Teachers are writers. From unit 
plans to activity directions to parent emails, the words teachers choose and the order in which they assemble words are powerful decisions creating published works. If you are a teacher, you are published. Each activity you design goes to the readers on your class roster and to parents monitoring their children’s work. Every email you write becomes part of the subject-student’s educational record and could become part of your professional portfolio. Dedicating some time to developing your craft as a teacher-writer will not only improve your classroom activities but improve your communications, as well.
Seven Steps For Simplifying And Clarifying Communications
The following list of craft suggestions comes from my development as a writer and my work with student teachers whom needed directions and communications polished quickly. This is by no means an exhaustive list, but it can help tighten activity descriptions, communications, or presentations with just a few minutes devoted to revision:
1) Remove the word “that”– an overused and relatively useless word;
2) Avoid using dependent clauses to introduce sentences when writing for young readers;
3) Use the active voice and avoid the verb forms of “to be;”
4) Identify sequential steps and present these as bullet lists;
5) Simplify compound sentences and run-ons through division or revision;
6) Replace prepositional phrases using “of” with possessives when appropriate;
7) Use well-structured paragraphs to reinforce logical thinking and comprehension (topic, body, and concluding sentences).
Consider the following example. This paragraph came from the rough draft of a decision-making warm-up activity involving the use of a t-table:
Decision-making is an important skill that everyone should have. Important decisions are made by leaders after thinking carefully through several options. If someone must make a difficult decision, a t-table can help. Place your name at the top of your notebook paper. Write the title “Decision-making T-table” in the center of your margin. Think of a decision that you will need to make in the near future, and describe this decision using complete sentences under the title. Draw a large “t” in the center of your paper so that you can write at least 5 sentences on both sides. Label one side of the t-table “Option A” and the other side “Option B.”
Here is the paragraph after removing the word “that:”
Decision-making is an important skill everyone should have. Important decisions are made by leaders after thinking carefully through several options. If someone must make a difficult decision, a t-table can help. Place your name at the top of your notebook paper. Write the title “Decision-making T-table” in the center of your margin. Think of a decision you will need to make in the near future, and describe this decision using complete sentences under the title. Draw a large “t” in the center of your paper so you can write at least 5 sentences on both sides. Label one side of the t-table “Option A” and the other side “Option B.”
Making the second sentence active– switching the positions of the subject and object while dropping the verb form of “to be”– improves clarity and removes unneeded words:
Decision-making is an important skill everyone should have. Leaders make important decisions after thinking carefully through several options. If someone must make a difficult decision, a t-table can help. Place your name at the top of your notebook paper. Write the title “Decision-making T-table” in the center of your margin. Think of a decision you will need to make in the near future, and describe this decision using complete sentences under the title. Draw a large “t” in the center of your paper so you can write at least 5 sentences on both sides. Label one side of the t-table “Option A” and the other side “Option B.”
Restructuring the third sentence by repositioning the dependent clause improves clarity and removes unneeded words:
Decision-making is an important skill everyone should have. Leaders make important decisions after thinking carefully through several options. T-tables can help people make decisions. Place your name at the top of your notebook paper. Write the title “Decision-making T-table” in the center of your margin. Think of a decision you will need to make in the near future, and describe this decision using complete sentences under the title. Draw a large “t” in the center of your paper so you can write at least 5 sentences on both sides. Label one side of the t-table “Option A” and the other side “Option B.”
Rewriting the sequential body sentences into a list tightens the text further and aids students struggling with reading:
Decision-making is an important skill everyone should have. Leaders make important decisions after thinking carefully through several options. T-tables can help people make decisions:
1) Place your name at the top of your notebook paper;
2) Write the title “Decision-making T-table” in the center of your margin;
3) Think of a decision you will need to make in the near future, and describe this decision using complete sentences under the title;
4) Draw a large “t” in the center of your paper so you can write at least 5 sentences on both sides, and
5) Label one side of the t-table “Option A” and the other side “Option B.”
An attempt to divide list-item number three into two sentences led to a simplification dropping several words. Eliminating the compound sentence also allowed me to drop the semicolons and use a simpler comma list-format:
Decision-making is an important skill everyone should have. Leaders make important decisions after thinking carefully through several options. T-tables can help people make decisions:
1) Place your name at the top of your notebook paper,
2) Write the title “Decision-making T-table” in the center of your margin,
3) Describe a decision you will need to make in the near future using complete sentences under the title,
4) Draw a large “t” in the center of your paper so you can write at least 5 sentences on both sides, and
5) Label one side of the t-table “Option A” and the other side “Option B.”
Replacing two prepositional phrases with possessives removed unneeded words, and I dropped completely two phrases (“in the near future” and “under the title”).
Decision-making is an important skill everyone should have. Leaders make important decisions after thinking carefully through several options. T-tables can help people make decisions:
1) Place your name at the top of your notebook paper,
2) Write the title “Decision-making T-table” in your margin’s center,
3) Describe a decision you will need to make using complete sentences,
4) Draw a large “t” in your paper’s center so you can write at least 5 sentences on both sides, and
5) Label one side of the t-table “Option A” and the other side “Option B.”
Finally, a quick look at overall paragraph structure revealed the need for a concluding sentence, a need fulfilled easily by moving the original topic sentence to the paragraph’s end.
Leaders make important decisions after thinking carefully through several options. T-tables can help people make decisions:
1) Place your name at the top of your notebook paper,
2) Write the title “Decision-making T-table” in your margin’s center,
3) Describe a decision you will need to make using complete sentences,
4) Draw a large “t” in your paper’s center so you can write at least 5 sentences on both sides, and
5) Label one side of the t-table “Option A” and the other side “Option B.”
Decision-making is an important skill everyone should have.
Compare the original text with the final version. The revision took less than ten minutes. I began with a set of murky directions 113 words in length and ended with a more clear and succinct set composed of 93 words. The directions still need some development, but you can see how students will spend less time interpreting directions and more time engaged in the warm-up’s intent, to provide them with a tool to make decisions. I hope you find these seven steps useful tools for tightening and clarifying quickly your communications.
david cooper writing 