3.

ASSESSMENT 
I. The Remedial Classroom: Organization a. Use assessment to guide instruction.
b. Develop scoring guides and rubrics.
and Management c. Seek alignment among various layers of assessment.

B. Management
A remedial program primarily helps students address language skills deficits by helping them acquire self-
confidence to face their own weakness and overcome these through the acquisition of self-help strategies. A thorough
assessment must be conducted before organizing a remedial program, while consistent monitoring is imperative in  School-based remedial sessions tend to
managing the program. involve 3 to 10 learners, and typically last
between 30 to 50 minutes, depending on
Below are general instructional guidelines that should be considered (Strickland, 1998 cited in Gunning, 2003 and in whether they are in the elementary or
Vacca, Vacca, and Gove, 1991): secondary level. A plan to maximize the
utilization of that time should be a high
priority. To ensure that the program is
 Instruction is systematic when it is planned, deliberate in application, and proceeds in an orderly manner. This does not
effective, one must consider the six
mean a rigid progression of one-size-fits-all teaching.
components of an ideal remedial program
 Intensive instruction on any particular skill or strategy should be based on need. Thus, intensity will vary both with
(Manzo & Manzo, 1993). These principles
individuals and groups.
may also be applicable in remediation for
 There is no substitute for ongoing documentation and monitoring of learning to determine the order in which skills
other skills aside from reading.
should be addressed and the level of intensity required to help a child or group of children succeed in a particular area.
 To track specific goals and objectives within an integrated language-arts framework, teachers must know the
instructional objectives their curriculum requires at the grade or year level they teach. 

A. Organization 
In organizing a remedial program, one must consider
the following factors:
1. The orientation component. The orientation component provides continuity and focus to the
1. CURRICULUM  remedial session. It may be an engaging question or statement related to local or national news, or even
CURRICULUM
a. Base goals and standards for language school life. It must focus on structured routines, materials, equipment, venue, people involved, and the
learning on theory and research. objective of the program.
b. Relate teacher beliefs and knowledge 2. Direct Instruction Component. This is the instructional heart of the remedial session. It should never
about instruction to research. be traded away, even for one period, without some compelling reason.
ASSESSMEN
c. Organize the curriculum framework 3. Reinforcement and Extension Component. This period of time ideally should build on the direct
T
so that it is usable INSTRUCTION instructional period and be spent in empowered reading, writing, and discussion of what was read.
d. Select materials that facilitate Writing activities may vary from simply listing key words to summarizing and reacting.
accomplishment of school goals. 4. Schema-Enhancement Component. This unit of time should be spent in building a knowledge base
for further reading and independent thinking. It is an ideal time to teach study skills such as outlining,
2. INSTRUCTION  note taking, and memory training. Ideally, it should flow or precede Component 3.
a. The program must identify instructional strategies and activities for learners. 5. Personal-Emotional Growth Development. There is little learning or consequence that can occur
b. Instruction must be based upon what we know about the effective teaching of language skills. without the learner involvement and anticipation of personal progress.
c. Those involved in designing or selecting instructional activities need to consider the variables 6. Cognitive Development Component. This component should contain an attempt to enhance basic
that contribute to success in language learning, given its interactive and constructive thinking operation such as: inference, abstract verbal reasoning, analogical reasoning, constructive-
nature. critical/ creative reading, convergent and divergent analysis, problem-solving, and metacognition.
d. Time must be provided in the classroom for practice.
e. Composing should be an integral part of the program. II. Remedial Instruction in READING
f. Students should be given opportunities to become independent and to self-monitor their progress. A. Correcting Perceptual and Decoding Deficits in Word Recognition
g. The climate in a school must be conducive to the development of students.
h. The school must develop an organizational structure that meets individual needs of students.
