Using Story Grammar Cueing to Improve the Writing of Students with Learning Disabilities

This article describes how a story grammar cueing system can be used as a teaching approach for improving writing. The cueing system introduces a self-regulatory mechanism into task performance which may take the form of a monitoring checklist or a simple series of steps. This assistance, however, does not involve teaching substantive matter. Instead, it is designed to provide a scaffold to facilitate completion of the task. Recent research has demonstrated that students with learning disabilities generally write higher quality stories when they are directed to use story grammar cue cards or a check-off system for story parts. This article provides specific recommendations for teaching students how to use these procedures.