Evidence Based Writing
Intervention:
Giving Students the Right to
Write
ASHA, 2007
Laura Green, Ph.D. CCC/SLP
[email protected]
Evidence Based Practice (EBP)
• The process of integrating our clinical
expertise, bestc urrentevidenc e and
the values of our client values to
provide high-quality services.
• Our goal
• A mandate
Theory Based Practice (TBP)
• The process of integrating clinical
expertise, theo retic ally so und treatm ent
p rinc ip les, 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
Writing
• 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.
Students 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
Educational 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
Contribution 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.
Intervention 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
Three Intervention Areas
• Sentence Level Composition
– Conjunctions
– References
• Self Regulated Writing
– Self Regulated Strategy Development
– EmPOWER
• Genre Specific Writing
– Narrative Text
– Expository Text
Sentence Level Composition
•
Students must be able to use a variety of
sentence structures that are connected in
coherent ways.
• Goals:
(1) Awareness of different sentence
combination options that will increase
writing complexity/fluency and
facilitate revision
(2) Appropriate use of pronominal
references (e.g., “he,” “she” and
“they”)
EBP: 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.
Case 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.
Cindy’s 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.”
Measuring 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
TBP: 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.
Case Example: References
Cindy’s 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.”
Measuring Progress: References
• Compare use of references in written
narratives before, during and after
treatment
• Compare student’s ability to identify
incoherent references in a written
paragraph before, during and after
treatment
Self-Regulated Learning
• Self-generated thoughts, feelings, and
actions that are planned and systematically
adapted as needed to affect one’s 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).
EBP: 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
EBP: EmPOWER
(Singer & Bashir, 2004)
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Evaluate
Plan
Organize
Write
Edit
Rewrite/Revise
Genre Specific Instruction
•
Goals:
(1) understanding and using general text
conventions (i.e., topic sentences, paragraph
organization)
(2) understanding genre-specific information
and structure
•
Students also need examples of wellwritten text.
Narrative 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.
EBP: 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 (KlecanAker & Gill, 1995) uses specific instruction in story
grammar components followed by structured multiple
choice and fill-in-the-blank story practice activities.
Story 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
Example 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.
Case Example: Narrative Writing
Cindy’s 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.”
Story 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.
Second 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
Expository Text
• Exposition involves writing for informative
purposes.
• Text types include description, comparisoncontrast, 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.
EBP: 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.
Text Organizer: Sequence
Main Idea: ________________________
Topic Sentence: _____________________
Step/Event 1: ______________________
Step/Event 2: ______________________
Step/Event 3: ______________________
Step/Event 4: ______________________
Example 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.
Signal Words: Sequence
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Before
After
Next
First, Second, Third etc.
Then
Finally
Lastly
Editing/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?
Case 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.”
Week 1
• Evaluate: Review the assignment. Model selfquestions 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.
Text 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:
1. Both have same parts
2. Both are used to duel
3. Need same protection
List of differences:
1. Sword parts look different
2. Sabre – slash; Foil-jab
3. Area you stab is different
First 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 piret’s 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.
Week 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 inclass work time.
Proofreading Checklist
THINGS TO CHECK:
Did I follow the assignment?
Did I provide both similarities and differences?
Did I provide enough similarities and
differences?
Did I use signal words to help my reader?
Yes No
*
*
*
*
*
*
Do I have enough paragraphs?
Are my sentences grammatical?
Is my punctuation OK?
Is my spelling OK?
*
*
Second 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
piret’s 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.
Measuring 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
Conclusions
• 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.
References
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Lang uag e Arts, 58 , 913-918.
Graham, S. & Harris, K.R. (1999). Programmatic intervention research: Illustration from the evolution of
self-regulated strategy development, Learning Disabilities Q uarterly , 22,51-262.
Klecan-Aker, J. & Gill, C. (1995). Teaching language organization to a child with pervasive developmental
disorder: A case study. Child Lang uag e Teac hing and Therap y , 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 Researc h and P rac tic e, 6, 219-224.
Seidenberg, P. (1991). Reading , w riting and study ing strateg ies: An integ rated c urric ulum . (pp. 43-186).
Gaithersburg, MD: Aspen.
Singer, B.D. & Bashir, A. (2004b). EmPOWER: A strategy for teaching students with language learning
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literac y learning . (pp. 239-272). New York: Guilford
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learning disabilities. To p ic s in Lang uag e Diso rders,20 (4), 29-44.
Wong, B., Butler, D., Ficzere, S., Kuperis, S (1997). Teaching adolescents with learning disabilities
and low achievers to plan, write and revise compare/contrast essays. Learning Disabilities Researc h
and P rac tic e, 12, 2-15.
Zipprich, M. (1995). Teaching web making as a guided planning tool to improve student narrative writing. Rem edial
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