1. Writing Strategies
for Struggling Students
• Kit Giddings
• Utah Personnel Development Center

2. Today’s Objectives
• Why students struggle
• What students need
• Strategies that work

3. Why Do Some
Students Struggle?

4. “The words are all tangled up
inside my head. I’m confused. I
get tangled up in writing the
words and I stop.”
Fifth-grade girl with learning disabilities.

5. So, Let’s Talk
• How were you taught to write?
• How is it going with your
students?

6. Most of Us Were
Taught to Write…
• Write
• Read
• Speak
• Listen

7. Today, Students are
Taught to Write…
• Listen
• Speak
• Read
• Write

8. Writing is Complex
• Background knowledge
• Oral language
• Attention and motivation
• Many skills involved

9. What Do Students
Need?
• Help with ideas
• Talk first, before writing
• Make it hands-on
• Explicit instruction
• Provide strategies

10. Create an Experience
to Write About
• Read a story or chapter
• Watch a video clip
• Go on a field trip

11. Get ‘em Talking!
• With you
• In pairs
• In groups

12. Beginning Sentences
• Start with pictures of nouns
• Add action verbs
• Make simple sentences
• Just begin by talking
• Give students words

13. Beginning Sentences,
cont.
• Make it concrete
• Start with pictures of nouns
• Add action verbs
• Make simple sentences

14. Teaching Sentences
• A sentence is a complete thought that starts with
a capital letter and ends with a period. It also
makes sense.
• A statement sentence tells about something.
• A question sentence needs an answer. It starts
with a capital letter and ends with a question
mark.

15. Sequence for Teaching
Sentences
• A word that names a person, place, or thing
is called a noun.
• A word that tells about an action
is called a verb.
• A small word called an article may be placed
before a noun to make a longer sentence (the, a,
an, some, etc.)

16. Sentence Sequence
• A word that describes a noun
is called an adjective.
• A word that tells how an action is done
is called an adverb.
• A word that may be used to take the place of a
noun is called a pronoun.

17. Teaching Sentences,
cont.
• Teach two part sentences
• Teach three part sentences
• Expand sentences and sentence
variety
• Work on word choice
• Combine sentences
• Work on paragraphs

18. Students Can Be Creative
While Learning Skills
• Students need explicit,
direct instruction at each
step of the writing
process
• Skills need to be taught
and allowed to practice
first separately and then
together so that students
can write with success
and confidence

20. Teach Students Two-Part
Sentences
Noun Verb
(Who/What) (Action)
The eagle stared.

21. Teach Students Three-Part Sentences
Noun Verb Details
(Who/What) (Action) (Finish your thought)
The eagle stared intently.

23. Two Part Sentence
Noun Action Verb
(past tense)
girl looked
someone’s danced
daughter

24. Burrito Fold

25. Ask Students…
• To fold a piece of paper burrito style to
make 3 distinct columns
Noun Verb Details
Who or What Action Finish your
thought
The girl danced with the crowd.
Someone’s daughter swayed to the music

26. Ask: How, When, & Where
• How did the girl dance?
– Beautifully and gracefully
• When did the celebration begin?
– During a holiday
• Where did this take place?
– In the town’s plaza
(Ask students to write how, when, and where
phrases on separate paper strips – small sticky
notes, if possible)

27. Expanding Sentences to
Masterpiece Sentences

28. Masterpiece
Sentences
• Prepare your canvas
• Paint your verb
• Move the verb painters
• Paint your noun
• Paint your words
• Finishing touches

29. To Generalize...
• Create an experience to write about
• Have students talk first
• Be concrete and hands on
• Give students words to use (teach vocabulary)
• Arrange for students to work in pairs and groups
• Combine fun with structure

30. Steps in a Summary
Paragraph
• Three part summary topic sentence
• Make a quick list
• Write your paragraph

31. Paper Folds
Two-column Burrito Accordion

32. Writing Summaries
• A summary is a shortened, condensed
version.
• The purpose of a summary is to share
the main ideas.

33. Step 1
Write a topic sentence using the three-
part topic sentence method
(the burrito fold)
Identify the Item Select a verb Finish Your Thought
Chapter 2 in tells about the
our Science four seasons
book

34. The Three-Part
Summary Topic Sentence
Identity Verb Finish your thought
a number of
Painless Public provides practical hints for
Speaking, by people who are
Sharon Bower afraid of speaking in
front of a group.
The movie entertains the audience with a
Forest Gump great story and
quick review of
history

35. Guided Practice for the
Four-Step Summary
Identify Verb Finish Your Thought
The movie tells about wizards
Harry and magic
Potter and
the
Chamber of
Secrets

36. Guided Practice for the
Four-Step Summary
Identify Verb Finish Your Thought
The movie entices the viewer with a
Harry mixture of fantasy
Potter and and adventure
the
Chamber of
Secrets

37. Step 1
Write a topic sentence using the three-
part topic sentence method
(the burrito fold)
Identify the Item Select a verb Finish Your Thought
Chapter two of
The Adventures of
Tom Sawyer
by Mark Twain

38. Verb Reference List
for Summaries
List A: A good place to start
Tells Explains Compares
Lists Shows Defines

39. Verb Reference List
for Summaries
List B: Try These
acknowledges evaluates classifies adds
defends asserts features depicts
identifies entertains confirms names
considers offers judges contrasts
praises demonstrates provides recommends
endorses asks suggests entices

40. Step 1
Write a topic sentence using the three-
part topic sentence method
(the burrito fold)
Identify the Item Select a verb Finish Your Thought
Chapter two of demonstrates how Tom got
The Adventures of others to do his
Tom Sawyer work for him
by Mark Twain

41. Step 2
Make a Short Outline of 3-5 Phrases
• Whitewash fence as punishment
• Plan to make the whitewashing look fun
• Buddies come by and beg for a turn
• Work gets done with no effort by Tom

42. Step 3
Identify the item Select a verb Finish your thought
Chapter two of demonstrates how Tom got
The Adventures of others to do his
Tom Sawyer work for him
by Mark Twain
-

43. Step 4
Chapter two of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by
Mark Twain describes how Tom got others to do his
work for him. Because he played hooky from school,
Aunt Polly punishes Tom by having him whitewash the
fence on Saturday. Tom, instead of making the
whitewashing look like a chore, makes it appear to be
a fun activity of his choosing. As his buddies come by,
they beg to have a turn at this delightful activity, often
paying for the opportunity. By the end of the day, not
only was Tom’s chore done by others, they paid him
for the pleasure of doing it.

44. Your Turn for a Summary

45. Everyone Can Learn
• Everyone can write clear, concise, and organized
paragraphs if they are provided with:
• Direct instructions
• Step-by-step guidelines
• Examples
• Multiple opportunities to respond and practice,
and
• Specific feedback Maureen Auman

46. Review Steps
• Three part summary topic sentence
• Make a quick list – write the facts
• Write your paragraph

47. What Do Students
Need?
• Help with ideas
• Talk first
• Make it hands-on
• Explicit instruction
• Provide strategies

48. Questions?
kitg@updc.org