Written Expression Manual 10-11-12 1

Written-Expression
Curriculum Based Measurement

(WE-CBM)
A Practitioners Guide to Utilizing WE-CBM
within Response to Intervention
Draft | Do not Distribute
LeAnne K. Robinson, Ph.D.
Department of Special Education

Western Washington University
Leanne.robinson@wwu.edu
*This manual is in draft form.

Please avoid distributing
(updated September 14, 2012)
*This manual is the result of several years of

working with pre-service teachers and combines
lessons learned from work with real students in
the field with the work in curriculum based
measurement that was described and developed
by Ken Howell. I would like to thank all of the
practicum students over the last eight years who
have helped to test these procedures. I know
that each one of them is out making a
difference in the lives of children.
LeAnne
Table of Contents
Introduction
3
Overview of the WE-CBM Process
4
Section I: Assessment, Analysis and Evaluation
Understanding the Evaluation Cycle
5
Screening and Benchmarking
6
Progress Monitoring
7
Understanding Conditions of Learning
10
Error Domains and Hypothesis Testing 12
Hypothesis Testing and Problem
14
Validation Tables for Decision Making
Legibility
14
Conventions
15
Fluency
17
Vocabulary
18
Sentence Complexity
19
Content
20
Writing Process
22
Early Literacy and Emergent Writers
23
Section 11: Organizing and Presenting Information
RIOT | ICEL
24
Sharing Information with Decision
25
Making Teams
Decision Making Chart
26
Section III: Implementation
Philosophical Musings on Writing
27
Some Notes on Explicit Instruction
28
Overview of Designing Writing Lessons 29
Sentence Complexity
31
Conventions
33
Fluency
35
Vocabulary
36
Content
37
Legibility
40
Section IV: Appendices and Resources
A: Administering a 1 Minute Think
42
3 Minute Write
B: Scoring Words Spelled Correctly
43
LeAnne Robinson | Western Washington University
Section V:
C: Scoring Correct Writing Sequences

D: Punctuation Status Sheet
E: Story Grammar
F: Recommended Readings and
Resources
G: Holistic Scoring Rubric
Professional Development Activities
Activity 1: Scoring Practice
Activity 1: Answer Key
Activity 1: Reliability Practice
Activity 2: Writing Samples
Activity 2: Error Domains and
Common Hypotheses
Activity 2: Error Domain Worksheet
Activity 3: Skills, Strategies and
Concepts in Holistic Rubrics
Activity 3: Examples of Identifying
Error Domains in a Holistic Rubric
Activity 3: Identifying Skills,
Concepts, Strategies in Holistic
Rubrics
44
45
45
46
46
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
INTRODUCTION
The framework presented here follows a Response to

Intervention decision-making model:
Writing is one of the most difficult cognitive tasks we

can perform as a human. In order to express our
thoughts on paper not only do we need the physical
capabilities, we must also have deep understandings of
language and print. I have worked with many students
who can read but cannot write, and I have yet to meet
a student who can write but cannot read. Although
writing is probably the most complex academic task, it is
the primary way that we ask students to show what
they know. Unfortunately, if we look closely at what
happens in a given school day, very little explicit writing
instruction takes place. We often provide time for
writing, but time for writing is very, very different than
time spent on actually instructing students in the art,
craft and science of communicating with print.
(1) Identifying who has a problem (Screening)

(2) Determining what the problem is (Hypothesis
generation and testing)
(3) Designing a complete intervention plan
(4) Implementing the plan
(5) Monitoring progress (progress monitoring | formative
assessment)
(6) Evaluating the success of the intervention (summative
evaluation)
When a student fails to produce text similar to that of

other students his or her age, teachers are often
perplexed as to what to do to support the tangled
writer. Although there are many published books with
ideas on how to teach, there are relatively few
diagnostic assessment tools to use to pinpoint what,
specifically, needs to be taught.
The purpose of this handbook is provide an overview of
how to diagnose an instructional written expression
problem and then to select a targeted intervention. The
word diagnose, as I am using it, refers to identifying the
instructional problem that is preventing success. (I
really dont care how the problem got there- whether
the student was born with it or caught it from someone
else). As a teacher, I want to know what to do in the
classroom. Once any good teacher knows what the major
road block is, he or she can usually come up with a
creative and direct way to teach the student what he or
she needs to know to advance. Teachers are really good
at teaching!
(A process specific to written language is described on

page 4).
It should be made clear that the methods presented here
are for students and/or groups of students who have
been identified as at risk or are below grade level and
in need of a tiered intervention. It is entirely possible
that a classroom teacher could screen her class and find
no students in need of remediation, confirming that the
currently established practices of writing instruction are
working for everyone. I also want to stress the
importance of continuing to provide quality core
instruction to those students who are receiving tiered
interventions. Tiered interventions should support, not
supplant, quality core instruction!
Additionally, I am not recommending that teachers give
up using formative assessments that have been helping
them make qood classroom decisions. Instead this
process is meant to provide a way to enhance and
support what is already working in your classroom. Also,
this process may also highlight some areas within the
core that may benefit from change.
Overview of the WE-CBM Process

In the introduction I provided an overview of a generic
RTI decision-making process. Here I want to make this
specific to Written Expression Curriculum Based
Measurement (WE-CBM). Each stage is explained in more
detail throughout this manual.
(1) Identify if there are any students with potential
problems in Written Expression
(Screening | Benchmarking)
(2) For students who appear below standard, review
writing sample(s) and identify a potential Error
Domains
(3) Confirm that there is a problem and establish
benchmark
(4) Develop a hypothesis as to why the problem is
occurring
(5) Check the hypothesis through an assessment(s)
(6) Design an intervention and plan for progress
monitoring
(7) Implement the plan
(8) Evaluate the intervention
SECTION I:
Assessment, Analysis and
Evaluation
Understanding the Evaluation Cycle

It is helpful to understand what is sometimes called The
Assessment-Evaluation Cycle or the Evaluation Process.
More often than not, the words assessment analysis and
evaluation are used interchangeably. They are not the
same. Understanding the difference will assist in
understanding other terms and concepts in Response to
Intervention.
Assessment is the act of following through on some
procedure or activity that will result in the collection of
data. This may be the administration of a test or probe
(which is a short test), planning and conducting a formal
observation, conducting an interview or reviewing
information in a systematic way. Assessment is merely
the act of collecting data. (See R.I.O.T on page X)
are asking a question as to whether or not a student

passed or should move on or how a student
compares to others, then you are likely to be engaged
in a summative process.
Generally teachers are more interested in questions that
will be used to guide instruction, such as what does
Sally know about .. or Can Sally complete..
Administers are generally interested in summative
questions such as How did the class do? or How many
students met benchmark at the end of the year?
Knowing your question will help ensure that you are
administering the correct assessment. You cannot make
good targeted instructional decisions if you are asking
summative questions and administering summative type
assessments (e.g. most state tests, norm-referenced
assessments).
Analysis is the process of making the data meaningful.

The means such things as: scoring a test or probe,
calculating the percentage of incidents of a behavior,
recording an interview or organizing information from a
review of records. Analysis is the act of preparing
the raw data for meaningful interpretation.
Evaluation is the rendering of a judgment . This

is the final and most critical act in the assessment
cycle. Once youve collected data and organized it in a
way that makes it meaningful (analysis),you can then
make a decision or judgment about student performance.
There are a lot of references to Formative and
Summative Evaluation or Formative and Summative
Assessment. Personally it seems that the concept of both
makes has become complicated when it doesnt need to
be. Before administering any assessment, you should
state your assessment question. Your question should be
answered when you evaluate the data. If your question
relates to determining how a student is progressing, then
you are likely to engage in a formative process. If you
Assess
Figure 1:
Analyze
Evaluate
Assessment/Evaluation Cycle
5
Screening and Benchmarking

Simply defined, screening is the act of administering an
assessment to determine who may be at risk for failing
(or is failing) in a specific area. Benchmarking is
screening with the intention of using the score as a
baseline measurement that can be used as a comparison
in a future screening. In RTI, benchmarking is usually
done in the Fall, Winter and Spring.
Benchmark measures in WE-CBM are generally specific
types of Curriculum Based Measures (CBM) that are called
General Outcome Measures (GOMS). It is important to
remember that GOMs are correlational measures. Briefly
stated, a correlational measure correlates with another
measures, meaning that the score on a GOM should fairly
accurately predict a score on another assessment. Finally,
they also are time efficient, simple to administer, reflect
a variety of skills, and can capture subtle changes in
learning. They can also be used for progress monitoring.
In the case of WE-CBM GOMs, the scores frequently
correlate with other holistic scores, state tests and
general achievement tests.
There are a variety of WE-CBM GOMs but they differ on
how highly they correlate with other measures, depending
on the grade level of the student. The most common WECBM assessment is the Administration of one-minute
think- three minute write (See also Appendix A:
Administration a 1 Minute Think 3 Minute Write). This
assessment can be analyzed in a variety of ways. Here
are some of the common analyses:
Total words written (TWW),

Words spelled correctly (WSC)
Correct Writing Sequence(CWS)
Percentage of Correct Writing Sequences (%CWS)
At the middle and high school levels, percentage of

Correct minus incorrect writing sequences (CMIWS) or the
Percentage of Correct minus incorrect writing sequences.
(%CMIWS) is often the most accurate predictor of success
for older writers.
The current research literature presents a variety of
ways to score 1-minute thing 3-minute write. What is
most important is that you pick one way and score
samples consistently. (See Appendices B & C for a
summary of scoring procedures).
As stated earlier, benchmark assessment is the practice
of repeatedly administering an assessment over time for
the purpose of comparison. GOMs can be based on
benchmark measures, but so can other assessments.
There are a few key ideas in appropriately selecting
and using an assessment as a benchmark measure.
(1)
The assessment must be either the same

assessment or a parallel form of the assessment
so that progress (or lack thereof) can be
measured at a future point in time.
Pre-Assessments are often confused with benchmarking.

