• Ideation
• Planning to write
• Organization
• Vocabulary
• Transferring ideas from thinking to paper 

• Sentence construction/syntax
• Spelling
• Editing and revising

• Endurance
• Handwriting
• Keyboarding
• Slow typing speed
• Adaptive writing paper

Handwriting

For students who struggle with handwriting, collaborating with the school-based Occupational Therapy Practitioner (OTP) assigned to your school is a great first step. OTPs are an excellent resource for students who have motor issues impacting their ability to produce text through handwriting or typing.

For students with challenges in letter and word production, strategies and tools such as alphabet boards, magnetic letters, letter stamps, letter or word tiles, or Velcro letters can support their learning needs. For students with challenges in number formation, strategies and tools such as number stamps, number stickers, or adapted paper can support their learning needs. 

Students struggling with handwriting can also be provided with the option to use a word processor. Using manipulatives or word processing strategies can help:

1. Mitigate motor deficits that impact tool use (i.e., paper/pencil/pen).
2. Students for whom legibility of handwriting (letters and numbers) is a concern.
3. Students who struggle with endurance for handwriting.
4. Reduced need to re-handwrite between editing and revising attempts.

Additionally, when using a word processor, access to keyboarding and built-in supports such as spelling and vocabulary assistance, such as spellcheck, word prediction, and “look’-up” options, helps to free cognitive functions for higher-level thinking.

Many students in MCPS—grades 1 through 12—have access to a Chromebook. The following quick guides offer resources that support word processor use and keyboarding skills:

Typing supports can help students with writing difficulties. The Typing Club Quick Guide provides information about a typing resource for students within MCPS. 

The Keyboarding Practice Chart -can be a resource to keep track of keyboarding practice data.
Speech-to-text eliminates the need to handwrite or type by hand.
Word prediction combined with keyboarding eliminates the need to handwrite and supports spelling. 

It can also be helpful to collect data to measure handwriting vs. typing efficiency. This can be accomplished through administering the DeCoste Writing Protocol.

These links will take you to the DWP resources on the HIAT webpage and the materials required to administer the DWP (for MCPS staff only, login required).

Endurance

Word Prediction
Word prediction helps students produce text with fewer keystrokes, reducing the physical effort required for typing.
Quick Guide: Word Prediction

Speech-to-Text
Speech-to-text allows students to dictate their ideas, which can significantly reduce motor demands and speed up text production.
Quick Guide: Speech to Text

Voice Notes
For students who benefit from answering orally, voice notes provide a quick and accessible way to record responses without the need for extensive writing.
Quick Guide: Voice Notes

Keyboarding

Keyboarding Resources offers information on how to support students with keyboarding skills for writing. 

Slow typing speed

Many students will improve their typing speed with practice and exposure. Short, frequent practice sessions are most effective. Research supports that keyboarding instruction is critical to reach proficiency. Students in MCPS have access to Chromebooks. The following quick guides offer resources that support learning to type.

Adaptive writing paper

For students with difficulty keeping their writing on the line or in the space, adapted writing paper can be a curricular support. Adapted paper can support students with visual perceptual or visual motor difficulties. 

Shaded Lined Paper Wide (Google doc) (gr. 1-3)  and Shaded Lined Paper Narrow (Google doc) (gr. 4-5): has alternating shaded lines. 

This math template offers different options for math paper to support students lining up equations for math.