If children are to receive the writing instruction they need and deserve, it is essential that teachers develop a coherent and well-constructed vision for teaching writing. This article provides an example of how such a vision can be created. It is based on three assumptions. One, developing a vision for teaching writing should be guided by…

Reading is seen by many as an essential ingredient for learning to write. Is the relationship between reading and writing reciprocal? Does the path to better reading involve becoming a good writer? The answer to these questions presents a paradox. One does not have to learn to write in order to learn to read, as learning how to write or type words…

This article is an expanded version of my presentation to Division 15 (Educational Psychology) of the American Psychological Association for the Career Achievement Award for Distinguished Psychological Contributions to Education in 2019. It provides an overview of research conducted by colleagues and I that examined the following four topics: (a)…

Despite the early emergence of oral argumentation, written argumentation is slow to develop, insensitive to alternative perspectives, and generally of poor quality. These findings are unsettling because high quality argumentative writing is expected throughout the curriculum and needed in an increasingly competitive workplace that requires…

Students with disabilities often find writing extremely challenging (Harris & Graham, 2016). Special educators can, however, promote tremendous gains in students' ability to write by understanding common challenges students face and mastering specific teaching techniques. Students' writing success depends on reducing how much attention and…

Based on the Writer(s)-within-Community Model, this article focuses on the role of handwriting in writers' composing process. With the goal of highlighting the importance of researching and promoting handwriting, we provide an extensive summary of current evidence on the topic. It is well established that an important condition for skilled writing…

In this article, we examine why writing is important, how it develops, and effective writing practices. We situate the 5 articles in this special issue of "Reading and Writing" in this literature, providing a context for the contribution of each paper.

This paper presents a special issue on writing around the globe. Researchers from across the world describe writing practices in their country using a wide variety of methodology. The papers show that while there are many similarities in writing instruction from one country to the next, there are also many differences. As a result, the authors…

The ability to write effectively and use writing as a tool for learning is essential for students' success in the middle grades--and beyond. This practice guide highlights several research-based practices that can be used school-wide to help middle grades students become better writers. This paper presents four questions middle grades educators…

Learning to write is critical in today's world, yet many students are not developing the writing abilities they need to use writing as a powerful tool for learning and for showing what they know. Research indicates that failure to acquire strong writing abilities restricts opportunities for both post-secondary education and employment. This…

The famed playwright Harold Pinter, having just been introduced as a very good writer, was once asked by a six-year-old boy if he could do a "w." The author suspects that "w" was a difficult letter for this young man, and he judged the writing capability of others accordingly. This student's assumption--that being a "good…

In this article, we present an argument for consideration by those researching and promoting new learning environments (NLEs). We believe advocates of NLEs should consider the literature and research base indicating effective instruction is not based on a forced dichotomy between theoretical perspectives, but rather a thoughtful, pragmatic…

The authors conducted two studies as part of a federally funded project to improve the writing performance of students identified as at risk for behavioral difficulties and struggling with writing. One study focused on improving persuasive writing abilities, whereas the second study focused on improving story writing abilities. Many of the…

Self-Regulated Strategy Development (SRSD) is a well-established, thoroughly validated instructional model used to teach a variety of writing strategies to elementary, middle, and high school aged students. In this article, an overview of SRSD is presented. Specifically, this includes a discussion about why students struggle with various aspects…

The progress of a 12-year-old boy with learning disabilities and severe writing difficulties is followed from initial assessment through instruction in strategies for planning, revising, and managing the composing process using a validated instruction model, Self-Regulated Strategy Development (SRSD). Recommendations for applying the SRSD model to…