Preventing Writing Difficulties: The Effects of Planning Strategy Instruction on the Writing Performance of Struggling Writers

In this study, we examined whether early, supplemental strategy instruction in planning helped ameliorate writing difficulties. Second-grade students experiencing difficulty learning to write were taught a strategy for planning and writing stories. Learning to use the strategy had a positive effect on writing, as students’ stories became more complete and, with the exception of 1 student, qualitatively better. Collateral improvements in an uninstructed genre, personal narratives, also occurred for all but 1 student. These positive effects were generally maintained over time and in some instances exceeded posttreatment effects.