Many students with learning disabilities (LD) and emotional/behavioral disorders (EBD) struggle with the writing process. Technology has shown to be effective in supporting prewriting, drafting, revising, proofreading, and publishing of written products. This article explains the use of one technology-based graphic organizer with embedded…

Describes the variety of literacies demonstrated among a group of "thru-hikers" walking the length of the Appalachian Trail. Explains ethnographic field notes, archival data, and interviews showed the presence of multiliteracies and the use of "ecological literacy," the ability to interpret the natural surroundings. Provides suggestions for…

Many basic writers who possess minimal composition skills are able to articulate their thoughts but are unable to express these thoughts on paper. The talk-write method of writing rehearsal is an approach that allows these students to experience prewriting and composition processes in an enjoyable way. In the talk-write technique, the student…

Discusses four stages through which writers pass during prewriting. Offers ways of helping students pass through these stages so that they can begin to organize their writing more effectively. (RL)

Generating writing ideas is often a serious obstacle for students. Some classroom techniques to help them out of this dilemma include word associating and self-questioning. Students can also construct a matrix chart with the subheadings from their information resources. Once ideas are generated, they can be arranged in appropriate presentation…

A prewriting activity requires elementary and middle school students to compose a political cartoon interpretation by asking questions and helps develop their writing ability. An example shows how the prewriting strategy translates into a specific classroom application. (AM)

The nine-step grid strategy provides prompts in both structure and content areas to improve the narrative writing skills of students with learning disabilities. The steps include developing a story grid with characters, setting, action, emotion, and so on; planning and writing the story; and completing both cognitive and technical edits. (DB)

The teaching of writing as a process can be accomplished through an eight-step "prewriting process" approach. The eight steps include planning, organizing, establishing assumptions and premises, obtaining data, evaluating data, electing a course of action, control, and implementation. In the planning stage, students are asked to complete an…

This bibliography contains lengthy annotations of 29 sources which address the issues of prewriting; revision; the emotions involved in the writing process; different methods of writing instruction; and the relationships among reading, writing, and reasoning. Also included are a glossary of terms, a summary of the issues raised by the works cited,…

As an orientation to the actual composition process, learning-disabled students should be taught methods for the development and organization of ideas. Strategies are presented for helping learning-disabled students improve composition skills by improving flexibility in vocabulary and sentence structure and by planning and sequencing ideas and/or…

Techniques for teaching writing should emphasize revision and editing, practice in sentence-combining, and exposing students to fine prose. To encourage good writing in all subjects, teachers should be trained to read students' essays holistically, paying attention to style as well as content. (PP)

Examines how different types of prewriting activities, teacher motivations, and classroom environments influence the student writing process. (MM)

This paper presents 40 writing assignments and 16 scoring guides used by elementary and junior high school teachers who participated in a writing research and resources project in connection with primary trait scoring. Not all of the assignments presented were originated by the teachers: some were taken or adapted from a textbook; occasionally…

This article offers strategies for implementing a process approach to teaching written composition, emphasizing prewriting, writing, and rewriting. Discussion of three functions of writing, including expressive writing, transactional writing, and poetic writing, is included. Writing process principles are linked to gifted education principles to…

Written language skills are an important goal within programs of language development for students with mental disabilities. Specific facets should be considered in the teaching of writing, such as drawing on previous linguistic experiences, viewing writing as both process and product, emphasizing writing as a form of communication, tying writing…