EDU 061 Remedial Instruction in English

LET Competency:
 Develop the students’ ability to organize, design, implement, and evaluate remedial English program in any of the
four macro skills.

I. The Remedial Classroom: Organization and Management

A remedial program primarily helps students address language skills deficits by helping them acquire self-confidence
to face their own weakness and overcome these through the acquisition of self-help strategies. A thorough assessment
must be conducted before organizing a remedial program, while consistent monitoring is imperative in managing the
program.

Below are general instructional guidelines that should be considered (Strickland, 1998 cited in Gunning, 2003 and in
Vacca, Vacca, and Gove, 1991):

 Instruction is systematic when it is planned, deliberate in application, and proceeds in an orderly manner. This
does not mean a rigid progression of one-size-fits-all teaching.
 Intensive instruction on any particular skill or strategy should be based on need. Thus, intensity will vary both with
individuals and groups.
 There is no substitute for ongoing documentation and monitoring of learning to determine the order in which skills
should be addressed and the level of intensity required to help a child or group of children succeed in a particular
area.
 To track specific goals and objectives within an integrated language-arts framework, teachers must know the
instructional objectives their curriculum requires at the grade or year level they
teach.

A. Organization
In organizing a remedial program, one must consider the following factors:
1. CURRICULUM
a.Base goals and standards for language learning on theory and research.
b.Relate teacher beliefs and knowledge about instruction to research.
c. Organize the curriculum framework so that it is usable
d.Select materials that facilitate accomplishment of school goals.

2. INSTRUCTION
a. The program must identify instructional strategies and activities for learners.
b. Instruction must be based upon what we know about the effective teaching of language skills.
c. Those involved in designing or selecting instructional activities need to consider the variables that contribute
to success in language learning, given its interactive and constructive nature.
d. Time must be provided in the classroom for practice.
e. Composing should be an integral part of the program.
f. Students should be given opportunities to become independent and to self-monitor their progress.
g. The climate in a school must be conducive to the development of students.
h. The school must develop an organizational structure that meets individual needs of students.
i. The program must provide for coordination among all language programs offered in the school.

3. ASSESSMENT
a. Use assessment to guide instruction.
b. Develop scoring guides and rubrics.
c. Seek alignment among various layers of assessment.

B. Management
School-based remedial sessions tend to involve 3 to 10 learners,
and typically last between 30 to 50 minutes, depending on whether
they are in the elementary or secondary level. A plan to maximize the
utilization of that time should be a high priority. To ensure that the
program is effective, one must consider the six components of an ideal
remedial program (Manzo & Manzo, 1993). These principles may also
be applicable in remediation for other skills aside from reading.

1. The orientation component. The orientation component provides

continuity and focus to the remedial session. It may be an
engaging question or statement related to local or national news,
or even school life. It must focus on structured routines, materials,
equipment, venue, people involved, and the objective of the
program.

2. Direct Instruction Component. This is the instructional heart of

the remedial session. It should never be traded away, even for one period, without some compelling reason.

3. Reinforcement and Extension Component. This period of time ideally should build on the direct instructional
period and be spent in empowered reading, writing, and discussion of what was read. Writing activities may vary
from simply listing key words to summarizing and reacting.
 4. Schema-Enhancement Component. This unit of time should be spent in building a knowledge base for further
reading and independent thinking. It is an ideal time to teach study skills such as outlining, note taking, and
memory training. Ideally, it should flow or precede Component 3.

5. Personal-Emotional Growth Development. There is little learning or consequence that can occur without the
learner involvement and anticipation of personal progress.

6. Cognitive Development Component. This component should contain an attempt to enhance basic thinking
operation such as: inference, abstract verbal reasoning, analogical reasoning, constructive-critical/ creative
reading, convergent and divergent analysis, problem-solving, and metacognition.

II. Remedial Instruction in READING

A. Correcting Perceptual and Decoding Deficits in Word Recognition
We can identify the student who has insufficient competence in the visual analysis of words in two ways. First, the
student, when pronouncing words verbally, selects inappropriate elements to sound out and often he/she tries again
and again to use the same analysis even when it does not work. The second way can be done when the teacher
shows him/her the word covering up parts of it, if the student is able to recognize it, then at least one of his/her
problems in word recognition is faulty visual analysis (Ekwall & Shanker, 1988).

