Teaching writing across the curriculum is a skill. And so is creating effective writing prompts and assignments. To be highly effective in teaching writing across the curriculum, teachers need to be able to create writing prompts and assignments that teach two things: 1) subject content, and 2) writing skills. Today, we are going to learn how to do just that.
Before we start, let’s define three important terms:
1. Writing Prompts: Writing prompts guide, focus, and also limit students in their writing. Students must enter the world of the prompt and address the prompt.
2. Writing Across The Curriculum (WAC): Teachers have students write to learn subject content.
3. Teaching Writing Across The Curriculum (TWAC): Teachers have students write to learn subject content, while also learning how to write better.
The Two Primary Goals
When we create writing prompts to teach writing across the curriculum, we have two primary goals:
1. We want to teach writing.
2. We want to teach subject content.
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Writing Prompts for Seven Genres x Seven School Subjects
If you look over The Definitive List of Writing and Grammar Skills, you will find many more types of writing prompts that you can create—many, many more! However, what follows is an excellent start—Seven Genres x Seven School Subjects.
Seven Genres: 1) Essay, 2) Expository, 3) Narrative, 4) Imaginative Narrative, 5) Persuasive/ Argument/Opinion, 6) Descriptive, 7) Journal and Learning Log
Seven School Subjects: 1) Science, 2) Social Studies, 3) History, 4) Reading Comprehension, 5) Math, 6) Physical Education, 7) Going on a Field Trip
Keep in mind that we can combine many of these types of prompts with format genres such as articles, letters, etc. Furthermore, we can combine them with other adjectival genres and patterns of organization. As an example, the use of cause-and-effect can be a requirement for most any prompt.
Writing Vocabulary Words and Underlines
As you will see, I’ve underlined all of the words related to writing—that is, the vocabulary of writing. Although I have underlined some words related to the specific directions, I mainly focused on the writing vocabulary words, which includes concepts such as the writing process, purpose, and the rhetorical triangle. Furthermore, many of the writing prompts are exaggerated in the sense that they are stuffed full of writing words, writing skills, and writing concepts. I do this to illustrate what’s possible, and I could have gone much further. Please spend some time thinking about why I may have underlined a word. Consider how it relates to writing from a writer’s perspective. You may want to browse The Definitive List of Writing and Grammar Skills before you do.
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1. Essay Writing Prompts: Students will explain or expound on something from their point of view. An essay communicates a personal interpretation, understanding, or reflection on a topic or experience.
a. History: We have learned something about four different wars: 1) The Revolutionary War, 2) The Civil War, 3) World War II, and 4) The Vietnam War. Is war right or wrong or something else? Provide facts, examples, and other types of information from what you have learned to support your position. Be sure to explain how they support your position.
b. Science: With a changing climate, polar bears are struggling. How important are polar bears? What can we do and what should we do (if anything) to save them? To what extent and at what cost must we take action to save them?
2. Expository Writing Prompts: Students will produce an informational/explanatory piece of writing. Remember that students must have the required knowledge to write about the topic. Informational/explanatory writing requires an understanding of the facts. If students have finished a textbook chapter, they either have the facts or know where to find the facts. Furthermore, many school subjects relate to students’ own lives: e.g., animals, community, how to do something, etc.
a. Science: How do each of the three types of rocks form? Make a 3-column chart listing the process for the formation for each type of rock. Use this as prewriting to write a short paragraph or two for each type of rock explaining the process of rock formation.
b. History: Here are three reasons colonists came to America. Briefly explain each reason.
c. Science: In one or two paragraphs, explain how water, ice, and steam are related. Try to use cause-and-effect, process, sequence, and definition to help you explain.
d. Reading Comprehension: Write two moral-of-the-story statements or theme statements based on the story we just read. Use these two complex-sentence patterns:
• If… then…
• Although… people…
After that, break each complex sentence into two kernel sentences.
e. Physical Education: We learned two basketball skills today. Each skill was made up or composed of steps, and those steps formed a process. We learned the steps that we take to pass the basketball, and we learned the steps that we take to shoot the basketball. You will now write an isolated process paragraph for each basketball skill. In each process paragraph, you will teach your audience step by step how to perform the basketball skill.
