Syntax first for writing, reading & thinking

Writing Is Thinking through strategic inquiry (WITsi) is an approach to closing literacy skill gaps through direct instruction in literacy strategies across the curriculum, and embedding them in the work of inquiry teams who analyze student work to see how the strategies have performed, make adjustments, and select and design appropriate instructional responses. WITsi incorporates and utilizes proven methods of school improvement, methods documented in The Atlantic’s “The Writing Revolution” (Oct, 2012) and in Strategic Inquiry: Getting Small for Big Results in Education (Harvard Education Press, 2013). WITsi was a prime turnaround strategy in NYC Renewal High Schools, as chronicled in Mind/Shift’s “Is it Time to Go Back to Basics with Writing Instruction?” (Feb 2017). Watch first hand testimonials about Strategic Inquiry in New York City’s Renewal High Schools. Read more about how the underlying approach to teaching writing works.

Currently we offer in-person and online workshops in Writing is Thinking (WIT). In 2024, we shifted the name of our syntax-based (sentence-level) strategies to Combinations. We did this to de-emphasize writing as an exclusive focus. In truth, Combinations capitalizes on the power of syntax to develop content knowledge, academic vocabulary, oral language, reading comprehension, academic writing and student thinking all at once. It is particularly powerful for English Learners, because it also teaches how the English language works. WIT 101: Combinations is based on ideas from our new book, Sentence Strategies for Multilingual Learners: Advancing Academic Literacy through Combinations.

Click on the videos below to learn about COMBINATIONS with newcomers at John Adams High School in Queens, New York.