Shaping the future of writing education

The Writing Pathway makes high-quality writing instruction accessible to all, blending research-proven strategies with AI tools to save teachers time and support them in creating writing practice for any curriculum or content area, grades 3-12.

An illustration of a hand holding a pencil writing on paper

The Pathway gives teachers...

A scope & sequence for teaching writing that works with any curriculum—as well as a common language to guide the teaching of writing.

A comprehensive collection of lessons that prioritize the highest-leverage strategies and best practices in writing instruction.

AI-powered tools that create practice for students in the content they are learning with the click of a button. Students get more writing practice and teachers save planning time.

A group of young students writing in their notebooks

Flexible lesson sequence that fits into your curriculum

The Pathway is organized into 5 categories which begin with basic sentence construction (including grammar), and complex sentences, and progress to paragraphs and multi-paragraph writing in the key genres of informational, persuasive, argumentative, and narrative writing. The topics and the lessons within them have a defined sequence, but that sequence is highly flexible. The Pathway is designed to be an overlay onto ANY 3rd through 12th-grade curriculum or content—if you teach it, you can use the Writing Pathway with it!

Check out all the Pathway skills you can teach in our skills library.

Our Mission

To improve the writing instruction and practice students receive without increasing the amount of preparation time for teachers

Making it easier to teach writing

Teaching writing is challenging. Although teachers are asked to assign writing regularly and students must write on high-stakes assessments, when it comes to teaching writing, most curricula lack structured guidance for teachers, and consistent approaches across subjects and grades rarely exist. The Writing Pathway addresses this by offering a coherent, research-backed writing skills progression for grades 3 to 12, adaptable to any curriculum. Developed with expert input and teacher collaboration, the Pathway’s continuous updates and regular AI tool expansions ensure it meets the evolving needs of classrooms.

An innovative approach

For too long, our students have struggled with writing. Writing is one of the most important skills students should acquire and develop during K-12 schooling, yet just one out of four grade 8 students performed at or above proficient on the last national test of writing (NAEP 2011). Teachers are not prepared to teach writing, writing instruction is inconsistent and often ineffective, and too often, only takes place in the English classroom. Traditionally, our schools have missed the opportunity to leverage writing as the incredible tool for thinking and learning it is. Research also points to the importance of continuous sentence-level practice and explicit and scaffolded instruction from basic writing skills to paragraphs and essays. Incorporating these approaches, the Pathway enhances overall learning and builds students' confidence, aiming not just for high test scores but for supporting students to become adaptable, effective communicators through a unified, school-wide writing strategy.

The Team

The Writing Pathway is a part of Teaching Lab’s Innovation Studio

Leadership Team

Phil Weinberg

Senior Advisor and Managing Director

Phil was formerly the Deputy Chancellor for Teaching and Learning for the New York City Department of Education, the nation's largest school system. A New York City educator for 35 years, he spent 27 years at the High School of Telecommunication Arts and Technology in Brooklyn as an English teacher, assistant principal, and the school's principal for 13 years. He holds degrees and certificates from Swarthmore College, Teachers College, Columbia University, and Hunter College. He is the recipient of the Sloan Public Service Award, awarded to New York City civil servants whose work goes above and beyond the call of duty. He lives in Brooklyn.

Sherry Lewkowicz

Senior Director

Sherry has over 15 years of experience crafting learning opportunities related to writing instruction. Sherry began her career teaching high school English at The Marble Hill School for International Studies in the Bronx, New York. She then served as Director of Certification and a senior faculty member at The Writing Revolution. Most recently, Sherry was a Professional Learning Manager at Quill.org, where she led a research study of Quill's newest literacy tool. Sherry is passionate about effective writing instruction and its potential to empower students, as well as teachers. She holds an M.A.T. from Brown University and lives with her son and daughter in New York City.