B. Definition of Terms
1. Alphabetic Knowledge: understanding that letters represent sound so that words may be read by saying the
sounds represented by the letters, and words may be spelled by writing the letters that represent the sounds in a
word.
2. Sight-Word Knowledge: all words any one reader can recognize instantly (with automaticity) not necessarily with
meaning.
3. Basic Sight Words: a designated list of words, usually of high utility.
4. Knowledge on Sound-Symbol Correspondence: (a.k.a. graphophonic knowledge) the readers’ ability to use
phonics, phonemic, and structural analysis knowledge.

C. Correcting Sight-Word Knowledge Deficit

1. Write a sentence on the chalkboard with the new word used in context. Underline the word.
2. Let students read the sentence and attempt to say the new word using context clues along with other word-attack
skills. If you are introducing a new story, it is especially important that you do not tell them each new word in
advance, as this deprives them of the opportunity to apply word-attack skills themselves.
3. Discuss the meaning of the word or how it is used in talking and writing. Try to tie to something in their
experience. If possible, illustrate the word with a picture or a concrete object.
4. Write the word as students watch. Ask them to look for certain configuration clues such as double letters,
extenders, and descenders. Also ask them to look for any well-known phonograms or word families, e.g . ill, ant,
ake, but do not call attention to little words in longer words.
5. Ask students to write the word themselves and to be sure have them say the word while they write it.
6. Have students make up and write sentences in which the word is used in context. Have them read these
sentences to each other and discuss them.

D. Correcting Basic Sight Vocabulary Deficit

1. Have the students trace the word; write it on paper, or use chalk or magic slates.
2. Have the students repeat the word each time it is written.
3. Have the students write the word without looking at the flash card; then compare the two.
4. Create “study buddies.” Match learners in the classroom with fellow students who have mastered the words. Take
time to teach the “tutors” how to reinforce new words. Provide a big reward to both tutor and learner once the
learner has attained the goal.
5. Provide reinforcement games for students to use on their own or with their study buddies. Games may be open-
ended game boards or developed by levels according to the sublists.
6. Provide charts, graphs, and other devices for students to display their progress. These serve as excellent
motivators, especially since students are competing with themselves rather than each other.
7. Use your imagination. Have students dramatize phrases, build a sight-word “cave,” practice words while lining up,
read sight-word “plays,” etc.

E. Correcting Knowledge on Sound-Symbol Correspondence

Vowel Rules or Principles and Accent Generalizations
1. In words containing a single vowel letter at the end of the word, the vowel letter usually
has the long vowel sound. (Note that this rule refers to words and not just syllables.)
There is a similar rule for single word letters at the end of syllables
2. In syllables containing a single vowel letter at the end of the syllable, the vowel letter may have either the long or
short vowel sound. Try the long sound first. (Note that this has the same effect as rule 1.)
3. A single vowel in a syllable usually has the short vowel sound if it is not the last letter or is not followed by r, w, or
l. When explaining this to students it is often helpful to indicate that a single vowel in a closed syllable is usually
short. Students should be taught that a closed syllable is one in which there is a consonant on the right-hand side.
They will also need to know, as indicated above, the r, w, and l control rules.
4. Vowels followed by r usually have a sound that is neither long nor short
5. A y at the beginning of a word has the “y” consonant sound; y at the end of a single-syllable word, when preceded
by a consonant, usually has the long I sound; and y at the end of a multisyllable word, when preceded by a
consonant, usually has the long e sound. (Some people hear it as short i.)
6. In words ending with vowel-consonant-silent e the e is silent and the first vowel may be either long or short. Try
the long sound first. In teaching this rule, stress that the student should be flexible; i.e. try the short vowel sound if
the long one does not form a word in his or her speaking-listening vocabulary. It has been demonstrated that
 students who are taught to be flexible in attacking words when applying rules such as this become more adept at
using word-attack skills than those who are not taught this flexibility.
7. When aj, ay, ea, ee, and oa are found together, the first vowel is usually long and the second is usually silent.
8. The vowel pair ow may have either the sound heard in cow or the sound heard in crow.
9. When au, aw, ou, oi, and oy are found together, they usually blend to form a diphthong.
10. The oo sound is either long as in moon or short as in book.
11. If a is the only vowel in a syllable and is followed by l or w, then the a is usually neither long nor short.

