**This article is a guest post from Karla at http://lifeinspecialeducation.blogspot.com. Thank you for your wonderful contribution!**
Story Writing for Struggling Students
Many students who struggle with reading, writing, and spelling have a very difficult time getting their words and ideas on paper even though they may be amazing storytellers. There are several simple ways that you can help these students to be successful and allow them to show off their storytelling talents.
- Allow students to tell their story to another person and have them script it for them. I know in the classroom this isn’t always possible. Another solution is to have the student record his story. With all of the technology that is available today, audio recording is easier than ever. With an audio recording, the student can playback his story several times as he writes it or you can have an adult write the story at a later time.
- Graphic organizers are wonderful tools for students to organize their ideas. There are thousands of free graphic organizers available on the internet to print. Finding the best graphic organizer for your child will involve trying several and seeing which one fits your child’s needs. Search “free graphic organizers for writing.”
- Draw a picture of the main idea of the beginning, middle, and end of the story. Once the main idea has been transformed into a visual tool, the student can write the main idea from each part of the story and add a few detail sentences for each picture. Then, they will have created an entire story.
Storytelling is often an area our students can succeed at if we provide them with the proper accommodations. It’s important for the student and his peers to see him as a valuable member of the classroom.
Karla Banks is a special education teacher in an arts integrated, Title I school. She taught a pull-out resource program for 5 years and has taught a k-5 self-contained classroom for students with a variety of disabilities since 2004. For additional tips and help for your struggling students visit Karla at http://lifeinspecialeducation.blogspot.com