We can identify the student who has insufficient competence in the visual analysis of
i. The program must provide for coordination among all language programs offered in the words in two ways. First, the student, when pronouncing words verbally, selects
school.  inappropriate elements to sound out and often he/she tries again and again to use the same
analysis even when it does not work. The second way can be done when the teacher shows
him/her the word covering up parts of it, if the student is able to recognize it, then at least
 one of his/her problems in word recognition is faulty visual analysis (Ekwall & Shanker, 3. A single vowel in a syllable usually has the short vowel sound if it is not the last letter or is not
1988). followed by r, w, or l. When explaining this to students it is often helpful to indicate that a single vowel
in a closed syllable is usually short. Students should be taught that a closed syllable is one in which there
is a consonant on the right-hand side. They will also need to know, as indicated above, the r,
B. Definition of Terms w, and l control rules.
1. Alphabetic Knowledge: understanding that letters represent sound so that words may 4. Vowels followed by r usually have a sound that is neither long nor short
be read by saying the sounds represented by the letters, and words may be spelled by 5. A y at the beginning of a word has the “y” consonant sound; y at the end of a singlesyllable word,
writing the letters that represent the sounds in a word. when preceded by a consonant, usually has the long I sound; and y at the end of a multisyllable word,
2. Sight-Word Knowledge: all words any one reader can recognize instantly (with when preceded by a consonant, usually has the long e sound. (Some people hear it as short i .)
automaticity) not necessarily with meaning. 6. In words ending with vowel-consonant-silent e the e is silent and the first vowel may be either long or
short. Try the long sound first. In teaching this rule, stress that the student should be flexible; i.e. try the
3. Basic Sight Words: a designated list of words, usually of high utility. short vowel sound if the long one does not form a word in his or her speaking-listening vocabulary. It
4. Knowledge on Sound-Symbol Correspondence: (a.k.a. graphophonic knowledge) the has been demonstrated that students who are taught to be flexible in attacking words when applying rules
readers’ ability to use phonics, phonemic, and structural analysis knowledge. such as this become more adept at using word-attack skills than those who are not taught this flexibility.
7. When aj, ay, ea, ee, and oa are found together, the first vowel is usually long and the second is usually
C. Correcting Sight-Word Knowledge Deficit  silent.
1. Write a sentence on the chalkboard with the new word used in context. Underline the word. 8. The vowel pair ow may have either the sound heard in cow or the sound heard in crow.
2. Let students read the sentence and attempt to say the new word using context clues along with other 9. When au, aw, ou, oi, and oy are found together, they usually blend to form a diphthong.
word-attack skills. If you are introducing a new story, it is especially important that you do not tell them 10. The oo sound is either long as in moon or short as in book.
each new word in advance, as this deprives them of the opportunity to apply word-attack skills 11. If a is the only vowel in a syllable and is followed by l or w , then the a is usually neither long nor
themselves. short.
3. Discuss the meaning of the word or how it is used in talking and writing. Try to tie to something in NOTE: Accent has less importance for a corrective reader than the vowel rules. This is true partially because a student
their experience. If possible, illustrate the word with a picture or a concrete object. who properly attacks a new word in his or her speaking-listening vocabulary but not sight vocabulary is likely to get the
4. Write the word as students watch. Ask them to look for certain configuration clues such as double right accent without any knowledge of accent generalizations. Also, teach students the use of affixes so they will have better
letters, extenders, and descenders. Also ask them to look for any well-known phonograms or word understanding of contractions, inflectional and derivational endings for change tense, number form and function. These
families, e.g. ill, ant, ake , but do not call attention to little words in longer words. will lead to students’ sufficient use of structural analysis strategy.
5. Ask students to write the word themselves and to be sure have them say the word while they write it.
6. Have students make up and write sentences in which the word is used in context. Have them read Syllabication Principles 
these sentences to each other and discuss them. 1. When two consonants stand between two vowels, the word is usually divided between the consonants,
e.g., dag-ger and cir-cus. In some of the newer materials, materials are divided after the double consonant, e.g.,
D. Correcting Basic Sight Vocabulary Deficit  dagg-er. It should be remembered that in reading we are usually teaching syllabication as a means of word attack.
1. Have the students trace the word; write it on paper, or use chalk or magic slates. Therefore, we should also accept a division after double consonants as correct even though the dictionary would
2. Have the students repeat the word each time it is written. not show it that way.
3. Have the students write the word without looking at the flash card; then compare the two. 2. When one consonant stands between two vowels, try dividing first so that the consonant goes with the second
4. Create “study buddies.” Match learners in the classroom with fellow students who have mastered the vowels, e,g., pa-per and motor, Students should be taught that flexibility is required in using this rule; if this does
words. Take time to teach the “tutors” how to reinforce new words. Provide a big reward to both tutor not give a word in the student’s speaking-listening vocabulary, then the student should divide it so that the
and learner once the learner has attained the goal. consonant goes with the first vowel, as in riv-er and lev-er.