They are not the same. For example, if you pre-assess
a student on chapter 1 from a math book in the Fall,
and later do a pre-assessment of chapter 2, you cant
really compare any progress as the skill sets are
different. However, if you compare the total words
written in the Fall (one type of WE-CBM) to the total
words written in the Winter, you can determine whether
or not progress has been made.
(2)
The score on the assessment should provide some

indication of performance relative to an overall
standard.
Screening and Benchmarking (continued)

(3)
The assessment should provide immediate feedback

to the teacher (and others)- meaning that the
teacher should not have to wait days or weeks
to know where a student is.
ACTIVITY 1: ADMINISTERING AND SCORING WRITTEN

EXPRESSION CURRICULUM BASED MEASURES
Too often in written expression the Screening assessment

that is an untimed response to a writing prompt. While
the product of this prompt may be useful for the
teacher, it is often scored by someone outside of the
classroom and the results do not come back in a timely
manner. A good benchmark should quickly indicate which
student(s) need attention. Also, scores from many holistic
rubrics cannot be reliably compared across or between
classrooms. However, when used in conjunction with a
WE-CBM, an untimed writing prompt can yield richer
diagnostic information.
Progress Monitoring
Progress Monitoring (PM) is the process of tracking a
students growth over time to make sure that an
intervention is actually working. Progress monitoring
generally occurs in more frequent intervals between
Benchmarking periods. This is because we often want to
know if an intervention is working before we have spent
too much time on something that is not effective.
In RTI, progress monitoring techniques involve more than
just repeated assessment or using a variety of formative
assessments. Like Benchmark measures, PM measures
have to be comparable; they have to be the same
assessment or parallel forms of the assessments, so that
growth can be measured and graphed from one data point
to another. Generally, PM scores are graphed to allow
for easier interpretation by teachers or data teams.
Progress monitoring measures can be direct measures of a
particular skill | Concept | Strategy called mastery
measures, or they can be a general outcome measure. It
is very important to understand the distinction between
the two because they serve two very different purposes.
Used together, they can give teachers a powerful picture
of progress.
We discussed GOMs in the previous section on
Benchmarking. They are time efficient, simple to
administer, reflect a variety of skills, and can capture
subtle changes in learning. Repeatedly administering a
GOM over time can tell a teacher if there are overall
improvements in writing achievement. This may be the
result of the intervention or it may be related to the
continued delivery of the core curriculum. We want to
see growth in overall achievement no matter what the
intervention.
Mastery Measures (MM) are measures of a specific

skill, concept or strategy. A MM gives us a clear picture
of whether or not a student is progressing in the
targeted intervention . In simple terms, the MM
tells us whether or not a student has learned
what we set out to teach.
A key component of a good tiered intervention in writing
is that it focuses on something specific (See Section 4 on
Error Domains). Mastery Measures are designed to measure
exactly what we want the student to do after we have
provided instruction. Mastery Measures are given
frequently. Like GOMs, MMs need to be either the same
assessment or parallel forms. A simple example of a
mastery measure is assessing sentence writing. If your
goal is for a student to write a complete sentence, then
an appropriate mastery measure would sample that skill
specifically. So, you might select a topic, provide a piece
of paper with three lines and say: Write me three
complete sentences.
Figure 2: Sample Mastery Measure
Write 3 Complete Sentences on ________
1.
2.
3.
You could give this assessment repeatedly (on different
days) and would know if the skill is mastered when the
student reaches 100% on three consecutive occasions. (A
good special education rule of thumb generally is if
something can be repeated 3x in a row accurately it is
safe to assume that a student learned.)
Administration
Benchmarking.
youd give the
as a GOM, for
should happen more frequently then a

With a skill such as sentence writing,
sentence writing MM once a week, as well
4-8 weeks. It may (or may not) follow
Progress Monitoring (continued)
Figure 4: Example of Line Graph (Mastery Measure)
instruction. You simply want to try and have a

consistent assessment schedule. A rule of thumb is to
expect accurate performance three times in a row to
consider mastery of the skill.
Like GOMs, Mastery Measures can be graphed or charted.
Figure 3: Example of a Bar Graph (Mastery Measure)
Figure 5:
a GOM
Example of Aimsweb Progress Monitoring with
Thanks to R. Bennett and S. Hemp two amazing

teachers- for their graphs!
Used together, a GOM and MM can provide a powerful

picture of achievement. It has been my experience that
initially on the GOM there is a discrepancy between the
TWW and the CWS, indicating a lot of inaccuracies in the
writing. When targeted interventions are implemented,
there is generally an initial decrease in the TWW but
less distance between the TWW and CWS, meaning that
the student becomes more accurate in their writing
before they become more fluent.

Before I move on, describing how to begin the process of
analysis and evaluation, it may be helpful to take some
time to review conditions of learning. Although the
concepts here, when employed, come after evaluation and
are used in the implementation stage, they help to guide
ones decision making.
In 1965, an educator named Gagne described nine
conditions of learning. He believed (as do many
instructional designers) that if we (as teachers) know the
type of learning, it is easier to select an appropriate
methodology. For example, we dont have people learn to
fly using discovery learning- we are all better off if
would be pilots received some explicit instruction and
used a simulation before getting in a real plane!).
Todays teachers do not have time for more complex
processes and assessments. Thus, for simplicity, I have
found it easier to boil down the nine conditions relative
to writing to three:
Concepts
Skills
Strategies
A problem in an error domain (See section 4: Error

Domains) is generally related to a need for an
instructional method that is either a concept, skill or
strategy. I am presenting these here first because having
the concept of Conditions of Learning seems to aid in the
diagnosis of a problem within the error domain.
CONCEPTS: These are the Big Ideas and are usually
involve more abstract understanding. Examples include:
understanding an authors purpose; recognizing genres;
realizing that a sentence is a complete thought. Methods
of instruction usually include using mentor text to
10

(continued)
illustrate something, such as a genre. Concept instruction
may include the use of examples and non-examples but
always needs to be connected with real world examples
and experiences!
SKILLS: These are the Nuts and Bolts. Examples
include: holding a pencil correctly; placing a punctuation
mark at the end of a sentence; and spelling words
correctly. Skill instruction is generally best taught using
direct or explicit instruction (I do it, We do it, You do
it- See Price and Nelson, 2010). Skill instruction should
occur after a concept is understood. For example, when
a student writes a run-on sentence we often jump to the
conclusion that the problem is a skill problem (he doesnt
know where to put a period). However the problem is
usually a concept problem: the student doesnt have the
concept of a complete sentence! You cant teach a
convention skill easily (like punctuation) without first
teaching the concept that writers use complete thoughts
a sentence- which is made up a subject and predicate.
(I am not necessarily advocating using the term
predicate. I am just using the terminology for
illustrative purposes). Once the student has the concept
of a sentence, it is relatively easily to teach how to use
a period to indicate the conclusion of a compete thought,
which makes it easier for the reader to understand the
print. Good skill instruction almost always requires some
conceptual teaching first!
STRATEGIES: Strategies are procedures or processes that
help a writer complete a task. Using the writing process
is a strategy that helps to break down the steps of
writing in a way that aids the writer in completing a
quality piece of published work. For example, writing
a 5 paragraph essay with a topic paragraph, three
supporting paragraphs and a concluding paragraph is a
strategy fopr completing a WASL prompt task. Quickly
generating a list of ideas before writing is a

brainstorming strategy. Editing is a strategy! (A
student cant fix his or her work unless he has the skills
to recognize errors in the first place).
Strategy instruction is generally a more lengthy process
than skill or concept instruction. Before a strategy can
be employed, skill and concept understanding needs to be
in place. It is hard to use an editing strategy
effectively if the student doesnt understand the
importance of published work (concept) and or does not
have the skills necessary for recognizing errors. Strategy
instruction, like skill instruction, requires clear, explicit
or direct instruction.
Understanding the type of learning can go a long way in
matching an intervention to a problem. Teachers often
find that once the problem is clearly identified (first the
error domain and then they type of learning) teachers
can come up with a great instructional idea. They also
find that a student quickly advances in his or her own
writing achievement.
Remember, things arent always cut and dry. To meet

a certain objective often requires a combination of skill,
strategy and concept instruction!
11
Error Domains and Hypothesis Testing

The use of Error Domains is specifically for the
purpose of determining a key area for remediation. The
categories are very different than many holistic rubrics.
This is because the domains are meant to help indicate
specific skills (and strategies and concepts), whereas
holistic rubrics tend to provide an indication of strengths
and weakness in more global categories. The categories in
most holistic rubrics include a wide variety of skills that
significantly overlap both within and between the
categories, making it difficult to figure out where,
exactly, to target remediation. (See Activity 3)
(1) Identify the probable Error Domain
(2) Confirmation/Baseline: Using the writing sample
from the 1 3 Minute Write, confirm that there
is actually a problem. (Believe it or not, often
our first guess in writing is incorrect)!
(3) Generate a hypothesis and use a Mastery Measure
to pinpoint the problem within the error domain
(See Mastery Measures and Progress Monitoring in
Section 2, p. 5 & 6).
Identifying Error Domains: With practice you will be

able to look at a 1-3 minute writing sample and have a
good idea of the domain(s) in which the error(s) are
occurring. When starting, it is sometime helpful to start
by first generating a list of problems that you see using
common teacher language, such as: disorganized run
on sentences rambling thoughts. After you are done,
for each descriptor identify the error domain. Then look
at your list and select 1-2 major areas or what you feel
are the most important areas, based on what you know
about the student. (Most students have problems in all
of the areas, so narrowing the focus is important).
over time. The quantification has to be meaningful.

Within written expression, this can be done in many
ways. Initially you confirm that there is a problem
within the domain and capture the baseline. You can use
the 1 -3 minute write to do this. (These scores are
sometimes useful for SPED teachers who are writing
IEPs!). After you identify the problem, you QUANTIFY the
problem in the domain.
It is true that the national standards dont exist for
writing. However, most states have some type of grade
level expectations or standards that infer quantifiable
expectations. For example, in Washington, it is the
expectation that 3rd graders write with complete
sentences. Thus, from 3rd grade on, the standard should
be writes sentences with 100% accuracy and you can
calculate the percentage of correct sentences from a 1
3 write to get a baseline in the error domain of
sentence complexity. Each error domain can be
quantified in different ways, so you want to match up,
as closely as possible, to the errors exhibited by the
student that you are concerned about. (See Ways to
Quantify Error Domains on the next page).
Hypothesis Testing is the purposeful act of checking to

make sure that the instructional problem we perceive is
actually the problem. This helps to ensure that the
instruction that we provide is truly matched to the
learners needs.
A hypothesis might start like this: The problem is
occurring because the student lacks the skill of ___ ;
or The problem is occurring because the student lacks a
strategy for ___ ;The problem is occurring because
the student lacks the concept of ___
ACTIVITY 2: IDENTIFYING POTENTIAL ERROR DOMAINS
IN A 1-3 MINUTE WRITE
Confirmation | Baseline: RTI is really about

quantifying student growth so that we can see progress
12
Ways to Quantify Error Domains
Error Domains (continued)

Identifying Error Domains
Error Domain
Fluency
Legibility
Conventions
Vocabulary
Sentence
Complexity
Content
Writing process
Description
amount of text written and
the skill or ease with
which text is generated.
letter formation; ease with
which a reader can read
the text.
mechanical aspects of
writing such as
capitalization, punctuation,
and spelling.
sophistication of the words
used and the meanings of
words; using a variety of
words and relatively few
repetitions.
grammatical order of
words; complete sentences;
production of sentences
and the complexity of
sentences; Using a variety
of sentence types and
sentence lengths.
organization of thoughtindicated by text cohesion;

selecting and following the
stylistic conventions of
different genre; writing on
topic
awareness and Use of a
strategy for completing a
writing task. Conceptual
understanding of
Planning; Transcribing or
drafting; Reviewing and
revising; Editing;
Publishing:
Common Patterns
Few words
Error Domain
Fluency
Legibility
Common Patterns
Few words
Hard to read
Hard to read
Conventions
Misspelled words
Inappropriate
capitalization
Inappropriate ending
punctuation
Vocabulary
Repeats words (e.g: I

like cats. I like dogs.
Cats like dogs.)
Uses simple words
Sentence
Complexity
Incomplete sentences
Run on sentences
Short simple sentences
with only noun and verb
(e.g. She is nice).
Grammatical errors (e.g.
She go home.)
Lacks paragraph
structures
Disorganized
Rambling thoughts
Knowledge Telling
Misspelled words
Inappropriate
capitalization
punctuation
Repeats words (e.g:
I like cats. I like
dogs. Cats like
dogs.)
Uses simple words
Incomplete
sentences
Run on sentences
Short simple
sentences with only
noun and verb (e.g.
She is nice).
Grammatical errors
(e.g. She go home.)
Lacks paragraph
structures
Disorganized
Rambling thoughts
Knowledge Telling
Viewing the process
as linear, unable to
describe the
components, no
strategy for
completing a writing
task.
Content
Writing process
Viewing the process as

linear, unable to describe
the components, no
writing task.
Confirmation |
Baseline
Total words written
Letter formation
analysis
% errors of
conventions,
checklist of
convention errors*
*(discriminate
between spelling,
and types of punc.
and cap.)
type-token ratio
Percentage of
simple words
Ratio of simple to
complex words
T-units or % of
complete sentences % of sentence types
or % of complete
sentences
holistic scoring
rubrics* (e.g.
Hasbrouck and
Tindal)
*(longer writing
sample may be
needed)
observational scale*
(longer writing
sample may be
needed)
ACTIVITY 3: IDENTIFYING SKILLS AND STRATEGIES IN

HOLISTIC RUBRICS
13
Hypothesis Testing and Problem Validation

Tables for Decision Making
Error Domain:
(3) Student is not holding the pencil correctly.

