Purpose:  The most successful teaching comes when the strategies you use connect to the beliefs you hold.  Especially in a time of mandates from individual school districts, states, and national organizations, it’s vitally important that teachers continually return to their underlying beliefs, trying to connect those beliefs to external standards and specific teaching strategies.  Otherwise, teaching can become a series of exercises, rather than a considered process.  Taking some time to chart out the connections among these, looking to see where there is a match and where there might be a mismatch, can help you develop a seamless and integrated approach to teaching writing.

1. Divide a paper into four columns, labeled “Beliefs,” “Strategies,”  “Standards,” and “School Policies.”
2. Begin a list of all the beliefs you hold about the teaching of writing (i.e., I believe students need choice of topics; I believe students need sufficient time to write; etc.) and write them in the first column.
3. In the second column, next to each Belief, list a few of the strategies you use in teaching writing which follow from those beliefs.
4. In the third column, next to the Belief and the Strategies, list—if you can--a related district, state, or national standard which aligns with those beliefs and strategies.
5. In the fourth column, list particular school policies (official or assumed) which connect to the beliefs, strategies, and standards.
6. Take a moment to look over your chart.  Are there spots where beliefs, strategies, standards, and policies mesh perfectly?  Are there gaps?  Where do the gaps occur?  Why do you think they occur?  What might those gaps indicate?

As you explore the resources offered in this kit take the time to revisit your chart.