5. Provide reinforcement games for students to use on their own or with their study buddies. Games may 3. When a word ends in a consonant and le , the consonant usually begins the last syllable, e.g., ta-ble and hum-
be open-ended game boards or developed by levels according to the sublists. ble.
6. Provide charts, graphs, and other devices for students to display their progress. These serve as 4. Compound words are usually divided between word parts and between syllables in this parts, e.g., hen-house
excellent motivators, especially since students are competing with themselves rather than each other. 7. and po-lice-man.
Use your imagination. Have students dramatize phrases, build a sight-word “cave,” practice words while 5. Prefixes and suffixes usually form separate syllables.
lining up, read sight-word “plays,” etc. 
F. Remediation through Phonemic Awareness 
E. Correcting Knowledge on Sound-Symbol Correspondence 
The following are Critical Phonemic Awareness skills students should learn
Vowel Rules or Principles and Accent Generalizations 
1. In words containing a single vowel letter at the end of the word, the vowel letter usually has the long 1. Sound Isolation. Example: The first sound in sun is / ssss
vowel sound. (Note that this rule refers to words and not just syllables.) There is a similar rule for single Example Instruction: In sound isolation use conspicuous strategies.
word letters at the end of syllables a. Show students how to do all the steps in the task before asking children to do the task. 
2. In syllables containing a single vowel letter at the end of the syllable, the vowel letter may have either Example: (Put down 2 pictures that begin with different sounds and say the names of the pictures.)
the long or short vowel sound. Try the long sound first. (Note that this has the same effect as rule 1.) "My turn to say the first sound in man, /mmm/. Mmman begins with /mmm/. Everyone, say
the first sound in man, /mmm/." 
 Non-example: "Who can tell me the first sounds in these pictures?" Example: Move from syllable or onset-rime blending to blending with all sounds in a
b. Use consistent and brief wording. word (phoneme blending). Remove scaffolds, such as pictures. "Listen, /s/ - /t/ - /o/
Example: Letter sound /s/ and words sun and sit. Put down letter cards for familiar letter- - /p/. Which picture?" "Listen, /s/ - /t/ - /o/ - /p/. What word?"
sounds. Then, have them place pictures by the letter that begins with the same sound as the Non-example: Provide instruction and practice at only the easiest levels with all the
picture.  scaffolds.
Non-example : Use letter-sounds that have not been taught when teaching first sound in
pictures for phoneme isolation activities. 3. Segmenting (Example: The sounds in sun are /sss/ - /uuu/ - /nnn/) In phoneme segmentation
c. Make the connections between sounds in words and sounds of letters. 
instruction, strategically integrate familiar and new information.
a. Recycle instructional and practice examples used for blending. Blending and
Example: After students can segment the first sound, have them use letter tiles to represent the segmenting are sides of the same coin. The only difference is whether students hear or
sounds.  produce a segmented word. Note: A segmenting response is more difficult for children to
Non-example : Letters in mastered phonologic activities are not used. Explicit connections reproduce than a blending response.
between alphabetic and phonologic activities are not made. Example: "Listen, my lion puppet likes to say the sounds in words. The sounds in
mom are /mmm/ - /ooo/ - /mmm/. Say the sounds in mom with us. "
d. Use phonologic skills to teach more advanced reading skills, such as blending lettersounds to
read words. 
Example: (Give children a 3-square strip and the letter tiles for s, u, n.) Have them do familiar b. Concurrently teach letter-sound correspondences for the sounds students will be
tasks and blending to teach stretched blending with letters. segmenting in words.
Example: Letter sound /s/ and words sun and sit. Put down letter cards for
2. Blending (Example: /sss/ - / uuu/ - /nnn/ is sun). In blending instruction, use scaffold task familiar letter-sounds. Then, have them place pictures by the letter that begins
difficulty. with the same sound as the picture.
a. When students are first learning to blend, use examples with continuous sounds, Non-example: Use letter-sounds that have not been taught when teaching first
because the sounds can be stretched and held. sound in pictures for phoneme isolation activities.
