By the upper elementary grades, writing becomes an essential tool both for learning and for showing what you know. Students who struggle significantly with writing are at a terrible disadvantage. Data from the National Assessment of Educational Progress indicate that only 25% of students can be classified as competent writers; students with…

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…

This study took place in the context of schools collaborating with a local university to implement an evidence-based, 3-tiered model of prevention and supports targeting academic, behavioral, and social goals. We examined whether Self-Regulated Strategy Development (SRSD) instruction, delivered by grade 2 and 3 general education teachers to all…

One ingredient that may serve as a catalyst for writing development is changes in writing knowledge. This study assessed the veracity of two tenets underlying this proposal: that skilled writers are more knowledgeable than less skilled writers, and that individual differences in knowledge are related to writing performance. Both of these…

This introductory article discusses the difficulties many children with learning disabilities have in text production skills and how these difficulties affect not only how they write but also the pace and course of their writing development. The influence of spelling miscues on perceptions of writing ability is also addressed. (CR)

Fifth-grade students with learning disabilities who were good (n=12) and poor (n=11) handwriters and 56 matched controls were asked to copy text under two conditions, quickly and neatly. Students with learning disabilities were not as capable of increasing writing speed and demonstrated a slower rate of speed. (Author/CR)

Reviews literature comparing traditional manuscript alphabets to slanted manuscript alphabets and finds insufficient evidence to support requiring kindergarten, first-, and second-grade children to learn the slanted manuscript alphabet. Notes that since many children enter school knowing how to form their letters in the traditional style, learning…

The Self-Regulated Strategy Development model was used to assist six elementary students with learning disabilities develop a strategy for planning and writing essays, self-regulation, and positive attributions regarding effort and strategy use. Instruction had a positive effect on students' approach to writing, writing performance, and…

Interviews with 39 students with learning disabilities (LD, grades 4-8) and 29 normally achieving students revealed that, compared to controls, LD students had less mature conceptualizations of writing and less favorable attitudes toward writing but no differences in evaluations of their competence in either writing or the composing process.…