Courtney Kiedaisch

EDRE 4860

October 31, 2017

Annotated Bibliography

1. Ciullo, S., & Mason, L. (2017). Prioritizing elementary school writing instruction:
Cultivating middle school readiness for students with learning
disabilities. Intervention in School and Clinic, 52(5), 287-294.

Middle school rigor might be something that is quite challenging for those with
learning disabilities
Students in upper elementary write to learn instead of learn to write
Skills learned in upper elementary are generally transferable to middle school
Teachers state that their instruction for teaching writing are less robust than their
instruction for teaching other subjects
Genre-based writing instruction:
o Each genre should be taught systematically and across subject areas
o Not all writing conventions are transferable across all genres
Self-regulation strategies for genre-based writing:
o POW: P-pull apart the prompt, O-organize notes, W-write and say more
o TIDE: T-topic sentence, I-important evidence, D-details to support
evidence, E-ending. This strategy used with POW is good for informative
summary writing
o TREE: T-Topic sentence, R-reasons, E-explanations, E-ending. This used
with POW is good for persuasive writing
o C-SPACE- C-characters, S-setting, P-plot, A-action, C-characters, E-
ending. This strategy used with POW is good for narrative, biography, or
story writing
Teaching the strategies:
o 1. Develop the strategy
Build interest
Relate to prior knowledge
Review and practice basic skills
o 2. Discuss the strategy
Explain how the strategy will be useful
Encourage student participation
Establish goals for learning the strategy and its steps
 o 3. Memorize the strategy
Support the students
Provide multiple methods for memorization
o 4. Model the strategy
Thinking out loud
Write notes
Set goals
o 5. Guided practice
Set goals, work with teacher and peers
Scaffolding teacher and peer support
Mini-lessons
Small group practice
o 6. Independent practice:
Use the strategy independently to write a paper
Revision and editing
o COPS strategy: C-capitalization, O-organization, P-punctuation, S-
spelling
o Strategies should be used with authentic writing
o Introduce strategy, model, guided practice, independent practice
o Sentence combining strategy- turning simple sentences into complex
sentences
Use authentic writing
Discuss and model
Notetaking
o Supports planning for writing, studying, and organizational skills
o Guided notes: students fill in blanks with information
Helps students with learning disorders by keeping them active
during instruction

The National Assessment of Education Progress 2012 outcomes were lower for students with
disabilities, with only 6% of 4th graders, 5% of 8th graders, and 5% of 12th graders with
disabilities at the proficient level. These outcomes suggest that writing intervention for students
with disabilities in elementary school is key to developing and promoting long-term writing
proficiency (p.278).

This article relates to my research topic because it goes into some self-regulation strategies for
students with learning disabilities. This is a huge help to my research because it essentially
answers the question I have on a surface level. After reading this article, I now know of some
strategies I can use to help my students with learning disabilities become more efficient writers.
 2. Datchuk, S. (2015). Teaching handwriting to elementary students with learning
disabilities. Teaching Exceptional Children, 48(1), 19-27.

Even with the growing reliance on technology, students still need to know how to
write with a pencil and paper
Handwriting instruction occurs mainly in the early grades and not so much in the
later grades
Instruction in the older grades may not leave a lot of time for handwriting practice
for students that need more assistance with it
Problem solving approach: identify, analyze, find a solution, implement the
solution
Handwriting uses: fine-motor movement, visual-motor coordination, and
orthographic coding
Problem identification: observation, collecting writing samples, administering
timed writing and alphabet tasks.
Problem analysis: looking critically at errors to find a solution. Teachers will look
at letter formation, alphabetic knowledge, and writing speed
Finding a solution: if one or more problems are found, the teacher needs to
determine a solution to help the student. Teachers should model, engage students
in guided practice, and then have the students practice without teacher support.
o Solutions: give students visual cues, have them practice memory retrieval
skills, give them motor activities
Implementation and monitoring: Use the model-led framework and choose a
strategy. Provide handwriting instruction during the school day. Limit the amount
of letters practiced during the day. Collect data on students to end the lesson for
the day.

Problems with handwriting can negatively impact the writing of students with learning
disabilities (LD). Slow, illegible handwriting can decrease the amount of writing output
(Graham, 2006) and readers can struggle to interpret a writer's message (Graham, Harris, &
Hebert, 2011) (p.20).

