Description

Formulated writing, like the writing RACE strategy, is a great way to explain to students the necessary components in any sort of constructed response. The most common — RACE, RACES, ACE, CER — are addressed in this guide.

Astute educators understand when students are ready to move past the formulas — when they become worksheets that simply get filled out, when the thinking portion of writing has lessened, or when the activity seems “overused.”

A transition is needed to move away from formulaic writing and into more natural structures. This guide helps you move students in that direction, no matter if you begin with RACE, RACES, ACE, or CER!

Simply choose the formula your school uses, then:

1. Use a mini-poster to review the components,

2. Use a template (printable) to help students draft a response to a text of your choice,

3. Review transition words for the components (and write a formulaic response, if you choose), then

4. Practice locating components within sample paragraphs.

When you’re ready for students to scramble their components:

5. Use the template (printable) to write the response components (can be the same as #2) and scramble them,

6. Then rewrite the response using components out of order. Use the checklists to make sure all the components are there!

If you don’t already use RACE, RACES, ACE, or CER, choose any that you’d like as a starting point!