Empowering Writers' Philosophy and Approach
All of us at Empowering Writers believe that writing well is not simply an innate gift or talent. Every student, when provided with concepts, skills, and practice opportunities, can become an empowered writer. In order to nurture students’ growth, we must provide them with consistent, assured writing experiences, building upon one another in a logical, sequential fashion. All writers need to understand the underlying structure and framework on which good writing is built, and into which creativity is poured. The resulting piece of writing should be powerful and deeply satisfying for the author, and meaningful and effective for the reader. Too often, in the instruction of writing, there is a lack of consistency across and between grade levels in regard to specific writing skills, common vocabulary, and learning outcomes. Our approach, as presented in our workshops and resource materials, involves whole class instruction, teacher modeling, guided practice opportunities, a logical scope and sequence for instruction, and clear, measurable expectations. Our lively presentations, sprinkled with warmth, humor and real-world techniques, are engaging audiences nationwide. More importantly, the results are helping to spark the imaginations of our next generation of young writers.