This article relates to my research because handwriting is a huge part of writing. I feel like I
dont think about this often enough, but as a teacher I can teach a student all the strategies in the
world to help them with the content of their writing, but if I cant read it then the strategies dont
really matter. When I teach, I want to give my students with learning disabilities all the strategies
I can to help them succeed, and this includes handwriting instruction.
 3. Ewoldt, K. B., & Morgan, J. J. (2017). Color-coded graphic organizers for teaching
writing to students with learning disabilities. Teaching Exceptional Children, 49(3),
175-184.

Standards for writing are becoming increasingly more demanding

Students with learning disorders tend to struggle with some parts of writing,
causing them to need more direct instruction
Students with learning disorders tend to have thoughts that are not organized or
structured
o Graphic organizers can help with organization
Color coding further provides support
o Organization and finding relationships
Systematic instruction- identifying and organizing skills into steps
Color coding sentences:
o Explicitly teach sentence characteristics
o Develop color associations with sentence types
Model paragraphs to show students how to do this
Ask questions to help students develop higher-order thinking skills
Graphic organizer instruction:
o After understanding sentence types and color coding
o Bubble map
o Conclusion sentence is only sentence not included on graphic organizer
Creating paragraphs from graphic organizer instruction:
o Choose a prompt familiar to students
o Think time, sharing with partners, writing a list
o Create bubble map, teacher model first
o Use graphic organizer to identify sentence types and create paragraphs
Teach with expository first, then narrative

It is important to remind students that a bubble map used for prewriting is the first step to
drafting a paragraph. This connection between a writing product and the drafting and planning
stages is essential for supporting students with LD or writing difficulties to understand the
iterative process of written expression (p.180).

This article helps me answer my research question because it talks about how to keep students
with learning disabilities organized in their writing. Some students who have learning disabilities
really struggle with organizing their thoughts, and now I know some strategies to help them
become more efficient at doing this.
4. Harris, K. R., & Graham, S. (2013). "An adjective is a word hanging down from a
noun": Learning to write and students with learning disabilities. Annals of
Dyslexia, 63(1), 65-79.

Students who have difficulty writing are at an extreme disadvantage in school

Students with learning disabilities tend to struggle more with writing than
students without learning disabilities
Writing is one of the most difficult content areas for students to master
Students with learning disabilities tend to have negative attitudes about writing
Skilled writers:
o Writing is a flexible activity supported by strategies and cognitive
processes
o Are able to effectively portray a message to the reader
o Create new goals during writing
Skilled writing is broken down into three steps: planning, translating, and
reviewing
Knowledge telling: retrieving knowledge and writing about it
Knowledge transforming: complex process focusing on type of writing, writing
goals, audience, etc.
5 most challenging aspects of writing for students with learning disabilities:
o Generation of content
o Creating a structure for writing
o Goal formulation
o Quickly and efficiently
o Revising text
Barriers for writing development:
o Teachers who have little preparation for teaching writing
o Teachers who do not adapt instruction for struggling writers
o Teachers who dislike writing
o Mechanics and grammar are valued over content
o Not enough time is given for students to engage in sustained writing
o Little is done to promote writing development
o Social, contextual, and biological
Challenges for students with learning disorders
o Self-regulation
o Strategic behavior
Effective writing instruction for students with learning disorders
o Evidence based
o Positive environment
o High expectations for all students
 o Variety of text types
o Writing across the curriculum
o Meaningful writing
o Meet the needs of individual students
Students who struggle with handwriting, spelling, or typing should receive
explicit instruction with these skills
SRSD:
o Developed with needs of students with learning disorders in mind
o Develop genre-specific and self-regulation strategies
Six stages of instruction for SRSD
o 1. Develop and activate background knowledge
o 2. Discuss the strategy
o 3. Model the strategy
o 4. Memorize the strategy
o 5. Support use of the strategy
o 6. Independent practice

Significant challenges with writing may impede students from meeting their educational,
occupational, or personal potential. Lack of competence in writing puts students at risk for
school failure, and the consequences extend beyond the school years (Graham & Harris, 2011)
(p.66).

I believe that this article relates to my research topic because it tells the main reasons why
students with learning disabilities struggle with writing and some causes for the struggles. Now I
know what to focus on when I am a teacher and I have students with learning disabilities in my
class. This article also talks a little bit about SRSD, which is something I want to learn more
about. This helps me see where I need to take my research from here.

5. Harris, K. R., Graham, S., & Mason, L. H. (2003). Self-regulated strategy

development in the classroom: Part of a balanced approach to writing instruction
for students with disabilities. Focus on Exceptional Children, 35(7), 1.

