Finally—highly effective, field-tested lesson plans for the students in every elementary and middle school classroom who struggle with writing. The practical how-to follow-up to Graham and Harris's popular
Writing Better, this book is just what K–8 educators need to advance all students' writing skills, whether they have learning disabilities or just need extra help.
Teachers will get concise lesson plans they can use to easily supplement their existing writing curriculum. From 20 to 50 minutes each, the lessons
- address types of writing that are key to academic success, such as writing reports and constructing essays for standardized tests
- help with every phase of the writing process, from planning to revising
- reinforce new skills through group and individual practice
- ensure that improvements are sustained by teaching students critical self-regulation skills they can use independently
- support effective instruction with step-by-step guidelines and optional scripts for teachers
- engage students with mnemonic devices they'll immediately grasp and remember
- include fun photocopiable support materials, such as cue cards, picture prompts, sheets for graphing story parts, and charts for brainstorming and setting goals
Firmly grounded in the authors' Self-Regulated Strategy Development approach, which has been proven effective by 2 decades of research, these brief, powerful lessons will help transform struggling students into confident, skilled, and motivated writers.
Karen Harris, Ed.D., is Professor and the Currey-Ingram Chair in Special Education at Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee. She has taught kindergarten and fourth-grade students, as well as elementary and secondary students with disabilities. She is co-author, with Steve Graham, of the books Making the Writing Process Work: Strategies for Composition and Self-Regulation; Teaching Every Child Every Day: Learning in Diverse Schools and Classrooms; Handbook of Learning Disabilities; and the curriculum Spell It-Write. Dr. Harris is the editor of the Journal of Educational Psychology. Her research is focused on theoretical and intervention issues in the development of academic and self-regulation strategies among students with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, learning disabilities, and other challenges.
Steve Graham, Ph.D., is Professor and the Currey-Ingram Chair in Special Education at Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee. He is the current editor of Exceptional Children and the past editor of Contemporary Educational Psychology. He is the co-author of the Handbook of Learning Disabilities; Making the Writing Process Work: Strategies for Composition and Self-Regulation; Teaching Every Child Every Day: Learning in Diverse Schools and Classrooms; Teaching Every Adolescent Every Day; Spell It-Write (a spelling program for children in grades K through 9); and the upcoming Handbook of Writing Research. Dr. Graham's research has focused mainly on identifying the factors that contribute to the development of writing difficulties; the development and validation of effective procedures for teaching planning, revising, and the mechanics of writings to struggling writers; and the use of technology to enhance writing performance and development.
Dr. Linda H. Mason has a joint appointment in the Department of Educational Psychology, Counseling, and Special Education and the Children, Youth, and Families Consortium at The Pennsylvania State University. Prior to completing her Ph.D., Dr. Mason taught special education in an inclusive public elementary school for six years. She has been awarded two U.S. Department of Education grants focusing on reading comprehension and writing intervention for low-achieving students. Dr. Mason serves on six editorial boards, including journals focused on research-topractice. At Penn State, she teaches courses in literacy for students with special needs, curriculum development, reading and writing methods, assessment, and effective instruction. Dr. Mason was awarded the Council for Exceptional Children, Division of Research Distinguished Early Career Award in 2011 and a Fulbright Scholarship to teach in Hungary in fall 2011.
Barbara Friedlander has taught special needs and at-risk students since 1986 in an inclusive elementary classroom environment. She has been involved in a variety of written language research studies in the areas of learning disabilities and has coauthored a number of publications including Summer of Learning: The Effects of Summer Tutoring for Students with Learning Disabilities (Division of Learning Disabilities Times, 1997) and Incorporating Strategy Instruction within the Writing Process in the Regular Classroom: Effects on the Writing of Students with and without Leaning Disabilities (Journal of Reading Behavior, 1993). Ms. Friedlander has received numerous awards including the Shaklee Outstanding Special Educator Award, the Council for Exceptional Children Allyn Bacon Exemplary Program Award and Grant, the Baltimore Area Committee on Student Teaching Outstanding Cooperative Teacher Award, the Montgomery County Public Schools Educational Foundation Grant for Parent Training, the University of Maryland Alumni Award, and the Maryland Association of Supervision and Curriculum Development Judith Ruchkin Research Award.
