Writing Reminders

Writing typically is an area of concern for younger friends on the spectrum. There are 3 components of writing that can be bothersome. One area is content, another is the physical fine motor aspect and  the other is mechanics. The content area is the thought process, the  flow of the writing and the beginning, middle and end of a written piece. This has most to do with thought organization. Story maps and graphic organizers can help give kids structure and framework so that they can piece together their story before they write. Other kids have trouble with fine motor skills and work with Occupational Therapists to find a way to work through the physical or mechanical issues of handwriting. This area is often difficult, because of the physical and developmental aspects that are involved. Time, practice and often times a little technology is involved in working through these problems. The last area of issue is mechanics. This is the down and dirty, nitty-gritty procedural elements of writing. Punctuation, capitalization, notebook paper orientation, neatness and effort fall under this category. Mechanics is what we were working on in this story. My student was sloppy and little lazy. He continually oriented his paper in what ever way he laid it down. Capitalization and punctuation was inconsistent, yet he knew the rules of when to do what.  He rushed and often times would not give it his all and just turn in sloppy written work. His inconsistencies of good papers and then messy papers showed us that he was more than capable of producing quality work. So, I wrote out these simple reminders and glued it to the inside of his writing folder. He knew what we wanted in his writing. It was all spelled out in black and white. By just having this simple reminder there for him, his written work met the mark. In fact, his writing content improved tremendously as well.  In this case, just pointing out the importance of what is expected in black and white raised the bar and he met the mark. Try it out. Enjoy!

1. Holes on left side?
2. Check capitalization.
3. Punctuation check
4. Best work?

** I need to shine in my writing like I do in my intellect!