Title: Evidence Based Writing Intervention: Giving Students the Right to Write
1Evidence Based Writing Intervention Giving
Students the Right to Write
- ASHA, 2007
- Laura Green, Ph.D. CCC/SLP
- lgreen_at_twu.edu
2Evidence Based Practice (EBP)
- The process of integrating our clinical
expertise, best current evidence and the values
of our client values to provide high-quality
services. - Our goal
- A mandate
3Theory Based Practice (TBP)
- The process of integrating clinical expertise,
theoretically sound treatment principles, and
client values to provide the best services
possible when evidence is not available. - Sometimes our only option
- Should be undertaken with a treatment study in
mind
4Writing
- Is a complex mental process that requires a high
level of abstraction, elaboration, conscious
reflection, and self-regulation. - Requires a self-efficacious (I can do this) and
motivated mentality. - Is facilitated when students have a choice in
what they are writing (topics, genres), as choice
promotes interest and autonomy.
5Students with LLDs
- Have specific difficulties with generating ideas,
creating sentences to convey these ideas,
organizing the ideas, monitoring their
performance, and finding and correcting their
errors - Require much more practice to achieve mastery of
writing strategies - Demonstrate a lack of self-regulated learning
along with affective and motivational issues
6Educational Perspectives
- The student is an active learner
- The focus should be on the process of writing
- Planning
- Drafting
- Revising
- Writing is a social activity
- We compose for an audience
- We are reinforced through interaction with
teachers and peers
7Contribution of the SLP
- Writing objectives are grounded in all areas of
language. - We understand the need to apply newly learned
skills in authentic academic contexts. - We can provide additional practice and repeated
learning opportunities that may not be available
in the classroom.
8Intervention Context
- Utilize students existing writing assignments
when possible. - For extra practice, create activities that
utilize content and material related to classroom
work or of high interest to the student(s) - Students choose their own topic
- Students complete a composition with
social/practical significance such as a story to
be published and shared
9Three Intervention Areas
- Sentence Level Composition
- Conjunctions
- References
- Self Regulated Writing
- Self Regulated Strategy Development
- EmPOWER
- Genre Specific Writing
- Narrative Text
- Expository Text
10Sentence Level Composition
- Students must be able to use a variety of
sentence structures that are connected in
coherent ways. - Goals
- Awareness of different sentence combination
options that will increase writing
complexity/fluency and facilitate revision - Appropriate use of pronominal references (e.g.,
he, she and they)
11EBP Sentence Combining
- During drafting, provide instruction in
conjunction use after the student writes
sentences/paragraphs that provide a context for
using them. - During editing, model self-questions such as Do
my sentences show connections between ideas? and
make changes accordingly.
12Case Example Conjunctions
-
- Cindy is a 3rd grader with a language/learning
disability who receives services for both
receptive and expressive language difficulties.
She is seen for therapy in a small group twice
weekly. - Her class is doing a unit on narrative writing.
13Cindys story
- First draft (written in class, spelling left as
written) - One day there were three boys. They were
throwing rocks at cars. There cars were wreked.
They went to court. What happen was the boys
were counted gluity. Everybody was happy. They
had to give them money for their cars.
14Measuring Progress Conjunctions
- Compare pretreatment writing samples to samples
taken during and after treatment - Compare ability to state the meaning of
conjunctions before and after treatment - Compare sentence combining exercises from before
and after treatment
15TBP Referential Cohesion
- During drafting, provide instruction either
immediately following construction of sentences
or after the student has generated a paragraph in
which references are misused. - During editing, students can circle the
references in their text, asking themselves Can
I tell who or what my references are referring
back to and do they make sense? Changes can be
made accordingly.
16Case Example References
- Cindys story
- One day there were three boys. They were
throwing rocks at cars. There cars were wreked.
They went to court. What happen was the boys
were counted gluity. Everybody was happy. They
had to give them money for their cars.
17Measuring Progress References
- Compare use of references in written narratives
before, during and after treatment - Compare students ability to identify incoherent
references in a written paragraph before, during
and after treatment
18Self-Regulated Learning
- Self-generated thoughts, feelings, and actions
that are planned and systematically adapted as
needed to affect ones learning and motivation. - Goal Awareness of how and when to use a variety
of self-regulation strategies for writing (and of
their usefulness for completing specific academic
goals).
