In response to the principal's challenge to create a stronger curriculum, the faculty members divided into four groups, each responsible for developing a plan to meet one of the four grant objectives. At a meeting in November 1991, the school faculty adopted all four plans. During the rest of the school year, the teachers received training in the various stages of the writing process, the eight domains of writing specified in the California assessment program, writing across the curriculum, and the use of portfolios to conduct holistic writing assessments. They also began to implement the changes described below. Writing Across the Curriculum Teaching the writing process.
Students practice the writing process in all their classes.
Most teachers hang posters showing these stages in their classrooms. Writing in all classes. Students write extensively in all of their classes. In science, for example, students complete a writing assignment at the end of each unit. Eighth graders studying the heart are asked to write a problem-solution paper about tobacco.