MY KID CAN LEARN!

Use of graphic organizers and writing prompts to help kids with writing

Written assignments are often one of the most difficult tasks for a child with a learning disability, especially a language based disability, such as receptive language, expressive language or dyslexia. Often they have all of their thoughts running on in long sentences and their work lacks organization, details, complexity and quantity. Many times they will say things like “I don’t know what to write!”. It is extremely frustrating for them to have thoughts and ideas, and not know where to begin. (Or worse, have a three page paper due, but only have enough written to fill 1 page!)

Using graphic organizers for written work is essential for these kids, and they need to be taught a very specific writing process to follow each and every time they write. There are many graphic organizers, and many different writing processes that can be used. They all work, it is a personal preference as to which one to use.

Here are two methods that really work well:

Who, What, Where, When and Why/How, and Story/Context Webbing.

Who, What Where, When and Why/How is a great graphic organizer for younger children beginning to learn how to write short stories, book reports and research papers. It is easy to use and fun to learn.

1. Begin by tracing your child’s hand (use your hand if theirs is too tiny). At the end of each finger, draw a rectangle large enough for 2-3 short phrases or ideas to be written. Now, write the words Who, What, Where, When and Why/How inside each of the fingers beginning with the thumb, leaving the rectangles empty.

2. Have a discussion with your child about what needs to be written. Ask open ended questions to help your child decide each of the following:

-Who is the main character? In the rectangle of the thumb, have your child make notes of the important facts on the main character such as their name, age, gender, personality traits, etc. If there is no main character, maybe they are writing about Japan, so Japan and a few details about Japan would go here.

-What is the main topic of the paper? Maybe it is a book report, so you would use the next rectangle and have your child write two or three phrases related to the main idea of the book. This is where they would write about conflicts or problems that arise in the story. Or if it is a social studies paper, your child would make two or three statements about what they will be covering in the paper, such as Japan’s population, industries and culture.

-Where? This rectangle is used to write a statement or two about where the story takes place, the setting. Or for a science report, write two or three statements about where they will find what it is they are studying.

-When? This rectangle is used if timing is important to the paper. For example, a book report and the book’s setting is in colonial times or present day.

-Why/How? In this rectangle, they would write about why the main character is doing whatever it is they are doing. Or for a personal essay, they could write here how they learned to overcome something, or why something they are writing about is important to them

When the hand is complete they now have notes to use! Young writers are usually expected to write an introduction (paragraph one), two or three supporting sentences (paragraph two) and a conclusion (paragraph 3). Use the information in the rectangles to make a rough draft for the paper just by making complete sentences out of the phrases and notes beginning with the thumb. Do not use this time to worry about spelling, grammar and organization. That will come later. Next, ask your child probing questions to add some details. Finally, have your child call the “COPS” on their paper!

C. O. P. S. stands for Capitalization, Organization, Punctuation and Spelling. First, go through the whole paper looking for capitalization errors. Next, go through and see if the paper is written in an organized way. Does it make sense? Then, look for punctuation and spelling errors. If a child can write a paper, and not worry the whole time about their spelling and organization, they will be able to just let their thoughts hit the paper, and not get bogged down. Plus it is fun at the end to say “Now, let’s call the cops!”

Another graphic organizer that is helpful is story/context mapping. This method is great for middle and high school students, and for lengthier written work.

1. Begin by making a making a silver dollar sized circle in the center of the paper. Next write the topic sentence or title in this “bubble”.

2. Next, branch off from this bubble with more bubbles. Draw a two inch line in any direction and draw another silver dollar sized bubble. Each time, filling the bubble with phrases and notes about the main character or idea, supporting sentences, sub-topics, the who, what, when, where, and why/how information similar to above. Do not worry about the order, just brainstorm ideas and thoughts, making a new bubble for each.

3. At this point, look at the bubbles and decide what will go in the introduction. Mark these bubbles with an “I”. Then decide what will go in supporting paragraphs and mark with a “S”. Finally, look for bubbles that belong in the conclusion (if any - there may not be yet) and mark with a “C”.

Now your child has their notes and can begin with their rough draft. Following the same idea presented above, not concerning yourself with spelling, grammar or organization. They can call the C.O.P.S at the end. Read your child’s rough draft, and ask open-ended questions about missing information that you think should be in their paper. Avoid say things like, “you missed the point about….”, or “you should add information about….” Rather, say things like, “What did you mean when you said…”, or “what happened after they….” When they answer the question, say “you should add that right here….”. This will help them add rich detail to their paper, but not have them feel like you are picking apart their work

These writing processes should be followed each time your child writes. Initially, they will need a lot of support, eventually being able to follow the process on their own, and within many academic subjects.

With a little help, and a process that works, your child will begin to let their voice be heard in their writing!