Harris Elementary spotlights Writing Revolution approach in board meeting

Harris Elementary staff showcased classroom work to the Greenfield-Central Community Schools board, describing a district-supported professional development program called the Writing Revolution and how teachers have integrated it across subjects.

A Harris teacher (speaker 3) said the two-day virtual training over the summer renewed teachers’ enthusiasm for writing instruction and stressed that “writing is not taught in isolation,” but is integrated throughout reading, math and other lessons. The teacher listed current Q1 texts used with K–3 students, including Seed Stash and Cranberry Crop, and said interactive read-alouds helped students connect fiction and nonfiction material to writing tasks.

Mrs. Hollars (speaker 5) described specific classroom practices: students begin with a short “kernel sentence” in morning work, then expand it using question words (how, when, where) and later use those expansions to produce scaffolded, structured writing pieces. She said the approach includes sentence starters and drawing prompts to make writing more meaningful and accessible for early learners.

Several students were invited to read their pieces, and Principal of Harris Elementary (speaker 4) thanked teachers, students and families for supporting the work. The principal said the approach builds background knowledge and reading comprehension that students can write about, and described Harris as “a proud part of the GC community.”

The spotlight concluded with board appreciation; no board action was taken on the curricular demonstration, which presenters said will continue districtwide in K–3 classrooms.