Composing Written Material - The composition of written material is a "complex problem-solving activity that involves thinking, planning, and decision making (Dell, 24). Students with learning disabilities and attention deficits can find the process of getting their ideas onto paper very difficult. Spelling, organizing and planning in particular can be challenging, but there are a variety of tools and strategies to make the composition of written materials easier.
5 Steps of the Composition Process - Writing is a complex series of steps that may need to be repeatedly revisited.
1. Prewriting - During the prewriting phase, the student must brainstorm ideas, plan the structure of the written piece, organize information, and consider the audience for the writing.
2. Drafting - In the drafting phase, the student must develop his or her ideas and formulate the sentences and paragraphs that will make up the written piece.
3. Review - In the review phase the student must reread and evaluate the style and organization of the writing.
4. Editing- In the editing phase the student must review the writing for grammar, spelling, and punctuation errors.
5. Publishing - In the publishing phase the student shares his or her work with an audience. This can be achieved by reading the writing to others, or posting the writing in the classroom or on a website.
1. Prewriting - During the prewriting phase, the student must brainstorm ideas, plan the structure of the written piece, organize information, and consider the audience for the writing.
2. Drafting - In the drafting phase, the student must develop his or her ideas and formulate the sentences and paragraphs that will make up the written piece.
3. Review - In the review phase the student must reread and evaluate the style and organization of the writing.
4. Editing- In the editing phase the student must review the writing for grammar, spelling, and punctuation errors.
5. Publishing - In the publishing phase the student shares his or her work with an audience. This can be achieved by reading the writing to others, or posting the writing in the classroom or on a website.
Picture Sources:
"Franklin LanguageMaster LM6000SEV Talking Dictionary." Photo. Mybigcommerce.com June 5, 2013 <http://www.mybigcommerce.com> "Pictures from Boardmaker." Photo. atclassroom.blogspot.com June 6, 2013 <atclassroom.blogspot.com> "Word Wall." Photo. www.hammond.k12.in.us June 6, 2013 <www.hammond.k12.in.us > This video offers a demonstration of the word prediction software, WriteOnline, by Crick Software.
Youtube (n.d.) WriteOnline Part 3 - Word Predictor. Retrieved June 6, 2013 from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fnckknbm5qc Sources: Dell, A., Newton, D., & Petroff, G. (2012). Assistive Technology in the Classroom (2nd ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson. Gierach, J. (ed.). (2009). Assessing Students' Need for Assistive Technology (5th ed). Milton, WI: Wisconsin Assistive Technology Initiative. |
Picture Supports - Picture supports can be provided to the student to assist him or her in determining a topic or subject about which to write. Pictures also can provide visual support during the writing process. The addition of word labels to pictures can be helpful for students with reading dificulty or word retrieval problems.
Boardmaker is software that facilitates the creation of pictures with or without word labels: http://www.mayer-johnson.com/boardmaker-software-family Picture it and Pix Writer are two other types of software which can be used for this purpose: http://www.suncastletech.com/ Pictures do not need to come from a program like these, however. Pictures from the student's own life or from books or magazine can serve the same purpose. Word Cards/ Word Walls - It can be helpful for students to have access to a list of frequently used words either on word cards or on a word wall. A word wall is placed on a classroom wall in a easily visible place. Word cards are cards students may keep at their desks. Access to this list of words helps keep spelling difficulties from preventing students from getting their thoughts down on paper. Written Templates - When students have difficulty choosing a writing topic a writing template can provide a starting point for their writing. These "story starters" can be a springboard for student writing. Digital template software can guide students through the writing process, prompting them to begin with an introduction followed by supporting paragraphs. Teachers can also provide graphic organizers to students to help faciliate the prewriting brainstorming and organizing process. These visual maps of main ideas and supporting details allow students to organize their ideas more easily. Teachers may provide hard copies of graphic organizers to students or students may create graphic organizers using software. Inspiration Software makes a number of products like this. http://www.inspiration.com/ Portable Talking Dictionary - Talking dictionaries provide spoken spellings and word definitions for students with reading, spelling or vision dificulties. Some dictionaries require the user to type in the word to be looked up, while others allow the student to speak the word into the dictionary. This link takes you to a Youtube video demonstrating the Franklin KID 1240, a talking dictionary that is great for young elementary students http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WqlYvnR0D1E Computers with Word Processing - The use of computers with word processing software makes it much easier for students to revise and edit writing. Moving sections of text and inserting text into a written document is easy. Word Processing with Word Prediction - Word prediction can reduce the frustration level, time, and effort associated with composition for student who struggle with spelling. Word prediction software provides users with a list of possible predicted words a students begin to type a word. Word prediction software can be customized to include terms relevant to a specific assignment and proper nouns frequently used by the students. Word prediction software often includes a text to speech feature which can make editing and revision easier for struggling readers. The following are links for some good word prediction software: http://www.cricksoft.com/us/products/tools/writeonline/default.aspx http://www.donjohnston.com/products/cowriter/index.htmlor http://www.goqsoftware.com/ |