NOTE: Accent has less importance for a corrective reader than the vowel rules. This is true partially because a student
who properly attacks a new word in his or her speaking-listening vocabulary but not sight vocabulary is likely to get the
right accent without any knowledge of accent generalizations.
Also, teach students the use of affixes so they will have better understanding of contractions, inflectional and
derivational endings for change tense, number form and function. These will lead to students’ sufficient use of structural
analysis strategy.

Syllabication Principles
1. When two consonants stand between two vowels, the word is usually divided between the consonants, e.g.,
dag-ger and cir-cus. In some of the newer materials, materials are divided after the double consonant, e.g.,
dagg-er. It should be remembered that in reading we are usually teaching syllabication as a means of word
attack. Therefore, we should also accept a division after double consonants as correct even though the
dictionary would not show it that way.
2. When one consonant stands between two vowels, try dividing first so that the consonant goes with the second
vowels, e,g., pa-per and motor, Students should be taught that flexibility is required in using this rule; if this does
not give a word in the student’s speaking-listening vocabulary, then the student should divide it so that the
consonant goes with the first vowel, as in riv-er and lev-er.
3. When a word ends in a consonant and le, the consonant usually begins the last syllable, e.g., ta-ble and hum-
ble.
4. Compound words are usually divided between word parts and between syllables in this parts, e.g., hen-house
and po-lice-man.
5. Prefixes and suffixes usually form separate syllables.

F. Remediation through Phonemic Awareness

The following are Critical Phonemic Awareness skills students should learn
1. Sound Isolation. Example: The first sound in sun is /ssss/.
Example Instruction: In sound isolation use conspicuous strategies.
a. Show students how to do all the steps in the task before asking children to do the task.
Example: (Put down 2 pictures that begin with different sounds and say the names of the pictures.) "My turn
to say the first sound in man, /mmm/. Mmman begins with /mmm/. Everyone, say the first sound in man,
/mmm/."
Non-example: "Who can tell me the first sounds in these pictures?"
b. Use consistent and brief wording.
Example: "The first sound in Mmman is /mmm/. Everyone say the first sound in man, /mmm/."
Non-example: "Man starts with the same sound as the first sounds in mountain, mop, and Miranda. Does
anyone know other words that begin with the same sound as man?"
c. Correct errors by telling the answer and asking students to repeat the correct answer. Example: "The first
sound in Man is /mmm/. Say the first sound in mmman with me, /mmm/. /Mmmm/."
Non-example: Asking the question again or asking more questions. "Look at the picture again. What is the
first sound?"

2. Blending (Example: /sss/ - / uuu/ - /nnn/ is sun). In blending instruction, use scaffold task difficulty.
a. When students are first learning to blend, use examples with continuous sounds, because the sounds can be
stretched and held.
Example: "Listen, my lion puppet likes to talk in a broken way. When he says /mmm/ - /ooo/ - /mmm/ he
means mom."
Non-example: "Listen, my lion puppet likes to talk in a broken way. When he says /b/ - /e/ - /d/ he means
bed."
b. When students are first learning the task, use short words in teaching and practice examples. Use pictures
when possible.
Example: Put down 3 pictures of CVC words and say: "My lion puppet wants one of these pictures. Listen to
hear which picture he wants, /sss/ - /uuu/ - /nnn/. Which picture?"
Non-example: ".../p/ - /e/ - /n/ - /c/ - /i/ - /l/. Which picture?" (This is a more advanced model that should be
used later.)
c. When students are first learning the task, use materials that reduce memory load and to represent sounds.
Example: Use pictures to help them remember the words and to focus their attention. Use a 3-square strip or
blocks to represent sounds in a word.
Non-example: Provide only verbal activities.
d. As students become successful during initial learning, remove scaffolds by using progressively more difficult
examples. As students become successful with more difficult examples, use fewer scaffolds, such as pictures.
Example: Move from syllable or onset-rime blending to blending with all sounds in a word (phoneme
blending). Remove scaffolds, such as pictures. "Listen, /s/ - /t/ - /o/ - /p/. Which picture?" "Listen, /s/ - /t/ - /o/
- /p/. What word?"
Non-example: Provide instruction and practice at only the easiest levels with all the scaffolds.