19EBP Self Regulated Strategy Development(Harris
Graham, 1996)
- 1. Develop background knowledge and skills
- 2. Discuss the strategy goals and significance
- TREE Topic sentence, Note Reasons, Examine
Reasons, Note Ending - DARE Develop topic sentence, Add supporting
ideas, Reject possible arguments, End with a
conclusion - 3. Model the strategy
- 4. Have students memorize the strategy
- 5. Support strategy practice
- 6. Independent performance
20EBP EmPOWER(Singer Bashir, 2004)
- 1. Evaluate
- 2. Plan
- 3. Organize
- 4. Write
- 5. Edit
- 6. Rewrite/Revise
21Genre Specific Instruction
- Goals
- understanding and using general text
- conventions (i.e., topic sentences,
paragraph organization) - (2) understanding genre-specific information and
structure - Students also need examples of well-written text.
22Narrative Text
- Goal Teach students the underlying structure of
narratives - Utilizing a story grammar approach involves
- (1) sequentially introducing and teaching the
- individual story components.
- (2) illustrating the ways in which these story
- events fit together.
23EBP Narrative Writing
- Story maps/webs (Beck McKeown, 1981 Idol,
1987 Zipprich, 1995) are visual/graphic
representations of the structure of stories
generated prior to writing and referred back to
during text generation. - Story grammar cuing (Montague, Graves Leavell,
1991) uses a check-off system of story elements
that students follow as they write a story. - The Expression Connection A Structured Approach
to Teaching Storytelling to School Age Children
(Klecan-Aker Gill, 1995) uses specific
instruction in story grammar components followed
by structured multiple choice and
fill-in-the-blank story practice activities.
24Story Recipe
- Ingredients
- Setting Characters, time, place
- Problem/Event Something that happens to get the
story started - Internal Response Character feeling or reaction
to the problem or event - Action Character does something about the
problem or event - Consequence The result of the action
- Ending Story wrap-up that relates back to the
problem/event
25Example Story
-
- Once upon a time there was a giant who lived
in a castle. The castle was in the mountains.
The giant had no one to talk to. He was very sad
and lonely. The giant decided to steal a
companion. He went into the village and stole a
little boy. The townspeople became angry and ran
after the giant. The little boy started to cry
because he was frightened. The giant took the
little boy back to the village. The townspeople
were very happy. They let the giant come visit
every day. The giant was never lonely again.
26Case Example Narrative Writing
- Cindys first story draft
- One day there were three boys. They were
throwing rocks at cars. There cars were wreked.
They went to court. What happen was the boys
were counted gluity. Everybody was happy. They
had to give them money for their cars.
27Story Grammar Cuing
- Provide Cindy with a story recipe card to teach
each of the components and their importance. Talk
about how they fit together to make a good story. - Discuss an example story as a model.
- Help Cindy rewrite her story.
28Second Story Draft
-
- One day there were three boys. They were
throwing rocks at cars and breaking the windows.
The people whose cars got wrecked were mad. They
called the polis and the boys got cawt. They had
to go to court. The boys were counted guilty and
felt bad. The people were happy because the boys
had to give them money to get there cars fixed.
The peoples cars got fixed and the boys learnd
there lesson to never throw rocks again. - Spelling left as written
29Expository Text
- Exposition involves writing for informative
purposes. - Text types include description,
comparison-contrast, sequence, enumeration, and
cause-effect - Each type has certain organizational features and
related key words, but the actual written product
may have different needs depending on the
audience, topic or specific purpose.
30EBP Expository Writing
- Goal To help students understand and use a
variety of expository structures in writing - A help sheet can be used to assist students in
generating organized paragraphs (Seidenberg,
1991). - Graphic organizers can be utilized to develop and
organize information to be included in the
assignment (Wong et al., 1997). - Example text and signal words can be provided for
the specific text type.
31Text Organizer Sequence
- Main Idea ________________________
- Topic Sentence _____________________
-
- Step/Event 1 ______________________
- Step/Event 2 ______________________
- Step/Event 3 ______________________
- Step/Event 4 ______________________
32Example Text Sequence
- Treating Minor Burns
- Minor burns can be treated at home.
First, cool the burn under running water for
several minutes. Then, soothe the area with aloe
vera cream or burn ointment. Monitor the site
for blistering and take ibuprofen for pain.
Finally, if you have concerns or questions about
the burn site, call your doctor.
33Signal Words Sequence
- Before
- After
- Next
- First, Second, Third etc.
- Then
- Finally
- Lastly
34Editing/Revising Questions Sequence
- Are my steps/events in chronological or logical
order? - Do they all relate to the topic?
- Did I use signal words to help my reader follow
my thinking? - Is my sequence complete?
35Case Example Expository Writing
- Joe is 13 years old and has a language/learning
disability with specific weakness in expressive
language. He is seen by the SLP once weekly for
an hour. Here is his assignment -
- Choose two items/ideas that share similarities
and differences and are of interest to you.
Write a short essay (3 paragraph minimum) that
successfully compares and contrasts these
items/ideas. Final draft is due in 3 weeks, with
one period of in-class time each week to work on
it.
