POW+TREE is a strategy that is used with self-regulated strategy development (SRSD) to help students structure their writing. This strategy incorporates the elements that constitute the beginning of the writing process. Students can use this strategy to write different essays. For example, students may use this technique to write a persuasive or argumentative essay. Here, they will learn how to plan, organize, and write information about a topic.

Students with specific learning disabilities tend to have difficulty in the area of executive functioning. This includes one’s ability to plan, organize, and write. In order to assist students with structuring their writing, POW+TREE can serve as a graphic organizer and visual prompt.

1. Develop Background Knowledge (Determine what skills the students already have and which skills they still need to perform the strategy correctly). The educator may have to reteach skills using direct explicit instruction.

2. Discuss the Strategy (The educator explains and discusses the purpose, rationale, and benefits of using POW+TREE to improve students' writing).

3. Model the Strategy (Use a think-aloud to walk through the steps of the strategy. Verbalize your thoughts).

4. Promote Memorization (Review examples below)

Hacky Sack Toss — "The educator tells her students that when she tosses the hacky sack to them they should state a step in the POW+TREE strategy and tell what they need to do at that step. She starts by tossing a hacky sack to a student and asks, “What is the first step in the POW+TREE strategy?” The student responds, “Pick my idea. I need to decide what my opinion is.” The student then tosses the hacky sack back to the educator, who then tosses it to another student and asks for the next step" (IRIS, 2006).

Partner Sharing — "After the educator provides training on partner sharing or paired instruction, she partners the students. Students take turns recalling the steps of the strategy and what they need to do at each step. Students use a mnemonic chart or cue cards to make sure their partners get each step correct. Partners give feedback to each other, and the process allows the pairs to re-practice the steps correctly. This is especially helpful for students who struggle with memorization" (IRIS, 2006).

5. Support the Students (Use scaffolding and prompting to assist students with following the POW+TREE strategy. Fade prompts and support based on individual students' needs.)

6. Encourage Independent Practice (Practice writing persuasive essays in different content areas. Monitor and evaluate student progress to guide instruction).

To promote generalization, students can refer to POW+TREE when brainstorming a topic of interest. As students are planning their information, students can underline their topic sentence in yellow, number their three reasons, highlight their elaborations, and put a star next to their ending. This will help students make sure they have included all of the critical components. It will also help them determine whether or not their examples and details align with their topic sentence. This strategy can be used throughout the school day, especially during opinion writing.