3. Segmenting (Example: The sounds in sun are /sss/ - /uuu/ - /nnn/) In phoneme segmentation instruction,
strategically integrate familiar and new information.
 a. Recycle instructional and practice examples used for blending. Blending and segmenting are sides of the
same coin. The only difference is whether students hear or produce a segmented word. Note: A segmenting
response is more difficult for children to reproduce than a blending response.
Example: "Listen, my lion puppet likes to say the sounds in words. The sounds in mom are /mmm/ - /ooo/
- /mmm/. Say the sounds in mom with us. "
b. Concurrently teach letter-sound correspondences for the sounds students will be segmenting in words.
Example: Letter sound /s/ and words sun and sit. Put down letter cards for familiar letter-sounds. Then, have
them place pictures by the letter that begins with the same sound as the picture.
Non-example: Use letter-sounds that have not been taught when teaching first sound in pictures for
phoneme isolation activities.
c. Make the connections between sounds in words and sounds of letters.
Example: After students can segment the first sound, have them use letter tiles to represent the sounds.
Non-example: Letters in mastered phonologic activities are not used. Explicit connections between
alphabetic and phonologic activities are not made.
d. Use phonologic skills to teach more advanced reading skills, such as blending letter-sounds to read words.
Example: (Give children a 3-square strip and the letter tiles for s, u, n.) Have them do familiar tasks and
blending to teach stretched blending with letters.

G. Remedial Vocabulary Instruction

Vocabulary is initially acquired in four ways:
 Incidentally, through reading and conversation
 Through direct instruction, as when a teacher or auto-instructional
program is used intentionally build vocabulary power
 Through self-instruction, as when words are looked up in a dictionary or
their meaning are sought from others in a conscious manner.
 Through mental manipulation while thinking, speaking ,and writing

1. Considerations in remedial vocabulary instruction

Connect vocabulary instruction to the natural processes of word learning. The literature on vocabulary acquisition
tends to divide the teaching of vocabulary into five phases. These are:
a. Disposition – opening the student’s mind and will to engage new words.
b. Integration – establishing ties between the meaning of a new word and the student’s existing knowledge.
c. Repetition – provisions for practice distributed over time, as well as opportunities for frequent encounters
with the word in similar and differing contexts.
d. Interaction and meaningful use – social situations conducive to using new words in interactions with others
and, thus, mentally referencing new words in listening, reading, writing, and speaking.
e. Self-instruction – maintaining an awareness of new words outside the classroom.

2. Concept-Based Approach to Vocabulary Building

a. Identify the relevant and irrelevant features of the concept in question.
b. Provide examples of the concept.
c. Provide examples of irrelevant but loosely related concepts with which it might be compared.
d. Relate the concept by some possible smaller or subordinating concepts.
e. Relate or categorize the concept by some possible larger or superordinating concepts.
f. Relate or categorize the concept alongside equal or coordinating terms.

3. Subjective Approach to Vocabulary (SAV)

a. Identify two to four words to be taught or pre-taught if SAV is used as a pre-reading activity. If a word list is
used, be sure to include as many words as possible that impart concepts and feelings that you would wish
students to learn.
b. The teacher tells the student the full meaning of a word, much as it might be found in a dictionary. It is
recorded in a Word Study Journal as the “objective” or dictionary meaning.
c. The teacher asks the student, “What does this word remind you of?” or “What do you picture or think of when
you hear this word?” Explain that discussion of a personal association with a word can be very helpful in
remembering and clarifying its meaning.
d. The teacher talks to the student through this personal search for meaning by asking further clarifying
questions, and in group situations by pointing out those images suggested that seem most vivid. The teacher
may add his or her own images. Students are then directed to write some “subjective” or personal
associations for the new word under the previously written dictionary definition in their journals. Drawings
can be added.
e. Silent reading follows next when SAV is used as pre-reading vocabulary development. When it is being used
for general vocabulary development, students are given 5 to 10 minutes to study and rehearse the new and
previously recorded words.
f. The teacher let the student close the Word Study Journal and asks him/her the meanings of the words
studied that day and a few others from previous days. This step can be tied to seat exercises in conventional
workbooks such as crossword puzzles, category games, etc. This manipulation and reinforcement step can
be made easier by selecting the words to be taught from the exercise material.