Validation of the
problem
Legibility
What it is: Legibility refers to the readability of text.

Confirmation/Baseline: Results can be quantified
using formal methods like a handwriting analysis (See
Howell and Nolet, 2000 for more specifics) or calculating
the percentage of correctly formed letters or words. You
can use the results of the 1 minute think 3 Minute
write for a baseline.
Common Hypotheses:
Mastery Measure
Instruction
Observe pencil
holding
Observational
checks without
prior prompting
Model pencil
holding and assist
student with grip
Error Domain:
Legibility (continued)
(4) Student lacks a strategy for spacing words.

Validation of the
problem
Ask the student

to dictate a
sentence.
Mastery Measure
% of correctly
spaced words
when asked to
complete a short
writing task.
Instruction
Use a finger or
popsicle stick
between words.
Provide wide lined
paper.
(1) Student lacks skill of correctly forming letters

Validation of the
problem
Mastery Measure
Instruction
Ask student to
write specific words
or letters and
determine which
letters are a
problem
Ask student to
write specific
letters. Count
percentage correct.
Explicit instruction
in letter formation;
Provide letter
strips; Provide wide
lined paper*
Standard Protocols Available:
Handwriting Without Tears
There are several skill areas within forming letters that

may need to be taught separately: formation;
size/height, slants and alignment.
(2) Student has a physical problem that prevents
accurate and fluent writing.
I would include the support of an OT for problem
validation. There are formal evaluations that
include ergonomic factors and fine-motor skills. For
younger students, a pencil grip is sometimes a
valuable support.
14
Error Domain:
Conventions
Error Domain:
Conventions (continued)
Punctuation
What it is: The mechanics of writing- spelling,

punctuation and capitalization.
Confirmation/Baseline: % of correctly used ending

punctuation, % of correctly used quotation marks, etc.
Each area must be examined independently!
Spelling
You can use a punctuation checklist to identify the

problem (See Appendix D, Punctuation Status Sheet)
Confirmation/Baseline: % of words spelled correctly

Spelling is a unique problem. Spelling instruction needs
to occur in addition to writing instruction.
Common Hypotheses:
(1) Student lacks spelling skills
Validation of the
problem
Administer Words
Their Way
Developmental
Spelling Test
Mastery Measure
Instruction
Word lists at
developmental level
Instruction Spelling
Program; Explicit
instruction within
Words Their
WayDirect
(2) Student lacks pre-reading or early literacy skills
Administer diagnostic early literacy tests (these would be

found in a different handbook). Nonetheless, a lack in
literacy skills is often a key problem in spelling.
Classroom Supports: Word Walls, Word lists, letter
and sounds list with corresponding
Available Standard Protocols:
Morphographs, Spelling Mastery,
Spelling
Common Hypotheses:
(1) Student lacks concept of a sentence *See also Error

Domain: Sentence Complexity
Validation of the
problem
Mastery Measure
Instruction
(a) Ask the student

to describe what
makes a sentence
complete (b)
Identify complete
sentences from a
list of examples
and distracters
(usually 10 total);
(c) Ask student to
write 3 complete
sentences.
May include asking

student to write 3
complete sentences.
Usually need to
teach parts of a
sentence (who or
what the sentence
is about and what
they are doing).
Sometimes need to
start with building
sentences from
subject/predicate
strips and
transition to
writing sentences.
(2) Student lacks skill of ending punctuation (or any

other punctuation skill)
Validation of the
problem
Make sure student

has the concept of
a sentence (see 1
above).
Mastery Measure
Ask student to
write 3 complete
sentences.
Instruction
Explicit instruction.
Use mentor texts
and examples and
non-examples.
15
Error Domain:
% of correctly used capitalizations
Common Hypotheses:
(1) Student lacks the skill of writing uppercase or
lowercase letters.
Validation of the
problem
Ask student to
write the alphabet
in lowercase and
then in uppercase.
Mastery Measure
Student dictates
specific letters
Instruction
in identifying and
writing specific
problem letters.
May need to teach
vocabulary of
uppercase and
lowercase or
capital letter
(2) Student lacks the skill of capitalizing sentence

beginnings
Validation of the
problem
(make sure student

can differentiate
between capital and
lowercase letterssee 1).
Ask student to
write 3 complete
sentences. You
may also want to
ask students to
identify complete
sentences from a
list with
distracters.
Mastery Measure
Ask student to
write 3 complete
sentences.
(3) Student lacks the skill of capitalizing proper nouns
Capitalization
Confirmation/Baseline:
Error Domain:
Instruction
Generally, start
with identification
of correctly
capitalized
sentences and use
mentor texts.
Follow with explicit
instruction in
capitalizing
sentence beginnings
Validation of the
problem
Mastery Measure
Make sure student

has skills of
writing uppercase
and lowercase
letters (See 1
above). Ask
student to dictate
several proper
nouns. Include
names, streets, etc.
Create dictation
lists with 5-10
words that target
the type of proper
nouns.
Instruction
in identifying
proper nouns. Use
mentor texts, road
signs, and other
realia.
You can use a punctuation checklist to identify the

problem (See Appendix D, Punctuation Status Sheet)
Editing
(1) Student lacks a strategy for editing.
If you believe that a strategy for editing may be the

problem, it is important to first check for the necessary
skills. A student cannot employ an editing strategy if
he/she lacks the pre-requisite skills
Validation of the
problem
Mastery Measure
Instruction
(a) Ask the student

about his editing
strategy.
After writing, ask

the student to edit.
Calculate
percentage of
improvement
Self Regulated
Strategy
Development (SRSD)
methods work well.

Teacher Resource: Anderson, J. (2005). Mechanically
Inclined: Building Grammar, Usage, and Style into
Writers Workshop. Portland, Maine: Stenhouse Publishers

16
Error Domain:
FLUENCY
Error Domain:
What it is: Fluency is the amount of text written and

the skill or ease with which text is generated.
Confirmation/Baseline: Total words written in 1
minute think/ 3 minute write.
Common Hypotheses:
There are several common problems, many of which are
probably related to another error domain.
(1) Student has a physical problem with handwriting
See recommendations under Error Domain:

Legibility
(2) Student has a problem with spelling.
It isnt unusual for poor spellers to attempt to

hide issues with spelling by refusing to write.
(3) Student does not have a strategy for generating ideas
about what to write *See also Error Domain: CONTENT
Validation of the
problem
Mastery Measure
Instruction
(a) Ask the student

to tell you how
they come up with
ideas (b) Ask the
student to show
you how he comes
up with ideas
Ask student to
generate a list of
five ideas after
being given a topic.
Self Regulated
Strategy
Development (SRSD)
methods work well
Use idea walls in

the classroom and
model brainstorming
for the student.
Engage class in
shared writes and
brainstorming
activities.
FLUENCY (continued)
(4) Student does not have a strategy for organizing

information before writing *See also Error Domain:
CONTENT
Validation of the
problem
(a) Ask the student

how they plan
before writing (b)
provide the student
with a topic and
ask them to show
you how they
would organize
before writing.
Mastery Measure
Completion of a
planning sheet
Instruction
Self Regulated
Strategy
Development (SRSD)
methods work well
Shared writes and
modeling. May
need to include
genre instruction
and/or the use of
architectures.
(5) Student lacks confidence as a writer or has not had

success as a writer
Validation of the
problem
Ask the student

about his or her
experiences.
Mastery Measure
Instruction
Total words written

on 1 3 write
Determine which
error domain is the
biggest source of
frustration and
begin remediation.
(6) Student doesnt like the prompt.

Validation of the
problem
Ask the student
Mastery Measure
Total words written

on 1 3 write
Instruction
Generate a list of
potential prompts
for student use in
the future.
17
Error Domain:
Vocabulary
What it is: the use of a variety of words and age

appropriate vocabulary in writing. It also includes the
appropriate use of word meaning. Skilled writers use a
variety of words and relatively few repetitions.
Confirmation/Baseline: There are several ways to
determine if there is a problem. For repeated words,
determine the ratio of total words to unique words
(Standard is .7). For use of simple words: % of high
frequency words.
Common Hypotheses:
Error Domain:
Vocabulary (continued)
(3) Student lacks a strategy for selecting more

descriptive words
Validation of the
problem
Mastery Measure
Instruction
Ask the student to

replace common
words in a sentence
or make the
sentence more
descriptive (e.g.
Joe likes to pet
the dog.)
Ask student to
elaborate on a
series (3) of simple
sentences.
Use modeling and

shared writes to
show students how
to expand
sentences. Include
the use of mentor
texts that utilize
descriptive
language.
(1) Student lacks English vocabulary. (Student is an ELL

learner)
The importance of quality vocabulary instruction is

becoming more apparent in our classrooms.
Vocabulary instruction is a more in-depth topic than
can be covered here. Instruction in vocabulary should
happen throughout the day. I recommend reading
Bringing Words to Life by Isabelle Beck.
Standard Protocols:
Language for Learning
Teacher Resource: Beck, I., McKeown, L., and Kucan,

I.(2002). Bringing Words to Life: Robust Vocabulary
Instruction. Guilford Press: New York, New York
(2) Student is using safe words because he lacks

spelling skills.
See Error Domain: SPELLING. Encourage student to

use inventive spelling, provide assistive technology,
spelling dictionaries and other assistive technologies in
addition to appropriate spelling instruction.
18
Error Domain:
SENTENCE COMPLEXITY
What it is: the grammatical order of words, production

of sentences and the complexity of sentences.
Confirmation/Baseline: Calculate the percentage of
complete sentences; calculate the number of complete
thoughts (T-Units); Ratio of simple to complex sentences;
percentage of complex sentences.
Error Domain:
SENTENCE COMPLEXITY (continued)
(3) Student lacks skills for writing complex sentences

