Taking the next “Step…..Up to Writing”
By Bruce Lumb, 2003 Exchange Teacher
Before my teacher exchange to Colorado I had always been a little frustrated trying to teach
writing. While in Colorado I found a program operating that gives students a real structure and
teaches them the skills necessary to write well. It worked, and for the first time I felt that I was
really teaching writing.
Background
I started teaching (too long ago) in the good old days of “Composition” where one brainstormed
lots of words and then hoped they would somehow get strung together into some semblance of
a story. The ideas seemed to be there but the results were mostly disappointing.
Then we had the era where children were just expected to write. No ideas, no structure – just
write. Some children did wonderfully well: usually the good readers, for they at least had a
model to follow.
At present in NSW we have a system where structure is taught and I believe this has been a
wonderful step forward in helping children write. They had some assistance in planning their
work, however, I was still frustrated by struggling to help the child who just couldn’t get started
or who had wonderful ideas but just couldn’t seem to get it together. “I know I have to write an
opening statement….but how?”
I believe the program Step Up to Writing that I saw operating in Colorado has some excellent
strategies that could really complement our current methods.
History
Step Up was developed by Maureen E. Auman, a Denver Colorado teacher now working as an
educational consultant. “She created the Step Up to Writing program to empower educators to
help all students meet or exceed state standards in reading and writing.”
Summit School District, along with many other school districts in Colorado, have taken on Step
Up to Writing as their preferred method of teaching writing and results have been impressive.
Scores in the battery of tests used in Colorado to measure student progress demonstrate that
schools using Step Up strategies are making great progress.
The Program
Step up To Writing teaches children, in a very structured way, to plan and execute their writing.
It is a program designed for high school and college students as well as elementary students.
The Step Up to Writing manual is full of ideas and resources for teaching all aspects of the
writing process. There is a wealth of material covering a huge range of topics.
Topics treated in the program include:
 Paragraphs for Expository Writing
 Paragraphs for Specific Purposes
 Multi paragraph papers
 Speech writing
 Narratives and Creative Writing
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
Improving and Scoring Student Work
Active Reading and Listening
Taking Notes
The Step Up to Writing Methods
Guide students as they:
 Learn to write clear, concise, organized papers
 Organize and plan a story
Teach students to:
 Focus their ideas by writing great topic sentences and thesis statements
 Connect ideas by using a variety of transitions
 Write leads for stories and use story transitions effectively
Help students:
 Establish a sense of order and control over the information they include in a paper
 Write entertaining and detailed narratives
Require students to:
 Include accurate reasons, details, or facts to support their topic
 Give examples and explanations for any details, reasons, or facts they include
 Write conclusions that stay on topic and are helpful to their readers
 Write endings that leave readers with feelings and ideas to ponder
Give students:
 The guidance, support, and direction they need to become successful writers
I was particularly impressed with the teaching of expository writing. What attracted me was the
fact that this type of writing is the one most required in test situations. The structure and
methods taught gave students an edge in answering such questions.
Do I hear someone ask, “With all this structure, what about creativity???” Various people
commented to me that when the children have a structure that works then they don’t have to
worry about the mechanics, they could then get as creative as they like. There is insufficient
space here to provide the detail required to really do justice to the program. However, I have
provided some detail and a few examples that may interest people enough to have them
investigate this program more fully.
The following are excerpts from the Manual.
Step Up recognizes two types of writing
Narrative Writing – tells a story
Expository Writing – gives information
Uses Colours
Visualizing the colours of a traffic light makes it easier to organize information or ideas.
GREEN – GO – State your topic. Write a topic sentence
YELLOW – Slow down! Be specific. Give a reason, detail or fact. Use a transition.
RED – Stop! Explain. Give examples.
GREEN – Go back! Restate your topic.
Accordion Paragraphs. When writing an expository paragraph use paragraphs that can
expand to fit the number of reasons, details or facts you may have.
6 Sentence Paragraph
Topic Sentence
Reason/detail/fact
- Explain
Reason/detail/fact
- Explain
Conclusion
7 Sentence paragraph
Topic Sentence
Reason/detail/fact
- Explain
Reason/detail/fact
-Explain
Reason/detail/fact
-Explain
Conclusion
LISTS OF WORDS
Step Up provides lists of words that assist children with their writing. Examples below.
Topic Sentences
Occasion/Position Statements – used when you have a reason for writing or you prove or
explain something.
Starter words: After, Although, As, Before, Even though, If, Since, Unless, Whenever, While
e.g. After researching facts on feral animals in Australia I am convinced that cats have no place
on our continent.
Power/ (Number) Statements
Number words: Two, Three, Four, Several, A number of, A couple, Some, A few, Many
e.g. There are several reasons why I think cats should be neutered at birth.
Action Verb Statements
e.g. My friends and I love surfing the point at Arrawarra.
Where or When + What’s Happening Statements
(Where + what’s happening) At Cascade F.S.C. we explored an old timer mill.
(When + what’s happening) Last week we visited New England National Park.
And, But, and Or Statements – Use these conjunctions to help you write your topic sentence.
Conjunctions: and, but, so or, nor, yet
e.g. To stay healthy, we need to eat the right foods, so we should make smart decisions about
the snacks we choose.
Compare/Contrast Statements – Use one of the topic sentence methods. Include compare
contrast word.
Compare/contrast words: Difference, in common, differences, the same, better, unlike, similar,
alike, worse
e.g. My cousins look alike, but they have many differences.
Transitions
Firstly > secondly > finally
One > Another > Most importantly
A good > A better > The best
First > In addition > Equally important
Conclusions
In fact, Obviously, To sum up, Truly, Definitely, Certainly, In conclusion, All in all, Surely, Clearly
RUBRICS
Step Up includes rubrics for the assessment of student’s work. There is a rubric for Narratives
and Stories as well as one for Paragraph, Report and Essay Writing. The use of rubrics makes
for more consistent teacher judgment as the evaluation is more objective.
Even though I’ve barely scratched the surface of the manual I’m already seeing results with my
students back here in Australia. They already had the structure for an Exposition but they now
have the topic sentences to suit and the accordion paragraph structure to follow. They’ve
almost convinced me that cats aren’t bad after all.
For those wanting more details you can visit the Read Write connection on the Web site –
www.readwriteconnect.com or www.stepuptowriting.com