By Bridget Lish High School English

“Writing is hard!” Using effective techniques to teach writing can help students by:  Employing explicit, systematic writing instruction  Teaching the importance of prewriting  Providing supportive instruction  Using rubrics  Addressing diverse needs

Recommended Rules for students with ELN:  Select a topic sentence  Invent a topic sentence if necessary  Delete all examples and unimportant details  Delete repetitive material  Substitute a superordinate concept for a group of items or actions  Condense main ideas  Combine similar main ideas Teach Summarizing

 Confusion is avoided when students have a pattern to follow  Production is increased when an assignment is seen as achievable  Text structure charts can easily be made and placed on classroom walls so that the information is readily available to all students. Teach Text Structure

Writing frames scaffold student with ELN because :  Sequencing of the paper is clarified and supported  Organization is ensured  Motivation is increased Writing Frames

A rubric provides a guide that shows students exactly what they must do in order to do well on an assignment. They:  Make expectations explicit  Provide constructive feedback for students  Supports students’ learning Rubrics for Writing

The Data Retrieval Chart is a powerful strategy for helping students synthesize material into a written report because  Motivation is increased when a daunting task becomes manageable  Attention is focused  Discrimination between essential and nonessential information is supported  Organization is provided by the nature of the strategy itself Data Retrieval Charts

Evaluation matrices explicitly identify the evidence for an argument, and they structure the evidence both conceptually and graphically. Evaluation Matrices are excellent tools because  Manageable steps gives students motivation  Discrimination between essential and nonessential information is ensured  Organization is supported through structure  Reasoning is strengthened as the invisible is made visible Adapted Evaluation Matrices

Using graphic organizers in the various expository genres is a powerful tool to scaffold students with ELN because  Discrimination between essential and nonessential information is ensured  Frustration is diminished with the cognitive load is eased  Organization is supported by the structure of the tool  Reasoning is strengthened when the invisible becomes visible Graphic Organizers for Expository Writing

The goal of these strategies is to resolve issues of frustration and provide methods of motivation in students with ELN. They are effective because:  Discrimination between essential and nonessential information is ensured  Frustration is diminished with the cognitive load is eased  Organization is supported  Reasoning is strengthened with the invisible becomes visible  Confusion is avoided when students have a pattern to follow  Production is increased when an assignment is seen as achievable