D839: Teaching Writing in Secondary Schools

Teaching Writing in Secondary Schools is the second of three English discipline methods courses — building adolescent writing skills across real-world genres and contexts, grounded in the science of learning.

What D839 covers

The course is the second of three English discipline methods courses in the standard path, focusing on developing writing skills in adolescent learners, including consideration of writing across real-world contexts and genres, the writing process, and assessment of writing skills.

Connections to the science of learning and the science of reading are spiraled throughout the content, with technology integration and different media modalities included. This course counts toward 7 hours of the 51 total clinical hours from SCED methods courses.

The D839 performance assessment

Expect a performance assessment requiring you to design writing instruction for a given genre/context, incorporating the writing process and a technology-integrated component.

Key topics in D839

• The writing process across genres
• Real-world writing contexts
• Writing assessment
• Technology and media integration in writing instruction

Writing tips for D839

Follow the task instructions and rubric line by line

WGU performance assessments for D839 are graded against a fixed rubric — every rubric line has to be visibly addressed, usually with a labeled heading that mirrors the rubric language. Skipping a rubric point because it seems minor is the single most common reason a competent submission comes back "Not Yet Competent" for revision.

Ground every claim in a specific secondary grade level and content

MAT Secondary Education courses like D839 typically ask you to apply content knowledge and pedagogy to a specific grade level and topic rather than write about teaching in the abstract. As a post-baccalaureate candidate, connecting your prior professional background to your instructional reasoning strengthens a response further.

Because WGU is self-paced, don't let "no deadline pressure" become no submission

There's no weekly due date forcing progress, which means procrastination costs more at WGU than at a traditional term-based school — a stalled task can quietly eat weeks of a term. Treat your own target date for each D839 assessment as a real deadline.

Why students seek help with D839

Candidates sometimes assign a writing task without scaffolding the writing PROCESS (drafting, revising, editing) the course specifically emphasizes — a complete response builds in process-based scaffolding, not a single-draft assignment.

How GradeEssays helps with D839

Share your genre/context and grade level, and your writer will build writing instruction with genuine process-based scaffolding, not a single-draft assignment.

Prerequisites and program context

D839 is the second of three English discipline methods courses and counts toward 7 of the 51 total SCED clinical hours.

• Master of Arts in Teaching, English Education (Secondary)

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