Comprehensive Writing Curriculum

1. Schools/Districts/Teachers sign up. 2. A registration link is emailed to the administrator, which needs to be forwarded to the writing teachers.

3. Teachers create a class (only a few clicks) and an assignment (again, just a few clicks), then share the assignment link to students. Alternatively, teachers can simply show the video lessons whole-group.

4. After completing the series of lessons within a genre study, students in all grades, ideally grades 2-8, can upload their paper and highlight specific portions of their paper that meet the rubric components. This further builds the concepts and analytical skills, while helping teachers with the grading process.

5. While providing a nurturing, respectful classroom environment, teachers can display and discuss student work whole-class, providing rich classroom discussions. Research shows that increased learning is achieved within the context of peer examples.

6. Teachers administer the assessment.

All you need is a browser through a laptop, desktop, or tablet.  

Your IT Department will NOT need to implement or maintain EDCON, but may need to disable the firewall for edcon.us. 

In the classroom setting, students will need headphones.

Although not necessary, for optimal results, it’s ideal that students in grades 2-8 have some kind of word processing program, such as Google Docs, Microsoft Word, or Mac Pages.

EDCON’s research-based program follows State writing standards (primarily Common Core) , the Six Traits of Writing, the Writing Process (Plan, Research, Outline, Draft, Revise, Edit), and systematic instruction (objective, direct instruction, modeling, practice, partner share, self-assessment with the rubric).

The number of lessons per genre study varies per grade level, for example, there are about six lessons for TK and 17 lessons for 8th grade.  Similarly, the duration per lesson varies, ranging from 5-20 minutes, which can also vary if students adjust the playback speed.  Because students are required to pause the video to complete specified tasks, a single lesson takes 20-60 minutes to complete.  Ideally, students progress through each genre study 1-3 times with different topics in a school year.

Since EDCON genre studies are meant to be completed in consecutive days, teachers will need to devote sections of the school year to writing, ideally half of the ELA time.  For grades PreK-1, EDCON can be implemented easily with the ELA program daily within a one-hour block (30 minutes each).  For grades 2-8, EDCON lessons need 45-60 minutes, which means teachers will need to devote the entire one-hour block to writing–Ideally, this would be done half the school year.  If the ELA block is closer to two hours daily, then EDCON can be implemented daily throughout the year.

Compatible with any ELA curriculum, EDCON replaces/supplements the “Essay Writing” section.  Typically, ELA programs lack the instruction and resources teachers and students need to complete well-written essays–This is where EDCON meets these needs.  Since EDCON genre studies are meant to be completed in consecutive days, teachers will need to devote sections of the school year to writing, ideally half of the ELA time.  For grades PreK-1, EDCON can be implemented easily with the ELA program daily within a one-hour block (30 minutes each).  For grades 2-8, EDCON lessons need 45-60 minutes, which means teachers will need to devote the entire one-hour block to writing–Ideally, this would be done half the school year.  If the ELA block is closer to two hours daily, then EDCON can be implemented daily throughout the year.  

The following concepts build with each grade level:

Engage and orient the reader by establishing a context and point of view and introducing a narrator and characters; organize an event sequence that unfolds naturally and logically.

Use narrative techniques, such as dialogue, pacing, description, and reflection, to develop experiences, events, and characters.

Use a variety of transitional words, phrases, and clauses to convey sequence, signal shifts from one time frame or setting to another, and show the relationships among experiences and events.

Use precise words and phrases, relevant descriptive details, and sensory language to capture the action and convey experiences and events.

Provide a conclusion that follows from and reflects on the narrated experiences or events.

With some guidance and support from peers and adults, develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach, focusing on how well purpose and audience have been addressed.

The following concepts build with each grade level:

Use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing and link to and cite sources.

Introduce a thesis statement clearly, previewing what is to follow; organize ideas, concepts, and information into broader categories; include formatting (e.g., headings), graphics (e.g., charts,
tables), and multimedia when useful to aiding comprehension.

Use credible sources to develop the topic with relevant, well-chosen facts, definitions, concrete details, quotations, and examples.

Follow MLA format for citation to quote/paraphrase data and conclusions of others while avoiding plagiarism.

Use appropriate and varied transitions to create cohesion and clarify the relationships among
ideas and concepts.

Use precise language and domain-specific vocabulary to inform about or explain the topic.

Establish and maintain a formal style.

Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from and supports the information or explanation presented.

With some guidance and support from peers and adults, develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach, focusing on how well
purpose and audience have been addressed.

The following concepts build with each grade level:

Use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing and link to and cite sources.

Introduce claim(s), acknowledge and distinguish the claim(s) from alternate or opposing claims, and organize the reasons and evidence logically.

Support claim(s) with logical reasoning and relevant evidence, using accurate, credible sources and demonstrating an understanding of the topic or text.

Follow MLA format for citation to quote/paraphrase data and conclusions of others while avoiding plagiarism.

Use a variety of transitional words, phrases, and clauses to create cohesion and clarify the relationships among claim(s), counterclaims, reasons, and evidence.

Establish and maintain a formal style.

Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from and supports the
opinion/argument presented.

With some guidance and support from peers and adults, develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach, focusing on how well
purpose and audience have been addressed.