• “A writer writes not because he is educated but because he is driven by the need to communicate. Behind the need to communicate is the need to share. Behind the need to share is the need to be understood.”

• --Leo Rosten, author

Motivating Reluctant Writers With Technology

Joelle (Joey) Weaver

Special Education Teacher

HF-LJoelle_weaver@hflcsd.org

Motivating Reluctant Writers Why are they “reluctant”?

• Disability – in need of assistance, support

Disinterested – in need of motivation, increased interest

Motivating Disabled Writers Supporting and Assisting Students

with Technology

Word Prediction

Example Co-writer/ WordQ

Example MS word

Speech to Text software (Dragon Naturally Speaking, Natural Reader)

Example MS word speech recognition

Motivating Reluctant Writers Supporting and Assisting Students

with Technology

Inspiration/Kidspiration

Intellitools

Draftbuilder

Writing Essentials

• Have a purpose for writing

• Opportunity to work through process from draft to finished product

• Audience

• Student choice

Purpose

• Comics

• Storyboarding

Process

• DOMinate writing

– DUMP

– ORGANIZE

– MAP

Brainstorming Ideas

• The LEGO (or Let-go) exercise

• Air-dry playdough

Audience and How to Reach Them

• luv U , cant w8t2C U l8r • ROTFL

• http://www.netlingo.com/acronyms.php• http://www.dominounplugged.com/hosting/domin

ounplugged/home.nsf/rsrc/34705A030F0087C585256D280005D23E/$file/text_messaging_dictionary.pdf

Choice

• Recording

• Art

• Music

Writing SolutionsVideotaped “news segments”

• Purpose – information, entertainment• Audience of peers• Writing process from draft to final product over 3

sessions, once per week.• Student choice (within boundaries) of topics of

interest• Additional benefits – practice using vocabulary

mapped in previous classes, multiple opportunities to practice reading fluency, and practice using “good speech”, posture, enunciation, projection, etc.

– Keeping a writer’s notebook • Living a wide-awake life.

– Scrapbooking• Chronicling events with family or friends

– Photographs & Writing

– Blogging• Personal

• Professional

Writing SolutionsBring in the Motivation (and other areas)

• Purpose –to increase understanding of text (writing for literature response)

• Audience – family members, classmates, other teachers

• Writing process from draft to final product over 3 sessions, once per week.

• Use of “prop” from the book • Text-to-Self Connection

Writing SolutionsPhoto Story 3

• Purpose-a digital form of book reports• Audience-students trying to find a good book to

read• Writing process from draft to final product- 2

sessions (used a graphic organizer)• Student choice of opinion, pictures, animation• Additional benefits-visualization, reading fluency,

review of literary terms

Writing SolutionsGame Shows

• Purpose-review of material, end of unit evaluation (writing for information)

• Audience-students• Writing process-at least two sessions• Student choice- pertinent information, type of

game to use (Jeopardy or Millionaire for example), question format, visuals, sound clips

• Additional benefits-grammar counts/ language use, creativity, practice using power point, review of material

Quarterly Class NewsletterThe Weaver Weekly

• Purpose-writing and publishing a newsletter• Audience-parents (sent home and up on website)• Writing process-from brainstorming to final draft

and publication• Student choice-write about what you know• Additional benefits-students practice writing in

different genres (editorials, advice, horoscopes, car reviews, short stories, book reviews, poetry)

Motivating Writing Opportunitieshttp://www.xtranormal.com/

• Purpose-writing dialogue, curriculum linked writing response

• Audience-self, peers, teachers, internet community• Writing process-from brainstorming to final draft

and publication• Student choice-choose a character from a book

and tell story from his/her point of view• Additional benefits-students practice writing from

alternate point of view, create visual to solidify knowledge of events or story line, opportunity to share work, collaborate

• Latest updates

• Wordle.net to create a “word cloud” of selected text.

Assessment and CBM’s

• Excel Charting

• Writing CBM’s

Time to Share

Show and tell …. What’s working for you in your classroom?