This program facilitates writing in a linear format to organize thoughts, guided with a rubric designed to meet national standards. This program works!

1. ““The WritingThe Writing
Advantage”Advantage”
PATRICIA LEAR, M.Ed.PATRICIA LEAR, M.Ed.
September 2015September 2015
Learning and Education throughLearning and Education through
Advancement inAdvancement in
Reading and WritingReading and Writing
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2. Call us for a consultation
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3. Our Mission
The Lear Educational Center is dedicated to ensuring that all students reach their full
potential. When traditional public school programs have not worked to advance a student,
we turn to highly respected programs specifically designed for the student with learning
differences.
Our educational philosophy is a belief that all students deserve the best teachers who are
committed to research based professional development and use practices. Teachers who are
actively engaged in the learning process and who maintain high expectations are proactive
managers of learning.
We believe that the gap between research and Federal and State Practices is too wide on
the continuum. For example, it is now known that “scientists estimate that 95 percent of all
children can be taught to read, but statistics reveal an alarming prevalence of struggling
and poor readers that is not limited to any one segment of society” (Closer Look V1.4 No.1).
This indicates to us that language arts practices should be primary, but often may not be
the primary focus in a school setting.
Since the Lear Educational Center opened in the year 2000, Ms. Lear has maintained a focus
on bringing her center and peripheral professionals together as a functionally working team.
The Lear Educational Center’s primary goal is that all children be self-directed learners.
Children who read and write at grade level will be independent in all their studies and
better prepared to reach their full potential.

4. The Writing Advantage
This program facilitates writing in a
linear format to organize thoughts,
guided with a rubric designed to meet
national standards.
This Program
Works!
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610-252-0965

5. The Writing Advantage Program
• Encourages students to set goals
• Is appropriate for all ages, from emergent writers to
struggling university students
• Is sequential and cumulative
• Used for paragraphs, essays, reports
• Is designed to compensate for any hidden
difficulties in executive functioning areas of the
brain
– Sequencing
– Organization
– Problem solving
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6. Why do my students have a
problem with organization?
• Every thing we do is based on our very personal
neurological makeup
• The ability to be academically educated is parallel to
being taught to play sports, the piano, act in a play,
scuba dive, hit a straight golf ball, be a designer
• Some of us have perfect vision, many don’t
• Some better at math and science
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7. Our Individual Brains
• IQ is the brains potential
• The individual IQ test measures verbal and
performance ability
• Each ability is measured with separate subtests
• Then, we measure how well our brain processes.
Our IQ can be a superior 170, but process poorly,
and have deficits in our subtests which keep us
from being superior at a certain activity like,
ORGANIZING TO WRITE
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8. Poor Writing is Poor Executive
Functioning Ability
• Executive Functioning
– Sequencing
– Organization
– Problem solving
The individual with the 170 IQ may struggle but
automatically compensates.
The individual with the average IQ does struggle
and may not compensate.
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9. Writing Panic
• Kids don’t want to write, do a poor job, or don’t finish
because they panic and get lost in the sequence and
organization of writing.
• Their goals are not clear and appear to be too far in
the distance
• Can’t see through the film of stress
• Clear Goals must be set
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10. The Program Simplified
• List
• Choose form and place phrases
• Write sentences
• Scoop phrases in sentences
• Check grammar and mechanics
• Form paragraph
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11. List:
Create Word Bank
• Choose the writing topic
• On a folded lined piece of paper list all the words
that come into your head about the topic
• Reinforce that the order does not matter
• It is just an exercise to create a word bank for the
topic
• The type of writing assignment will dictate how long
the word bank should be
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12. Choose Format
MI Drives Supporting Details
SD Holds Up Main Idea
ED
ED
ED
SD Hold Up Main Idea
ED
ED
ED
SD Hold Up Main Idea
ED
ED
ED
Close Loops to SD and MI and down
to next paragraph
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13. Formats
MI MI MI MI MI
SD SD SD SD SD
Ed Ed Ed SD Close
Ed Ed SD SD
Ed SD Ed Close
SD Ed SD
Ed Ed Ed
Ed SD Close
Ed Ed
SD Ed
Ed Close
Ed
Ed
Close
And
Loop

14. Phrase To Write
One Paragraph
Select your paragraph length or format
Use a form or copy the Initials onto your paper in the correct
sequence
Skip lines between Initials
Using the word bank insert your words in a phrase into the
correct position on your format page
Remember you are building a support triangle on your topic
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15. Write Sentences
• Set the expectation of the number of words in each
sentence
• Ask the students to stretch. You will be surprised
what they can do when set to the task
• Take another paper, mark your initials, and turn your
phrases into sentences on the appropriate line
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16. Scooping
• Scooping is critical to checking a sentence for
accuracy or if the sentence makes sense.
The small
red horse
jumped over
the high fence.
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17. The Brain and Scooping
Research has shown that the brain understands what it
reads in phrases.
This also applies to writing
Pet Scans demonstrate more activity when reading in
phrases and little activity when reading in single
words
It is helpful to think that the brain asks questions when
it reads an unfinished phrase
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18. Scooping for Meaning
• Student writes:
The small
The brain says, “the small what?”
A small dog, fish , house, horse?
The small red horse
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19. The brain says, “the small red horse what?”
The small red horse ran, sat, ate, jumped?
The small red horse jumped
Then, the brain says, “The small red horse jumped
what?”
The small red horse jumped a car, house , fence ?
And the brain says, “yes, it makes sense,
The small red horse jumped over the high fence.”
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Scooping for Meaning

20. Moving Sentences into the
Paragraph
Only after scooping for clarity should you…
• Move the sentences into the paragraph form
• Proof read again
• If there is another paragraph make sure the closing
sentence loops to the Thesis or main idea and
introduces the next paragraph. Do this for all
paragraphs making sure the final paragraph in a
report loops back to the thesis in its entirety.
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21. What is the Key?
• Clear Goals
• Linear Format to follow
• Consistency of use
The learning curve is longer for some students than
others
but
Using this system can develop sound writing techniques
for a life time.
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22. Uses
• Test Essays: list on side of test area to be covered,
assign order, and write
• Reports: Determine length, divide into number of
paragraph per page.
– Remember the opening thesis or introduction
paragraph
– Remember the closing paragraph
• Report: Thesis page and main idea intro, closing page
and paragraphs in between, then do the math
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