Validation of the
problem
Ask student to
write a longer
sentence
Mastery Measure
Instruction
Ask student to
write (3) complete
sentences on a
topic using complex
sentences
on how to expand
a sentence
Common Hypotheses:
(1) Student lacks concept of a complete sentence
Validation of the
problem
Mastery Measure
Instruction
(a) Ask the student

to describe what
makes a sentence
complete (b)
Identify complete
sentences from a
list of examples
and distracters
(usually 10 total);
(c) Ask student to
write 3 complete
sentences.
May include asking

student to write 3
complete sentences.
Usually need to
teach parts of a
sentence (who or
what the sentence
is about and what
they are doing).
Sometimes need to
start with building
sentences from
subject/predicate
strips and
transition to
writing sentences.
(2) Student lacks skill or strategy for combining simple

sentences
Validation of the
problem
Mastery Measure
Give sets of simple

sentences and ask
student to combine
them
Give (3) sets of

simple sentences
and have students
combine them
Instruction
on combining simple
sentences.
19
Error Domains:
CONTENT
Error Domains:
What it is: the organization of thoughts. Cohesive text and a

clear message. Writing on topic, following conventions of a
specific genre.
Baseline/Confirmation: It is generally difficult to determine
if the errors are related to content without additional, longer
writing samples. Ask for an untimed prompt and use a holistic
scoring rubric that accurately captures content. (See Appendix
6, Holistic Scoring Rubric)
Common Hypotheses:
(1) Student lacks strategy for generating ideas
Validation of the
problem
(a) Ask the student

to share how they
come up with ideas
(b) Ask the student
to show you how
he comes up with
ideas
Mastery Measure
Ask student to
generate a list of
ideas after being
given a topic.
Instruction
Self Regulated
Strategy
Development (SRSD)
methods work well
Use idea walls in
the classroom and
model for the
student. Engage
class in shared
writes and
brainstorming.
(2) Student lacks strategy for planning before writing

or organizing before writing
Validation of the
problem
(a) Ask the student

how they plan
before writing (b)
provide the student
with a topic and
ask them to show
you how they
would organize
before writing.
Mastery Measure
Completion of a
planning sheet
CONTENT (continued)
(3) Student lacks concept of genre

Validation of the
problem
Ask student to
describe the key
components of a
specific genre (e.g.
fairy tale,
persuasive essay,
biography)
Mastery Measure
Interview the
student about the
components of
specific genres.
Instruction
Select a genre and

teach parts. It is
usually common to
start with Story
Grammar (See
Appendix E, Story
Grammar)
(4) Student lacks skill of writing on topic.

Validation of the
problem
Ask student to
write three
consecutive
sentences on a
topic. (Do not
number them)
Mastery Measure
Ask student to
write three
consecutive
sentences on a
topic. (Do not
number them)
Instruction
on writing on topic.
Modeling and
shared writing, and
mentor text use is
helpful.
(5) Student lacks concept of a paragraph

Validation of the
problem
Mastery Measure
(a) Ask student

about the purpose
of a paragraph (b)
Ask student to
identify paragraphs
Interview student
about the purpose
of a paragraph
Instruction
Explicit instruction,
use examples and
non-examples as
well as mentor
texts
Instruction
(a) Self Regulated

Strategy
Development (SRSD)
(b)Shared writes
and modeling. May
need to include
genre instruction
and/or
architectures.
20
Error Domains:
CONTENT (continued)
(6) Student lacks skills/strategy for writing a

paragraph
Validation of the
problem
Mastery Measure
Ask student to
write a paragraph
Ask student to
write a paragraph
on a topic
Instruction
Start with explicit

instruction on a
topic paragraph.
Use mentor text to
look at various
types of paragraphs
and begin writing
with a variety of
paragraph forms.
(Not all paragraphs
are 5 sentences
and 3 sentences is
not necessarily a
paragraph!)
21
Error Domain: WRITING
PROCESS
The writing process is in and of itself a concept and

strategy that requires the utilization of many skills.
Many students who struggle with written expression lack
an overall framework for, or awareness of, the process
that writers go through which aids them in accomplishing
a writing task.
Entire books are written on teaching the writing process,

and for each of the categories as well. It is beyond the
scope of this manual. However, I would add that core
instruction should be connected in teaching and engaging
in all aspects of the writing process.
Instruction in the writing process is essential for all

students, including those who receive remedial support.
Problems within each component of the writing process
are frequently found within the other domains as well.
It is important to determine what the students
background knowledge is in each of these areas, which
can be done through both interviewing and observation.
Planning: Includes a prewriting stage in which the

writer formulates a purpose for writing, decides
what to write, selects a style that is likely to
accomplish the purpose, and then organizes the
message.
Transcribing or drafting: getting the words on

paper
Reviewing and revising: changes in style, content,

organization, word selection, and sentence
complexity.
Editing: correcting mechanical errors, such as

spelling,
Capitalization, punctuation, and grammar

(conventions).
Publishing: The completion of a final product.
22
Early Literacy and Emergent Writing
Early Literacy and Emergent Writing
A 1 minute think 3 minute write can be given as early

as first grade (usually mid year to the end of the year).
By this time most students should be using invented
spellings and have a developing concept of story.
However, for struggling writers, this type of assessment
is well beyond their skill level and the measure itself
may not pick up changes in learning. Also, there are
some older students who are also just developing early
literacy reading and writing skills. In both instances, it
is important to assess early literacy skills like you would
in the area of reading.
Other skills to consider for emergent writers include:
In terms of writing, there are some skills that beginning

writers need and some concepts about print and written
language that are absolutely necessary. These areas are
beyond the scope of this manual, however, there is a
great inexpensive resource that is a must for all teachers
of small children.
Matteson, D.M., & Freeman, D.K. (2005). Assessing and

Teaching Beginning Writers: Every Picture Tells a Story.
Katonah, NY: R.C. Owens
This inexpensive book explains how to assess and teach
students the concept of story. There are two areas that
are focused upon: the actual concept of story and
telling stories through pictures and language. For many
many struggling students these key ideas have been
neglected in favor of strict skill instruction. This is a
huge mistake! Please, if you have a young struggling
writer, in addition to checking for early literacy skills,
spend time assessing the concept of story!
Pre-literacy skills
knowledge of story and the print and text
connection.
Do they have understanding of the alphabetic

principle? (That letters represent sounds and the
sounds make words?)
Can they identify their name?
Can they identify the individual letters in their

name?
Can they write their name?
Can they say the common letter sounds for each

letter of the alphabet? (lower case and capital?)
Can they write the letter for the common letter

sounds of the alphabet?
Do they use invented spelling?
Can they use a picture (one they drew and/or one

that to tell a story that has a beginning, middle
and end?
23
RIOT and ICEL
SECTION II:
Organizing and Presenting
Information
Gathering information (data) from a variety of sources

can help provide a better picture of both the students
needs as well as potential changes needed in the
students instructional program. The use of a RIOT and
ICEL chart is a strategy for gathering and organizing
information for review by a teacher and/or a decision
making team.
RIOT refers to the way one can gather data
Review
Interview
Observe
Test
ICEL refers to the domains in which one can gather data

(RIOT)
Instruction
Curriculum
Environment
Learner
The chart on the following page helps organize available

information prior to decision making. See also Ken
Howells work (2000) on Curriculum Based Evaluation for
more details regarding RIOT and ICEL.
24
RIOT and ICEL
Sharing Information with Decision Making

Teams
Chart
Learner
Decision making teams play a key role in Response to

Intervention. These teams can be made by just a few,
such as a teacher and parent or may include
stakeholders from a variety of sources.
Test
Observe
Interview
Review
Instruction
Curriculum
Environment
In addition to a RIOT | ICEL matrix that aids in providing

a picture of the students academic program, it is often
necessary to condense the information including highlights
of the information from the RTI process into a format
that can be interpreted and used by a wide variety of
professionals and family members. What follows are some
suggested categories of information and decision making
details that can assist in developing a complete tiered
intervention plan. *Including information on what is the
expected performance (or standard) helps to make it
clear whether or not a problem exists.
25
3.
Results of Hypothesis Testing
Student Information
Name:
Age:
Grade:
Important Background:
Assessment
Student
Performance
Pass?
General Achievement Measures
Yes
No
Yes
No
Yes
No
INSTRUCTIONAL PLAN
(include days/week, minutes, teacher, and curriculum)
General Outcome Measures

Total Words
Written
Student
Performance
Standard
Discrepancy?
Yes
No
Other Measures
Assessment
Student
Performance
Standard
Discrepancy?
Yes
No
Words Spelled
Correctly
Correct Writing
Sequences
Yes
No
Yes
No
Yes
No
Yes
No
Baseline Data in Error Domains (as appropriate)

(legibility, conventions, fluency, vocabulary, sentence complexity,
content, writing process)
Error Domain
Student
Performance
Standard
Grade Level
Expectation
Discrepancy?
Progress Monitoring Plan

Yes
No
Yes
Initial Hypotheses
No
Yes
GOM
Frequency
Goal
Who?
Mastery
Measure
Frequency
Goal
Who?
No
1.
2.
INTERVENTION REVIEW DATE:

26
Philosophical Musings on Writing
Section III:
Implementation
Writing, through words, one shares his or her

experiences. It is our experiences that when intertwined,
shape our future, ground us in the present and preserve
our past. Stories, our stories, define us. It is as
though our lives are a tapestry of many beautiful colored
threads and together they create the print of who we
are. These stories can also be used to create a cloak
that hides our true essence from the world. The skill of
writing is one way, a important way, that each of us is
able to contribute to our own growth and refinement as
a human being. Through words we show our essence, we
communicate our feelings, we make sense of who we are
and why we are here. Words help us to find our
purpose, our path. To deny someone the opportunity to
learn how to share his or her experience, thoughts,
feelings and ideas is simply sad; it is often through
examining our words that we open our hearts, that when
we can examine the heart of our Self, and create a
heart with room for others, with room for ultimate love.
Our children deserve the opportunity to learn the value
of their individual selves, to experiencing the
importantness of their human beingness. Their stories are
important, as it is only through valuing oneself that one
is then able to value and take care of others and the
earth.
Writing instruction itself is multifaceted and complex.
There are no hard and fast, real right or wrong ways to
teach. Teaching, although laced with research and best
practices, requires an artful selection of the procedures
and processes for each individual child, for each group of
children. It is our duty as teachers to carefully learn
about our students- to become students of students, a
studier of students, so that like a fine artist, we select
exactly the right color, the right medium to create a
picture. That doesnt mean we get to pick our favorite
colors only teaching using one method or one approach
is like painting with the same color; eventually the color
27
wont work when trying to complete a complex work of

art.
The assessment steps presented earlier and the lessons
presented in the following pages here are not full blown,
finely detailed maps. Instead they are ideas that can be
used as a guide to lead one in what, perhaps, is a good
direction. It is up to each teacher to step back and
periodically examine if the colors of the picture need
changed, meaning each teacher has the obligation to
assess his or her students progress and adjust
accordingly.
We do know that students who struggle struggle for
many reasons. It might be from lack of experience with
words and language as a young child; it may be because
of specific learning problem or it may be because he or
she has never been taught. The reason why a student
struggles isnt generally important. What is most
important is determining what he or she needs to move
forward in his or her development as a writer, what is
needed for him or her as a conveyer of his own story,
imagined or experienced of the past, of the future and
most importantly, of now.
Most often students who struggle need some explicit
instruction as he/she has clearly not picked up what his
or her peers did previously. Also, it isnt true that a
student who struggles will always struggle, nor is it true
that a student who appears as his/her peers wont
struggle with something. Every writer can be pushed!
It is important to remember that like all artists, time to
actually create is important. Thus, explicit instruction
should be balanced with opportunity to create, to share,
to experience wholly the sharing what is in the heart.
Some Notes on Explicit Instruction:

