Elementary students are expected to engage in written expression that is handwritten and typed. One critical skill of written expression is sentence construction: the composition of multiple words that follow rules of semantics and syntax. Unfortunately, many students with disabilities struggle to successfully handwrite or type complete sentences. In the present study, we investigated effects of a supplemental writing intervention that taught simple sentence handwriting and typing. Participants included three elementary students with high-incidence, academically related disabilities. Overall results were mixed with all students showing a gradual increase in sentence typing accuracy and speed as measured by writing sequences on 3-min sentence construction probes. Findings are discussed within the context of multimodal writing development and fluency-based writing interventions.
ArcherA.HughesC. (2011). Explicit instruction: Efficient and effective teaching. New York, NY: Guilford.
2.
BerningerV. W.AbbottR. D.AusburgerA.GarciaN. (2009). Comparison of pen and keyboard transcription modes in children with and without learning disabilities. Learning Disability Quarterly, 32, 123–141.
3.
BerningerV. W.AmtmannD. (2003). Preventing written expression disabilities through early and continuing assessment and intervention for handwriting and/or spelling problems: Research into practice. In SwansonH. L.HarrisK. R.GrahamS.SwansonH. L.HarrisK. R.GrahamS. (Eds.), Handbook of learning disabilities (pp. 345–363). New York, NY: Guilford Press.
4.
BerningerV. W.ChanquoyL. (2012). What writing is and how it changes across early and middle childhood development: A multidisciplinary perspective. In GrigorenkoE. L.MambrinoE.PreissD. D. (Eds.), A mosaic of new perspectives (pp. 65–84). London, England: Psychology Press.
5.
BerningerV. W.NagyW.BeersS. (2011). Child writers’ construction and reconstruction of single sentences and construction of multi-sentence texts: Contributions of syntax and transcription to translation. Reading and Writing: An Interdisciplinary Journal, 24, 151–182. doi:10.1007/s11145-010-9262-y
6.
BerningerV. W.NagyW.TanimotoS.ThompsonR.AbbottR. D. (2015). Computer instruction in handwriting, spelling, and composing for students with specific learning disabilities in grades 4-9. Computers & Education, 81, 154–168.
7.
BrindleM.GrahamS.HarrisK. R.HebertM. (2016). Third and fourth grade teacher’s classroom practices in writing: A national survey. Reading and Writing: An Interdisciplinary Journal, 29, 929–954. doi:10.1007/s11145-015-9604-x
8.
CheminA. (2014, December16). Handwriting vs typing: Is the pen still mightier than the keyboard?The Guardian. Retrieved fromwww.theguardian.com
9.
DatchukS. M. (2016). Writing simple sentences and descriptive paragraphs: Effects of an intervention on adolescents with writing difficulties. Journal of Behavioral Education, 25, 166–188.
10.
DatchukS. M. (2017). A direct instruction and precision teaching intervention to improve the sentence construction of middle school students with writing difficulties. Journal of Special Education, 51, 62–71.
11.
DatchukS. M.DembekG. A. (2018). Adapting a sentence intervention with spelling and handwriting support for elementary students with writing difficulties: A preliminary investigation. Insights into Learning Disabilities, 15, 7–27.
12.
DatchukS. M.KubinaR. M. (2013). A review of teaching sentence-level writing skills to students with writing difficulties and learning disabilities. Remedial and Special Education, 34, 180–192.
13.
DatchukS. M. & KubinaR. M. (2017). A writing intervention to teach simple sentences and descriptive paragraphs to adolescents with writing difficulties. Education and Treatment of Children, 40, 303–326.
14.
DatchukS. M.KubinaR. M.MasonL. H. (2015). Effects of sentence instruction and frequency building to a performance criterion on elementary aged students with behavioral concerns and EBD. Exceptionality, 23, 34–53.
15.
DockrellJ. E.ConnellyV.ArfeB. (2019). Struggling writers in elementary school: Capturing drivers of performance. Learning and Instruction, 60, 75–84.
16.
FreemanA. R.MacKinnonJ. R.MillerL. T. (2005). Keyboarding for students with handwriting problems: A literature review. Physical & Occupational Therapy in Pediatrics, 25, 119–147.
17.
