By Steve Graham, Ed.D., & Karen Harris, Ed.D.

Struggling writers—those with learning disabilities and those who just need additional help—can improve their skills dramatically if they get the detailed, explicit instruction they need. With this informative, research-supported handbook, elementary and middle school teachers will learn why and how to make systematic writing instruction a part of their classroom.

Educators will get

• in-depth descriptions of strategies that help students navigate every phase of the writing process
  
  
• examples of step-by-step action plans and mnemonic devices that teach students new skills
  
  
• short summaries of field-testing results that show how the strategies succeeded in real classrooms
  
  
• before-and-after samples of student writing that illuminate the real difference these strategies can make
  

With these scientifically validated ideas and exercises—adaptable for use across grades—teachers will have the solid foundation they need to help struggling students both improve their skills and change the way they feel about writing.

1. Writing Uphill: Why Strategy Instruction Is Important
   
2. Writing Is a Dog's Life: A Guide to Writing Difficulties

Section II: Strategies for Teaching Planning, Writing, and Revising

3. How to Teach Writing Strategies

Section III: Writing Strategies That Can Be Applied Broadly

4. PLEASE: A Paragraph Writing Strategy
   
5. PLANS: A Goal-Setting Strategy
   
6. STOP and LIST: Goal Setting, Brainstorming, and Organizing
   
7. The Peer Revising Strategy
   
8. The CDO Revising Strategy
   
9. Summarizing Written Text

Section IV: Writing Strategies That Are Genre Specific

10. Story Writing
    
11. Persuasive Writing
    
12. Writing Explanations
    
13. Writing a Comparison/Contrast Paper
    
14. Report Writing

Section V: Strategies for Self-Regulating and the Writing Process

15. Self-Monitoring
    
16. Goal Setting

Section VI: Making It Work

17. Guidelines for Implementing Writing Strategy Instruction
    

References
Appendix: Sources of Quotes and Anecdotes
Index