Explicit instruction is also sometimes called direct
instruction. Unfortunately, many myths surround the
phrase direct instruction. Direct Instruction with a
capital D.I. has been carefully, developed using principles
that have been found to accelerate learning. There are
some Direct Instruction writing curricula, but they are
not the focus here. The phrase direct instruction,
without a capital D. and I., refers to a set of
principles of instruction originally observed and described
by Rosenshine (DATE). These principles include rapid rates
of responding, accurate responding, active participation,
guided practice and immediate feedback so that students
dont learn and practice incorrectly. Incorporating such
principles into an explicit instruction framework is likely
to increase the odds of student learning.
Explicit instruction is often simply described as I do it,
we do it, you do it. While this is true, it is also an
over simplification of a complex teaching process. A
lesson may be divided into three distinct phases or it
may be a reciprocal approach where the process is
repeated multiple times in one setting, where the teacher
engages in I do, we do, you do once and then repeats
the process. For example a teacher may provide an
example of how to write a sentence, support the student
while he/she writes a sentence, and then observes while
the student attempts to write independently. When the
teacher sees that there is an error, he/she adjusts the
teacher model and repeats the steps. It is up to the
teacher to decide what the student needs.
One thing is for certain, however- extensive time spent
with the I do (the teacher model) is sure to result in
DIS-engaged student. Although I have not seen formal
studies on length of time for a teacher model, repeated
observations of teachers lessons seems to be show that
the model component should be about 1:5 of the time.
Meaning for 1 minute of teacher model, there should be
28
five minutes of time for the guided practice and

independent practice.
It is also a myth that the students have to sit
completely still, like soldiers, just watching a model from
the teacher. Lets face it - the mind wanders. You have
to keep the childrens minds on what you are doing.
How? This may be as simple as using group responding
to questions, think pair share, taking guided notes
asking simple questions. Or ensure that the teacher model
is broken into steps so that no more than 10 minutes
(for older kids) are spent observing before engaging. Even
less time is appropriate for younger students.
Anyone who engages in instruction as a cold drill
sergeant and who fails to have a heartful connection
with his or her students needs to take a break.
Although many students need to be pushed, or may
require a stern disposition at times from his or her
teacher, this should be a conscious choice made by the
teacher, selected as the best approach for that
particular moment. Direct or explicit instruction requires
the most compassionate, artful and energetic teacher- one
who is connected with his or her students(s) and is
willing to employ a myriad of skills to ensure that each
student is actively engaged, responding correctly.
Overview of Designing Writing Lessons

The difference between a master teacher and a novice
teacher is not always one of experience. Students are
more likely to learn when teachers teach with
intentionality. This means that a master teacher has an
instructional reason or rationale for everything he or she
does, including the sequence of events. Novice teachers
are often asked to write down what they are going to
teach. Most people do not enjoy writing lengthy lesson
plans and teachers in the field often share with
beginning teachers that writing lesson plans is not
reality. However, what we often forget, is that master
teachers have had much practice teaching and often the
steps or sequence of instructional events that they
perform are done so with intentionality; experience with
writing the lesson plans eventually takes them to a place
where he/she no longer needs clearly written steps: they
are automatic. However, if one has never taken the time
to critically think through what instructional goals are,
identified clear objectives and made an effort to
understand why the educational literature recommends
certain sequences when designing instruction, then the
shift from novice to master may never happen. Here are
my definitions of ideas, lessons and activities:
Ideas: Quick ideas that can be expanded into lessons or

activities
Lesson: A sequence of instructional events that are all
tied to a common or single learning outcome.
Activity: An instructional event that is either (a) part
of a lesson or (b) is supplementing a lesson
Mini-Lessons
The concept of Mini-lessons has been around for a long
time. The ideas presented here can be converted into
mini-lessons in that they are focused on one specific
29
objective. They are meant to be targeted and Mini

refers to the number of skills, strategies or concepts
that are explicitly taught. Generally they are shorter in
time, as to prevent overload they are to be targeted
and explicit.
The purpose of the following sections is to provide brief
ideas that are tied to both a long term goal and clear
instructional objective so that (a) novice teachers have a
place to start when designing lessons or activities; and
(b) for master teachers to incorporate solutions into their
existing frameworks for teaching. Although there are
general frameworks for designing lessons, the fine tuning
of the lesson(s) happens in the context of the learning
environment and is dependent upon the needs of the
students. For example, two groups of students may have
the same instructional objective, but the best way to
meet the instructional objective is really dependent on
the actual learners. It is up to each individual using
this resource to decide how to best incorporate these
ideas into lessons and activities.
Criteria generally refers to the accuracy or the

end product (e.g. with less than 2 errors, with
zero errors, all components of the organizer
completed).
Content refers to the subject area (e.g. writing,
spelling, math)
In the sections below, goals and objectives are generally

written with just the behavior and sometimes the
condition. This is because you will need to decide the full
extent of your goals and objectives and this can only be
done when you are planning for your specific student. It
also would make the ideas here too specific. These are
meant to provide you with initial starting points. Just
be clear what the ending point is: what, exactly, you
want your student to be able to do at the
completion of your instruction? Knowing this ahead
of time will help you to design your lessons.
Teachers ask what is the difference between a goal and

objective. The instructional design literature generally
distinguishes the difference as follows:
Goal: A long term instructional outcome which can
usually only be reached through the meeting of a series
of objectives;
Objective: Specific measureable statement that clearly
identifies the observable outcome of a lesson (or activity)
Objectives should be written with the following
components: Behavior, condition, criteria, and content.
Behavior describes what you want the student to

do.
Condition is the circumstances that the task
should be completed under (such as independently
when asked when given a pencil).
30
Sentence Complexity
lacks skills for writing complex sentences
lacks concept of a complete sentence and/or Lacks the
skill of writing a complete sentence
Conventions
(punctuation)
lacks skill of applying appropriate ending punctuation
(or any other punctuation skill)
Capitalization
Lacks skill of capitalizing sentence beginnings
Lacks skill of capitalizing proper nouns
Editing
Lacks strategy for editing
Fluency
Lacks strategy for generating ideas about what to
write
Lacks confidence as a writer
Does not have strategy for organizing information
Vocabulary
Lacks strategy for selecting more descriptive
vocabulary
Lacks English vocabulary
Uses safe words because of a lack of spelling skills
Content
Lacks strategy for generating ideas
Lacks strategy for planning before writing or
organizing before writing
Lacks concept of genre
Lacks skill of writing on topic
Lacks concept of paragraph
Lacks skills/strategies for writing a paragraph
Legibility
Lacks skills of correctly forming, spacing or aligning
letters
Physical problem prevents accurate and fluent writing
Lacks skill of holding pencil correctly
Sentence Complexity
Problem: lacks skills for writing complex
sentences
Goal: utilize a variety of sentence lengths and types

Potential Instructional Objectives
arrange different parts of a sentence in order to

create a complex sentence
uses subordinating conjunctions to expand sentences
combine two simple sentences using a connecting word
expand a simple sentence by answering journalistic
questions
Sentence Combining
(1) Select two connected simple sentences from a
students writing, mentor text, or write your own.
Introduce combining words such as and, but, or,
then. Model how to combine simple sentences, practice
together, and then work independently. This can be done
using worksheets, sentence or word cards, post it notes,
etc.
(2) *Note: this can be done with small groups or with
the whole class. On individual tag board signs, write one
with a , and several comma causers (e.g. after,
although, when, while, until, because, before, if), and
several simple sentence set signs such as:
The kid is dirty he played in the mud
the dog is wet she went swimming
Have the students create sentences with the comma,
comma causer and the simple sentences.
31
Sentence Expanding
(1) Take a simple sentence and teach how to add words
by introduce the idea of journalistic questions. Who?
What? When? Where? How? Why?. Take a simple
sentence and see if the sentence provides the reader
information to answer as many questions as possible.
(4) Use a sentence map to teach subject and predicate.
Problem: lacks concept of a complete sentence

and/or Lacks the skill of writing a complete
sentence
Goal: write using complete sentences

Potential Instructional Objectives:
write complete simple sentences using a noun and a
verb
(1) Explain that sentences are a complete thought and
have two parts (noun\verb or subject/predicate, who it is
about/what they do). Create a word bank of nouns
and a word bank of verbs and create simple sentences.
Use this bank of words to fill in blanks on a worksheet
or overhead (e.g. madlibs) or write the words on index
cards and make sentences, use magnetic strips, post it
notes.
(2) Teach that sentences have a naming part and an
action part. Start by identifying these in mentor texts
or sample sentences. Use colored index cards or post-it
notes to write naming words and action parts and
make sentences. (Include card with punctuation as well).
(3) Write words on post-it notes (or use word cubes or
sentence strips) to make complete sentences.
32
Conventions
Punctuation
Problem: lacks skill of applying appropriate ending
punctuation (or any other punctuation skill)
Goal:
apply appropriate ending punctuation
letters appropriately.

write uppercase letters
write lowercase letters
Ideas

utilize appropriate ending punctuation
Problem:
lacks the skill of capitalizing sentence beginnings
Ideas
(Before instruction in ending punctuation, make sure the
student has the concept of a complete sentence.)
Goal: Student will capitalize the beginning of each

sentence.
(1) use analogy of a race with a starting line..The

beginning is a capital and the end is ending
punctuation.
(2) Write sentences together using green for the
capital letter and red for ending punctuation.
(3) Identify capitals and ending punctuation in
magazine pages.
(4) Have note cards with ending punctuation marks (
period, explanation, question mark) and place them
at the end of pre-made sentences.
(5) Moving punctuation. Make signs with punctuation
marks. Have students slowly walkwhen you put
up a period, they stop. A comma, they pause,
question mark they shrug and exclamation point
they jump up with hands in the air. Tie this to
reading sentences with fluency (prosidy).
Capitalization
Problem:
lacks the skill of writing uppercase or lowercase letters.

capitalize sentence beginnings
Ideas
(Make sure, first, that a student can actually distinguish
and write both lower and upper case letters).
Use a mentor text to show how authors use capital
letters.
Problem:
lacks the skill of capitalizing proper nouns
Goal: capitalize proper nouns

identify proper nouns
distinguish between common nouns and proper nouns
write proper nouns
capitalize proper nouns
Goal: Student will write using upper and lower case

33
Ideas
(1) Make a table with common nouns on one side and
proper nouns on the other.
List common nouns and then find corresponding proper
nouns, being sure to capitalize the proper nouns.
(2) create notecards with common nouns and proper nouns
and make appropriate matches
(e.g. CUPS (Capitalization, understanding,

punctuation, spelling) or COPS (Capitalization,
organization, punctuation, spelling)
(2) Use peer editing. Pair students up. Have the
author read his/her paper aloud and the other
student then goes back and edits the paper with
his peer using a checklist.
(3) Assign a specific number of sentences (or
paragraphs) to edit from a writing sample.
(3) Identify nouns and proper nouns in a mentor text.

