Helping Students Who Struggle to Write
by: Regina G. Richards, M.A. (February 2001)
"Eli shook himself to stop daydreaming .... Writing was definitely
the worst task of all. It was just way too hard to remember all
the things he needed, like periods and capital letters. And then
it was almost impossible to think about how to spell words when
he was busy trying to think about the story." (1)
There are many reasons students hate to write, the primary of which
is that writing is a slow and laborious process. The purpose of
this article is to provide suggestions to help students, with emphasis
on compensations. For further information on diagnostic issues,
precise remedial suggestions, or the processing problems related
to dyslexia and dysgraphia, the reader is referred to the references
provided at the end.
Students benefit when they compensate for writing problems because
so often writing struggles interfere with learning and prevent them
from fully demonstrating what they have learned. Compensating helps
them bypass the problem area and still accomplish the goal of the
activity. Some example classroom compensations include the following:
Staging: dividing the task into smaller units and performing each
subtask independently. Some students become overwhelmed because
tasks appear to be too large or have too many steps. Staging helps
them focus on each subtask with greater concentration and an emphasis
on quality.
- Decreasing quantity: allowing the student to
perform fewer math problems, write fewer sentences, or write a
shorter story. Some students work so hard for each problem that
they find it very difficult to perform an entire assignment or
even to concentrate on the concept. Students with writing difficulties
sometimes learn more from fewer problems because their concentration
is more efficient. Allowing for shorter assignments encourages
the student to focus on quality rather than quantity, thus often
decreasing the urge to rush through.
- Increasing time: providing the student with
more time to finish his work. Many times a student may be capable
of completing the work, but unable to do so in the same amount
of time as his peers. The extra time decreases the tendency for
rushing through and can increase the focus on quality.
- Copying: reducing or eliminating copying demands,
such as copying from the chalkboard, or even copying from another
paper. Sometimes students with writing difficulties make multiple
mistakes when copying information and it is important to insure
that they have access to the correct information.
- Providing structure for math: using large graph
paper or looseleaf paper turned sideways helps the student alignment
numbers properly in multi-step math problems. Some students benefit
from having their math problems machine copied in enlarged format
with additional white space, as this also prevents errors in copying
the problem.
- Adjusting writing format: allowing each student
to choose the format that is most comfortable. Some students perform
better in manuscript whereas other students perform better using
cursive. Allowing work to be completed by computer word processing
helps the student use staging more efficiently while also bypassing
the mechanical difficulties of letter form and space.
- Spelling: allowing for misspelling on in-class
assignments. Hold students responsible for correct spelling on
final drafts, encouraging use of a phonics-based spell checker,
such as one of the Franklin Electronic Resources® with a speaking
component.(2)
CAUTION: It is unfair and counterproductive to
make a student with writing problems stay in for recess to finish
work. These children need more movement time, not less.
Keyboarding
The most efficient compensation for any student who struggles with
basic letter form and use of spaces is to develop efficient word
processing skills. Parents and teachers need to be aware; however,
that it is very difficult to go through life totally avoiding use
of paper and pencil and, consequently, it is important for each
student to develop at least some basic handwriting skills. Specific
multisensory strategies designed for dysgraphic students are useful
for any student who needs help developing appropriate letter form
and automatic motor movements. Specific remedial strategies that
incorporate air writing, use of the vertical plane (chalkboard),
simultaneous verbal cues, and reinforcement with tactile input,
are most effective.(3)
In today's society, keyboarding skills are valuable for all students,
but are particularly essential for the student who struggles with
writing and/or spelling difficulties. Students are able to learn
keyboarding skills at a very young age. However, keyboarding development
requires practice and many students complain that the practice is
especially boring. This can be a problem because consistency and
frequency of practice are very important in developing automaticity.
Consequently, it is useful to have the student practice keyboarding
on a daily basis, but only for very short period of time each day.
In early elementary, the student may practice only five to ten minutes
a night. In upper elementary, the practice sessions maybe 10 to
15 minutes a night. If the student is just beginning to learn keyboarding
as a teenager, it may be necessary to extend the practice sessions
to 15 to 20 minutes a night. The consistency of the practice is
critical.
Many fun and efficient software programs are available to help
students learn appropriate keyboarding. Access to a variety of programs
helps decrease boredom and allows for choice, as the student may
select different software each night. Alternate programs have also
been developed which teach keyboarding skills based on the alphabetical
sequence. One such program starts with the left hand and uses a
poem which begins, "little finger a, reach for b, same finger
c, d, e. (4)
Initially, as the student is learning, correct finger should not
be required when he is typing for content, as this greatly increases
the demands on active working memory. For most students, the habits
developed during typing practice will eventually integrate with
the finger used while concentrating on ideation and content.
Once a student learns word processing skills, she will have the
option of progressing to use of voice-activated software, such as
Dragon® NaturallySpeaking® (5) Such software allows the
student to dictate into a microphone without the need for direct
typing on the keyboard. However, this is a higher level skill which
is much more efficient once the student knows and understands basic
word processing and writing skills. Clear enunciation, lack of slurring
words, and use of precise preplanning and organization are critical
for success with voice-activated programs.
