Supporting At-Risk Students

VII. Supporting at-risk students in writing instruction

Many of the approaches described here can be used successfully with English Language Learners and, depending on individual situation, with students with disabilities. Graham & Perin (2007) indicate that many students who are technically proficient in English and without a disability still are not proficient in writing – and often did not receive the additional instructional support they need to improve their writing skills.

Classroom examples of supporting at-risk students in writing instruction:

1. Narrative writing in the ELD classroom
Lisa Ummel-Ingram describes methods of using personal stories as the basis for student projects. Her third-graders created text, storyboards, and art that led to complete books. Ummel-Ingram notes gains in the students’ language arts skills and confidence.
http://www.nwp.org/cs/public/print/resource/1284

The resource described early, Tapestry of Tales, may also be useful:
http://www.nwrel.org/tapestry/

2. Sharing pictures in an integrated classroom (high school)
Krisa Sherman Nobis’ technique, called “photovoice,” has participants take photos in response to a prompt, reflect on the meaning behind their photos, and then share the photos on a blog to find common themes. The strategy can be used in a wide variety of classrooms, including those for severely learning disabled and cognitively impaired students. It can also be used as a prewriting activity for essays or other assignments. In this lesson, students relate the pictures they see back to characters in texts they have read.
http://www.readwritethink.org/lessons/lesson_view_printer_friendly.asp?id=1064