Every week I am contacted by parents whose children have been handed a diagnosis of a Specific Learning Disability. The students who make up our roster come to us with dyslexia, dysgraphia, dyscalculia, or ADHD. Many of their profiles include two or more of those disabilities and the result is a struggling student where the school is unable to support them with the intensity they require.

A year ago, when Covid-19 became a reality, I took the opportunity to dive into the most recent research on literacy instruction for all students, and for students diagnosed with a learning disability in particular. After participating in several webinars, reading many blog posts, and taking an online course, I felt confident that the Roadways to Reading system was totally in line with the current science of reading.

The Simple View of Reading (Gough and Tumner, 1986), is a formula demonstrating the widely accepted view that reading has two basic components: word recognition (decoding) and language comprehension. Within each component there are different strands or pieces that must be in place for a student to become a skilled reader. To see all those strands take time to check out Hollis Scarborough’s  famous Reading Rope infographic (2001).

Through all of my reading and listening, not only did I get caught up on all the news regarding dyslexia and reading, but I had some of my burning questions around writing answered. Some of my questions were:

1.     If the child can’t read and his/her printing or cursive is illegible, should I be spending my time on handwriting instruction, or should I concentrate solely on reading?

2.     At what point do you ease up on handwriting instruction and let the student use a computer or some type of device for writing?

3.     Is cursive important for our elementary students to learn?

4.     What connection does writing have with reading and how much of an emphasis should we put on writing for students who have a diagnosis of a specific learning disability of dyslexia or dysgraphia?

First of all, just to put it out there, reading and writing have a very strong connection. Reading supports writing and conversely, writing supports reading! This connection is so strong and so important that we can say that a child’s literacy development is dependent on the connection between reading and writing.

Just as we have been provided with a “Simple View of Reading,”  there is also a “Simple View of Writing.” Berninger et.al. 2002, says this view recognizes two critical processes:

1.     Transcription: mechanics (handwriting, keyboarding) + conventions (spelling, punctuation)

2.     Ideation: planning, drafting, editing, word choice, structure, genre (text generation)

**Both processes rely on attention and working memory.

Sedita’s Writing Rope infographic gives a clear picture of the strands that make up fluent, skilled writing.

According to Morris, Schraufnagel, Chudnow and Winberg (2009), 80% of children with learning disabilities struggle with writing. And thinking about our own students, I see that as absolutely true! The literature agrees that writing must be explicitly taught and the need for review, practice and repetition is paramount, just as it is for reading. Not only that, but high importance is put on writing fluency.

As I considered both processes required for writing, I felt that the 6+1 Traits covered the process of Ideation. Transcription caused me to pause and reflect more deeply. This process addresses handwriting, keyboarding, and spelling. The Roadways to Reading system has a focus on word reading and spelling, so I turn my attention to handwriting, an area that we have largely ignored. Much of the current research is pushing teachers back towards dedicating increased time for teaching manuscript handwriting or cursive. There is an emphasis on correct letter formation, and now I have read several articles on the importance of fluency in handwriting. In the fall, as we headed back to class, I made a decision to follow a handwriting curriculum that was explicit in its instruction and sequential in its development. 

As we turn the calendar to the month of March, I must say that for many of our students, handwriting has improved greatly. It has taken time, patience, and an attitude adjustment on our part to recognize the importance of this skill. Handwriting fluency remains challenging for many, so practice cannot stop. 

…And now, the case for keyboarding:

It can be quicker, definitely more legible, and spell-correction is an option as is grammar correction. What we must remember is that keyboarding needs to be fluent in order to free up the higher cognitive resources needed for writing quality. Just like handwriting, direct and explicit keyboarding instruction is necessary, followed by time to practice.

I continue to research this area of literacy and incorporate the strands into our daily Roadways to Reading sessions. Hopefully, I have piqued your interest and caused you to consider the importance you are putting on the two processes of writing: transcription and  ideation.