The planned core course
16 modules, 80 planned lessons.
One canonical course for grades 6, 7, 8, built in five phases. You can read every planned lesson objective before paying a cent.
- Modules 01–03
Starting, prompts, and thesis statements
- Modules 04–05
Paragraphs, evidence, and reasoning
- Modules 06–10
Informative, argument, literary, comparison, narrative
- Modules 11–12
Research, sources, and sentence craft
- Modules 13–16
Longer drafts, revision, school tasks, capstone
- Module 01
Starting without perfection
Create a small draft and a repeatable starting routine.
5 lessons in this module
- Words before sentences. Put an idea into words without waiting for polished sentences.
- A rough draft has a job. Distinguish getting an idea down from editing it.
- Say it, then capture it. Use informal explanation as a bridge to writing.
- Choose one idea. Select a workable idea instead of searching for the perfect one.
- My restart routine. Reuse a starting strategy on a fresh prompt.
- Module 02
Understanding the assignment
Translate an assignment into a short task card.
5 lessons in this module
- Find the action. Identify what an assignment asks the writer to do.
- Name the thing you are making. Distinguish a thesis statement, paragraph, essay, and narrative.
- Must do or could do?. Separate explicit requirements from optional writing advice.
- Audience and purpose. Adjust an explanation to the intended reader.
- Turn a prompt into steps. Create a manageable plan from a multi-part assignment.
- Module 03
Ideas and thesis statements
Write a useful controlling idea that answers the actual task.
5 lessons in this module
- Topic, thesis, and essay. Distinguish the subject from the main answer and the larger piece.
- Answer first, polish later. Draft a working answer before optimizing wording.
- An argument or an explanation?. Match the controlling idea to the purpose.
- Make the idea manageable. Narrow or qualify a statement so the piece can support it.
- More than one valid thesis. Recognize and write different valid forms of a controlling statement.
- Module 04
Building paragraphs
Develop a paragraph with a clear idea, relevant support, and explanation.
5 lessons in this module
- A paragraph needs a focus. Write a sentence that establishes the paragraph's central idea.
- Add support that belongs. Choose support relevant to the central idea.
- Explain, do not just list. Explain how a detail supports an idea.
- Make the ideas connect. Arrange sentences and transitions to show their relationship.
- Paragraph workshop. Build and revise one coherent paragraph.
- Module 05
Evidence and reasoning
Select, introduce, and explain evidence from a provided text.
5 lessons in this module
- Evidence is not just opinion. Distinguish a statement in a source from an unsupported personal assertion.
- Choose the strongest detail. Choose the detail that best supports a specific claim.
- Quote or paraphrase accurately. Represent a source accurately and credit it.
- Explain the connection. Develop reasoning between evidence and claim.
- A complete text-based response. Integrate a claim, evidence, and reasoning without treating a scaffold as the only format.
- Module 06
Informative writing
Explain a topic clearly without turning every explanation into an argument.
5 lessons in this module
- Explain rather than persuade. Write an informative controlling statement.
- Choose an organizing pattern. Choose a useful order for information.
- Develop the explanation. Add a definition, example, or concrete detail where it helps.
- Begin and end an explanation. Frame an informative piece without a required hook formula.
- Informative writing workshop. Assemble and revise a short informative piece.
- Module 07
Argument writing
Develop a supported position and engage fairly with another view.
5 lessons in this module
- A position and its reasons. Separate a position from the reasons supporting it.
- Support the reasons. Use relevant evidence rather than invented statistics.
- Represent another view fairly. State a plausible opposing view without mocking it.
- Respond and qualify. Respond to an opposing view using reasoning or a sensible limitation.
- Argument workshop. Create a supported argument with a purposeful structure.
- Module 08
Literary analysis
Explain an interpretation using evidence from an original instructional story.
5 lessons in this module
- Summary versus analysis. Distinguish recounting events from explaining their significance.
- Character and change. Infer a character's motivation or change using evidence.
- Theme is more than a topic. Express a supported thematic interpretation.
- A writer's choices. Explain the effect of word choice, perspective, setting, or imagery.
