When students experience reading difficulties--or even before they do--teachers can use specialized knowledge to help them achieve success. This overview of the International Dyslexia Association's "Knowledge and Practice Standards for Teachers of Reading" describes those reading and literacy standards and provides resources for teacher…

In today's environment of high-stakes testing, handwriting is a skill that is often overlooked in order to focus on other areas of the curriculum. However, research indicates that handwriting is tied to academic achievement, especially composition and literacy skills. This article provides strategies that can be used to support students with…

As new research shows how effective systematic and explicit teaching of language-based skills is for students with learning disabilities--along with the added benefits of multisensory techniques--discover the latest on this popular teaching approach with the third edition of this bestselling textbook. Adopted by colleges and universities across…

Practical steps for remediating cursive handwriting difficulties focus on the five elements of spacing, speed, slant of letters, letter size, and letter shape. (JW)

The article presents six remedial handwriting activities which address a variety of deficits commonly affecting the handwriting of learning disabled (LD) students. Each activity is presented with a rationale, step-by-step instructions, exemplary worksheets as necessary, and suggestions for teaching. In the "Coin Challenge" students learn correct…

The paper describes six strategies to help learning disabled students improve their handwriting skills. For each strategy a rationale and instructional procedure are provided. The six strategies are: (1) creating an interest and a reason to improve handwriting skills, (2) boosting confidence by letting students become "role models," (3) use of…

In this objective scoring procedure for assessing learning-disabled students' writing, a standardized process is used to collect writing samples, which are then scored for number of legible words, total number of words written, percentage of legible words, correctly spelled words, number of correct word sequences, and mean length of correct word…

Writing samples of 295 primary school children improved in productivity, syntax, and level of abstraction from grade one through three. The writing of learning-disabled children who were matched with average reading ability primary-school children indicated no significant differences in productivity, but problems in syntax (especially morphology),…

Intended for teachers and parents, the handbook provides suggestions for diagnosis and remediation of the learning disability dysgraphia (difficulty with handwriting). The seven chapters have the following titles and sample subtopics: (1) "The Student with a Learning Disability" (what causes dysgraphia, the Gerstmann Syndrome); (2) "Parents'…

Two individualized writing programs, useful for mainstreaming learning disabled students into the English classroom were field tested among 100 seventh and eighth grade students in four school districts. The document reports on the results of "Mission WRITE," the design of "Touchstone WRITE," and the strategies used in teaching…

A case study of an eight-year-old boy with learning disabilities illustrates a cognitive approach to assessing and remedying numeral-writing difficulties. Discussed are the sources of writing difficulty, assessing and fostering an accurate mental image, and constructing an accurate motor plan. Successful remediation resulted from nine five-minute…

Intended for use by teachers, this guide suggests classroom techniques for using "Write Now," an Apple II program with music, motion, and pictures, to facilitate the teaching of manuscript handwriting skills to elementary school students. "Write Now" shows the student how to form curves and lines when writing letters of the…

The article outlines six strategies for teaching handwriting to learning disabled elementary students with differing instructional needs. A rationale for the use of each strategy is followed by a step-by-step description of the teaching procedure. Strategy goals include the following: (1) teaching the manuscript alphabet through letter pictures to…

This article offers a British perspective on ways that information technology can help pupils with specific learning difficulties to overcome problems with handwriting, spelling, and structured writing. (DB)

Six strategies for teaching handwriting skills to learning disabled elementary students are presented, along with a rationale and illustrated step-by-step teaching procedures for each. Skills addressed include the following: (1) improving eye-hand coordination through dot-to-dot alphabet letter tracing; (2) teaching basic strokes in manuscript…