Instruction Winter 2025 - 3 Thursdays, 9:00 - 2:30 a.m. EST (Hybrid)

Why This Workshop

Expectations to meet rigorous writing standards begin in the early grades and extend through high school. In this course, Betsy M. Duffy, MS Ed, Special Projects Advisor to the Windward Institute, will present strategies for teaching expository writing in all content areas in grades K through 12.   

This prominent writing program, developed at The Windward School, is based on large statistical research studies for best practices in writing and utilizes strategies outlined in publications such as the Elementary and Secondary Institute of Education Sciences (IES) Practice Guides (Graham, et al.). Approaches from Teaching Basic Writing Skills (TBWS): Strategies for Effective Expository Writing Instruction by Judith C. Hochman and TBWS Templates by Betsy MacDermott-Duffy are incorporated with findings from Writing to Read: Evidence for How Writing Can Improve Reading (Graham & Hebert, 2010) and “Effectiveness of Literacy Programs Balancing Reading and Writing Instruction: A Meta-analysis" (Graham et al., 2017). This writing program can be implemented in general education and special education classrooms across grade K through 12.  

Key Learning Objectives

• Learn specific evidence-based techniques to add structure, coherence, and clarity to students’ expository writing.

• Identify instructional guidelines for developing complex sentences, outlining, writing paragraphs and compositions, and revising and editing.

• Gain examples that explicitly demonstrate how to teach foundational and organizational skills necessary to write an argumentative essay.

• Develop an overview of how to plan an expository reading lesson as springboard to writing.