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by Stephen C. Simms (Author)
Sixteen-year master educator & Ph. D Stephen C. Simms shares his proven, color-coded, and interactive writing system that improves the essays of Middle, High, and College students! When he began, this secondary English teacher was literally taken aback! His first year felt insurmountable as he dealt with the sobering reality that 55 percent of his ninth graders drafted deficient essays. Dr. Simms was absolutely desperate to devise a method of freeing these learners from churning out predictable, pedantic, and lifeless drafts. Soon, he set a new SMART goal to transform the writings of his pupils at this 2600+ mega high school in the heart of Miami-Dade County, Florida. Yet, their struggles were not solely isolated to that diverse, dynamic population. He knew that weaker essay writing was not only prevalent during his fourteen years of educating in MDCPS, nor two years in Michigan schools; it was a nationwide epidemic! According to the Center for American Progress (2016), "In the United States, research shows that anywhere from 40 percent to 60 percent of first-year college students require remediation in English, Math, or both" (Jimenez et al, 2016, p. 1). It became abundantly clear that students' essay writing skills were not being sufficiently honed between elementary and high school. There had to be a way to bridge the substantial gap. Over the next seven years, Dr. Simms devised his own unique writing system called G.R.E.A.T. Burger Essay Workshop. It was gradually created to inspire vivid, entertaining, and prolific essays. By getting back-to-basics; reviewing grammar, including bell ringers, games, quizzes, authentic prompts, drafting practice; he could transport writers to a higher level of confidence and expression. The teacher sought to serve struggling, ESL, average, and even better writers when he developed G.R.E.A.T--Grammatically correct, Repetition free, Expertly supported, Adjective/Adverb filled, and Transition packed. This simpler, colo