Example: "Listen, my lion puppet likes to talk in a broken way. When he says
/mmm/ - /ooo/ - /mmm/ he means mom." c. Make the connections between sounds in words and sounds of letters.
Non-example: "Listen, my lion puppet likes to talk in a broken way. When he Example: After students can segment the first sound, have them use letter tiles to
says /b/ - /e/ - /d/ he means bed." represent the sounds.
Non-example: Letters in mastered phonologic activities are not used. Explicit
b. When students are first learning the task, use short words in teaching and practice connections between alphabetic and phonologic activities are not made.
examples. Use pictures when possible.
Example: Put down 3 pictures of CVC words and say: "My lion puppet wants one d. Use phonologic skills to teach more advanced reading skills, such as blending
of these pictures. Listen to hear which picture he wants, /sss/ - /uuu/ - /nnn/. lettersounds to read words.
Which picture?" Example: (Give children a 3-square strip and the letter tiles for s, u, n.) Have them do
Non-example: ".../p/ - /e/ - /n/ - /c/ - /i/ - /l/. Which picture?" (This is a more familiar tasks and blending to teach stretched blending with letters.
advanced model that should be used later.)
G. Remedial Vocabulary Instruction Vocabulary is initially acquired in four ways:
c. When students are first learning the task, use materials that reduce memory load and  Incidentally, through reading and conversation
to represent sounds.  Through direct instruction, as when a teacher or auto-instructional
program is used intentionally build vocabulary power
 Through self-instruction, as when words are looked up
Example: Use pictures to help them remember the words and to focus their in a dictionary or their meaning are sought from others in a
attention. Use a 3-square strip or blocks to represent sounds in a word. conscious manner.
Non-example: Provide only verbal activities.  Through mental manipulation while thinking, speaking, and writing

d. As students become successful during initial learning, remove scaffolds by using

progressively more difficult examples. As students become successful with more 1. Considerations in remedial vocabulary instruction Connect vocabulary instruction to the natural processes of
word learning. The literature on vocabulary acquisition tends to divide the teaching of vocabulary into five phases.
difficult examples, use fewer scaffolds, such as pictures.
These are: a. Disposition – opening the student’s mind and will to engage new words.
 b. Integration – establishing ties between the meaning of a new word and the student’s existing knowledge. 4. Select the most common pantomime observed. Demonstrate it all to the students, saying the word while doing
c. Repetition – provisions for practice distributed over time, as well as opportunities for frequent encounters with the the pantomime.
word in similar and differing contexts. 5. Repeat each new word, this time directing the class to do the pantomime while saying a brief meaning or simple
d. Interaction and meaningful use – social situations conducive to using new words in interactions with others and, synonym.
thus, mentally referencing new words in listening, reading, writing, and speaking. 6. Let the students encounter the word in the assigned reading material.
e. Self-instruction – maintaining an awareness of new words outside the classroom. 7. Try to use the pantomime casually whenever the word is used for a short time thereafter.
2. Concept-Based Approach to Vocabulary Building 
a. Identify the relevant and irrelevant features of the concept in question. III. Remedial Instruction in LISTENING
b. Provide examples of the concept.
c. Provide examples of irrelevant but loosely related concepts with which it might be compared. A. Factors Affecting Students’ Listening Comprehension
d. Relate the concept by some possible smaller or subordinating concepts. 1. Internal factors – refer to the learner characteristics, language proficiency, memory, age, gender,
e. Relate or categorize the concept by some possible larger or superordinating concepts. background knowledge as well as aptitude, motivation, and psychological and physiological factors
f. Relate or categorize the concept alongside equal or coordinating terms. 2. External factors - are mainly related to the type of language input and tasks and the context in
3. Subjective Approach to Vocabulary (SAV)
which listening occurs
a. Identify two to four words to be taught or pre-taught if SAV is used as a pre-reading activity. If a word list is
used, be sure to include as many words as possible that impart concepts and feelings that you would wish students B. Internal Factors
to learn. 1. Problems in language proficiency (cover problems on phonetics and phonology like phonetic
b. The teacher tells the student the full meaning of a word, much as it might be found in a dictionary. It is recorded discrimination, and phonetic varieties; problems in grammar; and lexicological problems)
in a Word Study Journal as the “objective” or dictionary meaning. 2. Poor background knowledge
c. The teacher asks the student, “What does this word remind you of?” or “What do you picture or think of when
3. Lack of motivation to listen
you hear this word?” Explain that discussion of a personal association with a word can be very helpful in
remembering and clarifying its meaning. 4. Psychological factors
d. The teacher talks to the student through this personal search for meaning by asking further clarifying questions, 5. Other internal factors (age, attention span, memory span, reaction and sensitivity)
and in group situations by pointing out those images suggested that seem most vivid. The teacher may add his or
her own images. Students are then directed to write some “subjective” or personal associations for the new word C. External Factors
under the previously written dictionary definition in their journals. Drawings can be added. 1. Speed of delivery and different accents of the speakers
e. Silent reading follows next when SAV is used as pre-reading vocabulary development. When it is being used 2. The content and task of listening materials
for general vocabulary development, students are given 5 to 10 minutes to study and rehearse the new and
previously recorded words.
