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Home to School Connection

The bridge from the classroom to the kitchen table, so families can see what their student is learning and help at home, in English and in Spanish.

Purpose

This page is the bridge from the classroom to home, so families can see what their student is learning.

Every family page comes in English and in Spanish.

Open the family materials for your student's grade. Use the Family Connection pages for a short conversation at home each module.

Writing grows fastest when home and school pull together. The Parent and Family Portal gives families a clear picture of the writing journey and simple ways to support it, and our Family Connection pages send one short, friendly activity home for every module, in both English and Spanish.

Parent Explanation Packet

A warm welcome to The Writing Academy family and a plain guide to everything your student does, how it connects, and why, with a link to each part.

Open the packet (PDF)

Grade 3 Grade 4 Grade 5

Grade 3 Home Connection

A Family Packet for every module, in English and Spanish. A five-minute conversation that carries the learning home, never a pile of assignments.

This page holds one Family Packet for every Grade 3 module, in English and in Spanish.

Open any module to print or view its Family Packet in English or Spanish: a family letter, a tip sheet on how to help without giving the answer, key words, the thinking tool your student uses, conversation starters and a family activity, what strong work looks like, and a progress at home checklist.

Prepare (4 family packets)

Module 1: One Topic, Different Writing Jobs English Español
Module 2: Match the Writing Job to the Genre English Español
Module 3: Plan the Path Before the Draft English Español
Module 4: From Plan to Finished Piece English Español

Cluster 1 (4 family packets)

Module 1: Shaping the Prompt English Español
Module 2: Writing a Thesis English Español
Module 3: Selecting Strong Evidence English Español
Module 4: Explaining Evidence English Español

Cluster 2 (4 family packets)

Module 1: Shaping the Prompt with TREES English Español
Module 2: Writing the Thesis, the Trunk of the Tree English Español
Module 3: The First Branch, a Reason or a Way English Español
Module 4: The Second Branch, the Evidence English Español

Cluster 3 (4 family packets)

Module 1: Reading the Prompt Closely English Español
Module 2: What Is the Prompt Really Asking? English Español
Module 3: Strong Reasons for a Why Question English Español
Module 4: Making the Parts Fit Together English Español

Cluster 4 (4 family packets)

Module 1: Reading Between the Lines English Español
Module 2: Explaining How Something Happens English Español
Module 3: Starting with a Plan English Español
Module 4: The Sentence That Leads to Proof English Español

Cluster 5 (4 family packets)

Module 1: Connecting Two Texts English Español
Module 2: How Are They Alike and Different? English Español
Module 3: Wrapping It Up English Español
Module 4: Seeing the Whole Paper English Español

Cluster 6 (4 family packets)

Module 1: Making a Claim English Español
Module 2: Backing Up the Claim English Español
Module 3: The Whole Argument English Español
Module 4: Writing a Persuasive Letter English Español

Cluster 7 (4 family packets)

Module 1: Stepping Into a Poem English Español
Module 2: Whose Voice Is This? English Español
Module 3: The Words That Stay With You English Español
Module 4: Why the Poem Matters English Español

Cluster 8 (4 family packets)

Module 1: From Resource to Evidence English Español
Module 2: From Question to Solution English Español
Module 3: Choices, Service, and Memory English Español
Module 4: One Paper, One Proof, One Community English Español

Grade 4 Home Connection

A Family Packet for every module, in English and Spanish. A five-minute conversation that carries the learning home, never a pile of assignments.

This page holds one Family Packet for every Grade 4 module, in English and in Spanish.

Prepare (4 family packets)

Module 1: The Writer’s Job Comes First English Español
Module 2: The Same Idea, Many Jobs English Español
Module 3: Choose the Route and the Planning Strategy English Español
Module 4: Independent Genre Decision and Transfer English Español

Cluster 1 (4 family packets)

Module 1: Level Up Your Thinking English Español
Module 2: Build a Strong Thesis English Español
Module 3: Prove It with Strong Evidence English Español
Module 4: Make the Evidence Mean Something English Español

Cluster 2 (4 family packets)

Module 1: Growing the Tree English Español
Module 2: Writing Thesis Statements English Español
Module 3: Organizing Reasons and Ways English Español
Module 4: Choosing Evidence English Español

Cluster 3 (4 family packets)

Module 1: Your First Full TREES Response English Español
Module 2: Recognizing Relational Prompt Types English Español
Module 3: Magnifying Many Ideas into Three Reasons English Español
Module 4: Matching Reasons, Evidence & Explanation English Español

