We developed the Open World Writing framework while coaching Philadelphia middle and high school students during Friday Night Writes — a weekly, after-school writing space sponsored by the Philadelphia Writing Project and run by graduate and undergraduate students from the University of Pennsylvania.

 

As we trained our undergraduate and graduate "coaches," we noticed that while they were all strong writers who fundamentally understood the writing process, they needed a resource that would help them scaffold a thirty-minute coaching session according to each adolescent’s specific writing needs. After sharing the Writing Territories with them, we saw young writers composing more playfully and joyfully, and we heard parents reflect on the "collegial" nature that developed in the space. Throughout the semester, we learned that student writers would use the support from their coaches to submit to art and writing contests, apply for college admissions and scholarships, and feel more confident in their school assignments. 

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We have witnessed the powerful ways that this flexible, practical heuristic helps coaches focus more on writers than just their writing. We look forward to hearing how this framework can support writers in your community.