Adapting
Instruction:
A
Potpourri of Strategies for Teaching Writing
Writing is a complex
activity that requires the use and coordination of many skills simultaneously:
organizing thoughts, choosing/recalling words, forming letters, spacing letters
and words, recalling correct spellings, remembering and using the rules of
written language, and managing time when writing a lengthy piece. A learner who
has difficulty in any of these areas may have a writing problem. The list below
does not differentiate between different causes or types of writing
disabilities. You should choose strategies appropriate to individual learners’
specific and unique characteristics. Remember to work with their strengths
to bypass disabilities or develop abilities in weaker areas.
Discuss the purpose
and rationale for each writing activity.
Teach and provide
practice with “authentic” writing tasks required on the job or at home.
Allow learner to
choose high-interest writing topics on which he/she has background knowledge.
To build background knowledge and interest use discussion, video, and/or
internet research as a prelude to writing activities.
Teach letter
formation. Model printing by describing the strokes as you write the letters.
Teach cursive
writing if printing is difficult.
Teach keyboarding
skills.
Begin with small
writing tasks and allow plenty of time for completion.
Set aside time
for daily journal entries to provide writing practice.
Suggest that the
learner use a tape recorder to dictate what he/she wants to write, then play it
back and write it down.
Teach brainstorming
and semantic-mapping techniques to get ideas on paper.
Teach the writing
process; use acronyms and other memory aids.
Example:
TOWER: Think, Organize (or
Order) Write; Edit, Rewrite
Teach the steps in editing. Provide a cueing tool (chart
or acronym) to guide the editing process.
Example:
COPS:
Capitalization, Overall appearance, Punctuation, Spelling
(TOWER and COPS are adapted from
Deshler, 1983 and cited in Destination Literacy: Identifying and Teaching
Adults With Learning Disabilities, Learning Disabilities Association of
Canada)
Use a structured, carefully sequenced approach to teaching grammar.
Use word cards or tiles in different colors representing different parts of speech for practice with sentence construction. Begin with simple subject-verb-object sentences, and then expand them by adding adjectives and adverbs.
Teach how to use dictionaries and thesauruses and provide practice opportunities.
Teach word analysis skills (root words, prefixes and suffixes) to improve spelling and build vocabulary.
Use a multi-sensory approach when teaching spelling skills.
Example: read aloud, copy, spell aloud, trace word, visualize word with eyes closed, say and write the word again
Suggest using a tape recorder to study spelling: read and spell a word onto tape, write the word, and replay the tape to check spelling.
Use colored markers to highlight key features of spelling words.
Encourage learner to develop a personal dictionary (on note cards or a small notebook) of words he uses frequently but misspells.