4. Motor Imaging
It appears that even the highest forms of vocabulary and concept learning have psychomotor foundations, or
equivalents. Hence, motor movements associated with certain stimuli can become interiorized as a “symbolic
 meaning” (Piaget, 1963 in Manzo and Manzo1993). There are three considerable advantages to knowing this
where remediation is concerned:
a. First, since physical-sensory or proprioceptive learning can be interiorized, they also can be self-stimulating,
and as such, they are easier to rehearse and recall with the slightest mental reminder, as well as from
external stimulation.
b. Second, proprioceptive learning is so basic to human learning that it is common to all learners, fast and slow,
and hence, ideal for heterogeneously grouped classes.
c. Third, the act of identifying and acting out a word becomes a life experience in itself with the word – a value
that Frederick Duffellmeyer (1980) in Manzo and Manzo (1993) demonstrated when he successfully taught
youngsters words via the “experiential” approach.

PROCEDURE
1. Take a difficult word from the text, write it on the chalkboard, pronounce it, and tell what it means.
2. Ask students to imagine a simple pantomime for the word meaning (“How could you show someone what
this word means with just your hands or a gesture?”)
3. Tell students that when you give a signal, they will do their gesture pantomimes simultaneously.
4. Select the most common pantomime observed. Demonstrate it all to the students, saying the word while
doing the pantomime.
5. Repeat each new word, this time directing the class to do the pantomime while saying a brief meaning or
simple synonym.
6. Let the students encounter the word in the assigned reading material.
7. Try to use the pantomime casually whenever the word is used for a short time thereafter.

III. Remedial Instruction in LISTENING

A. Factors Affecting Students’ Listening Comprehension
1. Internal factors – refer to the learner characteristics, language proficiency, memory, age, gender, background
knowledge as well as aptitude, motivation, and psychological and physiological factors
2. External factors - are mainly related to the type of language input and tasks and the context in which listening
occurs

B. Internal Factors
1. Problems in language proficiency (cover problems on phonetics and phonology like phonetic discrimination,
and phonetic varieties; problems in grammar; and lexicological problems)
2. Poor background knowledge
3. Lack of motivation to listen
4. Psychological factors
5. Other internal factors (age, attention span, memory span, reaction and sensitivity)

C. External Factors
1. Speed of delivery and different accents of the speakers
2. The content and task of listening materials
3. Context - refers to the spatial-temporal location of the utterance, i.e. on the particular time and particular place
at which the speaker makes an utterance and the particular time and place at which the listener hears or reads
the utterance.
4. Co-text - another major factor influencing the interpretation of meaning. It refers to the linguistic context or the
textual environment provided by the discourse or text in which a particular utterance occurs. Co-text constrains
the way in which we interpret the response. Here we can infer that the person is not going to a picnic by
judging from the co-text.
A: Are you coming going to Baguio with us?
B: I have a paper to finish by Monday.

D. How to Improve Students’ Listening Comprehension

1. Teach pronunciation, stress, and intonation of the critical sounds of English
2. Practice sound discrimination, liasions, and incomplete plosives
3. Recognize stressed and unstressed words
4. Enrich vocabulary
5. Teach grammar
6. Practice inferring information not directly stated
7. Improve skills in predicting
8. Teach note-taking skills

IV. Remedial Instruction in SPEAKING

A. What makes speaking difficult (Brown, 2001)
1. Clustering
2. Redundancy
3. Reduced forms
4. Performance variables
5. Colloquial language
6. Rate of delivery
7. Stress, rhythm, and intonation
8. Interaction

B. Teaching Pronunciation
Below are techniques and practice,materials (as cited in Murcia, Brinton, and Goodwin, 1996) in teaching
pronunciation which have been used traditionally and continues to be utilized in speaking classes.
 1. Listen and imitate. Learners listen to a model provided by the teacher and then repeat or imitate it.
2. Phonetic training. Articulatory descriptions, articulatory diagrams, and a phonetic alphabet are used.
3. Minimal Pair drills. These provide practice on problematic sounds in the target language through listening
discrimination and spoken practice. Drills begin with word-level then move to sentence-level.
4. Contextualized minimal pairs. The teacher established the setting or context then key vocabulary is presented.
Students provide meaningful response to sentence stem.
5. Visual aids. These materials are used to cue production of focus sounds.
6. Tongue twisters
7. Developmental approximation drills. Second language speakers take after the steps that English-speaking
children follow in acquiring certain sounds.
8. Practice of vowel shifts and stress shifts related by affixation
Vowel shift: mime (long i) mimic (short i)
Sentence context: Street mimes often mimic the gestures of passersby.
Stress shift: PHOtograph phoTOGraphy
Sentence context: I can tell from these photographs that you are very good at
photography.
9. Reading aloud/recitation. Passages and scripts are used for students to practice and then read aloud focusing
on stress, timing, and intonation.
10. Recording of learners’ production. Playback allows for giving of feedback and self-evaluation.