3. Context - refers to the spatial-temporal location of the utterance, i.e. on the particular time and
f. The teacher let the student close the Word Study Journal and asks him/her the meanings of the words studied particular place at which the speaker makes an utterance and the particular time and place at which the
that day and a few others from previous days. This step can be tied to seat exercises in conventional workbooks listener hears or reads the utterance.
such as crossword puzzles, category games, etc. This manipulation and reinforcement step can be made easier by 4. Co-text - another major factor influencing the interpretation of meaning. It refers to the
selecting the words to be taught from the exercise material. linguistic context or the textual environment provided by the discourse or text in which a particular
utterance occurs. Co-text constrains the way in which we interpret the response. Here we can infer that the
4. Motor Imaging 
person is not going to a picnic by judging from the co-text.
It appears that even the highest forms of vocabulary and concept learning have psychomotor foundations, or equivalents. A: Are you coming going to Baguio with us?
Hence, motor movements associated with certain stimuli can become interiorized as a “symbolic meaning” (Piaget, 1963 in B: I have a paper to finish by Monday.
Manzo and Manzo1993). There are three considerable advantages to knowing this where remediation is concerned:
a. First, since physical-sensory or proprioceptive learning can be interiorized, they also can be self-stimulating, D. How to Improve Students’ Listening Comprehension
and as such, they are easier to rehearse and recall with the slightest mental reminder, as well as from external stimulation. 1. Teach pronunciation, stress, and intonation of the critical sounds of English
b. Second, proprioceptive learning is so basic to human learning that it is common to all learners, fast and slow, 2. Practice sound discrimination, liasions, and incomplete plosives
and hence, ideal for heterogeneously grouped classes.
c. Third, the act of identifying and acting out a word becomes a life experience in itself with the word – a value
3. Recognize stressed and unstressed words
that Frederick Duffellmeyer (1980) in Manzo and Manzo (1993) demonstrated when he successfully taught youngsters 4. Enrich vocabulary
words via the “experiential” approach. 5. Teach grammar
1. Take a difficult word from the text, write it on the chalkboard, pronounce it, and tell what it means. 6. Practice inferring information not directly stated
2. Ask students to imagine a simple pantomime for the word meaning (“How could you show someone what this 7. Improve skills in predicting 8. Teach note-taking skills
word means with just your hands or a gesture?”)
3. Tell students that when you give a signal, they will do their gesture pantomimes simultaneously. IV. Remedial Instruction in SPEAKING
 Cary (1997) suggests that teachers need to make speech modifications as a form of instructional support
A. What makes speaking difficult (Brown, 2001) when teaching with second language learners.
1. Clustering 1. Speak at standard speed. This means providing more and slightly longer pauses to give students
2. Redundancy
more time to make sense of the utterances.
3. Reduced forms
4. Performance variables 2. Use more gestures, movement, and facial expressions. These provide emphasis on words and
5. Colloquial language give learners extra clues as they search for meaning.
6. Rate of delivery 3. Be careful with fused forms. Language compressions or reduces forms can be difficult for
7. Stress, rhythm, and intonation learners. Use these forms without overusing or eliminating them altogether.
8. Interaction 4. Use shorter, simpler, sentences.
5. Use specific names instead of pronouns.
B. Teaching Pronunciation  V. Remedial Instruction in WRITING
Below are techniques and practice,materials (as cited in Murcia, Brinton, and Goodwin, 1996) in teaching pronunciation
A. Areas of Difficulty for Students with Writing Problems (Troia, 2002; Troia & Graham, 2003)
which have been used traditionally and continues to be utilized in speaking classes.
