Writing in science can be challenging for all learners, and it is especially so for students with cognitive or language-based learning difficulties. Yet, we know very little about how to support students with learning disabilities (LD) or who are English learners (EL) when asked to write for authentic purposes during science instruction.…

A study of three fifth-grade students with learning disabilities examined the effectiveness of a strategy deigned to help them become more reflective when writing opinion essays. Following the instruction, students wrote essays that were longer, provided more support for their premise, and were qualitatively better. (Author/CR)

Middle-school students with (n=6) and without (n=16) learning disabilities were taught a strategy for planning and writing expository essays using the Self-Regulated Strategy Development approach to instruction. Positive results were found for students with and without learning disabilities. Students' papers became longer, more complete, and…