Composing Written Material
When composing written material, students benefit from following The Writing Process, a step-by-step approach for successfully expressing ideas. The following are the five steps in this approach:
Prewriting: In this step, students think about possible topics and their intended audience. They also They also conduct any necessary research.
Drafting: Students write their ideas to see if they flow and make sense. At this atage, getting the ideas on paper is more important than attention to spelling and writing mechanics. Input from others is requested.
Revising: Authors reread what they have written. Sections may be omitted and others are added. Students need to make sure their ideas are clearly expressed.
Proofreading: Now is the time to concentrate on writing mechanics and the work is carefully proofread. Changes and corrections are made. Students seek help from others to make sure all errors have been found. The work is carefully copied into its final form.
Publishing: In this final stage, the work is shared with others. Students may read their work aloud to others or put it on display. Copies may be made and sent to family and friends.
In any step of this process, some students may have difficulty. Assistive technology devices are available to help them through this process.
Low-Tech
The following are two examples of low-tech assistive technologies:
Word Wall. Commonly used words are prominently displayed on a wall in the classroom. Students may refer to the wall when composing. A classroom may have several words walls that contain words commonly used in different subject areas.
Graphic Organizers. Students use these to aid in the organization of their thoughts. The organizers provide prompts for the type of material that must be included in the written work and help students remain on topic.
Word Wall. Commonly used words are prominently displayed on a wall in the classroom. Students may refer to the wall when composing. A classroom may have several words walls that contain words commonly used in different subject areas.
Graphic Organizers. Students use these to aid in the organization of their thoughts. The organizers provide prompts for the type of material that must be included in the written work and help students remain on topic.
Mid-Tech
If more assistance is needed, the following resources are available.
Word Processing Software. For some students, composing while physically writing is difficult. Writing at a computer using a word processing program is easier. The various features of the program help the students at different times during the writing process. The writing mechanic supports in these programs allow the student to concentrate more on the meaning and content of their writing.
Digital Templates. These resources provide students with writing process guides that are used on the computer. Students who have difficulty staying focused and use the computer to compose work would find these particularly helpful.
Word Processing Software. For some students, composing while physically writing is difficult. Writing at a computer using a word processing program is easier. The various features of the program help the students at different times during the writing process. The writing mechanic supports in these programs allow the student to concentrate more on the meaning and content of their writing.
Digital Templates. These resources provide students with writing process guides that are used on the computer. Students who have difficulty staying focused and use the computer to compose work would find these particularly helpful.
High-Tech
If needed, students may benefit from using the following devices.
Talking Word Processing. These programs read back the work a student composes. The program can be set to read work back in many different ways including one word at a time or entire piece at a time. Such software enables students to hear mistakes, which may be easier than reading for them.
Voice recognition software. For some students the challenge to compose either by hand or on the computer is too great. Voice recognition software allows them to compose while speaking and their words are transcribed onto a computer. Work still needs to be edited because any verbal grammatical mistakes will be transcribed. Much training is needed before a student can successfully use these types of programs.
Further Resources
The Writing Process
ReadWriteThink, a Project of the International Reading Association, National Council of Teachers of English & the Verizon Foundation
http://www.readthinkwrite.org/
Graphic Organizers
Inspiration Software, Inc.
http://www.inspiration.com/
Text-to-Speech
ReadPlease
http://www.readplease.com/
TextAloud
http://www.nextup.com/
Sources Cited:
Dell A., Newton, D., & Petroff, J. (2012). Assistive technology in the classroom: enhancing the school experiences of students with disabilities (2nd Ed.) Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.
Gierach, Jill (ed.) (2009). Assessing students' needs for assistive technology, 5th Edition, Wisconsin Assistive Technology Initiative. Milton, WI.
Pencil and paper graphic. Retrieved on April 14, 2013, from http://www.clker.com.
Voice recognition graphic. Retrieved on April 14, 2013, from http://www.visionaustralia.org.
Word wall graphic. Retrieved April 14, 2013, from http://www.wikkistix.com.
Talking Word Processing. These programs read back the work a student composes. The program can be set to read work back in many different ways including one word at a time or entire piece at a time. Such software enables students to hear mistakes, which may be easier than reading for them.
Voice recognition software. For some students the challenge to compose either by hand or on the computer is too great. Voice recognition software allows them to compose while speaking and their words are transcribed onto a computer. Work still needs to be edited because any verbal grammatical mistakes will be transcribed. Much training is needed before a student can successfully use these types of programs.
Further Resources
The Writing Process
ReadWriteThink, a Project of the International Reading Association, National Council of Teachers of English & the Verizon Foundation
http://www.readthinkwrite.org/
Graphic Organizers
Inspiration Software, Inc.
http://www.inspiration.com/
Text-to-Speech
ReadPlease
http://www.readplease.com/
TextAloud
http://www.nextup.com/
Sources Cited:
Dell A., Newton, D., & Petroff, J. (2012). Assistive technology in the classroom: enhancing the school experiences of students with disabilities (2nd Ed.) Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.
Gierach, Jill (ed.) (2009). Assessing students' needs for assistive technology, 5th Edition, Wisconsin Assistive Technology Initiative. Milton, WI.
Pencil and paper graphic. Retrieved on April 14, 2013, from http://www.clker.com.
Voice recognition graphic. Retrieved on April 14, 2013, from http://www.visionaustralia.org.
Word wall graphic. Retrieved April 14, 2013, from http://www.wikkistix.com.