Fundamentals in the Sentence Writing Strategy

RESOUCES:

• Fundamentals in the Sentence Writing Strategy Research (pdf)
• Fundamentals in the Sentence Writing Strategy Overview Video (link)

RESEARCH ARTICLES:

• Schumaker, J.B., & Deshler, D.D. (2009). Adolescents with learning disabilities: Are we selling them short? Learning Disabilities Research & Practice, 24(2), 81-92. The authors review the evolution of SIM writing strategies and research that shows students with learning disabilities can learn and successfully use writing strategies under the right instructional conditions.
• Schumaker, J.B., & Deshler, D.D. (2003). Can students with LD become competent writers? Learning Disability Quarterly, 26(2), 129-141. This article summarizes a programmatic line of R&D work that has focused on learning strategies instruction as a method for improving the writing performance of students with disabilities within the context of the general education curriculum as well as on district- and state-wide writing assessments.
• Oas, B.K., Schumaker, J.B., & Deshler, D.D. (1995). Learning strategies: Tools for learning to learn in middle and high schools. Secondary education and beyond: Providing opportunities for students with learning disabilities. Pittsburgh, PA: Learning Disabilities Association of America. This article uses student case descriptions to illustrate how a variety of learning strategies--including the Self-Advocacy Strategy, Sentence Writing Strategy, and Paraphrasing Strategy--might be implemented with students who experience an array of learning disabilities characteristics.

The Story Behind the Fundamentals in the Sentence Writing Program from the author Jean B. Schumaker, Ph.D.
I started developing instructional programs for writing skills in the 1970s when I was a graduate student at the University of Kansas. My graduate program required me to take part in an internship at the probation department of the Douglas County Juvenile Court in Kansas. I was assigned several cases of truant secondary students. In working with these students, I learned that they could not write. They told me that one of the reasons they avoided school was that they were embarrassed because they could not complete the work assigned to them. I also learned that there were no instructional programs available to teach them writing in an intensive way. I embarked on a journey of developing writing programs that continues to this day.

Jan Sheldon and I originally developed the Proficiency in the Sentence Writing Program in the early 1970s; when it was published in 1985, it quickly became very popular across the nation. However, many teachers kept telling us that their students had not learned the basic prerequisite skills that were required to enter that program. They reported that they had to teach their students basic skills like identifying subjects and verbs before they could begin instruction in the Proficiency Program. They complained that finding good instructional materials for this task was difficult and asked for more instructional materials. In response to these teachers’ requests for a program, the Fundamentals in the Sentence Writing Strategy Program was born. Jan and I (along with the help of our children) created a program that would teach students the prerequisites that they would need to enter the Proficiency in the Sentence Writing Strategy Program. Within the Fundamentals Program, students can learn the basic requirements for a complete sentence, how to check their sentences for completeness, and how to use a strategy for writing simple sentences. They also learn how to use linking verbs, action verbs, helping verbs, adjectives, adverbs, prepositions, and infinitives in their writing.

Author's Thoughts about Strategic Instruction
Strategic instruction is one of the few instructional methods that have been shown to be effective through empirical research to produce improvement in learning and in the academic performance of at-risk student. The studies conducted on the Fundamentals in the Sentence Writing Strategy Program have shown that a variety of students, including elementary and middle-school students, students with and without disabilities, and students representing a variety of minority populations can learn the basic skills associated with writing simple sentences when this program is used with fidelity.

Teacher and Student Feedback on the Fundamentals in the Sentence Writing Strategy Program
This program has been very popular with both teachers and students. Teachers have used the program in a variety of settings including general education English and language arts classes, resource rooms, tutoring settings, and after-school programs. This program is included in numerous district scope and sequence documents across the nation starting as early as the third grade.