1. Listen and imitate. Learners listen to a model provided by the teacher and then repeat or imitate it.
2. Phonetic training. Articulatory descriptions, articulatory diagrams, and a phonetic alphabet are used. 1. Knowledge Difficulties
3. Minimal Pair drills. These provide practice on problematic sounds in the target language through listening Students with writing problems show:
discrimination and spoken practice. Drills begin with wordlevel then move to sentence-level. a. Less awareness of what constitutes good writing and how to produce it;
4. Contextualized minimal pairs. The teacher established the setting or context then key vocabulary is presented. b. Restricted knowledge about genre-specific text structures (e.g., setting or plot elements in a
Students provide meaningful response to sentence stem. narrative);
5. Visual aids. These materials are used to cue production of focus sounds.
6. Tongue twisters c. Poor declarative, procedural, and conditional strategy knowledge (e.g., knowing that one should
7. Developmental approximation drills. Second language speakers take after the steps that English-speaking set goals for writing, how to set specific goals, and when it is most beneficial to alter those goals);
children follow in acquiring certain sounds. d. Limited vocabulary;
8. Practice of vowel shifts and stress shifts related by affixation  e. Underdeveloped knowledge of word and sentence structure (i.e., phonology, morphology, and
Vowel shift : mime (long i) mimic (short i) syntax);
Sentence context : Street mimes often mimic the gestures of passersby.  f. Impoverished, fragmented, and poorly organized topic knowledge;
Stress shift : PHOtograph phoTOGraphy 
Sentence context : I can tell from these photographs that you are very good at p hotography. 
g. Difficulty accessing existing topic knowledge; and
h. Insensitivity to audience needs and perspectives, and to the functions their writing is intended to
9. Reading aloud/recitation. Passages and scripts are used for students to practice and then read aloud focusing on serve.
stress, timing, and intonation.
10. Recording of learners’ production. Playback allows for giving of feedback and self-evaluation. 2. Skill Difficulties Students with writing problems:
a. Often do not plan before or during writing;
b. Exhibit poor text transcription (e.g., spelling, handwriting, and punctuation);
C. The Use of Accuracy-based Activities
Accuracy precedes fluency. Form-focused activities prepare students for communicative tasks. These activities have a high c. Focus revision efforts (if they revise at all) on superficial aspects of writing (e.g., handwriting,
degree of control and focuses on specific language components. To strike a balance, Hedge (2000) describes how to make spelling, and grammar);
accuracy-based activities meaningful. d. Do not analyze or reflect on writing;
1. Contextualized practice. This aims to establish the link between form and function. The activity should highlight e. Have limited ability to self regulate thoughts, feelings, and actions throughout the writing
the situation where the form is commonly used. process;
2. Personalizing language. Personalized practice encourages learners to express their ideas, feelings, and opinions. f. Show poor attention and concentration; and
These activities help learners to use language in interpersonal interactions. A variety of gambits or useful
expressions should be provided.
g. Have visual motor integration weaknesses and fine motor difficulties.
