Written Language

1. (2018). Writing Strategies: Education: Learning Disabilities. PBS Parents. Retrieved from http://www.pbs.org/parents/education/learning-disabilities/types/writing/writing-strategies/. This website offers numerous strategies and suggestions to deploy for students with writing difficulties. Many of these include accommodations designed to fit around a student's difficulties by offering alternative approaches. Some of these include stating explicit expectations, evaluating mechanics and content separately, encouraging free writing, and allowing adequate time to complete each writing assignment.

2. Graham, S. & Harris, K.R. & Larsen, L. Prevention and Intervention of Writing Difficulties for Students with Learning Disabilities. Reading Rockets. Retrieved from http://www.readingrockets.org/article/prevention-and-intervention-writing-difficulties-students-learning-disabilities. This source is intended as a preventative method for writing difficulties, however, it also contains some strategies for improving writing skills. Specifically, it contains 6 principles, some of which include tailoring a student's instruction to their writing needs, intervening as early as possible to provide assistance, and identifying and addressing common roadblocks to writing.

3. (2017, July 14). Effective writing Instruction for students with learning problems: Learn about proven classroom strategies for helping kids master writing. Great Schools. retrieved from https://www.greatschools.org/gk/articles/writing-instruction-students-with-learning-problems/. This article discusses 5 strategies for teaching writing skills to students with disabilities. One of these includes providing meaninful writing tasks that have an audience and purpose to them. The authors believe this strategy works well to increase a student's motivation to not only write, but to also understand the purpose and value of writing itself. Another strategy listed is connecting writing assignments to other areas of the curriculum.

4. (2012, Novemeber). Intellectual disabilities: Write on! Writing instruction strategies for students with intellectual disabilities. Training and Assistance Center at Old Dominion University. Retrieved from http://ttac.odu.edu/intellectual-disabilities/write-on-writing-instruction-strategies-for-students-with-intellectual-disabilities/. This resource explains the benefits of good writing skills as a positive connection to helping students to learn, speak, and read. It further offers multiple outside the box strategies uncommonly used. One such is writing with alternative pencils to help compensate for deficient fine motor skills and/or visual impairment. These can be used in the form of an adapted keyboards, eye gaze, or switches. Another strategy includes creating an anthology of student's work to share progress with parents, other teachers, and students.

5. Minnegerode, L. {ehow}. Writing Lessons. How to teach writing skills to ESL Students. {Video File}. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXNoMbNBgrI. This video includes many strategies for teaching writing skills to ESL students, and this begins with incorporating writing into everyday tasks. Also, it is recommended to have students keep a notebook of ideas in English and use a writer's workshop. The author explains the notebook can be used as a reference and concept builder for future writing assignments. The author of the video is a writing instructor and former classroom teacher.