C. The Use of Accuracy-based Activities

Accuracy precedes fluency. Form-focused activities prepare students for communicative tasks. These activities
have a high degree of control and focuses on specific language components. To strike a balance, Hedge (2000)
describes how to make accuracy-based activities meaningful.
1. Contextualized practice. This aims to establish the link between form and function. The activity should highlight
the situation where the form is commonly used.
2. Personalizing language. Personalized practice encourages learners to express their ideas, feelings, and
opinions. These activities help learners to use language in interpersonal interactions. A variety of gambits or
useful expressions should be provided.
3. Building awareness of the social use of language. This involves understanding social conventions in interaction.
Communication strategies are directly taught and practiced through contextualized activities.
4. Building confidence. The key is to create a positive climate in classroom where learners are encouraged to take
risks and engage in activities.

D. Talking to Second Language Learners in the beginning level

Cary (1997) suggests that teachers need to make speech modifications as a form of instructional support when
teaching with second language learners.
1. Speak at standard speed. This means providing more and slightly longer pauses to give students more time to
make sense of the utterances.
2. Use more gestures, movement, and facial expressions. These provide emphasis on words and give learners
extra clues as they search for meaning.
3. Be careful with fused forms. Language compressions or reduces forms can be difficult for learners. Use these
forms without overusing or eliminating them altogether.
4. Use shorter, simpler, sentences.
5. Use specific names instead of pronouns.

V. Remedial Instruction in WRITING

A. Areas of Difficulty for Students with Writing Problems (Troia, 2002; Troia & Graham, 2003)
1. Knowledge Difficulties
Students with writing problems show:
a. Less awareness of what constitutes good writing and how to produce it;
b. Restricted knowledge about genre-specific text structures (e.g., setting or plot elements in a narrative);
c. Poor declarative, procedural, and conditional strategy knowledge (e.g., knowing that one should set goals for
writing, how to set specific goals, and when it is most beneficial to alter those goals);
d. Limited vocabulary;
e. Underdeveloped knowledge of word and sentence structure (i.e., phonology, morphology, and syntax);
f. Impoverished, fragmented, and poorly organized topic knowledge;
g. Difficulty accessing existing topic knowledge; and
h. Insensitivity to audience needs and perspectives, and to the functions their writing is intended to serve.

2. Skill Difficulties
Students with writing problems:
a. Often do not plan before or during writing;
b. Exhibit poor text transcription (e.g., spelling, handwriting, and punctuation);
c. Focus revision efforts (if they revise at all) on superficial aspects of writing (e.g., handwriting, spelling, and
grammar);
d. Do not analyze or reflect on writing;
e. Have limited ability to self regulate thoughts, feelings, and actions throughout the writing process;
f. Show poor attention and concentration; and
g. Have visual motor integration weaknesses and fine motor difficulties.
 3. Motivation Difficulties
Students with writing problems:
a. Often do not develop writing goals and subgoals or flexibly alter them to meet audience, task, and personal
demands;
b. Fail to balance performance goals, which relate to documenting performance and achieving success, and
mastery goals, which relate to acquiring competence;
c. Exhibit maladaptive attributions by attributing academic success to external and uncontrollable factors such
as task ease or teacher assistance, but academic failure to internal yet uncontrollable factors such as limited
aptitude;
d. Have negative self efficacy (competency) beliefs;
e. Lack persistence; and
f. Feel helpless and poorly motivated due to repeated failure.