3. Building awareness of the social use of language. This involves understanding social conventions in interaction.
Communication strategies are directly taught and practiced through contextualized activities. 3. Motivation Difficulties Students with writing problems:
4. Building confidence. The key is to create a positive climate in classroom where learners are encouraged to a. Often do not develop writing goals and subgoals or flexibly alter them to meet audience, task,
take risks and engage in activities. and personal demands;
b. Fail to balance performance goals, which relate to documenting performance and achieving
D. Talking to Second Language Learners in the beginning level success, and mastery goals, which relate to acquiring competence;
 c. Exhibit maladaptive attributions by attributing academic success to external and uncontrollable finished texts). d. Reduce or eliminate copying demands (e.g., teach students abbreviations for note taking,
factors such as task ease or teacher assistance, but academic failure to internal yet uncontrollable supply worksheets with math problems from textbook). e. Allow students to use temporary/invented
factors such as limited aptitude; spelling. f. Pre-teach spelling vocabulary for assignments. g. Evaluate spelling using correct letter
d. Have negative self efficacy (competency) beliefs; sequences (e.g., hopping has 8 possible correct letter sequences) rather than number of words spelled
e. Lack persistence; and correctly to measure and reward incremental progress attributable to partial correct spelling. h. Permit
f. Feel helpless and poorly motivated due to repeated failure. students to dictate written work to a scribe. i. If students have adequately developed keyboarding skills,
permit them to write papers with a word processor. j. Permit students to use outlining and semantic
B. Qualities of Strong Writing Instruction In order for teachers to support all students' writing ability mapping software to facilitate planning. k. Permit students to use voice recognition technology to facilitate
development, certain qualities of the writing classroom must be present. Four core components of effective text transcription. l. Permit students to use integrated spell checker and/or word prediction software to
writing instruction constitute the foundation of any good writing program: 1. Students should have facilitate correct spelling. m. Permit students to use speech synthesis technology to facilitate revising and
meaningful writing experiences and be assigned authentic writing tasks that promote personal and editing. n. Selectively weight grading for content, organization, style, and conventions. o. Grade
collective expression, reflection, inquiry, discovery, and social change. 2. Routines should permit students assignments based on the amount of improvement rather than absolute performance. p. Assign letter
to become comfortable with the writing process and move through the process over a sustained period of grades for body of work collected over time (i.e., portfolio assessment) rather than for each paper. q.
time at their own rate. 3. Lessons should be designed to help students master craft elements (e.g., text Provide feedback on content, organization, style, and conventions for some rather than all assignments
structure, character development), writing skills (e.g., spelling, punctuation), and process strategies (e.g., (which may reduce students’ anxiety about writing). r. Provide feedback on targeted aspects of writing
planning and revising tactics). 4. A common language for shared expectations and feedback regarding rather than all aspects to avoid overwhelming students. Remedial Instruction in English |13 5.
writing quality might include the use of traits (e.g., organization, ideas, sentence fluency, word choice, Modifications to Learning Tasks a. Permit students to dramatize or orally present a written assignment,
voice, and conventions). C. Adaptations for Struggling Writers 1. Accommodations in the Learning either in lieu of writing or in preparation for writing. b. Assign students suitable roles (e.g., brainstorm
Environment a. Increase instructional time for writing. b. Provide quiet and comfortable spaces for manager) for the creation of a groupgenerated paper. D. Teaching Handwriting The following are
students to work. c. Provide unimpeded access to writing tools. d. Let students identify and select research-based suggestions for teaching handwriting. 1. Curriculum Considerations a. The initial use of
meaningful reinforcements for achieving writing goals (e.g., a reinforcement menu). e. Consult with an one type of script (e.g., manuscript versus cursive or different versions of manuscript) does not appear to
occupational therapist to identify specialized adaptations (e.g., chair and desk height). 2. Accommodations affect handwriting performance. b. Special emphasis is placed on difficult-to-form letters and those that
in Instructional Materials a. Simplify language of writing prompts. b. Highlight (e.g., color code) key are frequently reversed. c. Lowercase letters are introduced before upper-case letters, unless they are
words and phrases. c. Transition from simple to more elaborate graphic organizers and procedural formed using similar strokes (e.g., C, c). d. Letters that share common strokes are grouped together (e.g., o,
checklists. d. Post strategies, graphic organizers, and checklists in classroom and give students personal c, d, a). e. The introduction of easily confused letters (e.g., b, d, p, q) is staggered. f. The formation of
copies. e. Develop individualized spelling lists. f. Have students keep a personal dictionary of “demon” individual upper- and lowercase letters and, for cursive, difficult letter transitions (e.g., roam) are modeled.
words and frequently used spelling vocabulary. g. Provide paper positioning marks on students’ desks. h. g. Visual cues, such as numbered dots and arrows, and verbal descriptions are used to guide letter
Provide pencil grips for students. i. Provide raised- or colored-lined paper. j. Provide students with formation. h. Activities to reinforce letter recognition and naming are combined with handwriting practice.
personal copies of alphabet strips. Remedial Instruction in English |12 3. Accommodations in Teaching i. Students practice using a comfortable and efficient tripod pencil grasp. j. Students are shown and
Strategies a. Devote more instructional time to writing mechanics. b. Provide physical assistance during expected to use appropriate posture and paper positioning for their handedness. k. Handwriting fluency is
handwriting practice. c. Re-teach writing skills and strategies. d. Expect and support mastery learning of developed through frequent writing and speed trials, with an emphasis on maintaining legibility. l.