Steve Graham

Research Advisor

Steve Graham is the Regent and Warner Professor in the Division of Leadership and Innovation at Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College, Arizona State University. For more than 30 years, he has studied how writing develops, how to teach it effectively, and how writing can be used to support reading and learning. In recent years, he has been involved in the development and testing of digital tools for supporting writing and reading through a series of grants from the Institute of Educational Sciences and the Office of Special Education Programs in the U.S. Department of Education. His research involves typically developing writers and students with special needs in both elementary and secondary schools, with much of that occurring in classrooms in urban schools.

Product & Development

Joshua Ling

Senior Director, Podsie

Josh is the Founder and CEO of Podsie, a free, personalized, and automated learning tool for teachers that helps their students remember what they've learned by leveraging key learning science strategies such as: retrieval practice, spacing, and personalized review. Josh and Podsie are joining Teaching Lab as part of the Innovation Studio, one of the pillars of our new strategic plan. We look forward to Josh continuing to build the capacity of Podsie through additional development and user testing, while also increasing Teaching Lab's capacity to integrate learning science into our educator PL. Josh began his career as a math teacher in the Dallas/Ft Worth area. He learned how to code at App Academy, and went on to work there as an Instructor and Software Engineer. Josh earned a BBA in Finance from the University of Texas, Austin, and an MA in International Comparative Education from Stanford. He currently lives in the Bay Area with his wife and two dogs. Josh enjoys regularly playing: trumpet, basketball, and board games (currently Everdell, Parks, and Wingspan). He loves burritos in all forms (regular burritos, breakfast burritos, sushirritos, etc.).

Sarah Tierney

Director, Innovation Studio

Sarah brings over 16 years of educational expertise to the Studio, having served in various capacities including district and school-level coaching, content development, instructional leadership, and teaching. Prior to joining Teaching Lab, she held the position of Managing Director, System Advising, at Achievement Network. There, she collaborated with system leaders from school districts, state departments of education, and CMOs to shape and implement comprehensive district-level strategies for assessment, instructional materials, and professional learning. As Director, New Partnerships, Sarah led the launch of partnerships in new geographies, including California, Massachusetts, and Tennessee. Sarah spearheaded the organizational strategy for and launched 'Lessons from the Field,' an open education resource offering tools and guidance aimed at supporting teachers to advance equitable outcomes for students. Before joining Achievement Network, she designed and led professional learning sessions for network leaders, school leaders, and teachers throughout New York City. Sarah's teaching journey began at P.S. 70 in Bronx, NY, where she taught 4th and 5th grade. She holds an MA in International Studies and History from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a Master of Science in Teaching from Pace University, New York. Sarah currently lives in Minneapolis, MN, with her husband and two kids.

Yancheng “YC” Pan

Software Engineer

As Software Engineering Specialist, Yancheng is responsible for analyzing and modifying existing software, databases, cloud servers, and web applications for enhanced functionality and interoperability, as well as constructing and testing end-user applications for new software to meet emerging programmatic and operational needs. YC Pan graduated from the University of Virginia at the end of 2022 and majored in Computer Science and Drama. He actively participated in projects and internships to hone his skills as a software engineer. Also, he was a part of many school drama productions as an actor or a stage manager. He created his interdisciplinary studies because he believes that technology can find common ground with the arts, and he sees Software Engineering as a comprehensive field where this belief can be put into practice. Outside of work, you can often find YC playing basketball pick-ups in the gym or practicing Yoga at home. He enjoys sports and loves nature. He would never miss a chance to go on a hike or any other outdoor adventure with friends.

LeAnne Zafar

Product Designer

As a product designer, LeAnne has previously worked with a test prep edtech company and nonprofit clients, including 350NH and PGK. Prior to UX/UI design, she worked as a preschool and first grade teacher in Thailand and Bangladesh and did a year of AmeriCorps volunteer service at The National Mentoring Partnership in Boston. She’s excited to be at Teaching Lab and to support a mission-driven education nonprofit through design. LeAnne is currently enrolled in a Children's Book Illustration program through UCSD and frequently can be found taking fun art classes, including pottery and stained glass. LeAnne is from New Hampshire but currently lives in the Bay Area with her hubby, Naveed. Outside of work, she enjoys hiking, running, arts and crafts, yoga, baking, reading, word games, tea, and traveling.