Writing is a complex task that involves many different skills such as handwriting, spelling, grammar and syntax. But other important skills – related to executive (brain boss) functions, play a critical role as well. For example, during a writing task, students must:
- Brainstorm main and supporting ideas
- Plan and organize their ideas so they are presented in logical order
- Write sentences that include nouns and verbs that logically convey ideas
- Monitor their writing to ensure sentences are grammatically correct
- Evaluate their sentences in terms of grammatical accuracy, and in relation to the initial plan
- Revised the writing draft to ensure an optimal error-free final product
Although the act of writing may seem arduous for many students, there are many helpful strategies that help, both at school and at home.
Resources for Parents
For children with written expression difficulties, getting them to complete any writing tasks at home can be extremely difficult. Oftentimes they are easily overwhelmed and frustrated by the amount of work they are expected to do, and so can become resistant to writing tasks in general. Below are some resources that may be beneficial in helping your child complete their writing homework.
- Chunking work into smaller more manageable portions is a useful tool in presenting writing tasks. LD Online provides a useful chunking strategy called POWER which categorizes the different steps of writing.
- Using a Mind Map is a useful tool in helping the student organize elements of their story before they begin the writing process. It is a visual way to identify things such as characters, plot, scene, time, key words etc. so that the writer does not have to keep all of these elements in mind while writing. Utilizing pictures and colours in the mind map is also useful for those students that are visual learners. Mind Meister provides a good breakdown of what a mind map looks like and provides some examples (other examples can be found with a simple google search or even on Pinterest).
Tips for Teachers
- For students with known difficulties with executive functions, they might benefit from breaking longer writing tasks into shorter more manageable parts and providing them with non-writing breaks between written tasks.
- Instruct those students to get their ideas down on paper first and then go back to proof read. That way they can use all their mental energy on idea formation rather than getting bogged down by spelling, grammar etc. Once they are done, teach them to go back proofread. One useful proofreading strategy is COPS – Capitalization, Overall Appearance, Punctuation, and Spelling. Providing a checklist is a good strategy to help support the editing process.
- For those students with a suspected written language learning disability, it may be appropriate to make certain accommodations for them with written assignments or in testing situations. For example, some may have difficulty fully demonstrating their range of knowledge in an essay format test. Therefore, fill-in-the-blanks, matching, multiple choice or short-answer formats could be more effective ways of evaluating what they know. When essay questions are necessary, adaptations may be required to allow them to adequately demonstrate their full range of knowledge. Such adaptions may include allowing them to type their answer, or not deducting points for incorrect spelling or grammar.
- For those students who write very slowly, it may be a good idea to provide them with a copy of notes instead of copying from the board.
Technology Supports
As kids get older, it is often a good idea to transition from learning basic skills such as spelling, and focus more on getting their ideas and knowledge down on paper. This is especially important for those that struggle with visual-motor or fine-motor skills. And this is when technology becomes incredibly useful. Below are some programs or technologies that can help those who struggle with written output.
- Although handwriting skills are necessary, let’s face it, as adults we probably type more than we write. Therefore, one of the best things any child can do is learn typing skills. If they aren’t already learning typing at school there are many programs online they can use such as the TypingClub, Dance Mat Typing or Typeracer.
- On newer versions of Microsoft word or OneNote, there is a “dictation” button in the top right corner. When selected (and the microphone on the device is enabled) the student can simply talk and the program will convert it into text. They also provide many other tools for editing such as spelling and grammar and a thesaurus. The text can also be translated into another language if for example they want to check their work in their primary language. Keep in mind, that to use dictation, you have to be able to speak clearly.
- Text-to-speech (TTS), also provided in Word and OneNote, is typically thought of as a reading tool. But TTS can also help with writing. That’s because it can read aloud what’s written, so you can check for mistakes. Some TTS tools can also read words aloud as they’re typed.