With support from the Pew Foundation and OERI (Office of Educational Research and Improvement), America’s Choice developed Writing Aviator over many years based on the research on writing instruction and the internationally benchmarked New Standards Performance Standards.

Writing Aviator incorporates groundbreaking work in reading, writing, speaking, and listening expectations, including the Writing Next report.

• Daily practice. Students write daily, and they write a lot. Regular practice, intensive instruction, and revision—a crucial but often neglected element of writing in school—help them become better writers.

• Apprenticeship. Students learn the writing process from true experts: writers themselves. Students and teachers study exemplary writing and the techniques of highly regarded authors. Research shows that this apprenticeship model of instruction, in which novices learn by studying and emulating experts, is highly effective.

• A content-rich curriculum. Through genre and author studies, Writing Aviator teaches content that is the foundation of good writing—and good thinking, which extends beyond the writing classroom to other disciplines. With genre studies, students learn how to organize their texts, convey their thinking, and use language to communicate effectively. They study and produce narratives, reports, and persuasive pieces. With author studies, students learn how real writers make their meaning clear and learn to apply effective writing strategies in their own work. This content-rich curriculum connects reading and writing, which research strongly suggests are related skills, and helps students write well across the curriculum.

• Effective practices for English language learners and special populations. Writing Aviator’s built-in classroom management structure enables teachers to work with small groups or individual students, which is the perfect setting to differentiate instruction and target specific language needs. The class also builds in time for collaboration and presentations, so students can improve their English oral language skills and vocabulary as an everyday, in-class routine—exactly what the research recommends for building English proficiency, even for beginning English language learners.