(4) List questions that require the use of proper nouns
and have them write the appropriate proper noun (e.g.
what street do you live on?; what is the name of your
school? What is your favorite book?)
Editing
Problem:
lacks a strategy for editing
Goal: Complete written work free of errors;

Select and apply an appropriate editing strategy
apply an editing strategy after completing a writing
task.
complete a writing task (final draft) with fewer than
2 errors.
Ideas
Make sure that the student has the skills needed for the
editing task. (If a student doesnt know what a
complete sentence is, he wont be able to edit for
complete sentences.) Also, editing can be applied to
single sentences, paragraphs or longer pieces of work.
(1) Create a checklist of editing tasks.
how to use the checklist.
Demonstrate
34
Fluency
Problem:
lacks strategy for generating ideas about what to write
Goal: Generates ideas and selects a topic for writing (in
timely manner)

Selects an idea from a list of ideas
Independently Generates a list of 10 ideas
Ideas
Model for the students how you might come up with
an idea for writing. For example, explain that you
want to write a story that entertains the reader.
Briefly tell three funny stories and write the ideas
down. Select the one that is the most entertaining.
Keep a writers ideas poster.
Go for an idea walk and list potential ideas.
can then in turn motivate them to tell stories first in

alternative formats and second, to begin to write on
paper.
Draw pictures and verbally tell the story afterwards.
Record the story. (Complete the final draft by
inserting images and audio into PPT or iMovie).
Use an online story telling program that provides premade graphics.
Write a script (or tell a story) as a puppet show.
Use blank comic strips
Use blank storyboard scripts for planning a movie (and
make a movie)
Use speech to text softward on the computer or iPad
Record a video with original poetry or stories.
Make a movie.
Problem:
does not have a strategy for organizing information
before writing *See also Error Domain: CONTENT
Goal: Student plans and organizes a piece of writing;

student completes a writing task that is well organized
Problem:
lacks confidence as a writer or has not had success as a
writer
Goal: engages in writing tasks

Completes a writing task in a timely manner (specified by
teacher)
Independently engages in writing activities
Ideas
Sometimes it is important to simply help students become
aware that they have important stories to share. This

selects and applies a strategy for organizing before
writing
completes a graphic organizer before attempting a
writing task
completes a planning sheet
uses a strategy to pre-plan and organize writing
before engaging in the rough draft
Ideas
(1) List thoughts on the topic. Go back and identify
thoughts that are relevant. Number order the
thoughts.
35
(2) See above, but do this on note cards and sentence

strips to make it more organized, or use something
such as Inspiration software to make it easy to
(re)organize thoughts.
(3) Provide an architecture or story grammar map
for pre-planning.
(4) Self-generate an architecture based on a type of
genre.
Vocabulary
Problem:
lacks a strategy for selecting more descriptive words
Goal: students writing contains a variety of descriptive
words

Generates a list of describing words
Adds descriptive words to existing writing
Ideas
Compare and contrast mentor texts that use/dont use
descriptive language
Generate a list of describing words. Add them to an
existing sentence. There are many ways to add
words. For example: use post it notes, cut up
sentence strips and tape the words in, write words on
index cards.
Show how to use a thesaurus.
Use modeling and shared writes to show how to
expand sentences
Problem:
lacks English vocabulary
Goal: Increase English vocabulary; write with grade level
appropriate vocabulary

use a graphic organizer to define a word
Ideas
(1) create personal dictionary. Include new words
that a student may see in an upcoming lesson.
Include the word | definition | word in a sentence |
picture
(2) Use BoardMaker or writing with symbols to create
36
dictionaries.
(3) For selected words make a vocabulary map
(graphic organizer) that includes the word,
definition, the word used in a sentence, synonyms,
antonyms and picture.
(4) Go for a picture walk and include pictures
(either drawn or taken) in a word book.
Problem:
using safe words becomes of a lack of spelling skills
Goal: Student completes writing tasks with a variety of

words; completes writing with correctly spelled grade
level vocabulary
Uses a strategy to edit spelling
Ideas
Content
Problem:
lacks strategy for generating ideas
Goal: Student independently identifies a topic for writing
and completes a writing task

generate a list of ideas
generate a list of ideas and select one for use as a
topic
Ideas
(1) Take a walk around the school building and school
yard with a writers notebook. Make a list of
experiences that happened in different areas. For
example, list two memories of fun games that you
played during recess.
(2) Keep a writers ideas chart in the classroom where
the class brainstorms things to write about
(3) Keep a box of interesting pictures from magazines
or greeting cards that can be used as picture
prompts.
(4) Have a student record, digitally, ideas or
experiences from which to write about.
Problem:
lacks strategy for planning before writing or organizing
before writing
Goal: writing is logically organized

fill out a planning sheet before beginning a writing
task
fill out a planning sheet and complete a writing task
37
Ideas
There are many strategies in Self-Regulated Strategy
Development(SRSD) that can be used as a resource.
(1) Create an architecture that students use for a
specific genre that indicates what is supposed to
be told in the first sentence, middle sentences,
ending sentences.
(2) Use story grammar planning sheets. These can be
very simple to more complex. (e.g. Beginning |
Middle | End). Students in primary grades can fold
a paper into threes and draw pictures of what
happens at the beginning, middle and the end.
(3) Use cartoon or movie scene boxes.
(4) Start by digitally recording ideas.
(5) List components or events for a story on
notecards and then sequence the notecards before
writing.
(6) Draw a series of sketches of the story and
sequence them before writing
Problem:
lacks concept of genre
Goal: Student purposefully writes following the

characteristics of a particular genre
Describes authors purpose
Identifies a variety of genres
Identifies the key components of particular genres
Ideas
(1) Introduce the concept of genre. Using mentor
texts, provide examples of various genres (or of a
particular genre that is the focus of an

instructional unit, e.g. fairy tales, auto-biography,
historical fiction, etc.)
Problem:
lacks skill of writing on topic.
Goal: writes several (3) connected sentences on a topic

identifies the topic of a paragraph
writes three connected sentences on a given topic.
Selects a topic and independently writes three or more
connected sentences on the topic
Ideas
(1) Select paragraphs from mentor texts and identify
the topic
(2) Select a topic. On sentence strips, brainstorm
several sentences. Select sentences that are on the
topic and them.
(3) Teach the importance of writing on topic. Using
mentor texts find examples of writing several
connected sentences on a topic. Complete a
writing task and then use a checklist to
determine if the sentences are all on topic.
Problem:
Student lacks concept of a paragraph
Goal: will identify and describe a paragraph

Describe the characteristics of a paragraph
Identify examples and non-examples of paragraphs
Identify paragraphs in a mentor-text
38
Ideas
(1) List characteristics of a paragraph and explain
how paragraph structure helps a reader. Identify
types of paragraphs in mentor texts.
(2) Take examples of paragraphs from mentor texts
and identify the components of various paragraph
types.
(3) Take sample paragraphs from mentor texts (or ones
that you have written). Cut the sentences apart
and then have the student organize them following
the guidelines for what constitutes a paragraph.
You can do this first with one paragraph, and then
mix two together. You could also have multiple
sentences that dont necessarily have to be used
but could be placed together to form a paragraph.
(2) Use a graphic organizer (e.g. hamburger with bun

as intro sentence, meat-lettuce-cheese as the
supporting paragraphs, and bottom bun as a
concluding sentence.
(3) Use an architecture to write several sentences on a
topic. (E.g. First sentence tells what you have
using a naming word, middles sentences tell more
about what you have using naming words and
ending sentence the re-states what you have).
Problem:
lacks skills/strategy for writing a paragraph
Goal:
Student will write an organized paragraph
Potential
Write
Write
three
Instructional Objectives:
three or more sentences on a topic
a five sentence paragraph with introduction,
supporting sentences and conclusion
Ideas
*Note: For beginning writers, you might start by

teaching how to write three sentences on a single topic.
From here, you can move to a five sentence paragraph
and from five sentence paragraphs to more complex or
varied paragraph structures.
(1) Generate several sentences on a topic. Write on
sentence strips. Reorganize the sentences into a
paragraph.
39
Legibility
Problem: lacks skill of correctly forming, spacing, or
aligning letters
Goal: will write legibly

form upper case letters correctly
form lower case letters correctly
write three legible sentences
correctly space words
Ideas
There are several discrete skills that may been to be
taught separately:
Spacing
Letter formation
Letter Size/height
Slants
Alignment
pencil (examples may include: tracing larger

letters- both flat letters or raised letters*, writing
the letters in sand, writing letters in shaving
cream
*there are many ways to make raised letters,
including hot glue on cardboard
Supports include: providing letter strips; using wide lined
paper; using raised line paper; graph paper,
Problem:
Student has a physical problem which prevents accurate
and fluent writing.
Goal:Complete legible writing task in a timely manner

Ideas
Usually in the case of physical challenges, the expertise
of an Occupational Therapist is recommended.
For Spacing:
(1) Use the index finger between words (the finger
that they do not write with).
(2) Use a popsicle stick.
(3) Use a popsicle stick with a hand w/index finger
PUT IN A PICTURE
(4) Provide wide-ruled paper
(5) Use graph paper and leave 1-2 squares between
words
Additionally, there are many assistive technologies that

can support a student:
Speech to text software (e.g. Dragon Naturally
Speaking)
Supportive Word Processing software (E.g. cowriter, WYNN, Clicker)
Digital Recorders
Picture based digital story telling
For Letter Formation:

(4) Provide letters with directional arrows and dots.
FIND EXAMPLE ON INTERNET
(5) Write letters with the finger before holding the
Problem:
not holding the pencil correctly.
Goal: hold pencil correctly

40

Student will use independently use a tripod grip
Ideas
Teach how to use a tripod grip (INPUT A PICTURE HERE)
http://www.drawyourworld.com/contact/?success=true
This includes modeling and physical assisting them so
they know how it feels. Time must be provided for the
student to practice the hold apart from regular writing
activities
If after several practice opportunities, consider providing
pencil grips (www.thepencilgrip.com)
Section IV:
Appendices and Resources
41
Appendix A:
Administering a 1-3 Minute Write
Today you are going to write a story. I am going to
read a sentence to you first, and then I want you to
write a short story about what happens. You will have 1
minute to think about and plan the story you will write.
Then you will have 3 minutes to write it. Do your best
work. If you don't know how to spell a word, you should
guess. Are there any questions? For the next minute,
think about . . . [insert story-starter]. (Administrator
starts the stopwatch). At the end of 1 minute, the
examiner says, Start writing.
write. Last spring a graduate student put this theory to

the test. She found that there is no difference between
those who selected their own prompts and those that did
not. (Good work, Yvonne!) Allowing students to select
prompts will take more time and allowing students to
select prompts is not considered standard
administration. It is probably better to just select good
prompts that you believe are relevant and of interest to
your students.
Selecting Prompts
There are a variety of prompts available online. When
selecting a prompt, there are some key things to keep in
mind:
(a)
Avoid prompts that encourage list making such

as What are your favorite foods or What did
you do this weekend? Encourage story telling
instead: Write a story about what you did
this weekend or Write about the best and
worst things about school lunch.
(b)
Avoid fantastical stories or stories that require

too much imagination (e.g. Tell a story about
when Martians landed). Stick to what students
have experienced such as, Tell about the best
birthday ever.
(c)
Avoid prompts that encourage students to use

movie or book titles, as titles often contain
non-convention spellings.
Teachers have frequently thought that providing students

with a prompt will impact the results of the 1 3
42
Appendix B:
Scoring Words Spelled Correctly
A word is spelled correctly when it is spelled correctly
according to the rules of standard English and is spelled
correctly within the context of the sentence.

Sue is eight years old.

WSC=5
Sue is ate years old.

WSC=4

Other considerations:

If a morpheme in a hyphenated word can stand alone, in it is
counted as a separate word

My mother-in-law is great.

WSC=6
My mther-in-law is great.

WSC=5

You need to re-do the assignment.