B. Qualities of Strong Writing Instruction

In order for teachers to support all students' writing ability development, certain qualities of the writing classroom
must be present. Four core components of effective writing instruction constitute the foundation of any good writing
program:
1. Students should have meaningful writing experiences and be assigned authentic writing tasks that promote
personal and collective expression, reflection, inquiry, discovery, and social change.
2. Routines should permit students to become comfortable with the writing process and move through the
process over a sustained period of time at their own rate.
3. Lessons should be designed to help students master craft elements (e.g., text structure, character
development), writing skills (e.g., spelling, punctuation), and process strategies (e.g., planning and revising
tactics).
4. A common language for shared expectations and feedback regarding writing quality might include the use of
traits (e.g., organization, ideas, sentence fluency, word choice, voice, and conventions).

C. Adaptations for Struggling Writers

1. Accommodations in the Learning Environment
a. Increase instructional time for writing.
b. Provide quiet and comfortable spaces for students to work.
c. Provide unimpeded access to writing tools.
d. Let students identify and select meaningful reinforcements for achieving writing goals (e.g., a reinforcement
menu).
e. Consult with an occupational therapist to identify specialized adaptations (e.g., chair and desk height).

2. Accommodations in Instructional Materials

a. Simplify language of writing prompts.
b. Highlight (e.g., color code) key words and phrases.
c. Transition from simple to more elaborate graphic organizers and procedural checklists.
d. Post strategies, graphic organizers, and checklists in classroom and give students personal copies.
e. Develop individualized spelling lists.
f. Have students keep a personal dictionary of “demon” words and frequently used spelling vocabulary.
g. Provide paper positioning marks on students’ desks.
h. Provide pencil grips for students.
i. Provide raised- or colored-lined paper.
j. Provide students with personal copies of alphabet strips.

3. Accommodations in Teaching Strategies

a. Devote more instructional time to writing mechanics.
b. Provide physical assistance during handwriting practice.
c. Re-teach writing skills and strategies.
d. Expect and support mastery learning of skills and strategies (e.g., memorization of strategy steps).
e. Use cross-age peer tutors to reinforce skills and strategies.
f. Assign homework designed to reinforce writing instruction.
g. Help students set specific and challenging yet attainable goals for the writing process (e.g., completing a
planning sheet before beginning to draft) and written products (e.g., a quantity goal of including 10 descriptive
words in a story, which is perhaps linked to a quality goal of improving word choice by two points on an
analytic quality scale).
h. Help students develop self-instructions (e.g., “I can handle this if I go slow.”) and self-questions (e.g., “Am I
following my plan?”) that focus on positive attributions for success and task progress.
i. Teach students to evaluate and adjust their writing behaviors and writing strategy use to improve their writing
productivity and performance.
j. Promote maintenance and generalization of writing strategies by doing the following:
 Modeling and discussing how strategies may be used in multiple contexts;
 Relating writing performance to strategy use;
 Having students teach others how to use strategies;
 Having students keep a strategy notebook which they can consult at any time;
 Ensuring all staff and caregivers are familiar with and prompt the use of the strategies; and
 Reviewing strategies often.
 4. Modifications to Task Demands
a. Increase amount of time allotted for completing written assignments.
b. Decrease the length and/or complexity of written assignments.
c. Have students complete text frames (i.e., partially finished texts).
d. Reduce or eliminate copying demands (e.g., teach students abbreviations for note taking, supply worksheets
with math problems from textbook).
e. Allow students to use temporary/invented spelling.
f. Pre-teach spelling vocabulary for assignments.

g. Evaluate spelling using correct letter sequences (e.g., hopping has 8 possible correct letter sequences) rather
than number of words spelled correctly to measure and reward incremental progress attributable to partial
correct spelling.
h. Permit students to dictate written work to a scribe.
i. If students have adequately developed keyboarding skills, permit them to write papers with a word processor.
j. Permit students to use outlining and semantic mapping software to facilitate planning.
k. Permit students to use voice recognition technology to facilitate text transcription.
l. Permit students to use integrated spell checker and/or word prediction software to facilitate correct spelling.
m. Permit students to use speech synthesis technology to facilitate revising and editing.
n. Selectively weight grading for content, organization, style, and conventions.
o. Grade assignments based on the amount of improvement rather than absolute performance.
p. Assign letter grades for body of work collected over time (i.e., portfolio assessment) rather than for each
paper.
q. Provide feedback on content, organization, style, and conventions for some rather than all assignments
(which may reduce students’ anxiety about writing).
r. Provide feedback on targeted aspects of writing rather than all aspects to avoid overwhelming students.

