by Marijane Suttor

Created on: June 16, 2009   Last Updated: October 11, 2010

Writing across the curriculum has been a trend for the last decade in education. There is a greater push for communication curriculum to be incorporated in all levels and areas of subject matter. Gone are the days when the English teacher was the only one that worked on writing with students. In classrooms today, students write in all curriculum areas.

Writing can easily be incorporated in all curriculum areas without taking away from their student's learning in their subject matter . If incorporated correctly, writing across the curriculum can be seen as an asset to the classroom instead of something uncomfortable or a burden. These are some simple tips that teachers can use to incorporate writing in a variety of curriculum areas.

Sentence Writing

Instead of incorporating long writing assignments, consider using smaller types of writing. An easy way is to have students write a one sentence definition of a term that is being studied in the classroom. Reinforce that the sentence has the basic parts of the structure such as correct capitalization, punctuation, and spelling, as well as content. This can be an ice breaker at the beginning of class or an exit slip out of class.

Note card Journal

Another method is the note card journal. What makes the note card journal successful is that it is a small piece of writing. Often times, students write between 35-50 words on the card, which makes a smaller amount to read for the teacher and less daunting for the student who doesn't want to write for other classes. Often text books have writing prompts at the end of lessons or chapters. These can be used as journal topics. Students can write reactions to what is being studied in class or can reflect on what they learned in a lesson. It can also be a place where students can ask the teacher questions about what they didn't understand. It can be a great way to communicate with the teacher, which is what writing should be about.

Power Points

A fantastic way to incorporate writing is to have students prepare power points about particular topics related to the curriculum. By writing the slides the students are reinforcing their writing and communication skills. Students usually need to incorporate the skills of organization and outlining when they create power points.

Poetry

One may think of poetry as writing that would strictly be for English, but it can easily be incorporated into other curriculum areas. For the teachers that are uncomfortable with

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