The Impact Self-Graphing has on the Writing Fluency and Writing Attitudes of Three 3rd Grade Students with Special Needs
Abstract
With the demands of the Common Core Standards, a large emphasis has been placed on writing in all content areas. Unfortunately, in regards to students with special needs, teachers are unsure how to instruct them to produce higher quality writing and increase writing fluency. This study was designed to explore the impact self-graphing has on the writing fluency and writing attitudes of three third grade male students with special needs. Each student was given a survey to determine his or her attitude towards writing and asked to write about a prompt for varying amounts of time for six weeks. The students maintained personal graphs that displayed the number of words they had written during each instructional period. Additional data were collected through observations. The results indicated that self-graphing directly impacts students’ writing fluency, students may need to be provided with concrete prompts that are of high interest, some students may need additional time to process prompts given and engage in a conversation about the writing task; despite attitude, writing is a process and takes time, and when students with special needs are given a supportive writing environment, they may develop positive attitudes about writing that can lead to improved written communication. Recommendations for future research include investigating the affect self-graphing has on students’ quality of writing, the impact self-graphing has on students’ writing fluency when a set amount of time is given, and the impact of student choice on high interest writing topics.Collections
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