GilbertJ.GrahamS. (2010). Teaching writing to elementary students in grades 4-6: A national survey. The Elementary School Journal, 110, 494–518.
18.
GrahamS. (2018). A writer(s) within community model of writing. In BazermanC.BerningerV.BrandtD.GrahamS.LangerJ.MurphyS.MatsudaP.RoweD.SchleppegrellM. (Eds.), The lifespan development of writing (pp. 272–325). Urbana, IL: National Council of English.
19.
GrahamS.BollingerA.Booth OlsonC.D’AoustC.MacArthurC.McCutchenD.OlinghouseN. (2012). Teaching elementary school students to be effective writers: A practice guide. Washington, DC: National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance, Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education.
20.
GrahamS.CollinsA. A.Rigby-WillsH. (2017). Writing characteristics of students with learning disabilities and typically achieving peers: A meta-analysis. Exceptional Children, 83, 199–218.
21.
JohnsonK.StreetE. M. (2014). Precision teaching. In McSweeneyF. K.MurphyE. S. (Eds.), The Wiley Blackwell handbook of operant and classical conditioning (pp. 581–609). New York, NY: Wiley.
22.
KennedyC. H. (2005). Single case designs for educational research. Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.
23.
KubinaR. M.YurichK. K. L. (2012). The Precision Teaching Book. Lemont, PA: Greatness Achieved.
24.
McMasterK.EspinC. (2007). Technical features of curriculum-based measurement in writing: A literature review. The Journal of Special Education, 41, 68–84.
25.
McTiernanA.HollowayJ.HealyO.HoganM. (2016). A randomized controlled trial of Morningside Math Facts curriculum on fluency, stability, endurance, and application outcomes. Journal of Behavioral Education, 2549–68.
26.
National Governors Association Center for Best Practices & Council of Chief State School Officers. (2010). Common core state standards English language arts. Washington, DC: National Governors Association Center for Best Practices & Council of Chief State School Officers.
27.
RitcheyK. D.McMasterK. L.Al OtaibaS.PuranikC. S.Grace KimY. S.ParkerD. C.OrtizM. (2016). Indicators of fluent writing in beginning writers. In CummingsK. D.PetscherY. (Eds.), The fluency construct (pp. 21–66). New York, NY: Springer.
28.
SaddlerB.AsaroK.BehforoozB. (2008). The effects of peer-assisted sentence-combining on four young writers with learning disabilities. Learning Disabilities: A Contemporary Journal, 6, 17–31.
29.
SaddlerB.BehforoozB.AsaroK. (2008). The effects of sentence-combining instruction on the writing of fourth-grade students with writing difficulties. Journal of special Education, 42, 79–90.
30.
SaddlerB.GrahamS. (2005). The effects of peer-assisted sentence-combining instruction on the writing performance of more and less skilled young writers. Journal of Educational Psychology, 97, 43–54.
31.
SantangeloT.GrahamS. (2016). A comprehensive meta-analysis of handwriting instruction. Educational Psychology Review, 28, 225–265.
32.
TanimotoS.ThompsonR.BerningerV. W.NagyW.AbbottR. D. (2015). Computerized writing and reading instruction for students in grades 4-9 with specific learning disabilities affecting written language. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 31, 671–689.
33.
Viel-RumaK.HouchinsD. E.JolivetteK.FredrickL. D.GamaR. (2010). Direct instruction in written expression: The effects on English speakers and English language learners with disabilities. Learning Disabilities Research & Practice, 25, 97–108.
34.
WalkerB.ShippenM. E.AlbertoP.HouchinsD. E.CihakD. F. (2005). Using the expressive writing program to improve the writing skills of high school students with learning disabilities. Learning Disabilities Research & Practice, 20, 175–183.
35.
WalkerB.ShippenM. E.HouchinsD. E.CihakD. F. (2007). Improving the writing skills of high school students with learning disabilities using the expressive writing program. International Journal of Special Education, 22, 66–76.
36.
WechslerD. (2009). Wechsler Individual Achievement Test (3rd ed.). San Antonio, TX: Pearson.
37.
WoodcockR.McGrewK.MatherN. (2001). Woodcock-Johnson III achievement battery. Itasca, IL: Riverside.
