Transforming Instruction with Empowering Writers: Small Wins, Lasting Impact

At the end of a recent training session, a thoughtful and important question was posed by a member of the core district leadership team—one well worth considering as we continue to equip our teachers with new tools and resources:

"What are some examples of small wins you’ve seen in districts implementing Empowering Writers?"

First, let’s give thought to the need for and power of small wins. Designing small wins involves identifying concrete, observable achievements that mark progress toward a larger goal, even when these accomplishments may seem minor on their own. By setting clear and achievable daily goals, students and teachers can experience a sense of momentum that fuels motivation and builds confidence. Celebrating even incremental progress reinforces the idea that each step matters, encouraging continued effort and persistence. These small victories help maintain focus, create a positive learning environment, and make long-term goals feel more attainable. So, as a district preparing to launch yet another new initiative, this question is certainly essential in setting the stage for success. 

We often assume that providing the right tools and training is the key to getting started—and while both are undoubtedly important, their impact is significantly amplified when paired with a clear vision. Understanding the why behind the initiative, the intended outcomes, and how consistent, day-to-day application can lead to tangible results can be the true catalyst for momentum.

Teachers are far more likely to commit to a new program when they feel confident it will produce results for their students. So why not share the “small wins”—those initial indicators of progress and turning points—as a way to inspire, empower, and engage them?

As Amabile and Kramer suggest in the title of their book The Progress Principle: Using Small Wins to Ignite Joy, Engagement, and Creativity at Work, even small steps forward can spark meaningful engagement and lasting change.

In response to the leadership question, our Empowering Writers team reflected on and shared several powerful examples they’ve observed—pivotal moments that deepened educators’ understanding, fostered buy-in, and built confidence in the structured, explicit approach to writing instruction that Empowering Writers offers.

A principal shared- she knew things were headed in the right direction for her campus when lesson plans started including daily, focused writing lessons and applications versus the inclusion of writing once or twice a week.

A small group of overwhelmed teachers began to successfully integrate a unit from a reading resource with the Empowering Writers lessons and objectives. This integration enabled them to strengthen the connections between reading and writing, and, ultimately, maximize instructional time.

One core component of Empowering Writers is starting the year with the “Literacy Launch”. During this initial four weeks of instruction, the foundations of literacy are reviewed in terms of genre, author’s purpose, graphic organizers, summarizing, and annotation and analysis. This is a critical way to start the year as it secures the reading-writing connection, makes every text encounter a proactive one, and fuels the awareness necessary to support students in being both strategic readers and informed writers. The small win? From an initially skeptical 5th-grade teacher in regards to the time spent dedicated to this launch: “My students are annotating everything—their reading, writing, homework—literally everything. It’s making a significant difference in their comprehension!”

Teachers noticed a clear improvement in classroom discussions about writing, which they linked to using student samples to guide revision. The samples serve as “before” examples, where teachers highlight specific weaknesses and model revisions using strategies taught previously. Students then compare these to the “after” versions, seeing how the strategies improve the writing.

At the end of a training day, a teacher said, “EW makes me a better teacher of reading while teaching writing.”

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Eager to share and experience these small wins as a result of starting Empowering Writers with your campus? Click here to schedule a meeting.