3. Narrative Writing Prompts: Students will narrate various types of actions, sequences, and events, including personal, biographical, historical, narrative lab reports, and news stories.
a. Science: You just finished a science experiment. In a linear narrative format, tell what happened. Be sure to tell what you did and what thoughts ran through your head as you worked on the experiment—i.e., reflect on your thinking.
b. Social Studies: Here are five facts about the Revolutionary War. Number them in the order that they happened. Now write a narrative paragraph or two. Since this is an exercise, use or even overuse one or more time, order, or place transition or signal words in each sentence. These events are largely based on cause-and-effect, so be sure to weave that aspect into your narrative.
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4. Imaginative Narrative Writing Prompts: Students will use their imagination to create a narrative story. Although this frequently falls into the category of creative writing, it also functions as a learning tool across the curriculum. As an example, if the class has been studying the rain forest, here is an imaginative narrative prompt connected to the learning:
a. Science: Imagine that you are the rain forest. Tell a story of what has happened in your life over the last year or two.
b. Math: Write a short story about two groups of characters that combine to create one group. Be sure to bring the concepts of addition, parts and whole, and fractions into your story.
5. Persuasive/Argument/Opinion Writing Prompts: Students will take a position and logically argue for that position. Students will present claims, reasons, and evidence.
a. Reading Comprehension: You just read an article where a writer presented an argument on why school uniforms should be required. Create an outline of the writer’s argument, including the writer’s claims, reasons, evidence, support, and commentary. Now choose one or more of the writer’s reasons or claims and refute them. Use the writer’s argument to guide you and inspire you in your argument. First, create an outline using PPE (Point, Proof, and Explanation). Then write a paragraph for each.
b. Going on a Field Trip: You have already learned the rules, procedures, rewards, and consequences for our field trip. Write a letter to your classmates to persuade them to be on their best behavior. Be sure to provide motivating and persuasive claims, reasons, evidence, support, and commentary.
c. History: We have studied both sides of the argument regarding the United States’ involvement in Vietnam. You are going to write a 1-2 paragraph argument for each side of the argument. For prewriting, do a brainstorm and create a logical outline that contains a claim, evidence, and commentary (CEC). Then write your paragraphs.
6. Descriptive Writing Prompts: Student will describe various things, events, and processes. This description may use scientific description, which is really expository writing.
a. Science: Describe two different Serengeti animals in detail so that your readers will be able to identify the animals if they see them. Explain how each animal is perfectly suited for its life on the savannah. After you have done that, describe how the two animals are similar and different.
b. Social Studies: Think about what you have learned about the Plains Indians’ way of life. Imagine that you have been invited to tour a Plains Indians camp in the early 1800s. Describe what you see so that your reader will be able to draw a detailed picture of the camp using your words. Be sure to use sensory details that help the reader see, hear, smell, taste, and feel life in the camp.
7. Journal and Learning Log Writing Prompts: Students will reflect on their learning experiences and their learning process; they will also reflect on the content that they have learned or are learning. You may want to read my free eBook Multi-Purpose Journal and Learning Log: Ten Types of Writing.
a. Math: You just solved a challenging word problem in math. Reflect on the strategies and math skills that you used to solve the problem. Think about what confused you as you solved the problem, and think about what you learned as you solved the problem.
b. Social Studies: We are beginning a new chapter about settlers moving west and traveling along the Oregon Trail. Settlers faced many challenges and hardships as they moved west. Preview the chapter and create a list of questions that you want answered.
