Language for Writing instructs students in the principles of effective writing, equipping them with the vocabulary necessary to articulate actions, events, and objects, and the sentence structures essential for expressing complex ideas in written form. Continuous exercises guide students in crafting narratives, employing precise vocabulary, making accurate comparisons, summarising content, and refining their proofreading skills.
About the program
Language for Writing is a comprehensive writing program designed for students requiring a highly structured approach to develop strong writing skills. The program focuses on teaching essential conventions for clear writing, the vocabulary necessary to describe actions, events, and objects, and the sentence structures needed to convey ideas effectively. To achieve these objectives, Language for Writing offers meticulously structured instruction in both written and spoken language.
Key elements of the program include:
Providing oral practice to familiarise students with the words and syntax they will use in their writing.
Teaching vocabulary that enables students to describe aspects of their writing.
Helping students master grammar and punctuation to enhance clarity in their writing.
Daily lessons that guide students in organising and expressing their thoughts on paper, fostering comfort and confidence in writing while developing essential concepts and skills for clear expression and analysis of written language.
Program Features:
Clear and direct lesson plans facilitate the teaching of important language and writing concepts.
Incremental steps and appropriate support mechanisms help students acclimate to the challenges of writing.
Thoughtfully sequenced lessons enable a smooth progression through various activities, fostering development across all aspects of writing.
Program assessments conducted every 10 lessons provide valuable insights into students' mastery of content, facilitating targeted support and additional practice for those in need.
Teaches the oral language skills necessary to understand what is said, written, and read in the classroom.
Helps students to effectively communicate ideas and information.
Develops students’ ability to successfully use writing strategies and process
The Literature Strand:
Supports the reading strand by offering a wide range of literary forms and text structures.
Provides multiple opportunities for students to practice vocabulary and comprehension strategies and write for authentic purposes.
Gives students the opportunity to read at their own ability level.
The Reading Strand:
Addresses all five essential components of reading as identified by Reading First—phonemic awareness, phonics and word analysis, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension.
Provides spelling instruction to help students make the connection between decoding and spelling patterns.
Develops decoding, word recognition, and comprehension skills that transfer to other subject areas.
Each strand can be used as a supplement to the core curriculum for targeted intervention, or combined for use as a comprehensive, stand-alone literacy program.
Direct Instruction and Teaching of Early Reading This report summarises some of the research supporting the use of Direct Instruction to teach early reading skills. It also discusses some of the barriers educators face when attempting to implement Direct Instruction, specifically proponents of whole language teaching. Finally, researchers describe schools and teachers in Wisconsin that have achieved excellent results with Direct Instruction and how this is changing the minds of many critics.
Special Education and Direct Instruction Research shows strong evidence of success when Direct Instruction programs are used with students with special needs. In fact, Direct Instruction is one of only seven interventions proven effective (Forness, Kavale, Blum & Lloyd, 1997). With its research-supported design and systematic delivery, Direct Instruction is often referred to as a program for special education or at-risk students.
The Research Base and Validation of Direct Instruction Language Programs This report shows 17 studies that have been published in peer-reviewed journals, 16 of which were group design studies (pre-experimental, quasi-experimental, experimental) and one of which was single case (A-B). All examined the effectiveness of one or more of the Direct Instruction language programs across a wide variety of settings and populations.
Horizons and Language for Learning Close Achievement Gap This report shows how the achievement gap at Vallivue School District was closed among students with limited English proficiency after using Horizons and Language for Learning.