Note-taking
Many students with writing struggles are slow and/or inefficient
when taking notes. This is particularly laborious for high school
and college-age students. While a laptop computer can be efficient,
it can be cumbersome to carry around. Also, it is expensive to fix
or replace a vandalized, dropped, or otherwise broken computer.
A successful alternative that has become popular with some older
students is the use of a personal digital assistant such as the
PalmPilot® series or the Visor Handspring® series. These
units are quite small (palm size) and easy to transport in a backpack.
A nearly standard size keyboard can be attached which greatly facilitates
typing and, hence, note- taking. This is especially useful for recording
homework assignments and "to do" lists. For note-taking
during a lecture, many students still require the assistance of
a note-taker, even if the complete notes are only used as a backup.
Spelling
Many students who struggle with writing also have difficulties with
spelling. Even if they are able to spell correctly on a weekly spelling
test, when they're thinking of content it may be very difficult
to also think of the correct spelling of the words they want. Some
students then simplify their word usage. Other students just include
the incorrectly spelled word.
When such students use a staging approach, they can first focus
on pre-organization and then writing (or typing) a draft. A next
step would be to go back and work on fixing misspelled words. Sometimes
the spell checker on a computer does not help the student because
the misspelled word is not close enough to correct. In such situations,
the student should be taught to develop strong phonetic analysis
skills so that she can learn to spell words phonetically, the way
they sound. Then the student will be able to utilize technology
such as one of the Franklin® Electronic Resources.(6) In our
office, the Language Master 6000 has been found to be very appropriate
because of its large font size and speech clarity.
Hand fatigue
A common complaint of students who struggle to write is that their
hand gets tired when writing. This can be due to a variety of factors.
Some of the most common factors are inappropriate grip, a very tight
pencil grip, or inefficient writing posture. There are many efficient
grippers that can be used with the pencil or pen to enhance the
efficiency of the students grasp on the pencil. One example, the
large Pencil Grip™, is ergonomically developed to work with
the natural physiology of the hand to gently place fingers in the
proper position
for gripping!(7)
Students can be helped to decrease hand fatigue by performing warm-up
activities before writing in the middle of the task. Such activities
help the student manipulate and relax muscles in the writing hand.
Some examples include:
- Rubbing palms of hands together
- Shaking hands slightly though firmly
- Clasping hands together and stretching upwards
For older students who need to take a large number of notes during
a class, dividing their paper in half and writing on only one half
the time helps reduce the drag of the writing instrument across
the paper. This too will reduce writing fatigue.
Caution for teachers
One of the best compensations for a student who struggles with writing
is to have a teacher that understands. For some students it is not
possible to be neat while also focusing on content. Some students
cannot focus on both neatness and use of writing mechanics at the
same time. This is why a staging approach is critical. Requiring
concentration on only one or two aspects at a time will help reduce
the overload for a student.
In the quote below, an elementary school student explains his frustration
caused by his struggles in trying to be neat while also thinking.
"So Eli figured it was easier to write just a few sentences.
That didn't hurt his hand so much either. His teachers complained,
but Eli kept writing very short stories. After all, teachers didn't
understand what it was like to struggle and struggle to write, and
still have the paper turn out sloppy and full of mistakes. They
always told him how messy his papers were. They just couldn't understand
how hard he tried. No matter how carefully he worked, the words
didn't look like they were supposed to. Sometimes he knew how he
wanted the words to look, but they just didn't turn out that way."(8)
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Resources
Behrman, Carol H. Write! Write! Write! Ready-to-use writing process
activities for grades 4-8
(www. amazon. com)
Polacco, Patricia. Thank You, Mr. Talker (www. amazon. com)
Project Read: Written Expression Modules. Language Circle Enterprises,
MN: 1993.
Richards, Regina. When Writing's a Problem (www.retctrpress.com)
Levine, Melvin. Keeping A Head in School (www. amazon. com)
Levine, Melvin. Educational Care: A System for Understanding and
Helping Children With Learning Problems at Home and at School (www.
amazon. com)
Zachman, Linda; Barrett, Mark Huisingh, Rosemary; Blagden, Carolyn;
Orman, Jane. 125 Ways to Be a Better Thinker: A program for improving
creative thinking, problem-solving, decision-making, critical thinking
(7th-12th grade) (www.linguisystems.com)
References
Richards, Regina and Ell, The Boy Who Hated to Write: Understanding
Dysgraphia, pages 2-3 (www.amazon.com)
Franklin Electronic Resources (www.Franklin.com) and (www.amazon.com)
Richards, Regina, The Source for Dyslexia and Dysgraphia (www.linguisystems.com)
King, Dianna, Keyboarding Skills (www.epsbooks.com)
Dragon® Naturally Speaking (www.amazon. com)
Franklin, ibid.
The Pencil Grip (www.thepencilgrip.com)
Richards, ibid.
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