Prioritizing Elementary School Writing Instruction: Cultivating Middle School Readiness for Students With Learning Disabilities

Helping elementary students with learning disabilities (LD) prepare for the rigor of middle school writing is an instructional priority. Fortunately, several standards-based skills in upper elementary school and middle school overlap. Teachers in upper elementary grades, specifically fourth and fifth grades, have the opportunity to provide evidence-based writing instruction that will provide readiness for middle school writing. In this article, three key writing standards are highlighted and then paired with an evidence-based instructional approach for teaching genre-based (i.e., informative, persuasive, narrative) writing instruction, revising and editing, and note taking to students with LD. Teaching procedures and resources are included.