Seventy-six general education and 67 special education teachers working in the same 66 elementary schools were surveyed about their beliefs about writing. Each teacher taught writing to one or more fourth-grade students receiving special education services, including students with learning disabilities. Survey findings indicated that general…

Two hundred fifty-four intermediate-grade teachers (88% female) in urban public schools in Chile indicated how frequently they made writing instructional adaptations for their weakest writers, which included students with learning and other disabilities. A majority of teachers reported making the following adaptations for their weakest writers at…

Writing proficiency is heavily based on acquisition and development of self-regulation and transcription skills. The present study examined the effects of combining transcription training with a self-regulation intervention (self-regulated strategy development [SRSD]) in Grade 2 (ages 7-8). Forty-three students receiving self-regulation plus…

We discuss a component-based, developmental view of text writing fluency, which we tested using data from children in Grades 2 and 3. "Text writing fluency" was defined as efficiency and automaticity in writing connected texts, which acts as a mediator between text generation (oral language), transcription skills, and writing quality. We…

In this study, we explored the potential of two forms of discussion (disciplinary vs. traditional) for 39 sixth- and seventh-grade students with or at risk for learning disabilities (LD), before writing historical arguments. Nine teachers who led small group discussions in six heterogeneous social studies classrooms implemented the intervention.…

This review of writing abilities of learning-disabled children addresses story composition, expository writing, training/intervention research, and rationales/procedures for instruction. Specifically reviewed are mechanical/syntactic fluency skills, story schema and cohesion, modes of production, effects of age and development, task importance,…

The study compared stories written on either a word processor or handwritten by 15 children (ages 8-12) with learning disabilities. Use of the word processor resulted in fewer spelling errors for children with severe spelling problems and longer stories for children having problems with the mechanics of the writing task. (Author/DB)

A study examined the effectiveness of a highly explicit, teacher-directed instructional routine used to teach three planning strategies to 20 fourth-fifth graders with learning disabilities. In comparison to peers who received process writing instruction, those taught goal setting, brainstorming, and organizing spent more time planning stories and…

This study investigated effects of five proofreading conditions on the spelling performance of 12 college students with learning disabilities. Conditions were handwriting with no additional assistance, with a print dictionary, and with a handheld spelling checker; and word processing with no additional assistance and with a spelling checker. All…

The study of the effects of instruction in two revision strategies (mechanics and content) on the paragraph writing of 54 learning disabled students (grades six-nine) found that instruction improved mechanics of writing but did not result in improved content. Order of strategy instruction did not effect results. (Author/DB)

A study of the writing disorders shown by students (n=260) taught by different methods of reading and writing found that pupils learning by a global-natural method make errors related more to reproductive aspects of information, whereas children taught by the phonic and syllabic methods made more errors of meaning. (Author/MSE)

Four eighth-grade students with learning disabilities were taught paragraph-writing skills using a metacognitive text structure strategy, which included an outline as a paragraph planning guide. Results suggest that when provided with such direct, intensive instruction, these students can improve their paragraph writing. (Author/MSE)

This article examines and illustrates four assumptions of the sociocultural perspective for writing instruction of students with learning disabilities: writing is a holistic cognitive activity; cognitive processes are learned in dialogic interactions with others; cognitive development occurs in students' zones of proximal development; and…

This article draws together three papers (EC 603 155, EC 603 157, and EC 603 158) on metacognitive theory in literacy, writing, and mathematics acquisition of children with learning disabilities. Topics discussed include self-regulation, the reciprocal relationship between self-regulated learning and motivational beliefs, and the classroom role of…

This paper describes experiences in teaching writing skills to elementary gifted students with learning disabilities. Journal writing and word processing are found to be powerful tools in improving student writing while increasing students' self-confidence. Guest speakers, daily reading aloud by the teacher, and field trips to enrich students'…