Writing has a lot of factors (mechanics, purpose, organization, goals, etc.)

Writing requires use of self-regulation and attention control
Goals of SRSD:
o 1. Assist students with knowledge and skills regarding the writing process
o 2. Support students writing development
o 3. Promote students positive attitudes about writing
Many students with learning disabilities might have trouble with self-regulation
and the cognitive processes that accompany it
 Some students with learning disabilities have self-doubts about their academic
work because they dont believe they can do it or they are bad at what they are
doing
o This often leads to low productivity from these students
Students with learning disabilities often need very explicit instruction, and the
level of explicitness can be varied with SRSD
SRSD conflicts with the constructivist approach to learning due to the outward
teaching of skills in a particular order
o Constructivism is not always the best approach for students with special
needs
Whole language: rejects explicit instruction, immersion in the material, real-world
application activities
o Many students cannot learn to write this way
Integrating SRSD and constructivism has seen the best results
Six stages of instruction:
o Can be used whole group, small group, individually
o Not meant to be followed exactly, more of a guideline
o Stages can be revisited
o Stage 1: Develop and activate background knowledge
Vocabulary and concepts are developed
Self-statements are formed (goals)
Negative self-statements are analyzed
o Stage 2: Discuss it
Discuss strategies, steps of writing process, mnemonics
How/when to use strategies
Goals for strategies are determined
Student and teacher determine current level of performance
o Stage 3: Model it:
Models use of strategy by writing
Think-alouds
o Stage 4: Memorize it
Students memorize how to use strategy
Mnemonics
o Stage 5: Support it
Scaffold strategy use
Students use the strategy themselves as they write
Guided help
o Stage 6: Independent Performance
Write own work independently
SRSD promotes collaborative learning between teacher and student
 Instruction is individualized
Instruction is criterion-based, not time-based
Teachers must anticipate what difficulties may arise
Teachers must be enthusiastic
Teachers must help students see usefulness of strategies learned
Evaluate writing with students

Researchers have found that students with learning disabilities (LD) or other special needs
frequently have greater difficulty with writing than their normally achieving peers (Graham,
Harris, & Larsen, 2001; Harris & Graham, 1992, 1999). Generally, students with learning
problems produce writing that is less polished, expansive, coherent, and effective than students
without learning disabilities (for greater details on the research base, see Graham & Harris,
2002) (p.1).

This article relates to my research because it talks about SRSD, which is something I stated I
wanted to learn more about. SRSD essentially equips students with the strategies they need to be
successful and independent in their writing and is particularly useful for students with learning
disabilities.

6. Montgomery, D. J., & Marks, L. J. (2006). Using technology to build independence

in writing for students with disabilities. Preventing School Failure, 50(3), 33-38.

Inclusion classes for special education students: how do we help these students
that are in general education classes with things they might find challenging (like
writing)?
Students with disabilities often: try to avoid writing, do not organize or plan their
writing, write with punctuation, spelling, and grammar errors, have vocabulary
issues, write less than their peers, do not make revisions in their writing, and write
illegibly
Technology can help by: keyboard use helps with handwriting difficulty,
documents written with word processers tend to be longer in length, contain fewer
errors, and are of better quality
Word processers tend to be highly motivational, students take more risks
Voice output, spell checkers, thesaurus, and grammar checkers help with revision.
Teachers should explicitly teach these features
Organization programs: Brainstorming. Kidspiration, Inspiration. Semantic maps.
Word prediction: Co:Writer, Aurora. Provide correctly spelled word choices to
decrease spelling stress.
Voice output: Reads written text for students to correct errors. Variety of different
voices.
 Spell checker: More confidence, fewer errors. NOT fool-proof, writing can still
have some errors.
Thesaurus: Helps widen vocabulary
Grammar checker: 5 categories: conciseness, usage, syntax, grammar, and
punctuation. NOT fool-proof

The integration of technology, paired with effective teaching practices, such as strategy
instruction, can result in improved written products for students with disabilities (Crealock &
Sitko, 1990; Glazer & Curry, 1988; Graham & Mac Arthur, 1988; Kerchner & Kistinger, 1984;
Outhred, 1989) (p.34).
This source helps me answer my research question because it has several strategies to help
students with learning disabilities become more independent writers. After reading about these
strategies, I feel like I have more tools to help me when I teach writing to students who struggle
with it. I also feel as though these are all practical strategies that can be used in the classroom, so
this article was very good for providing a helpful answer to my question.

