Writing Interventions and Strategies

Good writing is essential to children's success in school. Writing is the major means by which students demonstrate their academic knowledge, and the primary instrument that teachers use to evaluate scholastic performance (Graham & Harris, 2002). It is used as a tool for gathering, remembering, and sharing subject matter. It serves as an instrument for exploring and refining ideas about topics, allowing children to form new insights and more complex understandings. Writing also provides a medium through which children can explore their interests, feelings, and experiences as well as a mechanism for artistic self-expression.

Despite its importance, many children have difficulty mastering this basic skill. On the most recent National Assessment of Educational Progress (Greenwald & colleagues, 1999), only approximately 25% of the students in grades 4, 8, and 12 were classified as competent writers at their perspective grade levels. Although children's writing development is a complex process, it depends in large part on the methods and strategies used to teach it. In an effective writing program, teachers use a variety of instructional procedures to shape and transform students’ writing knowledge, skills, wills, and self-regulation (Graham & Harris, 2002; Scardamalia & Bereiter, 1986).

The most essential element in teaching writing is to provide exemplary writing instruction right from the start, beginning in first grade and continuing through high school (Graham & Harris, 2002). Such instruction maximizes the writing development of children in general and minimizes the number of students who experience difficulty learning to write. Although quality writing instruction differs somewhat from grade to grade, there are a number of instructional features that should be emphasized (Table 1). The information in Table 1 is based on an analysis of the practices of highly effective writing teachers (Wray & colleagues, 2000), outcomes of experimental treatment studies (Hillocks, 1986), and clinical experience (Scott, 1989).

Another critical element in developing an effective writing program is to adapt instruction so that it is responsive to individual students’ needs. Such adaptations are a regular part of the practices of highly effective teachers. Pressley and colleagues (1996), for example, found that outstanding literacy teachers provided qualitatively similar instruction for all students, but that children experiencing difficulty received extra teacher support.

There are a variety of adaptations that teachers can make to support struggling writers. In a nationwide survey involving primary grade teachers, for instance, Graham and colleagues (in press) found that children experiencing writing difficulties were often provided extra one-on-one help, including individual assistance from the teacher, adult tutors, or older and same-age peers (including collaborative planning, writing, and revising with a peer). Teachers also made adjustments for handwriting and spelling difficulties. In spelling, for instance, teachers created personalized spelling lists for weaker writers, directly helped them spell unknown words, and employed word banks and other aids to facilitate correct spelling. Other teachers, in contrast, sought to bypass transcription difficulties by allowing struggling writers to [Page 588]dictate their compositions or write with a keyboard (e.g., Alpha Smart).

The surveyed teachers further adjusted their instruction by providing additional support for the thinking and creative processes involved in writing. To illustrate, teachers facilitated the planning of weaker writers by having them talk out their ideas in advance of writing, draw what they planned to write about, or use webs or graphic organizers to generate and sequence ideas.

...