36Week 1
- Evaluate Review the assignment. Model
self-questions such as What are the key action - words that tell me what to do in the
assignment? or How many parts will my
assignment have? - Plan Discuss the purpose of the essay and look
- at an example text to see how it is organized.
Brainstorm potential topics. - Organize Fill in the expository text help sheet
for a compare/contrast essay. - Work Write a first draft.
37Text Organizer
- Main Idea Fencing with foil and sabre has
similarities and differences.
- Topic sentence Fencing with foil and sabre is
similar in some, but different in many ways. -
- List of similarities List of differences
- 1. Both have same parts 1. Sword parts look
different - 2. Both are used to duel 2. Sabre slash
Foil-jab - 3. Need same protection 3. Area you stab is
different -
38First Draft
- How are Foil and Sabre Alike and Different?
- Fencing with foil and sabre is similar in
some, but different - in many ways. They are alike because both
swords have a - blade, gaurd and hilt. They are different
because Sabre is a - lager wepon then foil. Fiol has a round
guard but a sabre has - a bill gaurd that is shaped like a pirets
cutless gaurd kind of. - You dule with both swords but in sabre you
slash, and in foil, - you stab. In sabre it is more likely to get
hurt than in foil - because you get hit not stabbed. You wear
protective gear. - The difference is in where you can get hit. In
foil you have - only an aria as big as a vest. In sabre you
have from the hips - to the tip of your head.
39Week 2
- Evaluate Model and encourage Joe to answer
self-questions in his proofreading checklist.
Scaffold a discussion of potential changes. - Rework Write a second draft based on the
evaluation. This could be done during in-class
work time.
40Proofreading Checklist
41Second Draft
- How are Foil and Sabre Alike and Different?
- Fencing with foil and sabre is similar in
some, but different in many ways. They are alike
because both swords have a blade, gaurd and hilt.
They are different because Sabre is a lager wepon
then foil. Fiol has a round guard but a sabre
has a bill gaurd that is shaped like a pirets
cutless gaurd. - You dule with both swords but in sabre you
slash, and in foil, you stab. In sabre the
fencer is more likely to get hurt than in foil
because he gets hit not stabbed. Lastly, in both
foil and sabre, the fencer wears protective gear.
This gear is a chest guard, mask and glove. The
difference is in where you can get hit. In foil
you have only an aria as big as a vest. In
contrast, in sabre you have from the hips to the
tip of your head. - Both foil and sabre are fun. They are also
very different and you can take lessons for both
of them.
42Measuring Progress Writing
- Classroom grades in writing
- Comparisons of writing before and after
intervention - Comparisons of multiple drafts of the same
narrative/paper - Portfolios that store a variety of writing
assignments across the school year - Students personal statements about writing
43Conclusions
- Writing is an important but complicated life
skill. - The role of the SLP in writing intervention can
be one of classroom support and/or direct
instruction. - A collaborative relationship with classroom and
special education teachers helps us keep
students writing and intervention purposeful and
relevant.
44References
- Beck, I. McKeown, M. (1981). Developing
questions that promote comprehension The story
map. - Language Arts, 58, 913-918.
- Graham, S. Harris, K.R. (1999). Programmatic
intervention research Illustration from the
evolution of - self-regulated strategy development, Learning
Disabilities Quarterly, 22,51-262. - Klecan-Aker, J. Gill, C. (1995). Teaching
language organization to a child with pervasive
developmental - disorder A case study. Child Language
Teaching and Therapy, 21, 60-74. - Montague, M., Graves, A., Leavell, A. (1991).
Planning, procedural facilitation, and narrative
composition of - junior high students with learning disabilities.
Learning Disabilities Research and Practice, 6,
219-224. - Seidenberg, P. (1991). Reading, writing and
studying strategies An integrated curriculum.
(pp. 43-186). - Gaithersburg, MD Aspen.
- Singer, B.D. Bashir, A. (2004b). EmPOWER A
strategy for teaching students with language
learning - disabilities how to write expository text. In
E. R. Silliman L. Wilkinson (Eds.), Language
and - literacy learning. (pp. 239-272). New York
Guilford - Ukrainetz, T. (Ed.) (2006). Contextualized
language intervention Scaffolding prek-12
literacy - achievement. Eau Claire, WI Thinking
Publications. - Wong, B. (2000). Writing strategies instruction
for expository essays for adolescents with and
without - learning disabilities. Topics in Language
Disorders,20 (4), 29-44. - Wong, B., Butler, D., Ficzere, S., Kuperis, S
(1997). Teaching adolescents with learning
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compare/contrast essays. Learning Disabilities
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