Cluster 4 (4 family packets)

Module 1: The CREATURES Foundation English Español
Module 2: Argument and Thinking English Español
Module 3: Understanding Others and Rebuttal English Español
Module 4: Ending and Significance English Español

Cluster 5 (4 family packets)

Module 1: Building the Evidence Bridge English Español
Module 2: HOW Ideas Connect and Differ English Español
Module 3: The RRR Conclusion Paragraph English Español
Module 4: Seeing the Structure Through Color English Español

Cluster 6 (4 family packets)

Module 1: If You Have to Decide, Declare the Why English Español
Module 2: Magnify One Claim into Three Reasons English Español
Module 3: Finishing the Argument with CREATURES English Español
Module 4: Beginning and Ending an Argumentative Letter English Español

Cluster 7 (4 family packets)

Module 1: Paths Connect People English Español
Module 2: People Carry More Than Things English Español
Module 3: Connections Create Change English Español
Module 4: What Will We Carry Forward? English Español

Cluster 8 (4 family packets)

Module 1: PLACE: Where Does Change Begin? English Español
Module 2: Turning Possibility Into Change English Español
Module 3: What Lasts, and How Do We Know? English Español
Module 4: Synthesis: What Shapes Our World? English Español

Grade 5 Home Connection

A Family Packet for every module, in English and Spanish. A five-minute conversation that carries the learning home, never a pile of assignments.

This page holds one Family Packet for every Grade 5 module, in English and in Spanish.

Prepare (4 family packets)

Module 1: The Writing Job Comes Before the Format English Español
Module 2: Purpose and Audience Change the Response English Español
Module 3: Choose the Route and the Planning HABIT English Español
Module 4: Independent Genre Decision and Transfer English Español

Cluster 1 (4 family packets)

Module 1: Understanding and Upgrading Thinking Levels in WHY and HOW Responses English Español
Module 2: Writing a Strong Thesis (Central Idea) Using TOPIC, CHARGE, and ANSWER English Español
Module 3: Using Evidence to Support Thinking English Español
Module 4: Writing the Explanation Sentence English Español

Cluster 2 (4 family packets)

Module 1: Understanding the Structure of an ECR through the TREE Model and Prompt Analysis English Español
Module 2: Writing Strong Thesis (Central Idea) Statements with the Three Required Parts English Español
Module 3: The Reason/Way Branch of the ECR Tree - Magnifying Reasons and Ways into Baskets English Español
Module 4: The Evidence Branch of the ECR Tree Choosing Evidence with CSI English Español

Cluster 3 (4 family packets)

Module 1: Building the Full ECR English Español
Module 2: Hidden WHY and HOW Prompt Clues English Español
Module 3: Magnifying WHY Reasons into Topic Sentences English Español
Module 4: Proving Reasons with Evidence and Explanation English Español

Cluster 4 (4 family packets)

Module 1: Building the Argumentative Foundation with Claim, Reasons, and Evidence English Español
Module 2: Turning Parts into a Coherent Line of Argument with Thinking English Español
Module 3: Understanding Others and Building an Evidence-Based Rebuttal English Español
Module 4: Completing the Argument with Ending, Significance, and the Full CREATURES Response English Español

Cluster 5 (4 family packets)

Module 1: Balanced Evidence Across Paired Passages English Español
Module 2: HOW Responses - Similarities, Differences, and Relationships English Español
Module 3: Building a Conclusion That Finishes the Thinking English Español
Module 4: Color Coding the Exemplar and Controlling the Whole Paper English Español

Cluster 6 (4 family packets)

Module 1: Decision Prompts, Claim, Reasons, and Evidence - C - R - E English Español
Module 2: Coherent Argument and Thinking - A T English Español
Module 3: Understanding, Rebuttal, Ending, and Significance - U - R - E - S English Español
Module 4: Full CREATURES in Argumentative Correspondence for a Real Audience English Español

Cluster 7 (4 family packets)

Module 1: NOTICE, QUESTION, SPEAK English Español
Module 2: Voices and Responses English Español
Module 3: Evidence Can Change the Story English Español
Module 4: Informed Voices Create Responsible Change English Español

Cluster 8 (4 family packets)

Module 1: Challenge and Question English Español
Module 2: Evidence and Choice English Español
Module 3: Action, Consequence, and Revision English Español
Module 4: Synthesis and Publication English Español