Review of Color Coded Graphic Organizers

Ewoldt, K. B., & Morgan, J. J. (2017). Color-Coded Graphic Organizers for Teaching       Writing to Students With Learning Disabilities. TEACHING Exceptional      Children, 49(3), 175-184. doi:10.1177/0040059916681769

Main Point Addressed:

Writing a well-structured paragraph is just as important for neuro-typical learners as it is for students with learning disabilities. Because of this, it is almost essential for these learners to use tools such as graphic organizers to assure themselves they are following the task thoroughly and efficiently.

Salient Ideas Gleaned from Article:

• The new Common Core standards present new challenges for students with learning disabilities.
• Strong writers are able to understand the process, while writers who struggle cannot.
• Color-coded graphic organizers can easily be adapted for other types of writing.
• By using different graphic organizers, it makes the paragraph process much simpler because the students are basically just connecting their evidence into a well thought out paragraph.
• It is important for the student to have a systematic instruction approach to their writing. Providing a prompt helps the student generate ideas.

Reflection:  Describe the benefit(s) of the information provided in this article. Who can benefit from this information?

The benefits of this article are that it included different types of graphic organizers, different ways to use them, and how to apply them to a students every day writing. This is great information for soon to be teachers and teachers to reflect back on and to incorporate new information into the classroom.

How can the information be utilized?  Provide specific suggestions for applying the information. 

The information can be utilized in several ways. A great way would be when starting to write more in depth paragraphs with a student who struggles with ideas or putting their information together. Color coded graphic organizers can be essential to learners who just need that added push or for any learner to become more organized in their writing skills.