Helping Middle Grade Struggling Writers Achieve Success

(Grades 3-6) / Flex Course

PDI Course Number: 19T02 / UCSD Course Number: EDUC41574

Course Description

Do you have students who cringe every time you assign a writing task and wish you knew ways to help them? Writing is hard work, especially for the student who struggles. This online course is designed for teachers in grades 3-6 who want to help their struggling students with key writing skills. The course begins with a brief discussion of why students may struggle with writing as well as an exploration of writing standards. Then, several root causes of writing avoidance are shared. Teachers will learn how to differentiate between struggling writers and those who are learning disabled so appropriate remediations can be selected. Information on the writing process is shared together with suggestions for incorporating specific writing strategies such as the six traits, and writing across the curriculum. Teachers will also learn how to motivate their struggling writers so they become more interested and focused on the process. The strong connection between reading and writing will be explored. Additional strategies such as writer’s workshop, technology that promotes writing, and using quality literature as an inspiration for writing are shared. Finally, writing assessment is fully explored. By the end of this course, teachers will more fully understand how to best help their struggling writers. This course is worth 3 ⅓ semester units/5 quarter units (50 hours of training) from University of California San Diego (UCSD) Division of Extended Studies. For detailed information on university credit, click here.

"Very valuable. From the very first unit, I was discovering so many things that I will be doing in my classroom next year. I wish I had been exposed to these ideas and resources years ago." - Tina Mischke