Grab Bag

In searching for today’s blog posting I found two things I wanted to talk about that were very different from one another. The first is found here http://www.donjohnston.com/products/write_outloud/index.html . This is another product that is supposed to help struggling writers. It shows some pretty dramatic positive results and I say if it really works like that then sign me up. But I’m somewhat skeptical. After two weeks of searching, I don’t believe there is one magic program out there. This one does have some neat features however. It provides basic items like spell checker and dictionary as well as a device which helps students create a bibliography (much like the newest versions of Word). There is also a function that allows teachers to track students’ needs for remediation and growth. This program is part of a larger “literacy suite” called SOLO which has several programs all to aid struggling writers. This program seems better than the one I discovered last week in that it offers more ways to assist students. I feel like this may help “unlock” some of the doors that block students who are capable of being good writers but are unable to produce because of various difficulties. I still don’t think this solves the problem for kids who simply don’t know what to write but then again, no single program is intended to solve every problem.

The second thing I wanted to mention today is found here http://ldblog.com/special-content/correcting-reversals . It’s an interesting blog posting about letter reversals. This is a problem for both readers and writers but in my opinion, more often a problem for writers. I actually have a couple of students who routinely misspell their own names because they reverse b and d. The blog cites research which suggests a method for correcting letter reversals by essentially using positive reinforcement to acknowledge correct letter formation. Eventually over time the child will correctly write the letters. I can see how this very simple (low tech) method would work. I see my students with this problem get to certain letters on spelling tests (whether a b or a d) and debate with themselves over which direction to make the letter. It’s not as though they don’t know which letter they should use, they simply can’t remember which way the letter goes. I have unknowingly been doing this very method with my students but need to work on employing it more consistently. So there you have it, two different methods to solve writing problems; two very different levels of technology.