WSC=6
You need to re-du the assignment.

WSC=5

Commonly used abbreviations are counted as words: Dr., Mr.,
Mrs.

Proper nouns must be capitalized to be considered correct.
Other incorrect capitalizations are not considered incorrect.

She lives in Bellingham, Washington.

WSC=5
She lives in bellingham, washington.

WSC=3

John Walked to The store.

WSC=5

Contractions are counted as a single correct word if the

apostrophe is in the correct place.

He hasnt eaten dinner.

WSC=4
He hasnt eaten dinner.

WSC=3

Titles of books and Movie names need to be capitalized

We watched Pirates of the Caribbean.

WSC=6
We watched pirates of the carribbean.
WSC=4

Do not count as correct or incorrect missing hyphens.

I like my mother-in-law.

WSC=6
I like my mother in-law.

WSC=6

Incorrect tense is NOT an incorrectly spelled world.

She go home.

WSC=3
43
Appendix C:
Scoring Correct Writing Sequences

A correct writing sequence (CWS) is one when two adjacent
words (or a word and adjacent punctuation mark- other than a
comma) are:

(1) mechanically correct (spelling and/or capitalization);
(2) semantically correct (make sense)
(3) syntactically correct. (grammatically correct)

Use a carot (^) to indicate a CWS. There is an implied space at
the beginning of a sentence.

^My^ dog^ is^ yellow.^

CWS=5
^Jeff ^likes ^to ^run. ^ ^He ^ran ^five ^miles. ^ CWS=10

Do not use a ^ between the prompt and the start of the
students response

Do not use anything at the end of the students response.

Pairs of words must be spelled correctly

^John ^was ^jumping ôn ^the ^couch. ^
CWS=7
^John ^was ^jumping ôn ^the_ coutch. _
CWS=5

Story titles must contain appropriate capitalization

^Jeffs ^Big ^Day

CWS=3
^Jeffs big day

CWS=1
^The Ênd.

CWS=2
^The end.

CWS=1

Hyphenated words are treated as a single word, and each

morpheme must be spelled correctly.

^Her ^father-in-law îs ^great.^

CWS=5
^Her fatr-in-lw is ^great. ^

CWS=3

Numbers do not count in a CWS unless they are spelled out.
Dates are an exception.

^There ^were ^three ^dogs. ^

CWS=5
^There ^were 3 dogs. ^

CWS=3
^Yesterday ^was ^January ^6, ^2007. ^
CWS=6

Unusual characters are not included in a CWS.

^Jonah & Josh ^went ^to ^the ^concert. ^
CWS=6
^Laura ^was @ the ^store. ^

CWS=4

Word endings must be correct

^She ^ jumped ^high.^

CWS=4

^She jump high.^

CWS=2

The verb tense must be consistent within each sentence,
but sentences do not have to be consistent with each other.

Adapted from Aimsweb at Http:www.aimsweb.com
Powell-Smith, K. A. & Shinn, M.R. (2004). Administration and scoring of
written expression curriculum-based measurement (WE-CBM) for use in
general outcome measurement. Eden Prairie, MN: Edformation Inc.

44
2
3
1
Appendix D: Punctuation Status Sheet

Capitalization
First Word in sentence
Name of Person
Title
Days of Week
Month
Street Names
Towns, countries
Buildings, companies
First word of Quotation
Geographical names
Pronouns
opportunity
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
Error
___
___
___
___
___
___
___
___
___
___
___
Accuracy
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
Period
End of Sentence
Initials
Abbreviations
____
____
____
___
___
___
____
____
____
Question Mark
End of Sentence
____
___
____
Exclamation Mark
End of Sentence
____
___
____
Comma
Items in a series
Dates
City, State
____
____
____
___
___
___
____
____
____
Apostrophe
Contraction
Possession
____
____
___
___
____
____
Semicolon
Separation
____
___
____
Before series
In Time
____
____
___
___
____
____
Quotation Marks
Direct Quotation
Dialogue
Other
____
____
____
___
___
___
____
____
____
Appendix E:
Story Grammar
Setting
Characters
Plot and Sequence of Events
Colon
Conclusion
45
Appendix F:
Recommended Readings and Resources
Appendix G: Holistic Scoring Rubric
Anderson, J. (2005). Mechanically Inclined: Building Grammar,

Usage, and Style into Writers Workshop. Portland, Maine:
Stenhouse Publishers
Beck, I., McKeown, L., and Kucan, I.(2002). Bringing Words to
Life: Robust Vocabulary Instruction. Guilford Press: New
York, New York
Graham, S. & Harris, K.R. (2005). Writing better: Effective
strategies for teaching students with learning difficulties.
Baltimore, MD: Brookes
Graham, S. & Penrin, D. (2007). Writing Next: Effective
Strategies to Improve Writing of Adolescents in Middle and
High Schools. A Report to Carnegie Corporation of New York.
Washington, D.C: Alliance for Excellent Education (Available
online)
Howell, K.W. & Nolet, V. (2000). Curriculum-based evaluation:
Teaching and decision making (3rd ). Belmont, CA:
Wadsworth/Thomson Learning.
Matteson, D.M., & Freeman, D.K. (2005). Assessing and
Teaching Beginning Writers: Every Picture Tells a Story.
Katonah, NY: R.C. Owens. Available through Amazon.com
Powell-Smith, K., & Shinn, M. (2003). Administration and
scoring of written expression curriculum based measures.
Available at: http://aimsweb.com
Robinson, L. & Howell, K. (2008). Best practices in
curriculum based evaluation and written expression. In: Grimes,
J. and Thomas, A. (Eds.) Best Practices in School Psychology V,
Chapter 25, Volume 2, 1-14. The Charlesworth Group.
Smith,T.E.C., Polloway, E.A. & Beirne-Smith, M. (2004). Written
language instruction for students with disabilities. Denver:
Love.
46
SECTION V:
Professional Development
Activities
47
Activity 1: Scoring Practice
TWW=____ WSC=____ CWS=____ (ICWS=______)

Prompt #1: The best birthday I ever had was..
when I was going roller skating because They had
limbo and a dice game. It also was good because
Prompt #4: Will you keep quiet? whispered Bob, If

you dont someone will..
arcade and you could buy a candy and vampir teeth.
Chatch us like the mean old rotten neighbor she eat

us hurry up how long does it take you just get the
TWW=____ WSC=____ CWS=____ (ICWS=_______ )
bag hurry up grab it stop burping its not funny grab

the bag here she comes ruuuunnnn!!!!
Prompt #2: There was a loud know on my door. When I

opened the door I found a great big box with a bow. I
picked up the box and.
TWW=____ WSC=____ CWS=____ (ICWS=____)
Somebody knock on the Door and they leff a big box

with a bow. it was great when he open the door
TWW=____ WSC=____ CWS=____ (ICWS=_______)
Prompt #3: One day, while I was sitting at home, I heard

a loud BANG outside. I ran to the window and saw.
and so a gowt hiding on a tin bucit and then it went
bag them so egen wet it wes and is wes a caw
steping on a
48
ACTIVITY 1: SCORING PRACTICE Answer Key
Prompt #3: One day, while I was sitting at home, I heard

a loud BANG outside. I ran to the window and saw.

Prompt #1: The best birthday I ever had was..
and so a gowt hiding on a tin bucit and then it went bag them
so egen wet it wes and is wes a caw steping on a
when I was going roller skating because They had limbo and
a dice game. It also was good because arcade and you
could buy a candy and vampir teeth.
and so a gowt hiding^ on ^ a ^ tin bucit
when Î was going roller^ skating ^because ^They^
and â ^dice ^game. ^^ It âlso ^was^

good ^because arcade and^ you^ could ^buy^ a
^candy ând vampir teeth.
had limbo
TWW=29
WSC=27
CWS=20
(ICWS=9)
Prompt #2: There was a loud knock on my door. When I

opened the door I found a great big box with a bow. I
picked up the box and.
Somebody knock on the Door and they leff a big box with a
bow. it was great when he open the door
Somebody knock on ^the ^Door ând ^ they leff
a ^ big ^box ^with â ^bow. ^
^when ^ he
TWW: 22
WSC= 21
open the ^door

CWS=14
(ICWS=8)
it was ^ great
and
^ then ît ^went bag them so egen wet it
wes and is wes a caw steping onâ
TWW=28
WSC=18
CWS=7
(ICWS=20)
Prompt #4: Will you keep quiet? whispered Bob, If

you dont someone will..
Chatch us like the mean old rotten neighbor she eat us hurry
up how long does it take you just get the bag hurry up grab it
stop burping its not funny grab the bag here she comes
ruuuunnnn!!!!
us ^ like ^ the ^ mean ^ old ^ rotten ^

neighbor she eat us hurry up how
long ^ does ^ it ^ take ^ you just get ^ the
^bag hurry up grab it stop burping
its not ^ funny grab the ^ bag ^ ^ here
she ^ comes ruuuunnnn!!!!
Chatch
TWW= 39
WSC= 38
CWS= 17
(ICWS=32)
49
Activity 1: Reliability Practice

The best movie I ever saw was..
doing anything. Sometimes I just have to take a second to

remember that because I often forget.
car and they enter a really race so he can save his twon
TWW: ______ WSC: ______ CWS: _______ (ICWS)= ________ CMIWS:

________

Passage 4:

A walk to Remember. It was so heart touching. It was the
hazard then they get in to a sittuasion of some mine
best because it kept you watching, was happy and sad. and
examples
was like real life. They have tough things happened by

________

Passage 2:

The best movie I ever saw was Strangers with candy. The
strongly get over them.
movie was hilarious, It was about some chick that was kinda
happens.
mental, old and she wanted to start school where she left

________

Passage 1:

The movie Dukes of Hasard it was because they have a fast
off. She started school by announcing her name was Jenny
It is intesly filled to keep you interested in watching.

It has its Scary moments not to pee your pants scary but life
threatening. So you want to keep watching to what
Blank.

________

Passage 3:

The best movie I have ever seen has been Ray Charles.
That movie inspires me to do better and it lets me know that
even though I might be hurt/injured I am not incapable of
50
Activity 2:
Writing Samples
Standard Student

The animals are one of the most interesting things. But the
animals that I think are the most interesting are the
dinosaurs. They are extinct but I still like them.

My four faivorit are the tricaritops, stegasaurs the
anklyasaurs and tyranasaursrex. Why do I like these
paticualar dinosaurs? Because they have good protection.

Take the tricaritops for instens. It has three horns on its
head. It was one of the only dinosaurs that could beat
tyranasaursrex.

Speaking of tyranasaursrex he was the most feared dinosaur.
He had six inch long teeth. I wander if he brushed his teeth.
Oh well.

Another well protected dinosaur was the anklyasaurs. This
dinosaur had protection of a armed ball, like a hardshell, and
sidespikes.