- Literary analysis workshop. Develop and support an interpretation.
- Module 09
Comparison and synthesis
Explain a meaningful relationship between two texts or ideas.
5 lessons in this module
- Choose a useful comparison. Identify a meaningful basis for comparing two texts or ideas.
- Pair the evidence. Select comparable details from both sources.
- Say what the relationship means. Write a controlling statement about a meaningful similarity, difference, or tension.
- Organize the comparison. Choose between point-by-point and block organization based on clarity.
- Synthesis workshop. Combine information into an insight rather than two separate summaries.
- Module 10
Narrative writing
Shape a focused real or imagined event with purposeful detail.
5 lessons in this module
- Choose a focused moment. Select a manageable real or imagined event.
- Build a scene. Use purposeful setting, perspective, and concrete detail.
- Dialogue and reflection. Use speech or thought to reveal character or move events forward.
- Control time and pace. Expand an important moment and compress less important events.
- Narrative workshop. Shape a coherent narrative with a fitting ending.
- Module 11
Research and source use
Ask a focused question and use a small, curated source packet responsibly.
5 lessons in this module
- Ask a researchable question. Narrow a broad topic into a question a small source set can answer.
- Check who says what. Evaluate authorship, purpose, date, evidence, and relevance.
- Take notes without copying. Distinguish exact quotations, paraphrases, and personal observations.
- Combine and credit sources. Integrate source information with consistent attribution.
- Mini research workshop. Answer a focused question using the source packet.
- Module 12
Sentence craft and conventions
Improve clarity and control without erasing the writer's voice.
5 lessons in this module
- Complete sentences and boundaries. Identify and repair a sentence-boundary issue when conventions are the target.
- Combine for meaning. Combine short sentences to show a specific relationship.
- Choose precise words. Replace vague language while preserving voice.
- Keep grammar consistent. Improve agreement, tense, or pronoun reference for the target context.
- Punctuation and final editing. Use a focused editing pass after revising meaning.
- Module 13
Planning longer writing
Expand a useful idea into a flexible, coherent multi-paragraph draft.
5 lessons in this module
- Plan the reader's path. Turn a prompt and main idea into an order of useful sections.
- A flexible outline. Use an outline as a tool rather than a rule about paragraph counts.
- Write an opening that helps. Draft an introduction that orients the reader and establishes focus.
- End with a purpose. Write a conclusion that follows from the piece.
- Assemble a full draft. Connect planned sections into a complete working piece.
- Module 14
Revision and editing
Make purposeful changes to meaning, organization, and then conventions.
5 lessons in this module
- Revise for the assignment. Check meaning and task alignment before grammar.
- Develop the thin part. Add explanation or support where the reader needs it.
- Revise organization. Move material and revise transitions to improve the logic.
- Cut and clarify. Remove repetition or unnecessary material without losing meaning.
- Revision before editing. Complete separate meaning and convention passes and describe their effects.
- Module 15
Transfer to school tasks
Use the same writing process with unfamiliar prompts and teacher requirements.
5 lessons in this module
- Short answers still have a job. Adapt the process to a brief text-dependent answer.
- In-class writing without a countdown. Plan, draft, and review under a chosen time budget.
- Use a teacher's rubric. Translate a specific rubric without substituting generic rules.
- Writing in another subject. Transfer explanation and evidence to a history or science task.
- Fresh-prompt transfer check. Apply a practiced writing skill without content-leading scaffolds.
- Module 16
Independent capstone
Complete a chosen piece and explain the decisions that improved it.
5 lessons in this module
- Choose and plan a capstone. Select a genre and turn its requirements into a workable plan.
- Draft one useful section. Begin the capstone with a manageable section.
- Complete the working draft. Connect the capstone's sections and check required source use.
- Revise with a purpose. Use the genre-specific rubric to make a substantive revision.
- Show growth and choose the next step. Reflect on writing decisions and identify a future practice goal.
Module and lesson titles are planning documents, not published course content. Lesson status is tracked per lesson in the authoring files.
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