A Single-Case Study of Sentence Writing Instruction for Elementary Students With Learning Disabilities

This multiple-probe across small groups single-case study evaluated the effect of a set of 24 sentence writing lessons on the quantity, accuracy, and complexity of sentences written by students with learning disabilities in Grades 2 to 4 (ages 7-10 years). Lessons covered writing simple sentences, adding adjectives, where and when clauses, and a self-evaluation checklist for completeness, capitalization, and punctuation. Lessons were provided in pairs three times weekly, and participants took a 1-min curriculum-based measure of sentence writing (CBM-W) after each session. The CBM-W was scored for correct and incorrect word sequences (total and per sentence). Results were mixed. The lessons had an effect for two of eight participants, but no clear functional relationship was present. Participants wrote longer sentences as a result of the intervention but did not consistently write more complex sentences.