Part 2: Analyzing the Prompts and Thinking about Teaching Writing Across the Curriculum
As I mentioned before, many of the example writing prompts are exaggerated in the sense that they are stuffed full of writing words, writing skills, and writing concepts. The goal was to explore what was possible. Of course, if schools took teaching writing across the curriculum seriously, after a few years, these prompts would not be so challenging.
Let’s reflect on what we saw in those writing prompts. If your goal is to teach writing across the curriculum, this part is just as important as the first part. This part is divided into three sections:
1. The Example Prompts: Ten Things to Consider and Reflect On
2. Eight Tips for Creating Writing Prompts Across the Curriculum
3. Ten Goals for Teaching Writing Across the Curriculum
The Example Prompts: Ten Things to Consider and Reflect On
As you look back over and examine the prompts again, please keep these things in mind:
1. Keep a Learning Mindset: Please look at the example prompts from a learning mindset. My goal here is to help teachers develop a mindset that will help them create their own writing prompts across the curriculum. I did not try to keep the example prompts simple. In fact, I tried to create prompts that would challenge or expand how you think. With some prompts, I added an excessive number of skills, vocabulary words, and concepts.
2. Writing Vocabulary Words: I created The Definitive List of Writing and Grammar Skills for a reason. Vocabulary words teach a way of thinking and talking about writing. If students have a large vocabulary of writing words, it will improve their writing. Truthfully, students only need to become familiar with many of the words to expand their way of thinking about writing. The words alone communicate that we write with purpose. In short, think beyond generic terms like main ideas, details, and support.
3. What Have You Taught? : The writing prompts that you create should reflect what you have taught your students. Don’t create prompts that your students don’t understand and that you can’t easily explain to them.
4. Want Do You Want to Teach? : The writing prompts that you create should reflect what you want to teach your students. Many of the example prompts are ambitious, to put it mildly. Writing prompts can be a quick way to review important concepts and vocabulary, but we can also add in a touch of the NEW to what students already KNEW.
5. Vocabulary and Synonym Littering: I use lots of synonyms in teaching writing. Furthermore, I tend to add in extra vocabulary words. All of the extra words expand the world of writing and offer students choices. Having said that, I also make the assignment unmistakably clear, and the extra words help make things unmistakably clear.
As an example, if you want your students to write a concrete PPE (Point, Proof, and Explanation) paragraph, you can litter the prompt with other words related to argument. Of course, the students are going to follow the pattern, but the prompt also teaches students something more about argument.
But keep this in mind: If you do this, you have to give your students a little freedom to move beyond PPE. Struggling writers will stick to the concrete pattern, while advanced writers will use that concrete pattern as something to build on. Some students will create exemplars that you can share with the class, which will inspire the entire class and raise the bar for everyone.
6. Adding More Skills to the Prompt: The more skills and vocabulary words that you teach your students, the more skills and vocabulary words you can add to the prompt. To be clear—there is no point in overwhelming students or confusing students.
7. Adding More Choices to the Prompt: In one sense, the more skills and vocabulary words that we add to the prompt, the more choices we are adding. When a writer chooses to use one skill, it may prevent the writer from using a different skill. A writer can only use so many skills at the same time to make a point.
Teachers can add words and vocabulary with the intent of creating choices and encouraging students to think about the subject content from different angles.
e.g., This prompt topic relates to cause-and-effect, process, benefits-and-consequence, and what we should do (argument). Be sure to use one or more of these concepts in your writing.
8. Adding in Six Traits: Teachers can also add in Six-Traits writing skills to their prompts. In fact, teachers can structure their writing prompts around the Six Traits.
9. Don’t Confuse Students: If students don’t understand what you are talking about, you either need to simplify, back up, or teach what you are talking about. Don’t create a battle of wills—it’s a waste of time. On the other hand, students don’t need to be able to define every word you throw out. Put simply, if you frequently use the phrase “logical connection,” students are going to think about that as they write. It will make them think deeper and make them more selective in their choices.
