What Happens in English Class Shouldn’t Stay There

There is an endless list of authentic tasks that students will need to engage with every day of their professional lives—from making a phone call to fellow experts and presenting to nonexperts, to reading technical instructions or reports and writing proposals or emailing inquiries. The ability to communicate many ideas to a variety of audiences with an ever-increasing range of tools is critical to any path students end up following, but the way schools engage with literacy skills leaves an enormous gap between what students are confident in, and what real life will expect from them.

Lapp, Grant, and Thayre want to eliminate this learning curve by expanding the narrow range of communication skills we empower students to become experts in. Using what you know about teaching language selection, tone, voice, audience, organization, and style, this guide will help you to broaden your students exposure and deepen their insights through:

Sample lessons
Rubrics and Notes
Tools and Activities
Professional Models
Dry-erase Reusable Outlines


Through a real-world lens, this guide is an engaging exploration of the most critical components of communication. It is the most effective way to transform your instruction into something that actually prepares students for writing beyond school.