7. Olinghouse, N. G. & Colwell, R. P. (2013). Preparing students with learning

disabilities for large-scale writing assessments. Intervention in School and
Clinic, 49(2), 67-76.

State assessments are taken every year in the upper grades to demonstrate
progress towards the state standards
o Are students mastering the content?
o Are students ready for college?
o Are schools meeting accountability goals?
Students with disabilities scores on these tests on average revealed less than
partial mastery on writing for their grade level
Students with disabilities struggle with planning, drafting, and revising parts of
writing
Students with learning disabilities tend to use knowledge telling, revise
mechanical errors only, and do not plan much
Students with learning disabilities are less likely to set writing goals for
themselves
All of the struggles that students with learning disabilities have cause problems
when it comes to writing for state assessments
Preparing for state tests cause both students and teachers to have a great amount
of stress
Implementing evidence-based strategies that help general writing abilities:
o Short-term test preparation will not likely help students in the long term
o Aimed to help students with writing across the curriculum
 o Peer revision
Integrating test preparation into the year-long curriculum:
o More successful than in one short period
o Teachers teach skills, strategies and knowledge that is needed and allow
those to develop over time
o Teach resources that students can use outside the test
o Authentic contexts for writing
Teaching and application of strategies:
o Direct teaching of strategies is good for students with learning disabilities
o Provide opportunities for guided and independent practice, strategy use,
feedback, and strategy generalization
o SRSD
Have students practice writing with state-created rubrics:
o Help students understand grading criteria
o Self-evaluation and self-regulation
o Monitor writing progress
Test taking strategies and test format:
o Lack of understanding can result in lower test scores
o More confident in the format
o Practice with time to develop time management
Affective needs:
o Test anxiety can decrease cognitive performance
o Low self-esteem, beliefs they cannot pass the test
o Help students acquire academic skills improve confidence
o Goal setting and progress monitoring
o Test taking strategies

Considering the struggles that students with LD face as writers and the ongoing debate
regarding ethical test preparation practices, educators must ask themselves a critical question:
How can teachers prepare students with LD for large-scale writing assessments while helping
them become more proficient writers across the curriculum?(p.68).

This article relates to my research because it provides strategies that I can use to help my future
students with learning disabilities pass and feel confident about some of the most important tests
of their lives. By reading this article, I have found a different perspective on why it is important
to provide strategies to help students with learning disabilities in their writing.
8. Sherman, C. K., & Paz, D. L. (2015). A strategic approach to writing and revision
for students with learning disabilities. Teaching Exceptional Children, 48(2), 93-101.

Students with learning disabilities can use FIX along with SRSD to revise their
papers
Students with learning disabilities tend to make revisions to their writing that only
improve it in a small way
These students often do not make revisions that affect the meaning of their written
work
o They tend to make more revisions rather than better revisions
FIX:
o Focus on essay elements
o Identify problems
o Execute changes
Each stage of FIX is represented using a different colored card
Prerequisite skills:
o Understanding the genre
o Applying their knowledge of the genre to FIX
o Write and revise essay as a diagnostic
FIX and SRSD
o Stage 1: Discuss the revising strategy
General overview
Making changes to paper
Explain what a meaningful change is
Self-statements
o Stage 2: Develop background knowledge
Four basic revision tactics
I do, you do, we do
o Stage 3: Model the strategy
Show students essay to revise, read it, and following statements on
colored cards
Think-alouds
o Stage 4: Memorize the strategy
Ask students to memorize FIX
Help come up with ways for each student to memorize that is best
for them
Paraphrasing is okay
Encourage students to memorize sub-strategies as well
o Stage 5: Support the strategy
 Students work as a class and in small groups to practice the
strategy
Encourage use of FIX
o Stage 6: Independent performance
Goal is for students to work independently with the strategy
Gradually encourage students to use strategy without colored cards
Also a good approach for English learners

FIX works by teaching students to identify and solve "big-picture" problems in their writing
rather than focusing on minor issues. In prior research, we found that students with and without
learning disabilities who learned FIX made meaningful changes that improved their papers (De
La Paz & Sherman, 2013). With this strategy, students can learn to effectively revise their essays
and stories (p.93).

This article relates to my research because it includes SRSD, but it puts a new spin on it and
shows how to use SRSD with a strategy. This is very helpful for me as a future teacher because I
can see how to implement a specific strategy.