Just as composing a story, a report, or an argumentative essay is challenging for most students with LD, so it is challenging for teachers in inclusive settings to instruct them (Gillespie & Kiuhara, 2017; Grünke & Leonard Zabel, 2015). The articles in this issue of "Insights into Learning Disabilities" are geared towards special…

To teach effective business communication, instructors must target students’ current weaknesses in writing. One method for doing so is by assigning writing exercises. When used heuristically, writing exercises encourage students to practice self-assessment, self-evaluation, active learning, and knowledge transfer, all while reinforcing the basics…

"Blogging for the sake of blogging is fine, but what is the value added?" That's a question educational blogging advocates are now coming around to answer, and the value they're finding may seem preposterous to those who associate blogging with barely literate loudmouths and cyber predators. Can this often belligerent wasteland of poor…

Describes a three-part exercise used in a first semester freshman composition class, intended to show students the world of details in even the most ordinary, everyday objects by having students write about a plastic coffee mug. (SR)

In order for students to write like authors they need to read like writers. This requires direct instruction in attending to the writing craft through the use of quality adolescent literature and engagement in reading and writing. This article focuses on writing catchy introductions. The author offers the lesson objective and a teacher script…

This practicum addressed the problem of Chapter 1 fourth grade students not being able to compose a paragraph using correct spelling and language arts skills. The subjects were 16 predominantly Black and Hispanic students in a school in an old small southern city. The students had paragraph composition assignments weekly. The goals were: (1) to…

Describes a summer writing workshop conducted by author Jake MacDonald for a group of secondary school students. (DF)

Discusses various ways that writing can facilitate learning in a developmental psychology course. Argues that writing assignments are valuable because they promote active learning and provide another way to teach psychology. (Author/GEA)

Presents a model of written language that can guide the instruction of hearing-impaired students, and strategies and techniques for improving writing skills, using research and theory from such areas as fluency, syntax, vocabulary, content, conventions, student motivation, guided practice, student interaction, and selective feedback. (CB) (Adjunct…

Describes a writing assignment which allows students to exercise creativity communicating set facts while utilizing narrative techniques covered in class (sentence variety, dominant impressions, narrative action, detailing, etc.), and in which peers judge how effectively and consistently the information was communicated, illuminating the…

Many students consider the writing of papers to be a lonely, difficult, and even painful process. To enable these students to improve their essays and research papers, a teacher has used a collaborative method of writing called the group paper. This method encompasses the various stages of writing, from freewriting of first drafts through multiple…

The fact that students have not learned to listen may be the reason some of them cannot write. Listening is an active process requiring the same skills of prediction, hypothesizing, checking, revising, and generalization that reading and writing demand. The following three exercises were designed to make students conscious of themselves as active…

Shows how the regular reading and discussion of rich literary passages builds a respect and interest among students for imagery. Describes a series of classroom exercises designed to build imagery writing skills. (TB)

Explains a teaching method which uses students' sentences as examples of faulty writing, provides a clue system which guides students in error diagnosis, and requires the revision of example sentences. Explores the use of the method in developing students' understanding of the importance of revision. (AYC)

Proposes a seven-stage model to assist in the process of synchronizing the rhythm of teachers' activities with those of their students. (DF)