Student Guide Corner

Reluctant writers, aren't born. They are often casualties of our classroom instruction. How? Possible reasons include the following: Remembering how to hold the writing the pencil correctly, form the letters correctly, space between words, generate thought and remember how to write a sentence with correct punctuation while making sense is too challenging for some kids. Due to handwriting issues, we've assigned a scribe for them, so they never have the opportunity to practice the art of writing on their own. Then the risks become too great. Poor spelling inhibits thought expressed on paper. Red pen corrections anyone? So what can you do to help overcome the writing barriers? Give students opportunities to feel successful, offering engaging alternatives to paper based options. Oftentimes, the paper is the disability. Instead, explore these tools to get kids excited about writing again. Using computer based tools removes the obstacles of legible letter formation and spacing, what ...

Writing presents a significant challenge for many students. The act of writing incorporates many individual components necessary for writing success. Students need to be able to hold a writing instrument, form letters legibly, space between words, spell accurately, generate ideas, organize their thinking, hold onto a sequence of words and sentences....you get the picture. There is a significant physical, motoric, visual processing, memory, and cognitive load. The breakdown for writing success can be anywhere. For students who benefit from external structure and prompts to help them organize their thinking and approach to written expression, there is an online tool that provides this. It's called Writing Fun and the site has been developed by Jenny Eather. Although the opening screen is visually overwhelming and complex, you must check out the text categories on the right side of the screen - Narrative, Discussion, Poetry, Procedure, Informative, Recount, Explanation, Persuasio...