Beyond the Paragraph: Teaching Writing in Middle School with Structure
If you're tired of guessing how to teach writing in middle school, you're in the right place. Robin Mellom is a veteran ELA teacher and published author of over ten children’s books with Disney, HarperCollins, and Houghton Mifflin. She brings the clarity and structure you've been craving without the gimmicks.
Hosted by Robin Mellom, author, middle school teacher, and creator of the Structured Writer’s Workshop™, each episode delivers practical, classroom-tested strategies that work in grades 4–8.
Learn how to implement evidence-based writing routines, like CER (Claim, Evidence, Reasoning), build lasting writing habits, and engage students in meaningful work that actually sticks.
Best of all, they will learn how to write like the pros!
Beyond the Paragraph: Teaching Writing in Middle School with Structure
The Science of Writing: My Hunt for Research-Based Writing Instruction in Middle School Ep. 11
This episode is the audio from one of my most popular YouTube videos, so if you hear me say “look at this” or reference something on screen, don’t worry! I've linked the full video below!
In this deep dive, I unpack what I discovered after listening to the Sold a Story podcast and asking myself a big question: Where’s the research on writing instruction? Spoiler alert: it’s complicated. But I share what I found, what’s missing, and what we can do right now to teach writing with more clarity and confidence.
You’ll also hear:
- What the 10 essential components of effective writing instruction are
- Why sentence combining is a powerhouse strategy
- The surprising research around grammar instruction (and what to do instead)
- And the one line from Mel Robbins that changed everything for me
🔗 Watch the full video with visuals on YouTube:
The Science of Writing - My Hunt for RESEARCH-based Writing Instruction in Middle School
Thoughts? Questions? Send me a text message!
➡️ Learn more about the FULL Structured Writing training PD
📆 Grab my yearlong writing planner for free (it includes my eBook!)
🎥 Watch the teaching strategies in action on YouTube
📝 Read the latest blog posts for writing tips & ideas
HAVE A QUESTION? Email me at robin@structuredwritingteacher.com