Writing in the content areas: a Norwegian case study

Since 2006, literacy skills have been mandated as an integral part of all subject areas at all levels (grades 1–13) in Norwegian schools. With the exception of reading, evaluation reports show that teaching in general seems to be little affected by this reform. During the last few years, however, there has been a noticeable growth in interest in writing in the content areas. The article presents quantitative and qualitative data from a network of secondary schools that have established cross-curricular school-based writing projects. Teachers in these schools meet regularly, sharing experiences about students’ writing and ways of organizing writing sessions. While they had to deal with differences in subject-specific text norms, they discovered similarities across subject areas they could work collectively on. A major effect for the participants was the development of a broader instruction repertoire and more goal-related use of scaffolding strategies in the classroom, most of which was in accordance with a process approach to writing. We discuss these data in the light of similar studies in Norway and abroad, and we highlight some reflections about implications for practice.