Now thats what I call good pertection. Now the stegasaurs
was very calm. Know one knows what the plates and spikes
were for. Were they for fighting or to make him look
dangerous? You deside.

dinosaurs stragly disapeared of the face of the earth. Some
say it was a meatyer or a comet. I guess the world will
never know.
Target Students

(1) Grandma's Dog
Tell a story about your favorite pet:

I like my grandmas dog. She is funny and crazey. I like my
dog. She is cool. Her fur is wearm as a fireplace. I love her. I
like her. And She like me too. I like my grandmas dog more
than my Dad. And she likes me more than my grandma. She
is fun and weird I love her. And she loves me too. She is nice
and friendly. And she is prite. Sometimes my grandma gets
mad at my dog.
(2) Knocked Over

It is a cold, rainy afteroon. You are sitting inside watchin a movie
when you hear a crash! You get up to see what made the loud noise
and discover.
that my dog nocked over a big lamp and I just notested that
I fell out of my bed to and I didnt feel enything.
(3) Boom
There was a loud knock on the door. I opened the door and found a
large box with a bow on it. I opened the box and.
I wood open it and look in side and Boom was in it.
51
Activity 2: Error Domains and Common Hypotheses
Common Hypotheses
Error Domains
(5)
(6)
(7)
(8)
lacks skill of correctly forming letters

has a physical problem which prevents accurate and fluent writing.
is not holding the pencil correctly.
lacks a strategy for spacing words.
(1)
(2)
(3)
Spelling
Student lacks spelling skills
Student lacks pre-reading or early literacy skills
Punctuation
lacks concept of a sentence lacks skill of ending punctuation (or any
other punctuation skill)
Capitalization
lacks the skill of writing uppercase or lowercase letters.
lacks the skill of capitalizing sentence beginnings
lacks the skill of capitalizing proper nouns
Editing
Student lacks strategy for editing
Error Domain
Fluency
Legibility
Conventions
Vocabulary
Sentence
Complexity
Content
Writing
process
Description
amount of text written and
the skill or ease with
which text is generated.
letter formation; ease with
which a reader can read
the text.
mechanical aspects of
writing such as
capitalization, punctuation,
and spelling.
sophistication of the words
used and the meanings of
words; using a variety of
words and relatively few
repetitions.
grammatical order of
words; complete sentences;
production of sentences
and the complexity of
sentences; Using a variety
of sentence types and
sentence lengths.
organization of thoughtindicated by text cohesion;

selecting and following the
stylistic conventions of
different genre; writing on
topic
Awareness and Use of a
writing task. Conceptual
understanding of
Planning; Transcribing or
drafting; Reviewing and
revising; Editing;
Publishing:
Common Patterns
Few words
Hard to read
Misspelled words
Inappropriate
capitalization
punctuation
Repeats words (e.g:
I like cats. I like
dogs. Cats like
dogs.)
Uses simple words
Incomplete
sentences
Run on sentences
Short simple
sentences with only
noun and verb (e.g.
She is nice).
Grammatical errors
(e.g. She go home.)
Lacks paragraph
structures
Disorganized
Rambling thoughts
Knowledge Telling
Viewing the process
as linear, unable to
describe the
components, no
strategy for
completing a writing
task.
Legibility
Conventions
(4)
(5)
(6)
(1)
Fluency
(1) has a physical problem with handwriting

(2) Lacks spelling skills
(3) does not have a strategy for generating ideas about what to write
*See also Error Domain: CONTENT
(4) does not have a strategy for organizing information before writing
(5) lacks confidence as a writer or has not had success as a writer
(6) doesnt like the prompt.
Vocabulary
(1) Student lacks English vocabulary. (Student is an ELL learner)

(2) Student is using safe words because he lacks spelling skills.
(3) Student lacks a strategy for selecting more descriptive words
Sentence Complexity
(4) lacks concept of a complete sentence

(5) lacks skill or strategy for combining simple sentences
(6) lacks skills for writing complex sentences
Content
(7) lacks strategy for generating ideas

(8) lacks strategy for planning before writing or organizing before
writing
(9) lacks concept of genre
(10) lacks skill of writing on topic.
(11) lacks concept of a paragraph
(12) Student lacks skills/strategy for writing a paragraph
Writing Process
Planning:
Transcribing or drafting: getting the words on paper
Reviewing and revising:
Editing and Publishing
Early Literacy- Emergent Writing Skills

52
ACTIVITY 2 WORKSHEET
Step 1:
Describe what you See
Step 2:
Identify Possible Error
Domain
STEP 3:
Identify Highest Priority Error Domains and Confirm
Discrepancy
Error
Domain
Assessment
STEP 4:
State Potential Hypotheses
Student
Performance
Standard
Discrepancy?
Yes
No
Yes
No
Yes
No
STEP 5:
Measures for Assessing Each
Hypothesis
53
Activity 3: Skills | Strategies | Concepts in Holistic

Scoring Rubrics

Making the Traits Accessible in an RTI Framework
concepts. Mastery measures are generally created directly

from a school or classroom curriculum. A very basic
example of a mastery measure is a spelling test. A spelling
test assesses a students skill at writing specific words.
RTI is a process that can be used as a means for making

entitlement decisions for special education. Many schools
and districts have begun to implement RTI processes and
procedures whether or not they are using it to identify
students with learning disabilities. This is because the
problem solving within RTI and the concept of utilizing a
tiered approach for instructional decision-making shows great
promise for improving outcomes for all students.
6+1 traits has been used as both the foundation of many

writing curricula and as an assessment tool. State mandated
writing performance assessments are generally scored with a
holistic scoring rubric. It is now common for districts to
collect a writing sample one to three times a year and score
the assessment using a holistic scoring rubric. It is not
unusual for the scoring instrument to be a 6+1 rubric.
Critical components in an RTI model include the use of

validated screening measures to identify students at risk, as
well as measures that can be used to frequently monitor
student progress. Additionally, sound assessments are
necessary to clearly identify student needs (diagnostic
measures). The types of measures that have been identified
as appropriate for such a process are called curriculumbased measures.
There are multiple types of curriculum based measures. Two
of the types of CBMs are General outcome measures
(GOMs) and mastery measures (MM) . GOMs are frequently
misunderstood because of the seemingly simpleness of their
design. GOMs are quick assessments that correlate highly
with other measures of achievement, reflect a broad skill
set and are sensitive to subtle changes in learning. They can
be used to screen a group of students for potential problems
as well as used on a more frequent basis to monitor
progress. The are generally graphed within an RTI model so
that teachers can determine the potential effectiveness of
the overall implementation of writing curriculum and
interventions. Examples of written expression GOMs include
Correct Writing Sequences (CWS), Percentage of Correct
Writing Sequences (%CWS) and Total Words Written (TWW),
to name a few.
Although these assessments may serve administrative

purposes, such as to indicate trends in schools or districts,
they are time consuming to score. The resulting scores are
not necessarily able to be used in a way that facilitates
targeted instructional decision making that is necessary
within an RTI model. This is because to master each trait,
a multitude of skills, strategies and concepts must be
employed. Because of this, it can make it difficult to
identify which skill, strategy or concept a student is missing
when he or she scores low on a trait by examining the trait
score alone.
The following brief example outlines a way that we may
begin to examine the efficacy of our instruction interventions
and core curriculum by downwardly extending the 6+1 traits
into a system that can used within an RTI problem solving
model. This process will allow a teacher (or other
stakeholder) to more clearly target specific areas for
instruction within a specific trait, especially within a tier 2
or tier 3 intervention.

There are also CBMs that are called mastery measures .

Mastery measures are also fairly quick to administer and are
used to assess such things as specific skills, strategies and
54
Activity 3: Example of Identifying Error Domains in

a Holistic Rubric

Student
Problem
Indicator

What is in
the students
writing that
leads me to
believe that
an
intervention
is needed?

Trait and
Skill

What is the
trait and
what is the
specific area
within the
trait that I
am focusing
on?

Potential
Missing Skill,
Concept or
Strategy

Is the student
lacking a skill,
strategy or
concept?

1. Writes
with only
simple
sentences

SENTENCE
FLUENCY
(Error
Domain:
Sentence
Complexity:
using a
variety of
sentence
lengths and
types)

Skill: lacks the

skill of
sentence
writing

Strategy: no
strategy for
selecting and
editing

Concept: lacks
understanding
of how authors
use a variety of
sentences to
engage the
reader.

Potential
Mastery
Measures

How do I
measure
student
progress?
What
assessment
will directly
measure
student
performance?
% of short
sentences

% of sentence
types
Potential
Instructional
Solutions

Which
instructional
approach will
most likely
target the
area of deficit?

Student
Problem
Indicator

What is in the
students
writing that
leads me to
believe that
an
intervention is
needed?

1. Teach
sentence
expanding.

2. Teach
sentence
combining

3. Teach
strategy for
identifying
sentences to
expand or
combine
Trait and
Skill

What is the
trait and
what is the
specific
area within
the trait
that I am
focusing
on?

Potential
Missing
Skill,
Concept or
Strategy

Is the
student
lacking a
skill,
strategy or
concept?

Potential
Mastery
Measures

How do I
measure
student
progress?
What
assessment will
directly
measure
student
performance?

Potential
Instructional
Solutions

Which
instructional
approach will
most likely
target the area
of deficit?
55

Activity 3: Identifying Skills | Concepts | Strategies
in Holistic Rubrics

Trait

Description


Notes:

Skills | Concepts| Strategies

56

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Written-Expression

Curriculum Based Measurement

Draft | Do not Distribute

LeAnne K. Robinson, Ph.D.

Department of Special Education

*This manual is in draft form.

*This manual is the result of several years of

C: Scoring Correct Writing Sequences

The framework presented here follows a Response to

Writing is one of the most difficult cognitive tasks we

(1) Identifying who has a problem (Screening)

When a student fails to produce text similar to that of

(A process specific to written language is described on

Overview of the WE-CBM Process

LeAnne Robinson | Western Washington University

Understanding the Evaluation Cycle

are asking a question as to whether or not a student

Analysis is the process of making the data meaningful.

Evaluation is the rendering of a judgment . This

Screening and Benchmarking

Total words written (TWW),

LeAnne Robinson | Western Washington University

At the middle and high school levels, percentage of

The assessment must be either the same

Pre-Assessments are often confused with benchmarking.

The score on the assessment should provide some

Screening and Benchmarking (continued)

The assessment should provide immediate feedback

ACTIVITY 1: ADMINISTERING AND SCORING WRITTEN

Too often in written expression the Screening assessment

LeAnne Robinson | Western Washington University

LeAnne Robinson | Western Washington University

Mastery Measures (MM) are measures of a specific

should happen more frequently then a

Progress Monitoring (continued)

Figure 4: Example of Line Graph (Mastery Measure)

instruction. You simply want to try and have a

Figure 3: Example of a Bar Graph (Mastery Measure)

Example of Aimsweb Progress Monitoring with

Thanks to R. Bennett and S. Hemp two amazing

Used together, a GOM and MM can provide a powerful

Understanding Conditions of Learning

A problem in an error domain (See section 4: Error

LeAnne Robinson | Western Washington University

Understanding Conditions of Learning

generating a list of ideas before writing is a

Remember, things arent always cut and dry. To meet

Error Domains and Hypothesis Testing

Identifying Error Domains: With practice you will be

over time. The quantification has to be meaningful.

Hypothesis Testing is the purposeful act of checking to

Confirmation | Baseline: RTI is really about

Ways to Quantify Error Domains

Error Domains (continued)

organization of thoughtindicated by text cohesion;

LeAnne Robinson | Western Washington University

Repeats words (e.g: I

Viewing the process as

ACTIVITY 3: IDENTIFYING SKILLS AND STRATEGIES IN

Hypothesis Testing and Problem Validation

(3) Student is not holding the pencil correctly.

What it is: Legibility refers to the readability of text.

(4) Student lacks a strategy for spacing words.