Twenty learning-disabled students (grades 5 and 6) who received procedural facilitation for narrative composition, including story grammar cue cards and a metacognitive check-off procedure, produced better quality stories than a control group of 10 students. Including verbal reminders to develop characters did not affect story quality. (Author/JDD)

Discusses "story grammar" strategies, such as self-questioning, story maps, character and plot development, and comparison and contrast of similar stories, which can be used to help elementary students with learning disabilities or low-achieving students improve their reading and writing skills. Activities are described for each…

This article introduces a special section of four papers featuring strategies for improving the story writing skills of elementary and secondary students who have problems with written language. It outlines the elements of story grammar, describes characteristics of students with writing problems, and notes the strategies presented in the four…

This study of 40 junior high school students with learning disabilities and 20 control students found that significant intergroup differences in the quality of narrative compositions were not evident when students were allocated time for planning and were given "Create a Story" cues. (Author/JDD)

This article provides specific recommendations for teaching students with learning disabilities how to use a story grammar cueing system for improving writing. The article emphasizes the importance of individualizing instruction and teaching for generalization, and discusses the purpose of the system and methods of assessment. (JDD)

Forty-two inner city intermediate-grade learning-disabled students wrote fables when provided with the following stimuli: story starter, story ending with story content, and story ending with rhetorical purpose. The story ending groups did more story development planning than the story starter group, but composition quality was not significantly…

The written stories of 8 severely to profoundly hearing-impaired students in grades 4-11 were analyzed and assigned a developmental level. Results indicated T-unit lengths within normal limits, limited use of cohesive devices, and difficulty with internal responses. The developmental level exhibited by most subjects was the true narrative stage.…

These eight booster units have been designed to provide extra, targeted support for pupils in Year 6. Each unit is based on teaching objectives from the National Literacy Strategy Framework but also focuses on Target Statements for Writing (spelling, sentence construction, language effects, punctuation, purpose and organization, and process). Each…

This article provides recommendations for teaching students how to use a story grammar cuing system to improve both the fluency and quality of their stories. The cuing system is a series of steps in the form of a checklist that serves as a self-regulatory mechanism for prompting attention, memory, and accuracy. (JDD)

Third in a series of booklets designed to assist Year 6 teachers with planning instruction to meet objectives of the National Literacy Strategy, this booklet contains Summer Term planning exemplification for three "revision" units (Narrative, Poetry and Non-fiction) prior to the Key Stage 2 tests and one unit after the tests (Extended…

Teaching techniques and the use of grammar checking programs are described. Assignments using these programs are suggested. Four specific packages are reviewed. The importance of the revision process in writing is stressed. (CW)

This manual is intended for teachers using the Project Success Enrichment (PSE) program to teach language arts to gifted and typical elementary school students. Following an introduction that outlines the purposes and objectives set forth in the Project Success Enrichment: Language Arts Introductory Unit, this component focuses on the short story…

Reports on a study of the writing skills of 51 Italian fourth graders who used word processors for several months. Concludes that word processing can help motivate children and teachers to do more writing and that further improvement in writing skills would occur if the children received writing instruction. (CFR)