5. Modifications to Learning Tasks

a. Permit students to dramatize or orally present a written assignment, either in lieu of writing or in preparation
for writing.
b. Assign students suitable roles (e.g., brainstorm manager) for the creation of a group-generated paper.

D. Teaching Handwriting
The following are research-based suggestions for teaching handwriting.
1. Curriculum Considerations
a. The initial use of one type of script (e.g., manuscript versus cursive or different versions of manuscript) does
not appear to affect handwriting performance.
b. Special emphasis is placed on difficult-to-form letters and those that are frequently reversed.
c. Lowercase letters are introduced before upper-case letters, unless they are formed using similar strokes (e.g.,
C, c).
d. Letters that share common strokes are grouped together (e.g., o, c, d, a).
e. The introduction of easily confused letters (e.g., b, d, p, q) is staggered.
f. The formation of individual upper- and lowercase letters and, for cursive, difficult letter transitions (e.g., roam)
are modeled.
g. Visual cues, such as numbered dots and arrows, and verbal descriptions are used to guide letter formation.
h. Activities to reinforce letter recognition and naming are combined with handwriting practice.
i. Students practice using a comfortable and efficient tripod pencil grasp.
j. Students are shown and expected to use appropriate posture and paper positioning for their handedness.
k. Handwriting fluency is developed through frequent writing and speed trials, with an emphasis on maintaining
legibility.
l. Opportunities are provided for distributed practice and judicious review of individual letters and letter
sequences.
m. Students are permitted to develop their own handwriting style and to choose which script (manuscript,
cursive, or even a blend) they prefer to use after mastering handwriting (manuscript tends to be more legible
than cursive and can be written just as quickly if given equal emphasis).
n. Students are prompted to identify when a high degree of legibility is and is not necessary.

2. Weekly Routines
a. In the primary grades, 60–75 minutes per week is allocated for handwriting instruction.
b. Students are encouraged to compare letters to discover patterns and to highlight their similarities and
differences.
c. Students are given opportunities to reinforce target letters by tracing them (a dashed or faded model), copying
them, and writing them from memory.
d. Students’ handwriting is monitored and immediately reinforced for correct letter formation, spacing, alignment,
size, slant, and line quality.
e. Students are asked to self-evaluate their handwriting and to set goals for improving specific aspects of their
handwriting each day.
f. Students are encouraged to correct poorly formed letters and to rewrite illegible work.

E. Teaching Spelling
1. Curriculum Considerations
a. Spelling vocabulary includes words drawn from children’s reading materials, children’s writing, self-selected
words, high-frequency word lists 1,2, and pattern words.
b. Students are typically taught phonemic awareness and phoneme-grapheme associations (reserving the least
consistent mappings, such as consonants /k/ and /z/ and long vowels, for last) in kindergarten and first grade.
Common spelling patterns (e.g., phonograms or rime families 3,4,5) are taught in first and second grades.
 Morphological structures (i.e., roots and affixes 3,4,5,6) and helpful spelling rules (e.g., add es to make words
ending in s, z, x, ch, or sh plural) are taught in second grade and beyond.
c. Students are taught systematic and effective strategies for studying new spelling words (e.g., mnemonic
spelling links, multi-sensory strategies).
d. Previously taught spelling words are periodically reviewed to promote retention.
e. Correct use of spelling vocabulary in students’ written work is monitored and reinforced.
f. Students are taught and encouraged to use dictionaries, spell checkers, and other resources to determine the
spelling of unknown words
g. Spelling “demons” and other difficult words are posted on wall charts.

2. Weekly Routines
a. A minimum of 60–75 minutes per week is allocated for spelling instruction.
b. Students take a Monday pretest to determine which words they need to study during subsequent activities
and to set spelling performance goals.
c. After studying new spelling words, students take a Friday posttest to determine which words were mastered.
d. Immediately after taking a spelling test, students correct their misspellings.
e. The teacher conducts word sorts and guided spelling activities to explicitly teach spelling patterns and rules at
the beginning of the week.
f. Daily opportunities are provided for cumulative study and testing of new spelling words (e.g., through
computer-assisted instruction).
g. Students work together each day to learn new spelling words.
h. While studying, students monitor their on-task behavior or the number of times they correctly spell a target
word, to promote active learning.