10. Scaffold Prewriting: Within reason, no writing prompt is too difficult or too complex for students if the teacher is willing to scaffold the writing with prewriting. Do you have one or two chalkboards? If so, you can review a great deal of subject content and teach a great deal about writing in 10-15 minutes. Furthermore, at the end of that time, every student will have something to write about.
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Eight Tips for Creating Writing Prompts Across the Curriculum
Once again, teaching writing across the curriculum is a skill, and creating writing prompts that teach both writing and subject content is also a skill. Here are eight tips to help teachers create better writing prompts across the curriculum.
1. Teach Two Things: Teach two things: 1) Teach content, and 2) Teach writing. To do this, create writing prompts that target both.
2. Teaching-Writing Purpose: Have a teaching-writing purpose and objective for giving the writing prompt. Be sure to look over The Definitive List of Writing and Grammar Skills and think about what writing and grammar skills you want to teach your students.
3. Teaching-Content Purpose: Have a teaching-content purpose and objective for giving the writing prompt. Every subject is ready-made for you to connect to writing. Most often, when we teach a writing skill across the curriculum, we are teaching content. However, teachers must make the content/writing connection clear and have a goal of teaching both.
4. Simple, Yet Complex: Make the prompt simple, yet complex. Make it simple enough that students understand it and can write about it confidently, but complex enough that students will engage in new thoughts and new ways of thinking.
5. Vary the Types of Assignments: Vary the type and purpose of your writing prompts. This is quite easy for teachers who have a checklist of writing skills that they want to teach their students across the curriculum. Teachers should also consider all of the important genres that they want to teach and learn how to combine them with format genres and adjectival genres.
6. Vary the Length of Assignments: Think about writing and writing prompts at the sentence level, the paragraph level, and the whole composition level. Teachers can also create time-based assignments where students must do their best work in the time allowed.
7. Released Writing Prompts: Download and study a few collections of released writing prompts from state writing assessments. Learn how these writing prompts are structured: e.g., the writing situation, the writing task, keywords, genres, transactive purpose, etc. Although it’s not practical to format every writing prompt this way, teachers can learn a lot from understanding these prompts. Furthermore, teachers should format some writing prompts this way so that students understand them and are comfortable with them.
8. Be Prepared: Be prepared. Do not create writing prompts on the spur of the moment. Truthfully, it’s not difficult to create effective writing prompts on the spur of the moment. In fact, it’s because it’s so easy that I advise against it. Although it can work, it creates a haphazard environment that students pick up on. Instead, be mindful and purposeful in your approach to teaching both the content and the writing.As you plan your lessons and as you teach content, think about which writing skills are inherently parts of the subject. Point this out to students and discuss this as you teach the content.
Ten Goals for Teaching Writing Across the Curriculum
When we create writing prompts to teach writing across the curriculum, we have two primary goals: 1) teach writing, and 2) teach subject content. However, teaching writing across the curriculum is much more than this. It’s a way of thinking about all of the language arts, and it’s a way of running a writing classroom. With that in mind, here are a few more goals that we may want to consider as we create writing prompts across the curriculum:
1. We want to teach writing.
2. We want to teach subject content.
3. We want to use our time wisely by teaching content and writing at the same time.
4. We want to get our reluctant writers writing.
5. We want our students to develop the habit of writing every day.
6. We want to develop our students’ thinking and critical thinking skills.
7. We want to create a reading-writing connection and improve our students’ overall language skills.
8. We want to generate interest in writing and inspire creative thinking.
9. We want to prepare our students for a writing assessment.
10. We want to teach a specific writing skill or a specific set of writing skills.
More Resources for Teaching Writing Across the Curriculum
1. Nine Strategies for Teaching Writing Across the Curriculum
2. The Definitive List of Writing and Grammar Skills
4. Pattern Based Writing: Quick & Easy Essay: You will create the foundation and framework that makes teaching writing across the curriculum easy!
