IMPROVING THE NARRATIVE WRITING OF STUDENTS WITH LEARNING-DISABILITIES

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of procedural and substantive facilitation-specifically, instruction in character development-on the quality and length of narratives written by 9 junior high school students with learning disabilities. A multiple baseline design across triads was used to determine the effects of treatment. Results indicated that over a period of 2 months, students generally made substantial increases in the amount they wrote and mild to moderate increases in the quality of the stories produced. Recommendations are given for individualizing instruction considering student differences in writing ability, background, motivation, interest, and attention.