Two hundred ninety-eight primary teachers (88% female) from across all Australian states and territories reported on the frequency with which they implemented instructional adaptations for struggling writers in their classrooms. They also rated their preparation and self-efficacy for teaching writing. The majority of participating teachers…

Studies of early writing recognize that learning to write is a complex process requiring students to attend to the composition of the text and the transcription of the ideas. The research discussed here examined six dimensions of early writing--text structure, sentence structure, vocabulary, spelling, punctuation, and handwriting--and how each…

Tom Nicholson and Sue Dymock analysed research on teaching writing to identify the skills students need to write for impact. Their approach is based on a simple view of writing: it is ideas presented well. The two volumes of this book work together to explain and show teachers how to teach students these essential writing skills. Nicholson and…

Writing is a key area of literacy in the early years, however writing receives less research attention than reading despite its impact on students' learning generally, and literacy development specifically. Writing skills have also been shown to be quite stable--good writers in the early years stay good writers in the later years. Therefore it is…

Writing is a complex process, and this complexity poses particular challenges when researchers and teachers approach the task of analysing young students' writing samples. This paper outlines a program of research undertaken to develop a writing analysis tool. The tool is designed to map shifts over time in the range of skills and competencies…

Alternative models of the structure of individual and developmental differences of written composition and handwriting fluency were tested using confirmatory factor analysis of writing samples provided by first- and fourth-grade students. For both groups, a five-factor model provided the best fit to the data. Four of the factors represented…

This study examined the effects of Interactive Writing, a dynamic approach to writing instruction designed specifically for young children, on the independent writing of first graders enrolled in urban schools in a large metropolitan area. Children in the Interactive Writing condition (N = 49) showed greater growth on measures of independent…

A study of the effects of a typing tutor plus a computer-based word processor versus paper and pencil on the writing of six elementary students with behavioral disorders found small improvements in capitalization, spelling, punctuation, and complete sentences attributable to either method, though story length increased for three of six students…

Examines the effects of word processing on high school seniors' writing and revisions of essay assignments. Length of papers, the impact of topic on the results, the effect of handwriting papers after computer composition, comparison of writing methods over time, and effects of typing ability and computer experience are discussed. (Contains eight…

Presents tips on improving the writing process of students with learning disabilities (LD). Information on a literacy intervention curriculum for students with LD; Impact of the strategy on the sentence writing skills of students; Process of the curriculum with its corresponding modifications; Benefits of the writing instruction program to improve…

Fifty-six Toronto (Ontario, Canada) seventh-grade and eighth-grade learning-disabled students whose handwriting was very difficult to read were randomly assigned to either an experimental or comparison group. Experimental group students were loaned a portable computer to use freely at school and at home during the course of the experiment.…

Sixteen children in five different classrooms in the same, small, rural-suburban school in New Hampshire were observed for 2 years to document what primary children did when they wrote. Eight of the children were observed from age 6 through 7, and eight from 8 through 9. Three researchers were on-site in classrooms 4 days out of 5 for the 2-year…

The aim of this book is to provide a compromise between past and present theories of language teaching and learning. The book is organized into six main parts. In the first part, the author highlights the strengths and weaknesses of both the skills-based approach and the whole-language approach. He then presents a theory that emphasizes the…

Intended for teachers of learning disabled or remedial learners at all levels, this book presents a holistic perspective on reading and writing instruction, focusing on meaningful, purposeful literacy applications. The book begins with a general discussion of learning disabled and remedial students and then introduces readers to a holistic theory…