Simple ways to assess the writing skills of students with learning disabilities

A few things I took away from my time as a Workshop student about the writing process:

1. 
   The writing process needs to be authentic and organic. It is different for each writer.
   
2. 
   Being a reader is so important. Reading as a writer is what helps the writer find their voice and authentic process of their own writing.
   
3. 
   The writing process is not a one size fits all formula. It is far from that, so throw away your essay outline template and let your students follow your lead on becoming a true writer. The writing process is something that happens naturally, authentically, differently, for each writer.
   
4. 
   Authentic writing is not a formula. I have found that I don’t really “brainstorm” or “pre-write” or make webs and charts… I just write. Whatever it is I feel, whatever it is I want to say – or sometimes what I don’t want to say.
   
5. 
   My first draft is often messy and there is so much beauty in that mess. It is often unorganized, drowning in imperfect sentences and awful cheesy metaphors, and that is okay. Our students need to know this as well, that as writers, we are never going to get it on the first try. That is why this is called the Writing PROCESS. There are many steps to writing an essay, a story, anything at all, and if we are to do it well we need to be 100% committed to the Workshop Process.
   
6. 
   Sharing is necessary. This was the most difficult part for me and my writing piece this summer. Letting others read my scorched and broken heart on a page was not something I was immediately ready to let happen, but without it, I would not have gone through the writing process and created my piece with the depth I did. The piece I wrote is raw and full of anguish. It was, and still is, terrifying to share but more therapeutic than I could have imagined. Hearing what my friends and peers had to say was encouraging and gave me confidence that what I was writing and what I was writing about was important to more than just my healing, but others’ as well. Knowing this is what made the tear stained pages a little easier to share.
   
7. 
   Revision is a balance. Knowing when to resurface before diving back into the emotions and write more, write with deeper purpose and meaning is essential to a successful writing process.
   
8. 
   Writing is never really done. I read my “final” piece aloud in our read around on the last day of this class and I still find myself wanting, needing to dive back in a make it more than it was.
   

Although a piece may never feel “finished”, knowing when to leave well enough alone is important.

1. 
   The writing process gave me power and bravery to keep writing. I feel like more of my heart is ready to pour out into this one piece, but maybe that means there is another piece lying within me. This is the beauty of this process, seeing clearly what the purpose is of each piece and moving on to another when you need to.
   
2. 
   Our students need to experience this each and every day in our classrooms.
   

This next year I will continue my growth as a writer alongside my students in the Reader Writer Workshop classroom by modeling what true writers do. I will be sharing my experience with the writing process and encouraging my students daily to find their voice through this beautiful, necessary process. Yes, it is less conventional, but so are our students. I hope to free them from the traditional approach to writing and watch them create and find empowerment in their creations. It is up to us, their teachers, to model and write alongside them vulnerably and intentionally, showing them what real writers and readers do. They deserve the chance to learn in a way that will empower them for the rest of their life. Imagine the writing we can experience from our students if we let them find their writing process.
Sarah Roy is a mother to three amazing, energetic, creative little boys and wife to a Marine turned Texas State Trooper who is braver and more selfless than anyone she has ever known. She is a Disney addict and is excited to surprise her sweet boys with a trip to Disney World in 10 days. Her passion for reading and writing overflows into her students each year and she loves watching them grow on their journey to be readers and writers.
Authenticity in writing is when we ask our students to write in their own voices to audiences outside of the classroom, for a real-world purpose, and on topics of significance. When our students write authentic pieces, they may write for the purposes of informing an audience, persuading readers to agree with their position, debating an issue, or presenting a solution to a problem. Whatever the purpose, authentic writing is in a real world format such as an article, letter, book, interview, or business report. When our students write for real reasons they are empowered, motivated, and inspired to communicate effectively.
To further understand authenticity in writing, it is important to understand what authenticity is not. When we ask our students to assume another’s persona or write from another person’s perspective, while this is still an important learning activity, it is not an authentic task. When writing is decontextualized from real world purposes, when students do not experience choice, and when there is not an audience beyond the classroom, writing becomes a rote exercise versus a meaningful experience that teaches students to value writing. Authenticity connects writers to the outside world, inspires writing for a real audience, and ensures that students’ voices are heard. According to Grant Wiggins, authenticity “stimulates contexts that mirror the workplace and other real-life contexts.” The bottom line is that we need our students to become adults who can write. They need to know how to communicate effectively, ethically, and intelligently.