skills and strategies (e.g., memorization of strategy steps). e. Use cross-age peer tutors to reinforce skills Opportunities are provided for distributed practice and judicious review of individual letters and letter
and strategies. f. Assign homework designed to reinforce writing instruction. g. Help students set specific sequences. m. Students are permitted to develop their own handwriting style and to choose which script
and challenging yet attainable goals for the writing process (e.g., completing a planning sheet before (manuscript, cursive, or even a blend) they prefer to use after mastering handwriting (manuscript tends to
beginning to draft) and written products (e.g., a quantity goal of including 10 descriptive words in a story, be more legible than cursive and can be written just as quickly if given equal emphasis). n. Students are
which is perhaps linked to a quality goal of improving word choice by two points on an analytic quality prompted to identify when a high degree of legibility is and is not necessary. 2. Weekly Routines a. In the
scale). h. Help students develop self-instructions (e.g., “I can handle this if I go slow.”) and selfquestions primary grades, 60–75 minutes per week is allocated for handwriting instruction. b. Students are
(e.g., “Am I following my plan?”) that focus on positive attributions for success and task progress. i. Teach encouraged to compare letters to discover patterns and to highlight their similarities and differences. c.
students to evaluate and adjust their writing behaviors and writing strategy use to improve their writing Students are given opportunities to reinforce target letters by tracing them (a dashed or faded model),
productivity and performance. j. Promote maintenance and generalization of writing strategies by doing copying them, and writing them from memory. d. Students’ handwriting is monitored and immediately
the following: • Modeling and discussing how strategies may be used in multiple contexts; • Relating reinforced for correct letter formation, spacing, alignment, size, slant, and line quality. e. Students are
writing performance to strategy use; • Having students teach others how to use strategies; • Having asked to self-evaluate their handwriting and to set goals for improving specific aspects of their handwriting
students keep a strategy notebook which they can consult at any time; • Ensuring all staff and caregivers each day. f. Students are encouraged to correct poorly formed letters and to rewrite illegible work. E.
are familiar with and prompt the use of the strategies; and • Reviewing strategies often. 4. Modifications to Teaching Spelling 1. Curriculum Considerations a. Spelling vocabulary includes words drawn from
Task Demands a. Increase amount of time allotted for completing written assignments. b. Decrease the children’s reading materials, Remedial Instruction in English |14 children’s writing, self-selected words,
length and/or complexity of written assignments. c. Have students complete text frames (i.e., partially high-frequency word lists 1,2, and pattern words. b. Students are typically taught phonemic awareness and
phoneme-grapheme associations (reserving the least consistent mappings, such as consonants /k/ and /z/
and long vowels, for last) in kindergarten and first grade. Common spelling patterns (e.g., phonograms or
rime families 3,4,5) are taught in first and second grades. Morphological structures (i.e., roots and affixes
3,4,5,6) and helpful spelling rules (e.g., add es to make words ending in s, z, x, ch, or sh plural) are taught
in second grade and beyond. c. Students are taught systematic and effective strategies for studying new
spelling words (e.g., mnemonic spelling links, multi-sensory strategies). d. Previously taught spelling
words are periodically reviewed to promote retention. e. Correct use of spelling vocabulary in students’
written work is monitored and reinforced. f. Students are taught and encouraged to use dictionaries, spell
checkers, and other resources to determine the spelling of unknown words g. Spelling “demons” and other
difficult words are posted on wall charts. 2. Weekly Routines a. A minimum of 60–75 minutes per week is
allocated for spelling instruction. b. Students take a Monday pretest to determine which words they need to
study during subsequent activities and to set spelling performance goals. c. After studying new spelling
words, students take a Friday posttest to determine which words were mastered. d. Immediately after
taking a spelling test, students correct their misspellings. e. The teacher conducts word sorts and guided
spelling activities to explicitly teach spelling patterns and rules at the beginning of the week. f. Daily
opportunities are provided for cumulative study and testing of new spelling words (e.g., through computer-
assisted instruction). g. Students work together each day to learn new spelling words. h. While studying,
students monitor their on-task behavior or the number of times they correctly spell a target word, to
promote active learning.