Everything You need to address the Common Core State Standards or STAAR requirements in writing:

The Essential Guides to Writing for Grades 2, 3, 4 and 5 – Teaching students to write with confidence and read with purpose

As standards change and the expectations for students to write more, in a variety of genres, at younger ages becomes the norm, teachers have to ask, “Is it possible to expand the scope and breadth of what we’re teaching and expect the same level of mastery from students across the board?” Narrative writing, expository or informational writing, responses to texts, both literary and informational, opinion pieces, writing informed by research, the friendly letter, poetry…can we expect youngsters to do it all well, all at once?

With the Essential Guides to Writing, Empowering Writers provides breadth and depth by delivering comprehensive background and lessons in every genre, woven thematically throughout the year. Each month the Essential Guides to Writing include detailed lesson plans with clear objectives, foundational lessons in all genres (narrative, expository, opinion, persuasive) research, revision and process writing activities, and tools for building the reading-writing connection. Mentor texts, student writing samples, and literature connections are included. These Essential Guides also give teachers the power to “make it their own” by dropping their own content material into their lesson prototypes.