Structured Language Intervention for Writing: Practical Strategies

For students with learning challenges, such as dyslexia and related developmental language disorders, structured, systematic, and explicit literacy instruction results in significant gains in their comprehension and writing. Too often, this writing intervention focuses exclusively on discourse (paragraph and multi-paragraph) structure, with minimal emphasis on topical vocabulary and sentence-level skills.

After a very brief presentation of theory and evidence, this presentation will describe topical (theme-centered) vocabulary, sentence formulation, and discourse-level strategies that teachers can use right away in their teaching. The methods are well-suited for general education, Grades 1-5 and for students who need additional support in upper elementary school, middle school, and even high school. Strategies will draw from Dr. Haynes’s (2018) book for teachers, From Talking to Writing: Strategies for Supporting Narrative and Expository Writing, and will include more recent strategies developed and tested in the Written Expressive Language and Literacy Collaborative (WELL) language clinic at MGH Institute of Health Professions (see Lambrech-Smith & Haynes, 2022; Haynes, Smith & Laud, 2019).