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Up the Ladder Writing

The Up the Ladder Writing units are designed for children in grades 3–6 who may not yet have had many opportunities to practice writing narrative, information, and opinion writing, or might not have had those experiences in workshop-style classrooms. These units provide children opportunities to engage in repeated successful practice and to move rapidly along a gradually increasing progression of challenges. The Up the Ladder Units:

  • give less experienced writers intense writing practice within a short timeframe

  • teach foundational primary-grade strategies through content, topics, and mentor texts that are appropriate for grades 3–6

  • include concise, accessible student checklists and guidelines for daily assessment

  • support teachers with an introduction to the workshop framework and writing process, tips and strategies for classroom management, and video demonstrations of the minilessons

  • engage young people in work that is demanding yet attainable

  • ensure that students make rapid and dramatic progress toward grade-level writing work.

Units of Study

There are three Up the Ladder Writing units, each containing 20–22 sessions. Each unit focuses on a different genre of writing: Narrative, information, and Opinion. 

A Guide to the Up the Ladder Units 

Orients you to the Up the Ladder Writing units, providing guidance on the essential principles, methods, and structures of effective writing workshop instruction.

Online Resources

Include downloadable charts, paper-choice templates, samples of student work, student checklists, links to digital texts, and provides QR code links at point-of-use within each minilesson with demonstration videos featuring Staff Developers. 

While the Up the Ladder units are designed to be precursors to the grade-level Units of Study in Opinion, Information, and Narrative Writing, 3­­–6, they can be helpful in a variety of instructional settings.

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